náshdóítsoh noodǫ́zígíí
The English word tiger is translated into Navajo as náshdóítsoh noodǫ́zígíí.
This term refers to the mammal Panthera tigris.
Meaning: The mammal Panthera tigris (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a descriptive expression meaning 'the one that is striped or patterned'.
How does it change in a sentence?
Rather than being a single root word, náshdóítsoh noodǫ́zígíí is a complex descriptive noun phrase.
Did you know?
- Because tigers are not native to North America, the Navajo language uses descriptive terms to incorporate animals from other continents into its vocabulary.
- Navajo is an agglutinative language, meaning it creates complex ideas like 'the one that is striped' by gluing together several small units of meaning into one long word.
- The final -gíí in noodǫ́zígíí acts as a nominalizer, turning the description of 'being striped' into a noun meaning 'the one'.
Example sentences for Navajo are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Amanda and Justin are looking at animals in a picture book.
- AmandaNáshdóítsoh noodǫ́zígíí hólǫ́.There is a tiger.
- JustinÁádóó náshdóítsoh noodǫ́zígíí ąą́ą́ááh?And is the tiger big?
- AmandaÁá́, tʼáá áéí nááshǫ́ǫ́.Yes, it is very big.
- JustinÁkooda, náshdóítsoh noodǫ́zígíí tʼaadii.Wow, the tiger is scary.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “tiger” translations and entries náshdóítsoh noodǫ́zígíí, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
