Chinook Jargon - Adjectives & Adverbs

Kloshe, kloosh, klosh, close, cloos, tloos good, correct, right, healthy Hyas kloshe - very good. Elip kloshe - best, the best. Kloshe lemah - the right hand ("the good hand") NB Mamook kloshe - fix it, it's fixed, make it better, doing OK, to make feel good, heal. Chako kloshe - to become healed, to feel better, to become good Kloshe nanitch - stand guard, stand watch, used as an envoi/parting blessing, i.e. 'watch well"	Cultus bad, broken, worthless, unreliable, meaningless, dishonest In reply to a question such as "what do you want?" or "what are you thinking?", cultus would simply mean "nothing" or "it doesn't matter". Cultus is not associated with the malice implicit in mesachie, nor with the supernatural potency of tamanass, and is more of a "benign negative" as opposed to "implicitly evil". Cultus is the usual opposite of kloshe, and is perhaps the most common and widespread of the words for "bad" (which include mesachie, peshak and tamanass) See Cultus Compounds in the Verbs & Concepts page for an exploration of the many possible meanings of this common word. NB Cultus whiteman - shiftless whiteman, dishonest whiteman, "white bastard"	Mesachie bad, evil, nasty, dangerous, malicious NB Mesachie wind - gale, storm, bad weather

Skookum Big, mighty, strong, true, genuine, solid, able NB Skookum tumtum - brave, courageous, bold Skookumchuck - rapids, "strong water" Also used as a very auxiliary meaning "to be able" Yaka skookum mamook kloshe - he can fix (it). Skookum is the most common and popular Chinook word and still in popular use in British Columbia and the Yukon. Modern usages: "That's skookum" in reference to a constructed object or a piece of work well done. "He's skookum" can refer to a person's size, but also to their reliability or honesty even more than to their physical strength. "Doughty" is a possible translation of this sense. "Looks pretty skookum" means something looks solid or indestructible, or extremely durable and reliable. By itself, "Skookum!!" means "like, like, really good, awesome, man!." Also may refer to a demon, evil spirit, or ghost; in one part of central Washington the skookum was a sasquatch-like creature with a large single spur on its toe; in the Grand Ronde Chinuk-wawa creole, this meaning of "monster" is pronounced skoo-KOOM (the 'k' in Grand Ronde is unaspirated and sounds to English ears more like a 'g'; Grand Ronde pronunciation of the "strong" meaning tends to be SKOO-koom rather than Skoo-kum as is more common elsewhere).	Peshak, pishak bad, naughty Peshak tenas would tend to mean "naughty child" whereas mesachie tenas would more mean "evil child".	Tamanass, tamahnous, tamanawaz, tamahnawis bad, evil, black magic, spirits An invective level one step higher than mesachie, when used to mean "bad", but mesachie's already pretty bad. Tamanass, though, also has a general (and potentially benign) meaning associated with magic or the supernatural that need not convey evil or malice, whereas mesachie has no such supernatural context and is always evil or malicious. NB Tamanass man, Tamanawaz man medicine man, Indian doctor, wizard Tamanass whiteman - damned whiteman, devilish whiteman Tamanass wind - preternaturally big wind, very bad storm

Hyas big, great, mighty, large, auspicious, powerful, important Also "very" or "very well", in which case it usually comes in front of the phrase or word it is modifying: hyas yaka mamook wawa Chinook lalang he can speak Chinook very well. Hyas Tyee - high chief, big boss, king, Hyas kloshe - very good	Tenas small, few, lesser, or the young of any animal Note syntax of Moxt naika tenas I have two children, I have two small ones (of anything). Tenas hiyu - some, a few Tenas sitkum - a quarter of something ("small half") Tenas wind - breeze, light wind	Hiyu, hiu, hyiu many, lots, a multitude, enough (to go around), plenty, also can mean a party or gathering Gibbs and Shaw note that Jewitt gives hyo as meaning "ten" in the early Jargon used at Nootka Sound. Some Jargon scholars believe that hyas and hiyu share the same origin and only one or the other may have been known/used in certain areas/periods Tenas hiyu - some, a few Wake hiyu - not many, not much.

Hyak fast, quickly, swift NB also a command, as in "hurry up!". NB Kiuatan yaka kumtux cooley fast horse, race horse (horse he knows how to run) In the Fraser Canyon "holaporte" was heard to mean "hurry!"; it comes from "all aboard".

Klah, klak open, wide, visible, free, free from, clear, clear from, in sight, in sight of Anderson (1842) gives the original meaning of klah as "to open out or appear", i.e. as a verb. In later times this meaning was rendered by halakl	Klahwa slow, slowly May have an etymology related to klah., i.e. perhaps from klah yahwa -" it's in the open there" i.e. be careful, or perhaps easy going	Klahanie, Klaghanie out of doors, out, without, outside Mamook klaghanie okook - put that outside. Klatawa klahanie - to go outside. There was for many years on CBC Television a show whose title was Klahanie; it was about "the great outdoors", also implying "roaming around the country". "Without" above is a 19th Century English word found in the lexicons; not to be confused with the modern meaning of same. NB Inside - Inside

Laplash broad, open This word also means a wooden plank or board, from Fr. la planche. The meaning above possibly comes from Fr. la plage - the beach.	Klukulh, klakalh broad, wide, as of a board or plank NB - halakl - to open, to make open	Delate, dret straight, direct, truly From French droit and/or Norman drette. Often used to mean "very" or "truly", e.g. dret kloosh - really good, right on

Kiwa, keewah crooked, not straight, bent	Klook crooked Klook teahwhit - broken legged, lame	Hunlkih curled or curly, knotted, crooked

Katsuk middle, in the middle of NB distinct from kokshut - smashed, broken	Mahtlwillie inshore On land, means "towards the woods" or "the interior". As a command, means "get in" (in boating).	Mahtlinnie offshore On land, means "towards the water". As a command, means "keep off" (in boating).

Lowullo, lolo, lo'lo, lu'lu round, whole, the entire of anything Lolo sapoleel - whole wheat. The apostrophe in the third spelling is a glottal stop, as is probably also the intention of the 'w' in the first, most widely published spelling. Lo'lo, or lu'lu in Grand Ronde spelling, is used in Oregon to mean a gathering, i.e. "a circle" (of people) NB distinction from a similar word lolo meaning "to carry, to haul, to load" NB Konaway or kanawe means "everything" and would refer to "all of something" in areas where lo'lo was unknown. e.g. Konaway tillikums - all people	Sitkum half, half of something, part of something Sitkum Siwash - halfbreed Tenas sitkum - quarter, a small part of something

Elip - first, in front of, more	Kimtah - behind, after The distinction between kimtah and opoots is that kimtah has the sense of following something; opoots is at the back of something, or the backside of something.	Opoots - behind, in rear of The distinction between kimtah and opoots is that kimtah has the sense of following something; opoots is at the back of something, or the backside of something.

Keekwullie, keekwillie, kickwillie, keewulee, quiggly below, under When this word is commonly heard in modern Interior BC English in reference to a traditional pithouse or its remains - a kickwillie hole - it's generally pronounced "quiggly"	Sagalie, saghalie, sockally above, over, on top, high. Saghalie Tyee - God, the Great Spirit Saghalie Illahee - Heaven Also means "sky", "heaven", and "sacred"; originally only mean "up" or "high"	Latet, latate on top of, the top of something, i.e. used as in French - "the head of something". The distinction between saghalie and latet, when used as an adjective, is that saghalie means "above" - over something, or higher than - whereas latet means the top surface or part of something.

Klip deep, sunken Klip chuck - deep water. Klip sun - sunset.	Ipsoot hidden (also "to hide") NB difference from Itswoot - bear	Siah far, a long ways NB siah-siah very far The Nootka source-word meant "sky" - "the far beyond".

Pitlilh, pitlhil thick in consistency, as molasses	Pchih, pit-chih thin in dimension, as a board	Pewhattie thin, like paper

Pahtl, pottle full (possibly originally from "bottle") Pahtl chuck - wet. Pahtl illahee - dirty. Mamook pahtl - to fill. NB Pahtlum, pahtl lum - drunk ("full of rum")	Wagh empty Also means "to pour out", esp. as mamook wagh. See other meanings of wagh in Verbs & Concepts. NB - weght means more or also; an important distinction from wagh.	Dly, dely dry, thirsty Also halo chuck - "without water", "need water".

Chee lately, new. Cheechako - newcomer, tenderfoot Hyas chee - entirely new, immediately new/recent, i.e. "just now". Mamook chee - make like new; chee mamook - newly done	Oleman, oloman old man, old (as adj.), worn out. NB mamook oleman - to wear out Used as an adjective for "old" for objects and male animals, e.g. hyas oleman kiuatan - a very old horse. Concerning objects,it is used in the sense of being "worn out", rather than in terms of age or provenance. The alternate spelling of this word suggests that it may come from "hungry man" - olo man, as elderly natives were often destitute in hunter-gatherer societies and dependent on others for their food.	Lammieh, lummi, lummieh - old woman Could be used as an an adjective for "old" for female animals, e.g. hyas lummi kiuatan - a very old mare, although hyas oleman klootchman kiuatan may have been more likely a construction.


Waum warm Waum illahee - summer, south See Time and the Elements.	Cole cold Cole Illahee - winter, north See Time and the Elements.	Piah hot, cooked, ripe

Towagh bright, shining, light		Toketie pretty Not in wide use, according to Gibbs/Shaw. Since it was of Kalapuya origin, its usage was based in the Williamette region.

Klee happy, happiness, laughing (from Engl. "glee") Possibly root of artist Emily Carr's epithe "Kleewyck" Klee Whit ("laughing one"), but there is a separate Nootka etymology for same.	Kwann, Kwal happy, glad Can be used for tame or broken, as in a horse or other animal. Kwal was used in Nisqually for tame. Kwann can also mean calm, quiet.	Youtl, Utle proud, pleased, spirited (of a horse) Hyas youtl yakka tumtum - "his heart is very glad" or "he is very full of himself". Kwetlh was also used (Chehalis region). Skookum tumtum also meant "brave"

	Kwass fraid, fear, tame Mamook kwass - to frighten, to tame. Kwass tumtum - cowardly, fearful.

Solleks angry	Lemolo wild, crazy Lemolo kiuatan - wild horse, mustang	Pelton crazy, foolish The sense here is not dangerous, as may be with lemolo, but hapless; imbecilic



Kull hard in substance, hard to do, difficult Kull stick - oak ("hard wood")	Stone hard (lit. like a rock) NB difficulty is expressed by kull Also means testicles, or manly: Stone kiuatan - stallion Note that the name of the southern branch of the Chilcotin people is the "Stone Chilcotin" or "Stoney Chilcotin", perhaps from their fierceness and resistance to colonial incursion, and/or the hardness of their life in one of the toughest parts of the Chilcotin Plateau.	Klimmin soft, fine in substance, smooth Klimmin-klimmin - the diminutive (very fine). Klimmin polallie - fine flour. Klimmin illahie - mud, soft ground, a swamp. Mamook klimmin - to soften as by dressing a skin, or to soften up one's resolve or to make someone lie or to make a lie. Klimmin can also mean a lie, and kliminawhit means a liar ("smooth one") or a lie.

Kahkwa like, similar to, equal with, as; used in many constructions to form adjectives and adverbs, and sometimes nouns e.g. Kahkwa kamooks - beastly, like a dog.	Man male Man moos-moos - bull Man kiuatan - stallion	Klootchman female, a woman Normally a noun, klootchman can be used as an adjective: Klootchman moos-moos - cow Hyas klootchman tyee - queen

Stick, stik Wooden, or to do with trees or "the bush" Stick Indian - a backwoods Indian; living in the wilds; "not civilized" (i.e. on a reserve/reservation) This word is usually a noun, but can function as an adjective, e.g. stick lashase - wooden chair (to coin an example; chairs are usually wooden so this is redundant)

Pil** red	T'kope, kope white, light-coloured	Klale, klelh, tlale, tlelh* black
Pil** red	Pechugh, petsukh, p'chugh green	Klale, klelh, tlale, tlelh* blue-black
Pil** red	Kawkawak pale green	Klale, klelh, tlale, tlelh* dark green
Pil** red	Kawkawak yellow	Klale, klelh, tlale, tlelh* shades of blue and green
Pil** red	Kawkawak yellow	Klale, klelh, tlale, tlelh* shades of blue and green
T'kope, kope white, light-coloured	T'kope, kope white, light-coloured	Klale, klelh, tlale, tlelh* shades of blue and green
T'kope, kope white, light-coloured	T'kope, kope white, light-coloured	T'kope, kope white, light-coloured
Lagley, laglee*** grey	Lagley, laglee*** grey	Lagley, laglee*** grey
The "tl"* and "kl" spellings were originally attempts at transliterating the same plosive sound, variants of which are common in native languages of both the Coast and the Interior. Essentially klale and tlale are the same pronunciation, similarly klelh and tlelh (the final l here is a fricative, like the Welsh double-l). In some dialects the kl and tl sounds can be separate, especially among non-natives where kl seems more likely as an initial tl is unfamiliar. There may be no connection, but throughout Eurasia many languages use "kara" and variants of it to mean "black" as well as any darker shade of any colour. Note that the word polaklie can also mean black, in the sense of darkness or shadow as well as night or evening. Use of klale vs. pechugh for varying colours of green is probably a matter of shade of green, just as t'kope can mean light-coloured rather than simply white. NB Pil-pil - blood. I'm only guessing here about purple and orange being termed "red"; it would depend on the shade, I'd think; some oranges might better be served by kawkawak, some more violet purples by klale. I've shown a pinkish purple here as pil, but that's only a guess. Similiarly two objects that were black and blue might be termed relatively; one klale, the other tkope or perhaps pechugh. * also means a grey horse, from fr. "le gris"
Please see the horses section of the Critters & Livestock page for colours as applied to horseflesh (mostly French loan-words).

Chinook Jargon Phrasebook

Adjectives & Adverbs

Colours

Qualities