chizh
The Navajo word for wood is chizh.
chizh is used to refer to the substance of wood as a noun.
Meaning: substance (noun)
Did you know?
- Linguists have found a potential ancient link between chizh and the word for 'tree' in Ket, a language spoken in central Siberia.
- Navajo is an agglutinative language, meaning that chizh can be modified with prefixes and suffixes to describe the wood's shape or state without adding separate adjectives.
- While chizh refers to the substance of wood, Navajo uses different words to distinguish between a living tree and the dead wood taken from it.
Examples in context
- Chizh yáʼátʼééʼ.The wood is good.
- Chizh áhoodaʼá.The wood is burning.
- Chizh dóó áłcóóʼí.Wood and stone.
Example conversation
Kyle and Michelle are building a small fence together.
- KyleChizh łíní bee náyééʼ.Use a piece of wood.
- MichelleÁá, díí chizh t'áá kʼááʼágo.Yes, this wood is very hard.
- KyleTʼáá áání chizh éí.It is just wood.
- MichelleDíí bee náyééʼ.Use this one.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries chizh, CC BY-SA 4.0.
