ᎬᎵ
gvli
The English word raccoon is ᎬᎵ (gvli) in Cherokee. Wiktionary also lists ᎬᏟ (gvtli).
Meaning: nocturnal omnivore living in North America, Procyon lotor (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cherokee | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ᎬᎵ | gvli |
| ᎬᏟ | gvtli |
The word refers to the nocturnal omnivore living in North America, known scientifically as Procyon lotor.
How do you pronounce it?
gvli
Did you know?
- Because Cherokee is a polysynthetic language, a single word for 'raccoon' can be expanded into a complex sentence by adding prefixes and suffixes.
- When speaking about animals like the raccoon, Cherokee speakers may use different verb forms to indicate whether the animal is a character in a story or a living creature in the wild.
- The Cherokee word ᎬᎵ is written using the Syllabary, a writing system created by Sequoyah in the early 1800s where each symbol represents a syllable rather than an individual letter.
Example sentences for Cherokee are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Two people are looking at an animal in the garden.
- AᎪᎯᏓ, ᎬᎵ ᎢᏓᏓᏅᏓ!Gohida, gvli idadanvda!Look, there is a raccoon!
- BᎢᏓᏓᏅᏓ ᎪᎯᏓ.Idadanvda gohida.I see it.
- AᎬᎵ ᎢᎦᏓᏓᏅᏓ ᎦᏓᏓᏅᏓ.Gvli igadadanvda gadadanvda.The raccoon is moving.
- BᎢᏓᏓᏅᏓ ᎦᏓᏓᏅᏓ.Idadanvda gadadanvda.It is moving.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “raccoon” translations and entries ᎬᎵ, ᎬᏟ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
