To say “my name is Madina” in Circassian: Сэ си цIэр Мадинэщ. in Kabardian and Сэ сцIэр Мадинэ. in Adyghe. To ask “what’s your name?”: Хэт уэ уи цIэр? in Kabardian, УицIэр сыд? in Adyghe.
What’s your name? My name is…
Lesson 3 of the Circassian app’s audio course is all about names. The word for name is the same in both dialects, цIэ. As the course puts it, in real life your own name goes where Madina’s is.
Look at how “your” and “my” change the sentence. In Kabardian, the course points to the little word before “name”: уи in the question, си in the answer. In Adyghe the word for name itself begins differently: уицIэр, your name, and сцIэр, my name. One more difference you can see in the course’s lines: the Kabardian sentence ends the name with -щ (Сэ си цIэр Мадинэщ), the Adyghe sentence leaves it bare (Сэ сцIэр Мадинэ).
His name, her name
| English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| what’s his name? | Хэт абы и цIэр?Khet aby i ts'er? | Ащ ыцIэр сыд?Ashch yts'er syd? |
| his name is Aslan | Абы и цIэр Асланщ.Aby i ts'er aslanshch. | Ащ ыцIэр Аслъан.Ashch yts'er aslhan. |
| he is my friend | Ар си ныбжьэгъущ.Ar si nybzheghwshch. | Ар синыбджэгъу.Ar sinybdzheghw. |
| pleased to meet you | УкъызэрысцIыхуар си гуапэщ.Uqyzerysts'ykhwar si gwapeshch. | Сигуапэ хъугъэ.Sigwape khwghe. |
| where are you from? | Дэнэ ущыщ?Dene ushchyshch? | Тыдэ укъикIырэ?Tyde uqik'yre? |
| I’m from Turkey | Сэ Тыркум сыщыщ.Se tyrkum syshchyshch. | Сэ Тыркуем сыкъекIы.Se tyrkuyem syqyek'y. |
Once names are exchanged, the course says, comes the polite line: “pleased to meet you”. The Kabardian one ends in си гуапэщ; the Kabardian dictionary in the app gives гуапэ as “pleasant, warm”.
The whole introduction, as one conversation
Lesson 30 retells the course’s story from the start. Its first lines are a complete introduction: hello, are you Circassian, what’s your name, where are you from. Tap a line to hear it.
Kabardian · lesson 30
Adyghe · lesson 30
Looking for a Circassian name rather than how to say yours? See Circassian names and their meanings.
More Circassian phrases
Each page has both dialects with audio. The Circassian phrasebook puts them all on one page, and how to say it in Circassian has the most-searched words.
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My name is in Circassian: questions
How do you say my name is in Circassian?
In Kabardian Сэ си цIэр Мадинэщ. (“my name is Madina”), in Adyghe Сэ сцIэр Мадинэ. Put your own name where Madina is.
How do you ask what is your name in Circassian?
Хэт уэ уи цIэр? in Kabardian and УицIэр сыд? in Adyghe.
How do you say nice to meet you in Circassian?
УкъызэрысцIыхуар си гуапэщ. in Kabardian and Сигуапэ хъугъэ. in Adyghe.
What is the Circassian word for name?
цIэ It is the same in Kabardian and Adyghe.
How do you say where are you from in Circassian?
Дэнэ ущыщ? in Kabardian and Тыдэ укъикIырэ? in Adyghe.
Sources
- Circassian App audio course (Beginner), Kabardian lessons 3, 5, 11 and 30; Adyghe lessons 3, 5, 11 and 30. Each lesson’s script was reviewed by a native speaker of its dialect before the course was made; the audio on this page is the app’s own.
- M.L. Apazhev, Dzh.N. Kokov, Kabardino-cherkessko-russky slovar (Kabardino-Cherkess–Russian Dictionary), Nalchik: Elbrus, 2008, the Kabardian dictionary built into the app’s Translate screen: гуапэ (p. 57).
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