ᎤᏂᎵᎢ
unili'i
The Cherokee word for cousin is ᎤᏂᎵᎢ (unili'i).
The word ᎤᏂᎵᎢ is used to refer to a child of a person's parent's brother or sister.
Meaning: child of a person’s parent’s brother or sister (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
unili'i
Did you know?
- In traditional Cherokee social organization, cousins were often viewed more as brothers or sisters than as separate biological branches.
- Cherokee is a polysynthetic language, meaning a single word like ᎤᏂᎵᎢ can be expanded with additions to express a whole sentence about that cousin.
- Because Cherokee kinship is tied to the clan system, calling someone a 'cousin' can imply a shared membership in a specific social group, not just a shared grandparent.
Example conversation
Two people are talking about a family member at a gathering.
- AᎤᏂᎵᎢ ᏓᏓᏙᎵᏍᏓ?unilii dadodolisda?Is your cousin coming?
- BᎪᎯ ᎤᏂᎵᎢ ᏓᏓᏙᎵᏍᏓ.gohi unilii dadodolisda.Yes, my cousin is coming.
- AᎤᏂᎵᎢ ᎢᏓᏓᏓ?unilii idadada?Do you have a cousin?
- BᎪᎯ, ᎤᏂᎵᎢ ᎢᏓᏓᏓ.gohi, unilii idadada.Yes, I have a cousin.
