Skip to main content
The Tutsi are one of the native peoples of Rwanda, along with the Hutu and Twa. Historically, the Tutsi and Hutu were known mainly by their role; the Tutsi were mainly pastoral and usually of the nobility and the ruling class while the Hutu were more often peasant farmers, although there were Hutu rulers and Hutu and Tutsi could easily exchange roles. Hutu and Tusi share the same language and culture and intermarriage between Hutu and Tutsi is common (although a Tutsi man marrying a Hutu woman is very rare and a Hutu man marrying a Tutsi woman is quite common).

The Belgians, upon colonizing Rwanda, were taken by the (seemingly) more "European" facial features of the Tutsi (stereotypically, the Tutsi are taller and thinner, with longer, more pointed noses, straighter hair, and more angular features) and favored them over the stockier, medium-sized Hutu. Never mind that there are Hutu who look Tutsi, Tutsi who look Hutu, that many Rwandans fit neither discription and that intermarriage is common, this played a huge role in creating tension between Hutu and Tutsi... thus leading to the 1994 genocide.
By Belgian definition, a Tutsi was a person with more than ten cow and a long, pointed nose, while a Hutu was a person with less than ten cows and a broad, short nose. Discriminatory? I think so.

Tutsi were referred to by the Radio-Television des Los Mille Collines as "cockroaches," thus showing how the Hutu felt about them.
tutsi by Lorelili November 7, 2006
Words you can keep
The Tutsi are one of three native peoples of the nations of Rwanda and Burundi in central Africa, the other two being the Twa and the Hutu. The Twa (or Watwa) are a pygmy people and the original inhabitants. The Hutu (or Wahutu) are a people of Bantu origin, and since they moved into the area they dominated the Twa. Large numbers of all three were slaughtered in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994.
The Tutsi are traditionally farmers and cattle herders. Cattle are a symbol of power and wealth, and have enabled the Tutsi to dominate the agricultural Hutu. They hold virtually all positions of importance in Burundi's government and army. Hutu rebellions were brutally suppressed in 1972 and 1988, and massacres followed the assassination of the first democratically elected Hutu president of Burundi 1993. In Rwanda, bloody ethnic violence erupted 1994 after the presidents of both Rwanda and Burundi were killed in an aircrash.
tutsi by herbiewa July 13, 2006
(Noun) The Tutsi are one of the native peoples of Rwanda, along with the Hutu and Twa.

(Verb) After the 1994 genocide perpetrated by the Tutsi tribe, the verb to Tutsi something was to metaphorically massacre it.

In very poor taste, but quite funny.
"We absolutely Tutsi-ed them 5-0 today." = "We absolutely stuffed them 5-0."
tutsi by soyabant December 13, 2008

Tutsi-ed all up and down 

To be hacked to death with a machete. Bonus points if you die in central Africa.
800,000 brothas and sistas got Tutsi-ed all up and down in 1994.

Tutsi Roll 

another name for a mass grave in Rwanda.
When Don Cheadle was in Rwanda for filming, he went to a "Tutsi Roll" for inspiration.
Tutsi Roll by Con Dheadle July 19, 2010

Tutsi Roll 

Switching positions during sex with a Rwandan man or woman.
New video on PornHub. Rwandan couple can’t stop doing Tutsi Roll’s.
Tutsi Roll by BeastEJ December 14, 2018

tutsi pop 

A very cherry tart flavored lollipop with a bubblegum center.

Also a great nickname for a gal pal ☺️
On Fridays I give Ceseley a Tutsi pop for all her hard work at the cafe.
tutsi pop by Donvito2112 April 3, 2022
More from Urban Dictionary

age gate 

An absolutely foolproof way to keep minors from viewing content deemed "too mature" for them to watch.
Billy: "So I was trying to watch some videos for an M rated game, and I ran into an age gate, so I put in my real birthday. SOMEHOW it managed to figure out that I am 12. CURSE YOU AGE GATE!!!"

Bill: "Fucking age gate! *quick scroll* THERE! I was born on January 1, 1904. Fuck you age gate."
age gate by Banja January 7, 2011
Word of the Day on August 27, 2026

board chow 

A)
The Crud that collects under the keys in a keyboard. Usually more severe in the keyboards of programmers and webmasters as they tend to spend a lot of time at the the computer and thus eat at their desk. Mainly affecting IBM Model M (clicly) style boards.

B)
Can also be used to gross out Non-Techie people
A)
Bill: want to go to the club?
Bob: No, I've got to clean out my board chow, keys are starting to stick.

B)
Bill: Want to go out to get a bite?
Bob: No, i am just going to have some of my board chow/
Bill: Whats' that?
Bob: The food scraps that collect in my keyboard; Want some?
Bill: *GAG* *HURL* *GAG*
board chow by BinaryHackerMan September 3, 2007
Word of the Day on August 26, 2026

young pup 

a young person, a young adult in their late teens/early 20s.
Ah, you're just a young pup at 23!
young pup by the dog May 30, 2006
Word of the Day on August 25, 2026
West Midlands slang word for rockers, bikers, greasers etc. In the late 1980s it was used by the UK music press to refer to a specific scene centered around the bands Pop Will Eat Itself and Crazyhead. The term never found favour with readers of 'the inkies' (Sounds, Melody Maker and the still extant NME) and was soon dropped. Now often used in predominantly working-class areas of the midlands and the north to mean someone who listens to rock-derived music and/or dresses in a manner that suggests they affiliate themselves with rock music of some kind.
Some grebo passed with Sabbath playing on his stereo.
The Poppies are at no. 17? God, a grebo band in the charts!
They're playing nu-metal now, bloody grebos!
grebo by cactuscat September 15, 2006
Word of the Day on August 24, 2026
Next