Tanacross Learners' Dictionary
PRELIMINARY VERSION
compiled by Irene Solomon Arnold, Gary Holton, and Rick Thoman
Copyright © 2006 Alaska Native Language Center. The materials on this site, including Tanacross language transcriptions and audio recordings are intended for educational and reference purposes only. Commmercial use is strictly prohibited. Reproduction for non-profit educational purposes is permitted, provided appropriate citation is included. See complete terms of use. Please direct questions and comments to gary.holton@uaf.edu.Browse the glossary using this index
Special | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O
P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ALL
D |
|---|
dagger: dagger, long knife |
damp: it is damp, moist |
dance: a dance ch'eldzes she or he is dancing
| ||||||
dancing stick: |
dangle: |
dark:xnat-tl'éts it is dark tl'és dark tl'és shíi dhíhdah I am sitting in the dark natl'esaldox it is pitch black xéł darkness xéł t'aagh ts'į́' xáatheł it getting on toward dark naghį́hxeetl it became dark |
daughter:shyaats'é'e my daughter (woman's) shtthé'e my daughter (man's) |
daughter-in-law:shchâay women's daughter-in-law shtthûuy man's daughter-in-law |
dawn: dawn (it became daylight) |
day: |
day after tomorrow: |
day before yesterday: |
dead: |
deadfall trap: |
deaf person: |
deceive:nashtnin'áayh he deceived me nantnih'áayh I deceived you |
December: |
deep: water is deep jan teexdinthaat it (river) is deep here nadaxninthaat depression in ground (hole, gully) is deep tsaakée nadaxninthaat tsį́' xâaxuntthit dig a deep hole dinchaax it is deep shéth dínchaax the snow is deep |
definitely: definitely, actually łą́'ą ch'e le' sítnih he or she definitely said that |
delirious: she or he is delirious LITERALLY 'she or he has lost direction' |
deliver: it was delivered to him/her |
demonstrate: I am demonstrating something to him or her |
den: SYN cave |
dent: it is dented |
dentalium: dentalium necklace |
depend: |
deprive: I took it away from him, her or it wuch'aa stáyídhihdlah I took it away from him, her or it |
descend: she or he descended (came down) ya'andêdz xdaghinshah she or he descended from inland wuts'enh xáts'áltsį́į we are descended from them |
describe: |
desire: |
devil: |
devour: she or he devoured it, ate it all quickly |
diaper: |
die:ehtęę she or he died perfective paradigm
| ||||||
different: a different thing ch'ít-shûuy nâadalshah she or he changed clothes ch'ítduug a different direction or place ch'ít-tsedz a different manner niłch'ítsédz xélts'įį they look different ch'ítshuun a different person |
difficult: shaa tsadaxudínt'eh it's difficult, uncomfortable for me mexuntsaath difficult to handle, cope with |
dig: I am digging xáyełé' he or she dug it out of the ground ihgot I am digging imperfective paradigm
nén' egot | ||||||
dip: |
dipnet: parts of the dipnet have their own name éth dámaadh round "hoop" of dipnet éth tį̌į' handle of dipnet tedenin'aay willow stick used as a fish detector (wiggles when fish swims by) |
dipnetting place: platform used for fishing or a place along the bank. |
dipper (bird): (Cinclus mexicanus) |
direction (way): xuhndíig ch'e ts'enindedl that's the way we came |
dirt: soil, ground ch'edǔul' dirt in the house |
dirty:gés nłęę it is dirty shinłá' gés nłęę my hands are dirty xnetjak it (table, floor) is dirty, messy |
disappear: it is disappearing łéets extehkôtl flour is disappearing wuk'exdalneyh it disappeared shjěyy' k'éxdálneyh my gloves disappeared tuu natét-tsetth water disappeared, dried up nídét-'įį he or she disappeared xuts'į́' téeshaay nídét-'įį he or she went to a place and has disappeared |
discover: |
discuss: it is being discussed |
disease: SYN ailment, sickness |
dish: |
dishpan: ALSO pot |
dislike: someone or something is disliked k'á shaa ihsú́uy it is not good for me |
dislocate: it is dislocated shgáan' niłghadalket my arm is dislocated |
dissolve:ta'udeełet it dissolved, melted łuut shthaa ta'udeełet the ice dissolved in my mouth |
distant: |
distasteful: distasteful, unpleasant manner ts'adaxdintleg ts'í née'éł náxúldek she or he is telling us a story in a distasteful manner |
ditch: ditch ALSO hole, pit SYN gully xosk'ée xu'éddh éł xu'althet she or he stepped in the ditch and fell down |
dive: I dove tetishdetth I am going to dive |
divide: we divided them (more than one) niłdze'alshaay something which is divided niłdze'elsheek it is divided niłdze'elsheeg that which is divided shí' niłdze'elsheeg síxúnt'eh food is customarily divided (shared) |
dizzy: she or he is dizzy |
do: she or he is doing nts'é tdę'ę what is he, she or it doing nts'é t'indę'ę? what are you doing?
nts'é' t'índę' | ||||||
dog: łii iin dogs wułǐig' his or her or her dog Note the form for 'someone's dog' has a -g' at the end łii ts'é'e female dog łiigaay puppy body parts of a dog that have a special name: ch'inch'etl xú' fangs, canine teeth minchědl' xá' whiskers łii iin xettheyh the dogs are barking |
dog house: |
don't: sų́'ų Tok ts'į́' tunsha'a don't go to Tok éna' sų́'ų xu'duu ni'ih no, don't say that! éna' sų́'ų xu'dighundę'ę no, don't do that! ALSO no |
don't know: I don't know xets'į́'ishdíig I don't know it |
door: |
doorway: |
Dot Lake: LITERALLY 'Waterlily Lake' |
dough: |
down (downward vertically): down (from a distant) nahshěg' down (close by) naashěg' aahaał he is walking down (the hill) daatthén' down a slope xahshóg area down below tthee xahshóg eedlah rocks are laying down there (on the ground) shghahshóg from me down shghahshóg daashęę tęy xuh'aa |
down feather: |
downriver: toward downriver (distant) yaadáa téeshah he's going downriver (toward Fairbanks) yandâadz from downriver (distant) nahdáa naghindaał he's returning from downriver |
doze: she or he is dozing dzeen uudíh xáméłsheltéek I was dozing all day long |
drag: I am dragging it back |
dragonfly: |
dream: I am dreaming nághihté' I dreamt naa ná'ihté' I am dreaming about you teddh dąą díi gha lé'e ná'ihté'e last night I was dreaming of something |
dress: dress ALSO coat, shirt ts'éhxeey iin eek naxdelshax, tl'âan dendeey iin dú' ch'ehtle1' shi1i xdel'i1itth women wear dresses, but men wear pants na'ishtl'uh I am getting dressed imperfective paradigm
naghut-tl'uh de'! | ||||||
drift (in water):tashahteeł I am drifting along (in water) tayahteeł he or she is drifting along natashtehteek I am floating around ch'aachěnn' tadahtiił a stump is drifting along tadaałeeł (more than one) drifting along tsets tadaaleeł wood (more than one piece) is drifting along |
driftwood: |
drill: snowshoe drill dektáath I am drilling wuchaa dįhtáath drill a hole through it |
drink: I am drinking imperfective paradigm
tuu etnąą
| ||||||||||||
drip: it dripped chąą tú' dél'eetl rain water is dripping |
drive: I'm driving (a car, sled)
naxetltihtiik | ||||||
drop:shintl'adalneyh I dropped it (compact object, such as a rock) LITERALLY 'it fell out of my hands' xúh ts'į́' dedhekneyh I dropped it somewhere shintl'aghindéek I dropped them (multiple objects, single fabric-like object,) LITERALLY 'they fell out of my hands' shintl'aghinxeł I dropped it (an elongated object such as a stick or gun) naghekxel I dropped it (a living being, such as a puppy) medintsiit! drop it!, let go of it! (any object; implies that rapid motion is more important than the kind of object involved) SEE fall For water level drops see 'water' |
drown: she or he drowned |
drum: LITERALLY 'that which is struck' |
drunk (intoxicated): a drunk person nexeł she or he is drunk |
dry:nelgęyh it is dry ekgęyh I am drying it ts'éhxeh má' éhgęyh the woman is drying fish
nadeltthayh | ||||||
Dry Creek (AK Hwy xng @ Mile 1378): |
dry fish: dry fish łuug ekmá' I am making dry fish |
dry meat: SYN jerky |
drying rack: ALSO bed, rack |
duck: general term chetth molting ducks etchot molting duck Specific kinds of ducks daałeeł northern shoveller tuhtsêdl green-winged teal shahsęy American wigeon naltthogh lesser scaup dzehndeedh northern pintail ndzel canvasback tsoth red-breasted merganser hąháalá' oldsquaw ddheł tox dets'énn' harlequin t'aay chox mallard tthí'k'ą̂ąy goldeneye k'éłttheel bufflehead ndêl white-winged scoter taatsą́ą' ndêl surf scoter |
dull (not sharp): it's dull LITERALLY 'it's not sharp' wuk'á' kó́l it's dull LITERALLY 'it has no edge' |
dung: |
during: during dzeen tah eetęę he sleeps during the day |
dust: ALSO glacial silt, flour |
dust devil: xaghints'eyh mâay SYN whirlwind |
dwelling: SYN house See 'house' for various kinds of dwellings. |
