ałníʼníʼą́ą́dóó bikʼijįʼ
The Navajo phrase for afternoon is ałníʼníʼą́ą́dóó bikʼijįʼ.
This phrase is used to refer to the part of the day occurring between noon and the evening.
Meaning: part of the day between noon and evening (noun)
Did you know?
- In Navajo, time is often conceptualized through spatial relationships and directional movement rather than through abstract units like hours.
- Navajo is an agglutinative language, meaning it creates complex meanings by adding prefixes and suffixes to a root, as seen in the structure of ałníʼníʼą́ą́dóó.
- Navajo uses a complex system of nasalized vowels, such as the one in ałníʼníʼą́ą́dóó, which are not found in English.
Example conversation
Tyler and Michelle are planning a meeting time.
- TylerAłníʼníʼą́ą́dóó bikʼijįʼ náyééʼ.Let's meet in the afternoon.
- MichelleÁáʼ.Okay.
- TylerAłníʼníʼą́ą́dóó bikʼijįʼ łáʼasdlááʼ.The afternoon is better.
- MichelleTʼáá ákóóʼní, Tyler.I'll see you then, Tyler.
