Navajo — top 40 words
High-frequency vocabulary for English speakers. Reveal each card, then rate your recall — the schedule adapts (SM-2) and is stored on your device.
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Full word list
| # | Navajo | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | yáʼátʼééh | Hello / It is good — the all-purpose greeting (yah-AH-tay) |
| 2 | ahéheeʼ | Thank you |
| 3 | hágoóneeʼ | Goodbye (informal) |
| 4 | yáʼátʼééh abíní | Good morning |
| 5 | yáʼátʼééh ałníʼníʼą́ | Good afternoon |
| 6 | hózhó | Beauty / harmony / balance — the central concept of Navajo philosophy |
| 7 | Diné | The People — how Navajo people refer to themselves |
| 8 | bizaad | Language / speech (Diné bizaad = the Navajo language) |
| 9 | hózhóogo | In a beautiful / harmonious way (adverbial form of hózhó) |
| 10 | nizhóní | Beautiful / it is good-looking |
| 11 | shí | I / me (first person singular) |
| 12 | nihí | We / us (first person plural) |
| 13 | bilagáana | Anglo / white person — from Spanish 'Americano' |
| 14 | hastiin | Man / Mr. (respected form of address) |
| 15 | asdzáá | Woman |
| 16 | tó | Water — high tone on the ó is essential |
| 17 | tsékooh | Canyon |
| 18 | dziłíjiin | Black Mountain (type of place name) |
| 19 | nahasdzáán | Earth / ground / the land |
| 20 | yádiłhił | Sky / the blue above |
| 21 | tʼááłáʼí | One |
| 22 | naaki | Two |
| 23 | tááʼ | Three |
| 24 | dį́į́ʼ | Four |
| 25 | ashdlaʼ | Five |
| 26 | ayóó | Very / a lot / extremely |
| 27 | tʼáá | Just / simply / right (emphatic particle) |
| 28 | doo … da | Not … (negation — the negative wraps the predicate) |
| 29 | háadi | Where |
| 30 | haʼátʼíí | What |
| 31 | yishááł | I am walking (going on foot, away from speaker) |
| 32 | yiníshta | I am reading / I am studying |
| 33 | naashnish | I am working |
| 34 | hólǫ́ | There is / it exists (existential) |
| 35 | doo hólǫ́ da | There is not / it does not exist |
| 36 | łi | ł = voiceless lateral fricative, like Welsh 'll' — a key Navajo sound |
| 37 | ʼ | The apostrophe marks a glottal stop — a real consonant in Navajo |
| 38 | á vs a | Accent mark = high tone — tó (water) vs to (a different word entirely) |
| 39 | ą | Ogonek = nasalized vowel — tą́ means something different from ta |
| 40 | tłʼ | Ejective lateral affricate — one of Navajo's most challenging sounds |