Diné bizaad
Navajo
Na-Dené (Athabaskan, Southern)
Also known as: Navajo, Diné, Dine
Navajo (Diné Bizaad) is a Southern Athabaskan language spoken across the Navajo Nation in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah and by Diné communities elsewhere. It is one of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages in the United States, but intergenerational transmission has declined, prompting immersion schools, family programs, teacher training, and other revitalization work. In December 2024 the Navajo Nation designated Diné Bizaad its official language, followed by a 2025 executive order for implementation in government. Its Latin-based orthography marks vowel length, nasalization, high tone, and the glottal stop; the language also has low tone, aspirated and ejective consonants, and highly complex verb-centered morphology. During World War II, Navajo Marines developed a specialized military code based on the language for Pacific communications: Navajo itself was not simply a code.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Navajo
Water
tó
/tóː/
Fire
kǫʼ
/kõːʔ/
Sun
jóhonaaʼéí
/dʒóhonɑːʔéːí/
Moon
tłʼéhonaaʼéí
/tɬʼéhonɑːʔéːí/
Star
sǫʼ
/sṍʔ/
Mother
shimá
/ʃimáː/
Father
shizhéʼé
/ʃiʒéːʔéː/
I
shí
/ʃí/
You
ni
/ni/
Name
-zhiʼ
/ʒìʔ/
Eye
anááʼ
/ʔanáːʔ/
Hand
álaʼ
/ʔálaʔ/
Heart
ajéí
/ɑdʒéːí/
Love
ayóóʼánóshní
/ɑjóːʔɑ́nóʃníː/
Tree
tsin
/tsin/
House
hooghan
/hoːɣɑn/
Dog
łééchąąʼí
/ɬéːtʃãːʔí/
Cat
mósí
/mósí/
Eat
yishą́
/jiʃã́ː/
Drink
yishdlą́
/jiʃtɬã́ː/
One
tʼááłáʼí
/tʼɑ́ːɬɑ́ːʔí/
Two
naaki
/nɑːkɪ/
Hello
yáʼátʼééh
/jɑ́ːʔɑ́tʼéːh/
Thank you
ahéheeʼ
/ɑhéːheːʔ/
Good
yáʼátʼééh
/jɑ́ːʔɑ́tʼéːh/
Cuckoo
naatsédlózii
/naːtséˈtɬózìː/
Computer
béésh nitsékeesí
/péːʃ nìtsékèːsí/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Na-Dené (Athabaskan, Southern) languages
| Meaning | Navajo | Western Apache | Arapaho | Hupa | Koyukon | Classical Syriac | Kiowa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | tó /tóː/ | tu /tu/ | nec /netʃ/ | xaŋ /xɑŋ/ | too /toː/ | ܡܝܐ /majjaː/ | tóñ /tʰṍ/ |
| Fire | kǫʼ /kõːʔ/ | kǫʼ /kṍʔ/ | héétee' /héːteːʔ/ | xoŋ’ /xoŋʔ/ | konh /konh/ | ܢܘܪܐ /nuːraː/ | phi̱ /pʰĩ/ |
| Sun | jóhonaaʼéí /dʒóhonɑːʔéːí/ | shándaʼá /ʃándaːʔá/ | hiʼíísh /hiʔíːʃ/ | hwa /hwa/ | so /so/ | ܫܡܫܐ /ʃemʃaː/ | phî: /pʰîː/ |
| Moon | tłʼéhonaaʼéí /tɬʼéhonɑːʔéːí/ | tłʼéʼsanaaʼái /tɬʔeʔsanaːʔai/ | biikóusis /biːkóusis/ | hwa-ʼaŋʼ /hwaʔɑŋʔ/ | oolts'enh /ooltsʼenh/ | ܣܗܪܐ /sahraː/ | phé: /pʰéː/ |
| Star | sǫʼ /sṍʔ/ | sǫʼs /sṍːs/ | ho3o' /hoθoːʔ/ | sʼeʔ /sʼeʔ/ | so /sɔ/ | ܟܘܟܒܐ /kawkβaː/ | t'ǫ́ǫ̀y /tʼṍːj/ |
| Mother | shimá /ʃimáː/ | shimá /ʃima/ | neinó /neinó/ | -an’ /-anʔ/ | enaa /enaː/ | ܐܡܐ /ʔemmaː/ | tsitda /tsitda/ |
| Father | shizhéʼé /ʃiʒéːʔéː/ | shitaa /ʃitaː/ | neisónoo /neisónoː/ | -ta’ /-taʔ/ | etaa /etaː/ | ܐܒܐ /ʔabbaː/ | gò: /ɡòː/ |
| I | shí /ʃí/ | shí /ʃí/ | nenee' /nɛnɛːʔ/ | whe /hʷe/ | see /siː/ | ܐܢܐ /ʔenaː/ | nɔ́ɔ /nɔ́ː/ |
| You | ni /ni/ | ni /ní/ | nénen /nénɛn/ | niŋ /nɪŋ/ | nee /niː/ | ܐܢܬ /ʔat/ | ám /ám/ |
| Name | -zhiʼ /ʒìʔ/ | -zhiʼ /ʒìʔ/ | -íisi' /íːsiʔ/ | -ooziʔ /oːzɪʔ/ | -zaakkʼeʼ /zàːkʼeʔ/ | ܫܡܐ /ʃmaː/ | k'ɔ́gyà /kʼɔ̃́ɡjà/ |
| Eye | anááʼ /ʔanáːʔ/ | nadáá /nadaː/ | hisí /hisí/ | -na:ʼ /-nɑːʔ/ | nełtonh /neɬtonh/ | ܥܝܢܐ /ʕajnaː/ | tô: /tôː/ |
| Hand | álaʼ /ʔálaʔ/ | shílaʼ /ʃilaʔ/ | hooxóʼ /hoːxóʔ/ | -laʼ /-laʔ/ | ela /ela/ | ܐܝܕܐ /ʔiːðaː/ | mò:tʼɔ̄ /mòːtʼɔ̄/ |
| Heart | ajéí /ɑdʒéːí/ | bíjéí /bidʒeː/ | betéé /betéː/ | -piŋ /-piŋ/ | -dzaaya' /tsæːjəʔ/ | ܠܒܐ /lebbaː/ | á:de /áːde/ |
| Love | ayóóʼánóshní /ɑjóːʔɑ́nóʃníː/ | ayóigóʼíí /ʔajoiɣoʔiː/ | héétébí /héːtébí/ | na-wh-ʼisht’e’n /nɑwʔɪʃtʼɛʔn/ | k'oonejee /kʼooneʒeː/ | ܚܘܒܐ /ħubbaː/ | gàum /ɡàum/ |
| Tree | tsin /tsin/ | tsin /tsin/ | hooxéí /hoːxéí/ | kin /kɪn/ | k'eyh /kʼejh/ | ܐܝܠܢܐ /ʔiːlaːnaː/ | á:du /áːdu/ |
| House | hooghan /hoːɣɑn/ | kį /kĩ/ | biito /biːto/ | xontah /xontɑh/ | kkun /kːun/ | ܒܝܬܐ /bajθaː/ | tóu: /tóuː/ |
| Dog | łééchąąʼí /ɬéːtʃãːʔí/ | łį́į́ʼ /ɬĩːʔ/ | héʼ /héʔ/ | ɬi:n /ɬiːn/ | łeek /ɬeːk/ | ܟܠܒܐ /kalbaː/ | tsê: /tsêː/ |
| Cat | mósí /mósí/ | mósí /mosi/ | cécee /tʃétʃéː/ | — /—/ | dotonh /dotonh/ | ܫܘܢܪܐ /ʃunnaːraː/ | mò:sò /mòːsò/ |
| Eat | yishą́ /jiʃã́ː/ | yiyąʼ /jijãʔ/ | betébí /betébí/ | na-ya:n /nɑjɑːn/ | ghen /ɣen/ | ܐܟܠ /ʔeχal/ | gè: /ɡèː/ |
| Drink | yishdlą́ /jiʃtɬã́ː/ | yidlą /jidlãˀ/ | bénee /bénéː/ | na-ʼa:n /nɑʔɑːn/ | don /don/ | ܐܫܬܝ /ʔeʃtiː/ | kʰò: /kʰòː/ |
| One | tʼááłáʼí /tʼɑ́ːɬɑ́ːʔí/ | dááłeʼ /daːɬeʔ/ | ceeséeʼ /tʃeːséːʔ/ | ɬaʼ /ɬaʔ/ | łeek'eyh /ɬeːkʼejh/ | ܚܕ /ħað/ | páun /páun/ |
| Two | naaki /nɑːkɪ/ | naaki /naːki/ | niis /niːs/ | nahx /naːx/ | netaakkʼa /netàːkʼʌ/ | ܬܪܝܢ /treːn/ | yíí /jíː/ |
| Hello | yáʼátʼééh /jɑ́ːʔɑ́tʼéːh/ | dahgotʼe /dahɡotʔe/ | héébe /héːbe/ | ts’ehdiya’ /tsʼɛhdɪjaʔ/ | enaa basee' /enaː baseːʔ/ | ܫܠܡܐ /ʃlaːmaː/ | hâ:tô: /hâːtôː/ |
| Thank you | ahéheeʼ /ɑhéːheːʔ/ | ahéheʼe /ʔaheːheʔe/ | hohóu /hohóu/ | na:nehs-ʼe:n /nɑːnɛhsʔɛːn/ | baasee' /baːseːʔ/ | ܫܘܒܚܐ /ʃubħaː/ | gàu /ɡàu/ |
| Good | yáʼátʼééh /jɑ́ːʔɑ́tʼéːh/ | nzhǫǫ /nʒõː/ | hetééʼ /hetéːʔ/ | niwhoŋ /nɪwhoŋ/ | nezoonh /nezoːnh/ | ܛܒܐ /tˤaːβaː/ | hôn /hôn/ |
| Cuckoo | naatsédlózii /naːtséˈtɬózìː/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Computer | béésh nitsékeesí /péːʃ nìtsékèːsí/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Word order compared
Compare with major world languages
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