There are several different ways in Cherokee to express the idea of “more” and “most” when talking about attributes like color or size. Here are some of these ways:

More

There are three common endings which can be used to indicate “more”:

  • -Ꭸ⁴Ꭲ
    [-ge⁴ɂi] - This is a common ending. If the word ends with “-a” the “-a” is replaced with “-ị”.

Examples:

  • ᎦᏲᏟ. “A small amount.”

    • ᎦᏲᏟᎨᎢ. “Less. A smaller amount.” - ᎦᏲᏟ + ᎨᎢ.

  • ᎦᏣᏄᎵ. “Fast.”

    • ᎦᏣᏄᎵᎨᎢ. “Faster.” - ᎦᏣᏄᎵ + ᎨᎢ.

  • ᎤᏔᎾ. “Large.”

    • ᎤᏔᏂᎨᎢ. “Larger.” - ᎤᏔᎾ + ᎨᎢ.
  • -Ꮿ, -Ᏻ
    [-ya, -yu] - This is a less common ending.

  • ᎠᏌᎹᏗ. “Smart”

    • ᎠᏌᎹᏗᏯ. “Smarter.” - ᎠᏌᎹᏗ + Ꮿ.
  • -Ꭷ
    [-ka] - This is another less common ending.

  • ᎤᏍᏗ. “Little.”

    • ᎤᏍᏗᎧ. “Littler.” - ᎤᏍᏗ + Ꭷ.

  • ᎤᎪᏗ
    [u¹go³²di] “More.” - ** Use this word before any derived forms like “ᎤᏲᏍᎬᎢ”. This word can also be used in place of the other endings in many circumstances.

    • ᎤᏟ
      [u¹dli] “More.” - This is a common variation of “ᎤᎪᏗ”.

Examples:

  • ᎤᏲᏍᎬᎢ. “He/she was hungry.”

    • ᎤᏲᏍᎬᎢ ᏩᎭᏯ. “The hungry wolf.”

    • ᎤᎪᏗ ᎤᏲᏍᎬᎢ ᏩᎭᏯ. “The more hungry wolf. The hungrier wolf.”

  • ᎤᏔᏕᎦᏅᎢ. “He/she was thirsty.”

    • ᎤᏔᏕᎦᏅᎢ ᏪᏌ. “The thirsty cat.”

    • ᎤᏟ ᎤᏔᏕᎦᏅᎢ ᏪᏌ. “The more thirsty cat. The thirstier cat.”

  • ᎤᏔᎾ ᏩᎭᏯ. “The large wolf.”

    • ᎤᎪᏗ ᎤᏔᎾ ᏩᎭᏯ. “The larger wolf. The more large wolf.”

  • ᎤᏍᏗ ᏥᏍᏆ. “The little bird.”

    • ᎤᏟ ᎤᏍᏗ ᏥᏍᏆ. “The littler bird. The more little bird.”

As there is no clear rule to determine which ending goes on which word when in doubt use either the ending “-ᎨᎢ” or the word “ᎤᎪᏗ”.

Most

The forms for “most” work much like the forms for “more”.

  • Ꮻ- + -Ꭵ⁴Ꭲ
    [wị- + -v⁴ɂi] - This is the most common form for words that do not end in “-Ꮣ”. Any original final vowel sounds are removed.

Examples:

  • ᎦᏲᏟ. “A small amount.”

    • ᏫᎦᏲᏢᎢ. “Least. Smallest amount of.”

  • ᎡᏆ. “Large.”

    • ᏪᏋᎢ. “Largest.” - Ꮻ + ᎡᏆ + ᎥᎢ.

  • ᎩᎦᎨ. “Red.”

    • ᏫᎩᎦᎬᎢ. “Reddest.” - Ꮻ + ᎩᎦᎨ + ᎥᎢ.

  • ᏗᎩᎦᎨ. “They-Red.”

    • ᏫᏗᎩᎦᎬᎢ. “They-Reddest.” - Ꮻ + Ꮧ + ᎩᎦᎨ + ᎥᎢ.

  • ᎠᏯᏄᎵ. “Fast.”

    • ᏩᏯᏄᎸᎢ. “Fastest.” - Ꮻ + ᎠᏯᏄᎵ + ᎥᎢ.

  • ᎤᎪᏗ. “More.”

    • ᏭᎪᏛᎢ. “Most.” - Ꮻ + ᎤᎪᏗ + ᎥᎢ.
  • Ꮻ- + -Ᏼ⁴Ꭲ
    [wị- + -yv⁴ɂi] - This a common form to use on words that use “-Ꮿ” to form their “more” form. The ending “-ᏴᎢ” is really “Ꮿ + ᎥᎢ”.

Example:

  • ᎠᏌᎹᏗ. “Smart”

    • ᎠᏌᎹᏗᏯ. “Smarter.” - ᎠᏍᎹᏗ + Ꮿ.

    • ᏩᏌᎹᏗᏴᎢ. “Smartest.” - Ꮻ + ᎠᏍᎹᏗ + Ꮿ + ᎥᎢ.

  • Ꮻ- + -Ꭼ⁴Ꭲ
    [wị- + -kv⁴ɂi] - This a common form to use on words that use “-Ꭷ” to form their “more” form. The ending “-ᎬᎢ” is really “Ꭷ + ᎥᎢ”.

Examples:

  • ᎤᏍᏗ. “Little.”

    • ᎤᏍᏗᎧ. “Littler.” - Ꮻ + ᎤᏍᏗ + Ꭷ

    • ᏭᏍᏗᎬᎢ. “Littlest.” - Ꮻ + ᎤᏍᏗ + Ꭷ + ᎥᎢ.

  • ᎠᏆᏍᏗ. “I-Little.”

    • ᏩᏆᏍᏗᎬᎢ. “I-Littlest.” - Ꮻ + ᎠᎩ + ᎤᏍᏗ + ᎬᎢ.
  • Ꮻ-
    [wị-] - This prefix is used by itself on many words that end in “-Ꮣ”.

Example:

  • ᎤᎧᏲᏓ. “Dry.”

    • ᏭᎧᏲᏓ. “Driest.” - Ꮻ + ᎤᎧᏲᏓ.

  • ᏭᎪᏛᎢ
    [wu¹go³²dv⁴i] “Most.” - Use this word before derived forms like “ᎤᏲᏍᎬᎢ”.

    • ᏭᏢᎢ
      [wu¹dlv⁴i] “Most.” - This is a common variation of “ᏭᎪᏛᎢ”.

Examples:

  • ᎤᏲᏍᎬᎢ. “He/she was hungry.”

    • ᎤᏲᏍᎬᎢ ᏥᏍᏚ. “A hungry rabbit.”

    • ᏭᎪᏛ ᎤᏲᏍᎬᎢ ᏥᏍᏚ. “The most hungry rabbit. The hungriest rabbit.”

  • ᎤᏔᏕᎦᏅᎢ. “He/she was thirsty.”

    • ᎤᏔᏕᎦᏅᎢ ᏩᎭᏯ. “The thirsty wolf.”

    • ᏭᏢ ᎤᏔᏕᎦᏅᎢ ᏩᎭᏯ. “The most thirsty wolf. The thirstiest wolf.”

While not as arbitrary like the “more” forms, the rules to determine which “most” form to use is not always clear, so when in doubt use the “Ꮻ- + ᎥᎢ” combination.