ᎣᎵᎮᎵᏍᏗ ᏂᏣᏕᏘᏱᏍᎬᎢ
olihelisdi nitsadetiyisgvi
The English phrase "happy birthday" is translated into Cherokee as ᎣᎵᎮᎵᏍᏗ ᏂᏣᏕᏘᏱᏍᎬᎢ (olihelisdi nitsadetiyisgvi).
Meaning: good wishes for a birthday (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The expression is composed of two parts: ᎣᎵᎮᎵᏍᏗ, which means "congratulations" or "happiness" and ᏂᏣᏕᏘᏱᏍᎬᎢ, which means "your birthday" or "the day you were born".
How do you pronounce it?
olihelisdi nitsadetiyisgvi
Did you know?
- While modern Cherokee speakers use ᎣᎵᎮᎵᏍᏗ ᏂᏣᏕᏘᏱᏍᎬᎢ, traditional celebrations historically prioritized shared community milestones and rites of passage over the anniversary of an individual birth.
- Cherokee is a polysynthetic language, meaning a single word like ᏂᏣᏕᏘᏱᏍᎬᎢ can function as an entire sentence by packing multiple pieces of meaning into one long word.
- When using this phrase, the specific verb endings change depending on whether you are speaking to one person or a group of people.
Example conversation
Two friends are meeting at a party.
- AᎣᎵᎮᎵᏍᏗ ᏂᏣᏕᏘᏱᏍᎬᎢ!Olihelisdi nitsadetiysgvi!Happy birthday!
- BᏩᏙ, ᏩᏧᎩ!Wado, watsugi!Thank you, thank you!
- AᎠᎩᏓᏓᏍᏗ ᎦᏙᎢ ᏂᏣᏓᏓᏓᏓ?Agidadasdi gadoi nitsadadada?I want to know, how are you, friend?
- BᎣᏏᏓ ᎢᎩ!Osida igi!I am doing well!
