iłhosh
The Navajo word for sleep is iłhosh.
iłhosh is a verb used to describe the act of resting in a state of reduced consciousness.
Meaning: to rest in state of reduced consciousness (verb)
Did you know?
- Navajo distinguishes between different types of sleep based on the subject's posture, using specific verb stems to indicate if one is sleeping lying down or sitting up.
- Because Navajo is an agglutinative language, a single word based on iłhosh can express an entire sentence like 'I am about to fall fast asleep'.
- The way iłhosh is conjugated can indicate whether the sleep was intentional or an involuntary collapse from exhaustion.
Example conversation
Sarah and Justin are talking about a baby.
- SarahHastiin, iłhosh bee naashá?Justin, is he sleeping now?
- JustinÁą́jí iłhosh.He is sleeping.
- SarahT'áá áłtsé iłhosh.He slept very early.
- JustinÁáshááł iłhosh.He is sleeping soundly.
