ᎠᏧᏣ
atsutsa/àt͡sűːt͡sa/
The Cherokee word for "son" is ᎠᏧᏣ (atsutsa).
The word ᎠᏧᏣ is used to refer to a male person in relation to his parents.
Meaning: a male person in relation to his parents (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is atsutsa. The IPA is /àtsűːtsa/.
Did you know?
- The syllabary used to write ᎠᏧᏣ was famously invented by Sequoyah, a man who was actually illiterate in English when he created the system.
- In traditional Cherokee social structures, a 'son' would be identified by his maternal clan rather than his father's, a concept known as matrilineal descent.
- Because Cherokee is a verb-based language, many words describing relationships, including those for family members, can function as verbs to describe the act of being a certain relation.
Example conversation
Two people are looking at a family photograph.
- AᎠᏧᏣ ᎪᏓ?atsutsa goda?Is this your son?
- BᎰᎤᏓ, ᎠᏧᏣ ᏓᏓᏍᏓᏅᎵ ᎤᏓ.ho-uda, atsutsa dadasdanvli uda.Yes, he is my son.
- AᎤᏓ ᎤᏓᏍᏓᏅᎵ ᏓᏓᏓᏓᏍᏓᏅᎵ.uda udasdanvli dadadasdanvli.He looks like you.
- BᎠᏓᏅᏓᏅᏓ ᎤᏓ.adanvdanvda uda.He is very much like me.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ᎠᏧᏣ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
