Introduction to Navajo Questions
Any competent speaker of any language will be able to form questions. This resource is a combined grammar and lexicon of Navajo questions. We provide a description of three kinds of questions along with glossed examples and audio recordings of them. We think this resource will be useful to students and teachers of this language, and to professional linguists within and outside Navajo communities.
We distinguish three distinct kinds of questions: Yes/no questions, Content Questions, and Alternative Questions. We treat Tag Questions as a subtype of Yes/no questions. For this project we draw on previous work by Fernald & Perkins (manuscript), Young & Morgan (1987), Young, Morgan & Midgette (1992), and others cited in References [link].
| Da’ | Na’nízhoozhígóó | díníyá? |
| Q | Gallup-to | 2-go.F |
| Are you going to Gallup? | ||
| Mary | ha’át’íí | nayiisnii’? |
| Mary | what | 3-3-buy.P |
| What did Mary buy? | ||
| ’Atsį́’ísh | ’éí | doodaii’ | łóó’ísh | nínízin? |
| meat-Q | TOP | or | fish-Q | 3-2-want.NI |
| Do you want meat or fish? | ||||
Example (1) is a yes/no question, which has ‛yes’ or ‛no’ as an answer. Questions like this are used to ask whether a particular statement is true or not. In this example, the statement being asked about is Na’nízhoozhígóó díníyá, which means ‛You are going to Gallup’.
Content questions, like example (2), do not have simply ‛yes’ or ‛no’ as an answer. Rather than supplying a statement and asking whether it is true or not, they have the effect of providing a statement with some missing information, and they ask what that information is. In (2), the idea is that Mary bought something, and the question asks what that something is.
Alternative questions present the addressee with a choice between two or more options. Note that the English gloss in example (3) can be understood as either a yes/no question (if the intonation is rising on fish) or an alternative question (if the intonation is falling on fish). In Navajo, the sentence is an alternative question for which the appropriate answer will indicate which one of the choices is desired.
Glossing conventions and a note on morphology are here [link].
An example search has returned 50 entries
Bá’ólta’íísh níyá?
3-for-3-teach-Q 3-come.PChidí naat’a’íísh hooghankáá’góó ch’ínísaal ’éí doodaii’ dziłghą́ą́’góó daats’í?
airplane house-over-along over-3-fly.P TOP or mountain-attached-along perhapsChidíísh bee hólǫ́ ’éí doodago ni daats’í ła’ nee hólǫ́?
car-Q 3-with 4-exist.N TOP or 2 maybe one 2-with 4-exist.NIChidíísh bee hólǫ́ doodaii’ ni daats’í chidí nee hólǫ́?
car-Q 3-with 4-exist.NI or 2 maybe car 2-with 4-exist.NIDa’ Cubadę́ę́’ tsinaa’eeł nił ní’éél?
Q Cuba-from boat 2-with 3-float.PDa’ dibé nee hólǫ́?
Q sheep 2-with 3-exist.NIDa’ Ron saad nináánéíłkaah ya’?
Q Ron word 3-3-investigate.I QDaniel hahgosh hidilníísh?
Daniel when-Q 3-start.work.IDichin nínízin ya’?
hungry 2-want.NI QDíidí háísh bichidí?
this who-Q 3-carDíí yihahígíí biyi’, háísh tówónaanígóó ch’aa deeyá?
this year.IGII within who overseas.GOO travel 3-going.F-QDíkwíí shą’ ninááhai?
how.many-Q 2-winter.NIGohwééh t’áá bizhání ’éí doodaii’ ’abe’ biłgo daats’í nínízin?
coffee only TOP or milk perhaps 3-with 3-2-want.NIHa’át’éegishą’ nich’ah nííní’ą́?
where-at-Q 2-hat 3-2-set.down.SRO.PHa’át’éegosh náníldzid?
why-Q 2-fear.IHa’át’íí biniinaa náníldzid?
what 3-cause 2-fear.IHa’át’íí neidiyoołnih nínízin?
who 3-3-buy.F 2-think.NIHa’át’íísh Mary nayiisnii’?
What-Q Mary 3-to.buy.IHa’át’íísh náádaadi’ní?
what-Q again-pl-3dpl-say.IHa’át’ííshą’ hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ’áyiilaa?
what-Q man and girl 3-3-make.Phaa nízah
Haa nízahdę́ę́’ hoołtį́į́ł?
how 3-long-from rain.ProgHaa’ísh neezgai?
where-Q 3-hurt.NHastiin dóó ’at’ééd ha’át’íí ’áyiilaa?
man and girl what 3-3-make.PHastiin dóó ’at’ééd lá ha’át’íí ’áyiilaa?
man and girl Q what 3-3-make.PHáadi lá dibé nidahaniih?
where-at Q sheep pl-3-pass-sell.CIHáágóósh díníyá?
where-to-Q 2-go.IHádą́ą́’sh Mary ’ólta’dę́ę́’ nádzá?
when-past-Q Mary school-from 3-return.PHái da shą’ tsinaa’eeł ’ájiilaa lá?
who DA Q boat 3-4-make.P DISCHáí lá kintahgóó shił adoołbąs?
who-Q town-to 1-me 3-drive.FHáí lá sis łigai ’iił’įh
who-Q belt silver 3-3-make.UHáísh ’ałhosh?
who-Q 3-sleep.IHáísh yiską́ągo ’adoogis?
who-Q tomorrow 3-wash.FHáíshą’ tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?
who-Q boat 3-3-make.PKin Łánídiísh ’éí doodago Bee’eldííldahsinildi daats’í naniná?
Flagstaff-at-Q TOP or Albuquerque-at perhaps 2-go.around.CIKwe’éshą’ haa nízah nináhálzhishgo nináháltį́į́h?
here-Q how 3-long.N-up.to time.move.R-GO rain.RNa’nízhoozhígóósh díníyá?
Gallup-to-Q 2-go.SPNichidísh háadi nííníłbą́ą́z?
2-car-Q where-at 3-2-park.PNichidí háadish nííníłbą́ą́z?
2-car where-at-Q 3-2-park.PNidlóóhísh doodaii’ doo daats’í nidlóoh da?
2-cold.I-Q or neg perhaps 2-cold.I negŃléí ’asdzą́ą́ sáníshą’ háí ’át’į́?
there woman old-Q what 3-be.Nya’
Yiską́ągo Na’nízhoozhídi háadish ’adeeshį́į́ł ninízin?
tomorrow Gallup-at where-Q 2-eat.F 2-want.CIWhen you go to Gallup tomorrow where do you want to eat?
bookmark- yiską́ągo tomorrowfind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- háá-P.ENCLITIC where
- -sh enclitic for content questions
- -di atfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- Future (F)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- yíshą́ eat itfind in Navajo Verb Modeslook up conjugationhide conjugation ▾
- Continuative Imperfective (CI)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- nisin think, wantfind in Navajo Verb Modes




