dej
/de˥˧/
The Hmong word for water is dej.
dej is used to refer to the inorganic compound H₂O.
Meaning: inorganic compound H₂O (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
/de˥˧/
Did you know?
- The Hmong language uses specific classifiers when counting containers of dej, meaning you cannot simply say 'one water' without a word for the vessel.
- The word dej for 'water' is actually a linguistic descendant of an ancient word meaning 'river'.
- The linguistic history of dej connects it to much larger language families like Sino-Tibetan, which many people do not associate with Hmongic.
Examples in context
- Kuv xav haus dej.I want to drink water.
- Thov muab dej rau kuv.Please give me some water.
- Dej no txias heev.This water is very cold.
Example conversation
Xiong and Yia are sitting at a table.
- XiongYia, koj puas xav haus dej?Yia, do you want to drink water?
- YiaYog, kuv haus dej tam sim no.Yes, I will drink water right now.
- XiongKuv yuav mus ncig dej rau koj.I will go get water for you.
- YiaUa tsaug, Xiong.Thank you, Xiong.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “water” translations and entries dej, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dej, CC BY-SA 4.0.
