Sequoyah’s Syllabary

ᎣᏏᏲ

Osiyo! That means “hello” in Cherokee.

In the early 1800s, a Cherokee man named Sequoyah noticed that English speakers could send messages on paper. He decided the Cherokee language should be written, too. Working for about twelve years, he created a syllabary, a writing system in which each symbol stands for a whole syllable, such as ga, ni, or tsa. He finished it around 1821.

The syllabary was so easy to learn that thousands of Cherokee people were reading and writing within a few years. In 1828, the Cherokee Nation began printing the Cherokee Phoenix, the first newspaper published by a Native nation, in both Cherokee and English.

The Syllabary Chart

Each row starts with a consonant sound, and each column ends with a vowel sound. Click any symbol to add it to the writing box below.

• a as in father
• e as in they
• i as in police
• o as in go
• u as in true
• v as in “uh,” said through the nose

Write Your Name by Sound

Break your name into syllables and click the symbols that sound closest. Cherokee has no b, f, p, r, or z sounds, so choose the nearest sound: l for r, s for z. For a sound at the end of a syllable, try the symbol Ꮝ (s) or simply leave it out. Example: Maria → ᎹᎵᎠ (ma-li-a).

This spells a name by its sounds. Cherokee names are usually their own words with their own meanings.

Decode Cherokee Words

Use the chart to sound out each word. Click a symbol to check its sound, then choose the word’s meaning.

Make a Syllabary Bookmark

1. Cut a strip of heavy paper about 2 inches wide and 7 inches long.
2. Write your name in the syllabary down the middle in large letters, with the sounds underneath in small letters.
3. On the back, write ᎣᏏᏲ (osiyo, hello) and ᏩᏙ (wado, thank you).
4. Punch a hole at the top and tie on a piece of yarn.

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