ᑭᒧᐊᐧᐣ
kimiwan
The Cree word for rain is ᑭᒧᐊᐧᐣ (kimiwan).
ᑭᒧᐊᐧᐣ is a noun used to describe an instance of particles falling.
Meaning: an instance of particles falling (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
kimiwan
Did you know?
- The Cree language is polysynthetic, meaning a single complex word can often function as an entire English sentence. A word describing 'rain' could potentially be expanded with prefixes and suffixes to specify who is seeing it or how it is falling.
- The Cree syllabics used to write ᑭᒧᐊᐧᐣ were developed in the 19th century to allow for rapid literacy among Indigenous peoples.
- Cree utilizes a complex system of 'obviation' that affects how the word for 'rain' interacts with other nouns in a sentence to avoid ambiguity.
Example conversation
Two people are looking out the window at the weather.
- Aᑭᒧᐊᐧᐣ ᐱᔭᐣᐣᐣ.kimuwan piyanin.The rain is falling.
- Bᐪᐣᐣᐣ ᐱᔭᐣᐣᐣ.ninn piyanin.It is falling hard.
- Aᐪᐣᐣᐣ ᑭᒧᐊᐧᐣ ᐣᐣᐣ.ninn kimuwan ninn.It is heavy rain.
- Bᐪᐣᐣᐣ ᐣᐣᐣ.ninn ninn.It really is.
