Diné bizaad

Navajo

Na-Dené (Athabaskan, Southern)

FamilyNa-Dené (Athabaskan, Southern) Speakers~170K ScriptLatin CountriesUSA (Navajo Nation — AZ, NM, UT) Official inNo (Navajo Nation has internal language preservation) Vitalityvulnerable ISO 639-3nav

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

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87 core words in Navajo

Water

tó

tʰó

Fire

kǫʼ

kʰõ̀ʔ

Sun

jóhonaaʼéí

tʃóhònàːʔéí

Moon

tłʼéhonaaʼéí

tɬʼéhònɑ̀ːʔéí

Star

sǫʼ

sõ̀ʔ

Night

tłʼééʼ

tɬʼéːʔ

Rain

níłtsą́

níɬtsã́

Snow

yas

jɑ̀s

Wind

níyol

níjol

Earth

łeezh

ɬeːʒ

Stone

tsé

tsʰé

Mountain

dził

tsìɬ

Sea

tónteel

tʰóntʰèːl

Mother

shimá

ʃimá

Father

shizhéʼé

ʃiʒéʔé

Daughter

shichʼéʼé

ʃitʃʼéʔé

I

shí

ʃí

You

ni

ni

We

nihí

nihí

Name

ázhiʼ

ʔáʒìʔ

Person

diné

tìné

Head

atsiitsʼiin

atsiːtsʼiːn

Eye

anááʼ

ʔanáːʔ

Ear

jaaʼ

tʃaːʔ

Nose

áchįįh

átʃĩːh

Mouth

azééʼ

àzéːʔ

Tooth

awooʼ

awoːʔ

Tongue

atsooʼ

atsoːʔ

Hand

álaʼ

ʔálaʔ

Foot

akeeʼ

ʔàkʰèːʔ

Heart

ajéí

ʔɑ̀tʃéí

Bone

tsʼin

tsʼin

Blood

dił

tìɬ

Poop

chąąʼ

tʃãːʔ

Love

ayóóʼánóshní

ɑjóːʔɑ́nóʃníː

Tree

tsin

tsin

Dog

łééchąąʼí

ɬéːtʃãːʔí

Cat

mósí

mósí

Fish

łóóʼ

ɬóːʔ

Bird

tsídii

tsʰítìː

Butterfly

kʼaalógii

kʼɑ̀ːlókìː

Egg

ayęęzhii

ajẽːʒiː

Bear

shash

ʃaʃ

Horse

łį́į́ʼ

ɬĩ́ːʔ

House

hooghan

hoːɣɑn

Milk

abeʼ

àpèʔ

Honey

tsísʼná bitłʼizh

tsʰísʔnɑ́ pìtɬʼìʒ

Salt

áshįįh

ʔáʃĩːh

Wine

wáán

wɑ́ːn

Rice

alóós

alóːs

Iron

béésh

péːʃ

Wheel

bąąs

pãːs

Book

naaltsoos

nɑːltsoːs

Eat

yishą́

jiʃã́

Drink

yishdlą́

jiʃtɬã́

Sleep

ałhosh

aɬhoʃ

One

tʼááłáʼí

tʼɑ́ːɬɑ́ʔí

Two

naaki

nɑːki

Three

tááʼ

tʰáːʔ

Four

dį́įʼ

tĩ́ːʔ

Five

ashdlaʼ

aʃtɬaʔ

Hundred

neeznádiin

neːznáːtiːn

Hello

yáʼátʼééh

jɑ́ʔɑ́tʼéːh

Thank you

ahéheeʼ

ʔɑ̀héhèːʔ

Good

yáʼátʼééh

jɑ́ʔɑ́tʼéːh

New

ániid

ániːt

Red

łichííʼ

ɬitʃʰíːʔ

White

łigai

ɬìkɑ̀ì

Black

łizhin

ɬìʒìn

Green

dootłʼizh

tòːtɬʼìʒ

Blue

dootłʼizh

tòːtɬʼìʒ

Cuckoo

—

—

Computer

béésh nitsékeesí

péːʃ nìtsékèːsí

Tea

dééh

téːh

Coffee

gohwééh

kohʷéːh

Sugar

áshįįh łikan

ʔáʃĩːh ɬikɑn

Orange

chʼil łitsxooí

tʃʼil ɬitsʰxoːí

Ninety-nine

náhástʼédiindóó baʼaan náhástʼéí

náhástʼétiːntóː paʔaːn náhástʼéí

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Na-Dené (Athabaskan, Southern)

Meaning NavajoWestern ApacheHupaKoyukonArapahoKiowaNez Perce
Water tó /tʰó/ tu /tu/ taʼna:n /taʔnaːn/ too /toː/ nec /netʃ/ thǫ́ /tʰṍ/ kúus /kúːs/
Fire kǫʼ /kʰõ̀ʔ/ kǫʼ /kṍʔ/ xoŋʼ /xoŋʔ/ kkonʼ /kːonʔ/ hisítee /hisíteː/ phí: /pʰíː/ ʼáala /ʔáːla/
Sun jóhonaaʼéí /tʃóhònàːʔéí/ shándaʼá /ʃándaːʔá/ wha /hʷa/ so /so/ hiisíis /hiːsíis/ pái /pái/ híisemtuks /híːsemtuks/
Moon tłʼéhonaaʼéí /tɬʼéhònɑ̀ːʔéí/ tłʼéʼgonaʼáí /tɬʼéʔɡonaʔáí/ hwa-ʼaŋʼ /hwaʔɑŋʔ/ dołtʼolee /doɬtʼoliː/ biikóusíis /biːkóusíis/ pʼɔ́: /pʼɔ́ː/ cikʼetpemeyéeye híisemtuks /tsikʼetpemejéːje híːsemtuks/
Star sǫʼ /sõ̀ʔ/ sǫʼs /sṍʔs/ tsingʼ /tsiŋʔ/ tłoonʼ /tɬoːnʔ/ hó3oʼ /hóθoʔ/ tą́: /tã́ː/ x̣icíyu /χitsíju/
Night tłʼééʼ /tɬʼéːʔ/ tłʼéʼ /tɬʼéʔ/ xiłeʼ /xiɬeʔ/ łida /ɬida/ téceʼ /tétʃeʔ/ gį́dè:gyà /ɡĩ́dèːɡjà/ cikʼéetin /tsikʼéːtin/
Rain níłtsą́ /níɬtsã́/ — — konh /konh/ hoosóo /hoːsóː/ sép /sép/ —
Snow yas /jɑ̀s/ zas /zas/ nundil /nʊndɪl/ tseetl /tsʰiːtɬʰ/ híií /híːi/ tʼól /tʼól/ méeqeʼ /méːqeʔ/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Navajo
Shí kéyah tséhootsooí bitsʼą́ą́dę́ę́ʼ naalyéhé bá hooghan yishʼį́į́ʼ ééʼ yishłááh nisin
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

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