Definition
The plural form of berdache; multiple people who held gender-variant roles in their communities.
Etymology
Simple plural of 'berdache,' following English pluralization rules by adding '-es' to the singular form.
Kelly Says
The plural form shows how widespread this practice was—not a rare occurrence, but an established social role recognized across dozens of different tribal nations.
Translations
AMአማርኛ
berdaches
ber-da-ches
ARالعربية
berdaches
ber-da-ches
BNবাংলা
berdaches
ber-da-ches
CACatalà
berdaches
ber-da-ches
CSČeština
berdaches
ber-da-ches
DADansk
berdaches
ber-da-ches
DEDeutsch
berdaches
ber-da-ches
ELΕλληνικά
berdaches
ber-da-ches
ESEspañol
berdaches
ber-da-ches
FAفارسی
berdaches
ber-da-ches
FISuomi
berdaches
ber-da-ches
FRFrançais
berdaches
ber-da-sh
GUGU
berdaches
ber-da-ches
HAHA
berdaches
ber-da-ches
HEעברית
berdaches
ber-da-ches
HIहिन्दी
berdaches
ber-da-ches
HUMagyar
berdaches
ber-da-ches
IDBahasa Indonesia
berdaches
ber-da-ches
IGIG
berdaches
ber-da-ches
ITItaliano
berdaches
ber-da-ches
JA日本語
berdaches
ber-da-ches
KKKK
berdaches
ber-da-ches
KMKM
berdaches
ber-da-ches
KO한국어
berdaches
ber-da-ches
MRMR
berdaches
ber-da-ches
MSBahasa Melayu
berdaches
ber-da-ches
MYမြန်မာ
berdaches
ber-da-ches
NLNederlands
berdaches
ber-da-ches
NONorsk
berdaches
ber-da-ches
PAPA
berdaches
ber-da-ches
PLPolski
berdaches
ber-da-ches
PTPortuguês
berdaches
ber-da-ches
RORomână
berdaches
ber-da-ches
RUРусский
berdaches
ber-da-ches
SVSvenska
berdaches
ber-da-ches
SWKiswahili
berdaches
ber-da-ches
TAதமிழ்
berdaches
ber-da-ches
TEతెలుగు
berdaches
ber-da-ches
THไทย
berdaches
ber-da-ches
TLTL
berdaches
ber-da-ches
TRTürkçe
berdaches
ber-da-ches
UKУкраїнська
berdaches
ber-da-ches
URاردو
berdaches
ber-da-ches
VITiếng Việt
berdaches
ber-da-ches
YOYO
berdaches
ber-da-ches
ZH中文
berdaches
ber-da-ches
ZUZU
berdaches
ber-da-ches
Ethical Language Guidance
Gender History
Plural of berdache; same colonial imposition and erasure as singular form.
Inclusive Usage
Use only in historical context. Refer to Two-Spirit communities or nation-specific terminology for contemporary reference.
Inclusive Alternatives
["Two-Spirit people","gender-diverse Indigenous people"]
Empowerment Note
Two-Spirit people maintained sophisticated gender systems pre-contact; colonial archives incorrectly pathologized them.