ᎪᎯ ᎢᎦ
kohi iga
The Cherokee word for "today" is ᎪᎯ ᎢᎦ (kohi iga).
ᎪᎯ ᎢᎦ is an adverb used to refer to the current day.
Meaning: on the current day (adv)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of ᎪᎯ (kohi), meaning 'this' and ᎢᎦ (iga), meaning 'day'.
How do you pronounce it?
kohi iga
Did you know?
- The Cherokee syllabary used to write ᎪᎯ ᎢᎦ was invented by a man named Sequoyah who could not read or write in any language. He created the system by observing how spoken sounds worked, rather than adapting an existing alphabet.
- The syllabary used for ᎪᎯ ᎢᎦ was so effective that it led to the Cherokee Nation having a higher literacy rate than many surrounding white settlements in the 1820s.
- Cherokee is a polysynthetic language, meaning a single word can function as an entire sentence. While ᎪᎯ ᎢᎦ is a simple phrase, other words for time can be modified by adding prefixes and suffixes to change the meaning entirely.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their plans.
- AᎪᎯ ᎢᎦ ᎦᏙ ᎭᏓᏓᏅᏘ?go-hi i-ga ga-do ha-da-da-nv-tiWhat are you doing today?
- BᎠᎩᏓᏓᏅᏔᏅᎢ.a-gi-da-da-nv-ta-nv-iI am working.
- AᎪᎯ ᎢᎦ ᎢᏳᎢ ᎤᏓᏓᏅᏔᏅᎢ?go-hi i-ga i-yu-i u-da-da-nv-ta-nv-iDo you work today then?
- BᎢᏳᎢ, ᎪᎯ ᎢᎦ ᏓᏓᏓᏅᏔᏅᎢ.i-yu-i, go-hi i-ga da-da-da-nv-ta-nv-iYes, I am working today.
