ᎠᏍᎦᏯ
asgaya/àskàja/
The Cherokee word for man is ᎠᏍᎦᏯ (asgaya).
ᎠᏍᎦᏯ is a noun used to refer to an adult male human.
Meaning: adult male human (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is asgaya. The IPA is /àskàja/.
Did you know?
- The Cherokee writing system used for ᎠᏍᎦᏯ was invented by Sequoyah, who was himself a ᎠᏍᎦᏯ and not a linguist.
- Because Cherokee is a polysynthetic language, a single verb can often incorporate the idea of 'a man doing something' without needing to use the noun ᎠᏍᎦᏯ at all.
- The syllables in ᎠᏍᎦᏯ follow a tonal pattern, where the pitch of the voice can change the meaning of the word entirely.
Examples in context
- ᎯᏲᎵᎦᏍ Ꮎ ᎠᏍᎦᏯ?Do you recognize that man?This sentence shows how to use ᎠᏍᎦᏯ when asking if someone recognizes a man.
- ᎯᎠᏃ ᏄᏪᏒ ᎠᏍᎦᏯ.The man answered.This sentence shows how to use ᎠᏍᎦᏯ in a context where a man has provided an answer.
Example conversation
A person is describing someone they saw across the street.
- AᎯᎠ ᎠᏍᎦᏯ ᎪᏪᎵ ᏗᏓᏓᏅᏓᏍᏗ ᎢོᏓᏓᏓᏅᏓᏍᏗ.hia asgaya goveli didadanvdasdi idadanvdasdi.That man is writing in a book.
- BᎦᏙ ᎢᏓᏍᎦᏯ Ꮎ?gado idasgaya na?Who is that man?
- AᏝ ᎢᏓᏍᎦᏯ ᎢᏳᏓᏓᏅᏓᏍᏗ ᎢོᏓᏓᏓᏅᏓᏍᏗ.tla idasgaya iyu dadanvdasdi idadanvdasdi.I don't know that man.
- BᎢᏓᏍᎦᏯ ᎢᏳᏓᏓᏅᏓᏍᏗ ᎢོᏓᏓᏓᏅᏓᏍᏗ.idasgaya iyudadanvdasdi idadanvdasdi.He is just a man.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “man” translations and entries ᎠᏍᎦᏯ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
