The Circassian coat, the cherkeska, is цей in Kabardian and цые in Adyghe; shoes are вакъэ and цуакъэ.
The Circassian app’s “Clothing” unit mixes everyday words with the traditional dress, and the two dialects, Kabardian (East Circassian) and Adyghe (West Circassian), share several of them. The story of the dress itself is in the Circassian clothing guide.
Every word here is a word the app teaches, checked against a second source: the Kabardian–Russian dictionary (Apazhev and Kokov, 2008), the app’s Adyghe dictionary, the app’s audio course (its scripts were reviewed by a native speaker of each dialect) or the Kabardian and Adyghe Wikipedias. A word that could not be checked this way is not on the page.
Clothes in Kabardian and Adyghe
Kabardian (East Circassian) is on the left, Adyghe (West Circassian) on the right. Tap the speaker button to hear a word: the audio is the app’s own, the same as in its lessons. The Latin line under each word is the app’s spelling.
| In English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| Circassian coat (cherkeska) | цейtsey | цыеtsəye |
| hat | пыIэpy'e | паIоpa'o |
| shoes | вакъэvaqe | цуакъэtswaqe |
| shirt | джанэdzhane | – |
| belt | бгырыпхbgyrypkh | бгырыпхbgərəpkh |
| ring | Iэлъын'elyn | Iэлъын'elhən |
| thread | Iуданэ'udane | Iудан'udan |
| wool | цыtsy | цыtsə |
An empty cell means no second source confirmed the app’s word there; “Good to know” says why.
The words on this page are from the “Clothing” unit (Section 5, Daily Life) in the Circassian app’s Kabardian and Adyghe courses. The lessons teach them with audio and short quizzes, and bring back the ones you miss sooner.
In a sentence
These sentences are from the app’s audio course, with the course’s own translation. Its scripts were reviewed by a native speaker of each dialect.
I need shoes
Good to know
Cloth and coat. In the Kabardian–Russian dictionary, цей is first “homespun cloth” and then “cherkeska”, the Circassian coat (p. 555).
The shirt in Adyghe. The Adyghe lesson word for shirt is not in the table: there is no entry for it in the app’s Adyghe dictionary, so it waits for a native speaker’s check.
Test yourself
Five questions with this page’s words. Pick a dialect, then choose the right word.
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In the app, questions like these are in every lesson, and the words you get wrong come back for review sooner.
More Circassian words by topic
Questions
What is the cherkeska called in Circassian?
цей in Kabardian and цые in Adyghe.
How do you say “I need shoes”?
Вакъэ сыхуейщ. in Kabardian and Цуакъэ сыфай. in Adyghe, as the app’s audio course says it.
How do you say hat and belt?
Hat is пыIэ in Kabardian and паIо in Adyghe; belt is бгырыпх in both.
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Sources
- Circassian App lessons, Kabardian and Adyghe courses (October 2026), units: Clothing.
- Circassian App audio course (Beginner), Kabardian lessons 23, 24, 28, 29 and 30; Adyghe lessons 23, 24, 28, 29 and 30. Each lesson’s script was reviewed by a native speaker of its dialect before the course was recorded; the translations are the course’s own.
- M.L. Apazhev, Dzh.N. Kokov, Kabardino-cherkessko-russky slovar (Kabardino-Cherkess–Russian Dictionary), Nalchik: Elbrus, 2008, the Kabardian dictionary in the app’s Translate screen: цей (p. 555), пыIэ (p. 386), вакъэ (p. 53), джанэ (p. 92), бгырыпх (p. 37), Iэлъын (p. 639), Iуданэ (p. 650), цы (p. 555).
- Adyghe dictionary in the app’s Translate screen (3,499 entries, from dovlet.info): паIо, цуакъэ, бгырыпх, Iэлъын, Iудан, цы.
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