ᓃᐱᔕᐴ
nipisapoy
The English word "tea" is ᓃᐱᔕᐴ in Cree.
The word refers to the drink made from the leaves of the tea plant.
Meaning: drink made from leaves of tea plant (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
nipisapoy
Did you know?
- Because Cree is a polysynthetic language, you can add suffixes directly to ᓃᐱᔕᐴ to turn it into 'tea-making' or 'tea-drinking' without adding any separate words.
- While 'tea' refers to the caffeinated drink, many Cree speakers use the same term to describe traditional infusions made from spruce or cedar needles.
- The term ᓃᐱᔕᐴ serves as a linguistic marker of the historical contact between Indigenous peoples and European fur traders.
Example conversation
Two friends are chatting in a kitchen.
- Aᓃᐱᔕᐴ ᐄᐄᐄ?nīpishatō īīī?Would you like some tea?
- Bᐄ, ᓃᐱᔕᐴ ᒫᐴᐤᐄᐄ.ī, nīpishatō mātōyīī.Yes, I love hot tea.
- Aᓃᐱᔕᐴ ᒫᐴᐤᐄᐄ ᐄᐄᐄ.nīpishatō mātōyīī īīī.Here is your hot tea.
- Bᑭᐣᐄᐣᐄᐣ ᐄᐄᐄ.kinīnin īīī.Thank you very much.
