miztli
/mistɬi/
The English word "cat" is translated into Nahuatl as miztli.
miztli refers to the domestic species of cat.
Meaning: domestic species (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
/mistɬi/
Did you know?
- In Classical Nahuatl, miztli did not originally refer to the small domestic pets we know today, but rather to any feline, including the wild jaguar.
- The word miztli contains the letter tl, a voiceless alveolar lateral affricate sound that does not exist in English and requires placing the tongue against the roof of the mouth.
- If you were reading ancient Aztec codices, you would not find the word miztli used for a domestic pet, as cats were unknown to the Mexica people.
Example conversation
Cuauhtémoc and Yolanda are talking about their pets.
- CuauhtémocCuauhtémoc, ¿tianehui miztli?Cuauhtémoc, do you have a cat?
- YolandaYolanda, occeh miztli noyolpactli.Yolanda, a certain cat is my favorite.
- CuauhtémocIn miztli tlacuilo ca.The cat is cute.
- YolandaQuinequi nochiuhtli miztli.I want a small cat.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry miztli, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
