naanish
The Navajo word for the noun naanish refers to work, labour, employment or a job.
naanish is used as a noun to describe a person's occupation, employment or the concept of labour itself.
Meaning: labour, employment, occupation, job (noun)
Which one should you use?
The noun naanish refers to the concept of work or a job, whereas the related verb form naʼanish is used specifically to mean the act of doing a specific task.
Related words
Did you know?
- Navajo has a highly complex system of verbs that can describe the exact physical nature of the 'work' being done, such as whether the object being worked on is long, flat or round.
- Because Navajo is a verb-heavy language, many people find it more natural to describe 'work' as a series of continuous actions rather than a fixed thing you 'have'.
- The structure of naʼanish incorporates glottal stops, which are small pauses in the throat that change the meaning of the word entirely.
Examples in context
- Naanish áhootʼąąʼ.The work is finished.
Example conversation
Justin and Jessica are talking about their careers.
- JustinNaanish t'áá ákót'éé?Is your work like that?
- JessicaÁáshááł naanish t'áá ákót'é.My work is just like that.
- JustinNaanish t'áá áłtsé hólǫ́?Do you have work first?
- JessicaÁáshááł naanish t'áá áłtsé hólǫ́.I have work first.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “work” translations and entries naanish, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
