yáʼátʼééh
/jɑ́ʔɑ́tʼéːh/
The English phrase 'hello, how are you' is expressed in Navajo as yáʼátʼééh.
yáʼátʼééh is the standard way to say 'hello' in Navajo. Although it is used as a common greeting to say hello to another person,
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, yáʼátʼééh translates to 'it is good'.
How do you pronounce it?
/jɑ́ʔɑ́tʼéːh/
Did you know?
- While yáʼátʼééh is the standard greeting, Navajo possesses a highly complex system of kinship terms, meaning a person might replace a general 'hello' with a specific term for 'grandmother' or 'uncle' even for people who are not blood relatives.
- The pronunciation of yáʼátʼééh relies on tones and glottal stops, sounds that do not exist in English and can completely change the meaning of a word if missed.
- The complex morphology of yáʼátʼééh includes a specific classifier and a subject prefix, making it a complete grammatical sentence in a single word.
Example conversation
Kyle and Jessica meet on the street.
- KyleYáʼátʼééh, Jessica!Hello, Jessica!
- JessicaYáʼátʼééh, Kyle!Hello, Kyle!
- KyleHaash yiníłtʼį́į́?How are you doing?
- JessicaYáʼátʼééh, tʼaaí.I am doing well.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry yáʼátʼééh, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries yáʼátʼééh, CC BY-SA 4.0.
