náá-

Navajo

Alternative forms

• nááná-

Etymology

Related to naaki (“two”).

Prefix

náá-

2. Marks the semeliterative aspect, which indicates that the action of a verb is repeated one time.

   taah náánáshtééh

   "I'm putting it in the water again" (from taah (“into the water”) + náánáshtééh, equivalent to náá- (semeliterative) + sh- (“I”) + -tééh (iterative stem of -TĮ́, "to handle an animate object")

3. (applied to nouns) some more, some other

   ‎náá- + ‎daadził (“mountains”) → ‎náádaadził (“some more/some other mountains”)

Usage notes

• The variant nááná is used before the prefixes sh-, yi-, -ii(d), (o)oh, s-, z-, and ó-.

See also

Navajo terms prefixed with náá- (disjunct)

náánádááh

References

• Robert W. Young and William Morgan, Sr. (1987) The Navajo Language. A Grammar and Colloquial Dictionary, Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, page 60.