Navajo Prefixes

Young, Robert. (2000). The Navajo Verb System: An Overview. University of New Mexico Press.

Navajo verbs are fascinating. They add meaning at the start and the end. The inflection mainly occurs in the middle. any nuances are expressed through small segments walking around parts of the verb. Once you understand the basic meaning of the ending, the full range of expression is revealed by seeing what the prefix adds to the verb. I compiled the following list from charts and information by Robert Young (2000).

’a’ą́	into a hole
’ááh	signifies
’áál	signifies
’ada	downward
’áde	above self
’ádéé	back against self
’ádéná	back against self
’ádi	self
’ádí	against self
’ahá	bend apart, become disjointed
’ahaa	about each other
’áhílák’ee	into each other’s hands
’ahiniiłt’a	blocking each other
’ał’a	over each other
’ałgháá	swap, trade
’ałghaná	swap, trade
’alhí	contacting, reaching each other
’ałhi	each other
’aso	suffer
’até	harm
’atí	harm
’éé	onto something
’éná	onto something
’lák’ee	into hand
ą́ą́	uncover
ałná	in opposite directions back and forth
ání	uncover
ba	use up
bida	down
ch’aa	travel, go out of view
ch’é	out horizontally, coming into view, starting
ch’éé	back out, starting over
ch’í	out horizontally, coming into view, starting
ch’o	support
cha	darkness, cry
chá	bunched, huddled, hog-tied
chą́	crave, be addicted
chi	usefulness
cho	usefulness
da	cover, obstruct
da	death, at an elevation, obstruct
da	distributive
dá’áke	into the field
dáá	edge, block
daa’	lip
dááh	in front of, meeting
de	over, in excess
di	near fire
di	in the act of starting to go along
di	Inceptive (in progressive modes)
dí	disablement, belief, assistance, boredom
dí, dé	concerning sight, vision
dii	bring into contact
díní	action is prolongued
dzi	away into space
dzídza	into the fire
dzíłts’á	away from fire and water
gha	away from, winning from
ghá	through, penetrating
’ees	out of sight
ha	up out, start (a process)
há	a person
haa	out of hand
hada	downward
hadi	all the way
hadini	start and continue overlong
hast’e	in order, ready
hatł’a	head long, head over heels as in sudden fall
hi	hanging, extending
ho	in an area, itself
hw	in an area, itself
í, é	against, joining
jé	carefully
ji	away into space
k’a	wound (as of an arrow)
k’e	on top of, off something, against
k’e	loosen, untie
k’eh	overcome
k’éłk’e	in footprints, in agreement with
k’i	on top of, off something, against
k’i	plant, farm
ka	chronically ill
ká	after, searching
kéé	live, reside
kí	up an incline, lean
ko	this much
kó	this way
ł	each other
l’á	ahead
lanaa	war, enemy
łánáá	one more
láta	at the tip
łe	into the ashes
łi	flattery, cheating
na	around, beside
na	upward, around, across, dread, repeat
náá	repeat once again
naaná	reversing direction
náhidi	Turn over
nak’ee	into the eye
ńdí	Iterative
ńdii	start to, move up, describes a blow (with fist, club, whip or hand), na=up, di=inceptive
ndini	finishing an action continues its effect, has terminal “ni”
néi (na + yi)	iterative + transitive: repeatedly do something to something
ni	stop, finish, against
ní	piercing
nii	start doing something, or stop or finish it
niik’i	on the face
niiłt’a’	alongside cliff, building
níká	through
nikee	back to surface
niki	on th eground
niłk’éé	spiraling
se	durative conclusive like present perfect
she	durative conclusive like present perfect
shi	scold, be mean
si	reception of sound, stative on oneself, permeation of liquid
t’a	into a niche
ta	among, mingle, grazing, barely touching
tá	here and there, wander
táłts’á	out of the water
té	injury
tí	injury
tii	attack
tóó	into water
tózhą́	watery
ts’á	away from
tsą́	into belly
tsí	mental process, thought, startle, fright, aimless, zigzag
tsíłts’á	away from fire and water
tsístł’á	cornered, trapped
wó	optative
wo’ą	over an edge, into a ditch
wó’ą́	over an edge
ya	under, beneath
yaa	dump, spill
yi	passage of night
yí	directed at
yii	Transitional, or shift from one state of being, form, condition or position to another
yisdá	to safety, scaping
za	into mouth, neck, throat