ᎤᏚᏚ
ududu
The English word grandfather is translated into Cherokee as ᎤᏚᏚ (ududu) or ᎤᏂᏏ.
Meaning: grandfather (from either side) (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cherokee | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ᎤᏚᏚ | ududu |
| ᎤᏂᏏ | unisi |
Both forms are used to refer to a grandfather from either the maternal or paternal side of a person's family.
Which one should you use?
While both terms refer to a grandfather, the default form is ᎤᏚᏚ and the alternative form is ᎤᏂᏏ.
How do you pronounce it?
ududu
Did you know?
- The Cherokee syllabary used to write ᎤᏚᏚ was invented by Sequoyah, who was not literate in English when he created the system.
- The concept of 'grandfather' in Cherokee culture is tied to a clan system where kinship extends far beyond the biological nuclear family.
- Because Cherokee is a verb-based language, many words for family members can change meaning or function depending on the grammatical context of the sentence.
Example sentences for Cherokee are not verified yet.
Example conversation
A child is showing a photograph to a friend.
- AᎤᏚᏚ ᎢᏳᎢᎢ.uddu iyutii.This is my grandfather.
- BᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏚᏚ ᎢᏳᎢ ᎦᏓᎢ?nasgi uddu iyut gada-i?Is your grandfather gone?
- AᎥᏝ, ᎤᏚᏚ ᎢᏳᎢ ᎢᏓᏓᏓᏩᏛᏍᏓ.vtla, uddu iyut i-dadadawadvsda.No, let's go look for my grandfather.
- BᎥེ, ᎢᏓᎢ.en, idai.Yes, let's go.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “grandfather” translations and entries ᎤᏚᏚ, ᎤᏂᏏ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
