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
Chidí daats’í bee hólǫ́ doodaii’ niísh chidí nee hólǫ́?
car maybe 3-with 4-exist.N or 2-Q car 2-with 4-exist.NIChidí naat’a’í ’íinilaaígíí háajį’ ninít’a’?
airplane 3-2-make.P-ÍGÍÍ where-up.to 3-fly.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 doodaii’ ni daats’í chidí nee hólǫ́?
car-Q 3-with 4-exist.NI or 2 maybe car 2-with 4-exist.NIDa’ chidíísh bee hólǫ́ doodaii’ ni daats’í chidí nee hólǫ́?
Q 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 QDa’ Ron yiską́ągo saad neidoołkah?
Q Ron tomorrow word 3-3-investigate.FDa’ shééhonísin?
Q 1-2-know.NIdaats’í
Dah díníilghaazhísh ’íilnilaa?
fry.bread-Q 3-2-make.PDíí haa yit’éego ’atiin?
this how 3-be.NI roadDííshą’ látsíní háádę́ę́’ naa ninídee’?
this-Q bracelet where-from 2-to 3-arrive.PlO.PGohwééh t’áá bizhání ’éí doodaii’ ’abe’ biłgo daats’í nínízin?
coffee only TOP or milk 3-with-GO perhaps 3-2-want.NIHa’át’éegoshą’ ’ayóo náníldzid?
why-Q very 2-fear.IHa’át’íí neidiyoołnih nínízin?
who 3-3-buy.F 2-think.NIHa’át’íí shį́į́ biniinaa łééch’ąą’í nidahał’in.
what perhaps 3-because dog pl-3-bark.IHa’át’íísh nizhé’é yaa naaghá?
what-Q 2-father 3-about 3-do.CIHa’át’íí́sh baa hane’?
What Q 3-for be.told.CIHaa néelą́ą́’ nidá’ák’eh?
how 3-much.N 2-cornfieldHaa níníłnééz?
what 2-tall.relatively.NIhaa nízahdę́ę́’ hoolzhiizh
Haa’í lá neezgai?
where Q 3-hurt.NHaalá tʼáá ʼéiyá yinílyée ni’?
how-Q just TOP 2-name.NI rememberháadi
Háadish nichidí nííníłbą́ą́z?
where-at-Q 2-car 3-2-.park.PHáágóó díníyá?
where-to 2-go.FHáágóó lá Bíl doogááł nízin Jáan?
where-toward Q Bill 3-go.sg.F 3-want.CI JohnHái da shą’ tsinaa’eeł ’ájiilaa lá?
who DA Q boat 3-4-make.P DISCháidí
Háí lá kintahgóó shił adoołbąs?
who-Q town-to 1-me 3-drive.FHáí lá sis ligái ííł’įįh?
who-Q belt silver 3-make.UHáísh ’ałhosh?
who-Q 3-sleep.IHáísh tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?
who-Q boat 3-3-make.PHáíshą’ tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa lá?
who-Q boat 3-3-make.P DISCHáíshą’ tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?
who-Q boat 3-3-make.PJáanísh naalnish?
John-Q 3-work.IKin Łánídiísh ’éí doodago Bee’eldííldahsinildi daats’í naniná?
Flagstaff-at-Q TOP or Albuquerque-at perhaps 2-go.around.CIAre you at Flagstaff or at Albuquerque?
bookmarkKwe’éshą’ haa nízah nináhálzhishgo nináháltį́į́h?
here-Q how 3-long.N-up.to time.move.R-GO rain.RMary ha’át’íísh nayiisnii’?
Mary what-Q 3-to.buy.IMary hádą́ą́’sh ’ólta’dę́ę́’ nádzá?
Mary when-past-Q school-from 3-return.PNichídísh háájí?
2-car-Q whereNidlóóhísh doodaii’ doo daats’í nidlóoh da?
2-cold.I-Q or neg perhaps 2-cold.I negNił hǫ́zhǫ́ǫ́sh doodaii’ doósh nił hózhǫ́ǫ da?
2-with-happy.NI-Q or neg-Q 2-with happy.NI negYiską́ągo Na’nízhoozhídi, háádish ’adeeshį́į́ł ninízin?
tomorrow Gallup-at where-Q 2-eat.F 2-want.CIWhere do you want to eat in Gallup tomorrow?
bookmark- yiską́ągo tomorrowfind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- -di atfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- háá-P.ENCLITIC where
- 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




