How to Say “Dumb” in Cherokee

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ᎬᎵ
gvli
The Cherokee word for "dumb" is ᎬᎵ (gvli).
ᎬᎵ is used as an adjective to describe something or someone as stupid.
Meaning: stupid (adj)

How do you pronounce it?

gvli

Did you know?

  • The Cherokee syllabary was famously invented by Sequoyah, meaning the very script used to write ᎬᎵ was created by a man who was himself illiterate in English before his invention.
  • Because Cherokee is a verb-heavy language, an English speaker might find it strange that the concept of 'being dumb' is often expressed through a construction that functions more like an action than a static state.
  • Cherokee is a polysynthetic language, meaning a single word for 'stupid' can be modified with prefixes to specify if the stupidity is temporary or a permanent character trait.

Example conversation

Two people are discussing a bad idea.

  1. A

    ᎾᏍᎩ ᎬᎵ ᎢᏳᏓᏍᏗ.
    Nasgi gvli iyudasdi.
    That is stupid.
  2. B

    ᎥᎥ, ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᏳᏓᏍᏗ.
    Vv, nasgi iyudasdi.
    Yes, it is.
  3. A

    ᎢᏳᏓᏍᏗ ᎢᏳᏓᏍᏓᏅᏓ.
    Iyudasdi iyudasdanvda.
    It is just a stupid idea.
  4. B

    ᎠᎥ, ᎢᏳᏓᏍᏗ.
    Dv, iyudasdi.
    No, it is.

Sources

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Russell Isaac
Russell IsaacHelp make this guide better. Spot a mistake, know another way to say it, or have an example from real life? Share it below.
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