ᓲᓲᐊᐧᑎᒼ
sôsôwatim
The word for donkey in Cree is ᓲᓲᐊᐧᑎᒼ (sôsôwatim).
ᓲᓲᐊᐧᑎᒼ refers to a donkey, a domestic animal.
Meaning: a domestic animal (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
sôsôwatim
Did you know?
- The word ᓲᓲᐊᐧᑎᒼ is an example of an onomatopoeic creation in Cree, as the repeating ᓲᓲ sounds mimic the braying noise of the animal.
- Cree is a polysynthetic language, meaning that while ᓲᓲᐊᐧᑎᒼ is a noun, other words for animals are often built from verbs describing what the animal does.
- The Cree syllabic writing system used for ᓲᓲᐊᐧᑎᒼ was developed in the 19th century to allow for rapid literacy among Indigenous peoples.
Example conversation
Two friends are looking at animals on a farm.
- Aᐋᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧ ᓲᓲᐊᐧᑎᒼ ᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧā sūsū-ātiLook, a donkey!
- Bᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧ ᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧ ᒫᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧêyā, mēyāYes, it is.
- Aᓲᓲᐊᐧᑎᒼ ᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧ ᒫᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧsūsū-āti mēyāIs the donkey friendly?
- Bᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧ ᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧêyā, nīsonisYes, it is.
