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
’Asdzą́ą́ ’éí ’ashkii ha’át’íí yeiní’ą́?
woman TOP boy what 3-to-3-3-move.SRO.P’Ádą́ą́dą́ą́’ásh nishínílnish?
yesterday-Q 2-work.P*Nidlóóhísh doodaii’ doo sha’shin nidlóoh da?
2-cold.X-Q or NEG perhaps 2-cold.X-Q NEGBikáá’ dah ’asdáhí bikáa’gi doodaai’ ni’góó daats’í nishdaah?
chair 3-top-at or floor-on perhaps 1-sit.NIChidí daats’í bee hólǫ́ ’éí doodaii’ niísh chidí nee hólǫ́?
car maybe 3-with 4-exist.N TOP 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 hooghan yikáá’góó ch’ét’a’ doodaii’ dził bąąhgóósh ch’ét’a’?
airplane-Q hogan 3-over-along 3-fly.P or mountain 3-side-along-Q 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 doodago ni daats’í chidí nee hólǫ́?
car-Q 3-with 4-exist.N or 2 maybe car 2-with 4-exist.NIDa’ dichinísh nínízin?
Q hunger-Q 2-feel.NIDibéésh nee hólǫ́?
sheep-Q 2-with 4-exist.NIDichin nínízin ya’?
hungry 2-want.NI QDíkwíí jį́ lá nanilnish?
how.many Q days 2-work.IDíkwíí lá ninááhai?
how.many Q 2-winterGohwééh t’áá bizhání ’éí doodaii’ ’abe’ biłgo daats’í nínízin?
coffee only TOP or milk 3-with-GO perhaps 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’éegoshą’ t’áadoo díníyáa da?
why-Q neg 2-go.sg.P NEGHa’át’íí biniinaa náníldzid?
what 3-cause 2-fear.IHa’át’íí biniiyé ’ákǫ́ǫ́ díníyá?
what 3-for.purpose there 2-start.go.PHa’át’íí lá hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ’áyiilaa?
what Q man and girl 3-3-make.PHa’át’íí shį́į́ biniinaa łeech’ąą’í nidahał’in?
what perhaps 3-because dog pl-3-bark.IHa’át’íísh baa hane’?
What Q 3-for be.told.CIHa’át’íísh biniinaa nanichxǫ’?
what-Q 3-because 2-pout.CIHa’át’íísh nizhé’é nayiisnii’?
what-Q 2-father 3-3-buy.Phaa níldííl
haa níłnééz
Hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ha’át’íí ’áyiilaa?
man and girl what 3-3-make.PHastiin dóó ’at’ééd ha’át’íí lá ’áyiilaa?
man and girl what Q 3-3-make.Pháágóó
Háágóósh díníyá?
where-to-Q 2-go.IHáágóóshą díníyá?
where-to.Q 2-go.FHádą́ą́’sh Mary ’ólta’dę́ę́’ nádzá?
when-past-Q Mary school-from 3-return.PHáidíígíí lá neidiyoołnih?
which.one-ÍGÍÍ Q 3-3-buy.FHáísh 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.PK’aa’ísh tsénaa ’aní’á biyaa doodago daats’í báhátis ’ayiist’oh?
arrow-Q bridge 3-under or perhaps 3-over 3-3-shot.PMary ha’át’íí lá yinízin?
Mary what Q 3-3-want.NIMary hádą́ą́’sh ’ólta’dę́ę́’ nádzá?
Mary when-past-Q school-from 3-return.PNichidí háadishą’ nííníłbą́ą́z
2-car where-at-Q 3-2-park.PNichidíshą’ háadi nííníłbą́ą́z?
2-car-Q where-at 3-2-park.PNidlóóhísh doodaii’ dooísh nidlóoh da?
2-cold.X-Q or NEG-Q 2-cold.X-Q NEGNidlóóhísh doodaii’ doo daats’í nidlóoh da?
2-cold.I-Q or neg perhaps 2-cold.I negShizhé’éésh łį́į́’ yiyííshǫǫdę́ę ’ayóó ’eelwod?
1-father horse-Q 3-3-tame.P-COMP.past really 3-run.away.PYadiizíníshą’ haa néelt’e’go nínízin?
can-Q how 3.many.N-GO 2-want.NIYiską́ągo Na’nízhoozhígóó deet’áazhgo haa’í lá ’adiidį́į́ł?
tomorrow Gallup-to 1dpl-go.du.F-GO where Q 1pdl-eat.FWhen we go to Gallup tomorrow, where shall we eat?
bookmark- yiską́ągo tomorrowfind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- -góó to, toward, along, on, with a numeral it indicates a datefind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- -go verb and subordinating encliticfind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- Future (F)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- déyá start to gofind in Navajo Verb Modes
- haa’í where
- lá particle for content questions
- Future (F)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- yíshą́ eat itfind in Navajo Verb Modeslook up conjugationhide conjugation ▾




