cacalotl
The English word raven is translated into Nahuatl as cacalotl.
The term cacalotl refers to any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus that possess lustrous black plumage.
Meaning: any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage (noun)
Did you know?
- In ancient codices, a stylized image of a cacalotl was often used as a logogram, meaning the picture itself represented a word or a concept rather than just the bird.
- The Nahuatl language uses an 'absolutive' suffix -tl in cacalotl, which disappears when the word is used as a modifier for another noun.
- Because Nahuatl is an agglutinative language, you can attach many small parts to cacalotl to change it from 'a raven' to 'the many ravens' or 'a small raven'.
Example sentences for Nahuatl are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Citlali and Xicoténcatl are walking in the forest.
- CitlaliXicoténcatl, itztlacatl cacalotl!Xicoténcatl, look at the raven!
- Xicoténcatl¿Co nican cacalotl?Is there a raven here?
- CitlaliQuema, in cacalotl tlamachia.Yes, the raven is calling.
- XicoténcatlTlen cacalotl tlamachia.What a raven is calling.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “raven” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
