ᏩᎦ
wagaalternative form
The English word for cow is ᏩᎦ (waga) in Cherokee. Wiktionary also lists ᏩᎧ (waka).
Meaning: adult female of species Bos taurus (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cherokee | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ᏩᎦ | waga | alternative form |
| ᏩᎧ | waka |
The term refers to an adult female of the species Bos taurus.
Which one should you use?
ᏩᎦ is an alternative spelling of ᏩᎧ.
How do you pronounce it?
waga
Did you know?
- Because it is borrowed from Spanish, the Cherokee word sounds remarkably similar to the English word 'cow' via the Spanish 'vaca'.
- The phonetic structure of ᏩᎧ relies on the Cherokee syllabary, where each character represents a full syllable rather than a single letter.
- Cherokee has no native word for 'cow' because cattle were not present in North America before European contact.
Example sentences for Cherokee are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Two people are walking through a pasture.
- AᏩᎦ ᎢᏓᏓᏘᎦ?Waga idadatiga?Is that a cow?
- BᎰᎤᏓ, ᏩᎦ ᎾᏍᎩ.Honuda, waga nasgi.Yes, that is a cow.
- AᏩᎦ ᎢᏓᏓᏓ.Waga idadada.The cow is walking.
- BᏩᎦ ᎢᏓᏓᏘᎦ.Waga idadatiga.The cow is there.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cow” translations and entries ᏩᎦ, ᏩᎧ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
