Chinook Jargon Phrasebook

Shaw's English-Chinook Reference (Q-R)

NB: This page is currently being edited and annotated.  Edited sections show the Chinook Jargon words in italics, with direct translations, comments and annotations in purple.  Purple items in italics within parentheses are direct translations of Chinook words or compounds where such translations are necessary.  Where the words are shown by Shaw with their direct translated meaning, and/or are native or English loan-words that require no further comment, they are omitted from the parentheses.  In other words, if there are several items in Shaw's Chinook translation, only one or two may be translated by way of explanation within the parentheses following.  There are numerous OCR mistakes in unedited sections, and I have left intact idiosyncracies in Shaw's text (or Harper's transcription of it) - double entries, odd capitalizations, the occasional misspelling, etc.   Comments and corrections are welcome.

In working on some parts of the English-Chinook sections of the phrasebook, I have realized the divisions I have made for the Chinook-English sections do not correlate well for an easy-to-use organization for reference from English.  Until that is figured out, I am posting a direct copy of Shaw's English-Chinook Reference (as rendered by Edward Harper Thomas), which is in alphabetical form.  I am intending on having a CGI or Javascript translator system installed here in the future as well.

Shaw's usages here must be understood to reflect the state of English meanings in 1908 (Harper Thomas made no changes in his 1934 reprinting of this reference), as well as the state of the Jargon and Shaw's own context within the frame of reference of the United States and the Jargon as it was spoken there, as well as English ideom of the period.  Shaw's own cultural biases are also often evident, and many of the concepts represented seem to be English-oriented ones that he felt a need to find translations of, rather than actual Jargon usages per se.  I have therefore added comments and annotations to some of the items below, including literal renderings of some of the Chinook phrases provided in translation of English concepts; my additions are given in purple, Shaw's definitions in the regular black.  In time, I will augment this abecediary to the point where it will no longer be a simple reproduction and annotation from Shaw. 

QUAIL-(n.) illahee; kulakala.  I think the semi-colon is superfluous here by way of typographical error.  A quail is obviously an earth bird, or illahee kulakala.
QUAIL-(v.) chako kwass.  (to become afraid)  Mitlite kwass - to be afraid - would also be correct.
QUARREL-solleks wawa; tenas pight.  (angry words; little fight)  Shaw here means a verbal argument (in the former case) or a petty squabble (in the latter).
QUARREL-(v.) chako solleks; mamook pight.  (to become angry; to make fight)
QUARTER-tenas sitkum.  (little half, less than half)
QUARTER-(of a dollar) kwahta.
QUARTERLY-ikt time kopa klone moon.  (one time per three months)   The need for such a financial term in native society seems highly dubious; unless store credit may have been commonly granted on a quarterly basis.
QUARTZ-tkope stone.  (white stone)  Quartz was commonly taken as a sign of gold ore; hence tkope stone kopa pil chikamin - white stone with gold - or tkope chikamin stone - white ore -  may also have been employed.  In areas with heavy prospecting activity, such as the Bridge River district where gold-bearing quartz was the desired norm, the word quartz was probably adopted directly.
QUEEN-tyee klootchman.  (chiefly woman)  Or klootchman tyee.  One meaning might mean more the consort of a tyee (chief or king), while the other would mean a woman ruling in her own right. If I recall correctly, Queen Victoria was described as hyas klootchman tyee - great woman chief.
QUEER-huloima.  (strange, different)
QUELL, QUENCH-mamook kopet.  (to make stop)  The context here is that of a fire, or perhaps of desire.
QUESTIONS-wawa.  (words, speech).  Ask wawa would be much more specific.  Questions in the abstract sense - e.g. there are still questions - would have to be translated more directly, i.e. weght mitlite ikta halo kumtux.
QUICK, QUICKLY-hyak.
QUIET-kwann.  (calm, gentle)  The context here is more that of quiescence than of noise.
QUILLS-tepeh; kalakala yaka tupso.  (bird its hair)
QUILT-quilt, tzum paseesie.  (spotted cloth, marked cloth)
QUILT-kopet.
QUIVER-stick kalitan lesak.
QUORUM-elip sitkum.  (first half, before halfway)  That is, the part of a group that is present.

RABID-hyas solleks.  (very angry)  Shaw's translation does not carry the connotation of disease, which might better be conveyed by sick solleks or solleks kopa sick.
RABBLE-cultus tillikums.  (worthless people, ordinary people)
RABBIT-kwitshadie; kwitshoddle.  I think the latter is a typographical error; the word should be kwitshoddie.
RACE-hyak cooley.  (fast run, run quickly)  I think Shaw's intent here is verbal - to race as in to go swiftly.  A race as a competitive event might better be put as cooley hee-hee - running game, running for fun.
RACE HORSE-cooley kuitan; kuitan yaka kumtux cooley.  (running horse; horse it knows running)
RAGGED-iktas yaka kokshut.  (clothing in tatters, lit. things they are broken in pieces, things smashed)  The word oleman is also used for the context of worn-out and decrepit.
RAIN-snass.  Makah was the preferred word for rain in some areas.
RAISE-mamook saghalie.  (to make above)
RAINY-hiyu snass.  (lots of rain, much rain)
RAKE-comb kopa illahee  (comb for land)  Shaw's sense here is that of the noun; to rake would be mamook comb kopa illahee.
RAMBLE-cultus cooley.  (idle running, meaningless travel)  Shaw's sense here is of wide-ranging movement, as opposed to ambling or wandering, which would be cultus klatawa.
RANCH-illahee; ranch.
RAP-mamook kokshut; koko.  (to make a hit; to knock)  The milder of these two terms is koko, which is what one would customarily do, for example, on a door.  The former phrase denotes a much more violent action, as if hammering on a door aggressively.
RAPE-kapswalla klootchman.  (to steal a woman)  Context here is important; this phrase can also mean a woman thief.  Klootchman kapswalla is more verbal, and would tend to mean the woman steals or the woman is a thief.
RAPID-hyak.
RAPIDS-skookum chuck; cooley chuck.  (big water, strong water; running water)  Skookumchuck occurs as a placename in three separate locations in British Columbia - one for a huge salt-water rapid at the outlet of Sechelt Inlet, another for a rapids on the Lillooet River south of Pemberton, and another on the upper Columbia south of Golden BC in the Rocky Mountain Trench.
RARE-wake hiyu.  (not many)
RASCAL-mesachie tillikum.  (bad person, evil person)
RASH-hyas file; hyas lalim.  Either this is a typographical error, or Shaw is using rash to describe a tool named in modern English as a rasp.  The terms given here do not describe a rash on the skin, which would be somthing like sick kopa skin.
RASPBERRIES-seapho olallie; itlawa.  (hat berries)  The context of hat berry comes from the shape of the raspberry in its detached state - like a cap.  There are numerous kinds of raspberry-like plants in the Northwest; itlawa may refer specifically to one of these rather than to the domesticated variety or similar species such as the salmonberry or thimbleberry.
RAT-hyas hoolhool; colecole.  Colecole appears to be a variant prononciation of hoolhool.  Hyas hoolhool here distinguishes this animal from tenas hoolhool - mouse.
RATHER-elip ticky.  (first want, before want)
RATTLE-shugh (shake).
RATTLESNAKE-shugh opoots; shek opoots.  (shake on tail)
RAVE-chako clazy.  (to become crazy)  This seems to only one of several options, which would include pelton and lemolo as components.  To rave verbally would be mamook clazy wawa or hiyu pelton wawa or something of the kind.
RAVEN-kaka, (caw caw).  Kahkah is normally only a crow; hyas kahkah seems more appropriate for a raven.
RAW-wake yaka piah; halo piah.  (not it cooked; without fire)
RAZOR, KNIFE-opitsah.
RAZOR FISH-ona.
REACH-ko; iskum; mamook; kwotl. Each of these has its own context, dependent on various ideoms.
READ, REALLY-delate.   The first English word is a typographical error; REAL was intended.  Delate means correct, true, straight, genuine, direct.
REAP-mamook cut.  (to make cut)
REAR-kimta.  (behind, after)  The sense of rear as in rear-end or a person's behind is rendered by opoots.
REASON-(v.) mamook tumtum.  (to make think, to do thinking)
REASON-(what) (n.) pe kahta.  (and how)
REASSEMBLE-wegt klatawa.  (again go)  Weght klatawa kunamoxt would be more specific to the context of a group or a joining.
REASSERT-wegt wawa.  (again say)
REBEL, REBELLION-pight kopa tyee.  (fight against chief, fight against authority)  It is worth noting that rebel here is translated only as a verb; the noun would be something like man yaka pight kopa tyee.  The term lemolo might also be suitable, especially in the case of natives.
REBUILD-wegt mamoon house.  Mamoon obviously is a typographical error, mamook being intended.  The context here specifically has to do with rebuilding a house.  Other nouns may be substituted for house depending on the context.
REBUKE-skookum wawa.  (strong words)
RECALL-weght wawa.  (again words)  Shaw later gives klap tumtum for both to recall and to remember after being forgotten.  I think here, with weght wawa, he means recall in the sense of saying something over again.
RECEDE-killapie.  (to turn, to turn over, to reverse)  Shaw's context here is apparently that of the tide, or of rising waters, as in a flood.
RECEIVE-iskum.
RECENT-chee.
RECKON-mamook tumtum.  (to make thought, to do thinking)
RECLINE-mitlite.  Mitlite, as well as meaning to be or to stay or to rest, is also used for to sit, to lie down, and here for to recline.
RECOGNIZE-kumtux.  (know, understand)  Kumtux nanitch or a similar compound would convey a directly visual sense, rather than only an abstract one.
RECOLLECT-klap tumtum.  (to find a thought)  Shaw elsewhere clarifies this to refer to remembering something that had been forgotten, rather than remembrance in a more general sense.
RECOMMEND-wawa kloshe.  (say good, i.e. speak good things)
RECONQUER-weght tolo.  (again win)
RECONSIDER-weght mamook tumtum.  (again make thought, again do thinking)
RECOUNT-weght wawa.  (again say)  I am not so sure that weght is needed here because of the more general sense of recount as to tell, which includes story-telling and ordinary oration, which is translated directly as wawa or mamook yiem.  Weght wawa would mean to recount something again., i.e. again tell.
RECOVER-iskum.
RECREATION-kloshe time.  (good time)  Hee-hee is given elsewhere for games and fun, so hee-hee time would also be appropriate, if not hee-hee by itself.
RECUMBRENT-mitlite.  This is either archaic or a typographical error; in modern English this would be recumbent.  Mitlite, as well as meaning to be or to stay or to rest, is also used for to sit, to lie down, and here for to recline.
RED-pil.
REDDEN-pilpil. This also means blood.  Mamook pil or mamook pilpil would be more specific to the meaning of to make something red.
REDDISH-wake siah pil; kahkwa pil.  (not far from red; like red)
RED HOT-hyas waum pe chako pil.  (very warm and becoming red)
REDUCE-mamook keekwulee.  (to make below)  I think Shaw's context here is reduce in stature (i.e. rank) rather than reduce in size, which would seem to better be mamook tenas.
RE-EMBARK-weght klatawa kopa boat.  (again go by boat)  Shaw's meaning here seems to be that of continuing on a journey, as if after a night's rest on shore.
RE-ENTER-weght klatawa kopa house.  (again go into the house)
REFINE-mamook delate kloshe.  (to make truly good)
REFORM-chako kloshe.  (to become good)
REFRESH-chako chee. (to become new)
REFUND-killapie dolla. (return dollar, to return money)
REFUSE-(n.) cultus ikta.  (worthless thing)  Cultus iktas - worthless stuff, worthless belongings - would also be correct.
REFUSE-(v.) wawa halo; (if unobligingly) mamook kwish.  (say no; to make 'yuck')  Kwish is a derisive negative, an expression of displeasure or distaste; I have rendered it as 'yuck', which is as close as anything to the meaning intended.  An expression of refusal would simply be kwish by itself, said with emphasis.  Mamook kwish here refers to the act of refusal, rather than being what one would say in refusing.
REGRET-sick tumtum.  (sick feel, to feel unwell)  Sick tumtum is also used to refer to grief and grieving and other negative feelings.
REGULAR-kwonesum kahkwa. (always as, forever like that)
REJECT-mahsh.  (to throw away, to turn out, to let go)
REJOICE-youtl tumtum.  (proud feel, glad feel)  Klee tumtum also seems appropriate, although it would not have the same connotation of pride as meant by youtl.  Youtl tumtum might also be well-translated as to exult.
RELATE, TO-yiem; wawa.
RELATION, RELATIVE-tillikum. (people, persons)  Tillikum has a wide range of meaning, from nation to kindred to people in general.
RELEASE-mahsh; mahsh kow.  (to let go, to put out; to let go a tying, to untie)
RELIABLE-kloshe; halo nika kwass kopa yaka.  (good; I am not afraid of it)  The second translation here means that the person speaking can be counted on, i.e. that one is not afraid of what one is asked to do.
RELIEF-help.  Modern ideoms using relief would not be well-served by using help, e.g. whew, that's a relief! etc.  Shaw here means relief in its period sense - to come to the relief of, or her presence was a relief, although the Chinook help does not contain the sense of alleviating tension or burden implied by relief.
RELIEVE-mamook help; potlatch help.  (to do relief; to give relief)  See previous.
RELIGION-saghalie tyee yaka wawa.  (God his word)  By religion here, Shaw of course only means Christianity as a belief and an institution; the more abstract meanings of religion in general would have to be explained at length.
RELISH-kloshe kopa lapush. (good in the mouth)  I am unsure of the context here; to relish in modern English means to enjoy the taste of something, or to enjoy the act of eating.  Relish as a noun, of course, is a condiment, and did in those days as well.  Shaw's translation here must be meant to be part of an extended phrase; what he gives here essentially means tastes good.
REMAIN-mitlite. (to be, to stay, to rest)  Shaw here means to stay at someplace, rather than the sense meant by what remains, i.e. what is left over.
REMAINDER-(what) kunsih mitlite. (how many are there)
REMAINDER-(this is) okoke mitlite.  (this is what there is)
REMARRY-weght malieh. (again marry)  This may seem a strange expression to have been in use before the days when divorce was common, but in frontier times many couple had been married "according to the custom of the country", meaning either a native gift-giving potlatch marriage ceremony or the simple act of cohabitation.  Couples who converted, or who wished to have their conjugal and/or domestic relationships legitimized, would re-marry in a church or civil ceremony.  Many settlers in particular had native wives that they later disowned in favour of imported white brides; also, a significant proportion of the women in frontier times had been prostitutes or otherwise determinedly single, and these may have had regular relationships that they later wished to make socially acceptable.  Re-marriage, of course, was also a requisite for people who had been widowed, the mortality rate for both women and men on the frontier having been quite high.
REMEDY-(n.) kloshe lametsin.  (good medicine)
REMEDY-(v.) mamook kloshe.  (to make good, to make well)  This compound was used to mean to fix and to repair as well as to heal and to do good works.
REMEMBER-(not to forget) mitlite kopa tumtum; wake kopet kumtux. (to be in the head, to be in the heart; to not stop knowing)
REMEMBER-(to remember after being forgotten) klep tumtum.  (to find a thouight, to find a feeling)  Klep is also commonly speeled klap.
REMIT-mahsh.  (to let go, to put out, to discharge)  This context of mahsh was used in commerce, as in mahsh dolla - to pay for something, as in to cough up the dough.  The temr mamook pay would more refer to payment of wages than to payment for a purchase or service.
REMORSE-sick tumtum.  (sick feel, to feel unwell)  Sick tumtum is also used to refer to grief and grieving and other negative feelings.
REMOTE-siah.  (far, far away)  The context here is purely that of distance and location.  In a context like the chance is remote the word tenas would more properly be used.
REMOUNT-weght klatawa saghalie.  (again go up, again go above)  The context here does not seem to be that of horseback, which would simply be weght kopa kuitan or weght kopa cayoosh.  Rather, Shaw seems to be meaning going up a mountain or on to a platform.
REMOVE-mahsh lolo. (to let go of a burden, to put down something carried)  Shaw's context here seems quite specific to carried goods.  The context of removing something from a place would, I think, better be translated by iskum - to take.
REND-mamook kokshut.  (to make asunder, to make into pieces)
RENEW-mamook chee. (to make new)  The compound mamook kloshe is also used to mean to fix or to repair.
RENOWN-hyas kloshe nem.  (great good name, very good reputation)
REPAIR-mamook kloshe. (to make good, to make well)  This compound was used to mean to fix and to remedy as well as to heal and to do good works.
REPEAL-mamook halo.  (to make not, i.e. to undo)  Mamook kilapie seems also appropriate, is in to overturn a law.
REPEAT-weght wawa.  (again say, again speak)
REPLY-killapie wawa.  (return words, return speech)
REPROVE-potlatch skookum wawa.  (to give strong words)
RESIDE-mitlite.  (to be, to rest, to stay at)  Among mitlite's many connotations was that of residence, to live somewhere.
RESOLUTE-skookum tumtum.  (strong thought, strong feeling, i.e. strong intentions)
RESOLVE-mamook tumtum.  (to make a thought, to do a feeling)  This could be emphasized by further compounding mamook skookum tumtum.
REST-cultus mitlite. (worthless staying, meaningless being-at)  Mitlite could simply be used by itself in this same context; Shaw's emphasis here is on idle rest, or taking it easy.
RESTAURANT-muckamuck house. (food house, dinner house)  This could also mean cookshack.
RETREAT-(v.), RETURN, REVERSE-killapie.
REVIEW-mamook tumtum. (to do thinking)  Shaw here means to think something over; I do not know why he did not put it as weght mamook tumtum.  Mamook tumtum can have a wide range of meaning, including to resolve, to decide something, to think, to have a feeling, to have an intention, and so on. To review troops might be nanitch sojers, although this can also mean simply look at the soldiers or I see soldiers.
REVIVE-wind killapie; killapie wind. (breath return; return breath)  Wind, in its meaning of breath, meant also that something was alive.
RIBBON-le loba.  Like other similar French loan-words, this is pronounced with the accent on the last syllable, as in the French le ruban.
RICE-lice.
RICH-halo klahowya; mitlite hiyu iktas pe dolla.  (not miserable; has a lot of things and money)
RID-(get rid of) mahsh. (to throw away, to put out, to eject)
RIDE-klatawa kope kuitan or chikchik. (go by horse; go by wagon)  Kope is a misprint; the intended word is kopa.  Shaw here of course means that the word chikchik is to be substituted where kuitan is in the given phrase.
RIDICULE-(n.) shem; heehee. (shame; joke, laughter)
RIDICULE-(v.) mamook shem; mamook heehee. (to make shame, to shame; to make a joke of, to make fun of)
RIFLE-callipeen.
RIGHT-kloshe. Shaw here means the right side of something, as well as the sense of what is right, as in justice or goodness.  The sense of that is right, i.e. correct or true, however, can also be conveyed by delate.
RIGHT HAND-kloshe lemah. (good hand)
RING-keweokweo.  This appears to be a misprint; the normal spelling is kweokweo.
RING THE BELL-mamook tintin. (to make the bell, to do the bell, to make the bell-sound)
RIPE-piah.  Piah directly meant fire, but was also used to mean cooked and ripe.  The latter meaning comes from - I think - piah lapome - fire-apple, i.e. a ripe apple or piah olallie - red berries, i.e. ripe berries.  Only certain other fruits and crops would have needed the meaning of ripe, and only a few of these (pears, corn) would not have been red or a similar fiery colour upon ripeness.
RIPEN-chako piah. (to become fiery, to become fiery-coloured)  See previous.
RISE, GET UP-mitwhit. (to stand, to stand up)  The context here seems to be that of getting up from sitting or otherwise resting.  The sense of getting up from sleep was more directly put as get-up or mamook get-up.
RISK-cultus kopa nika; (I will risk it) halo nika kwass. (worthless to me, i.e. there is no profit in it for me; I am not afraid)  By the second, Shaw means that the speaker is willing to take the risk.
RIVER-chuck; cooley chuck; liver. (water, running water)
ROAD-ooahut; way hut.
ROAM-klatawa kah. (to go wherever)
ROAST-mamook la pellah; mamook piah; mamook cook. (to make roasted; to make cooked, to make fire; to make cook)
ROB-kapswalla.
ROBIN-pil koaten. (red breast, red belly)  Koaten here appears to be an alternate rendering of yakwahtin, meaning belly, chest, or stomach.
ROCK, STONE-hyas stone. (very stone, mighty stone)  Stone was often used by itself for this meaning; here Shaw seems to mean re-emphasizing it is stone or rock being described, rather than bone or another one of the possible meanings for stone.
ROCKY-hiyu stone mitlite. (there are many stones, much rocks there are)
ROE-(of fish) pish eggs; pish lesep. (fish eggs)
ROLL-killapie. (to turn over, to revolve)
ROOT-stick keekwulee kopa illahee. (tree beneath the ground, tree beneath within earth)
ROPE-lope.
ROSE-(n.) kloshe tupso. (good grass)  This expression was used for all flowers.
ROSIN-lagome; kull lagome. (pitch, hard pitch)  Rosin was probably most well-known, especially to natives, for its use on fiddle-bows.
ROT-chako lotten. (to become rotten)  Obviously chako poolie could also have been used.  To let rot would have been mamook poolie or mamook lotten.
ROTTEN-poolie; lotten.
ROUND-lolo; lowullo; (whole; the entire of anything).
ROVE-cultus kaltawa; cultus cooley.  (idle going, idle running)  That is, to travel without any particular destination.  Kaltawa is a imsprint for klatawa.
ROW-(v.) mamook lalahm. (to use the oars, to make with the oars)
ROWER-man yaka kumtux mamook lalahm.  (man he knows using oars)
RUBBER COAT-snass coat. (rain coat)
RUDDER-boat opoots; ludder.  (rear-end of a boat)
RUDE-cultus. (worthless, ordinary, common)  Cultus in this sense would seem to have meant someone whose manners made them worthless, or whose acts served no good purpose.  I do not think Shaw meant rude here in the sense of crude or roughly-built.
RUIN-mamook halo. (to make nothing, i.e. to make into nothing, to undo)  Mamook kokshut - to break asunder, to destroy - also seems appropriate.  The adjectival sense here might be best conveyed by hyas oleman, as in hyas oleman house - a ruined house.
RUM-lum; whiskey.  Either word was used for alcohol in general.
RUMOR-cultus wawa. (worthless talk)
RUN-hyak cooley.
RUN AWAY-kapswalla klatawa.  (steal go, sneakily travel)  The context here is definitely that of escaping, especially from captivity or slavery.
RUPTURE-kokshut.
RUST-pil ikta kopa chikamin. (red stuff on metal)