tah ah koh

In Navajo, t’áá’áko is translated in a variety of ways. In general, it’s a term that denotes something agreeable, or an accord of some sort.

It could mean ‘okay,’ ‘fine,’ ‘alright,’ ‘it’s good,’ or ‘it’s agreeable.’ That’s the general idea.

A simple phrase would be: “Shił t’áá’áko,” meaning “It’s alright with me.”

In question form, you could use the -ísh- particle to inquire if something is agreeable, such as an action or condition. “Shíká anilyeed, t’áásh’áko?” is another informal phrase meaning “You will help me, won’t you?” You can get a sense of what the term conveys.

Remember, in conversation a person may begin a sentence with ya’ or else end the statement with da’ in order to ask a question. These are the ways you can ask questions with the expected answer being a yes or no.

uh wall yuh

This (in my opinion) fun word to say actually means jail in Navajo.

“At the jail” uses the -di suffix to construct awáalyadi. Combined with yá’át’ééh and the spatial particle -ho- (from the post for atiin – path, road, trail), you can say “Awáalyadi shił yá’áhoot’ééh,” which means “I like it at the jail.”

In the case that you do not like the jail, negate it using the doo … da construct: “Awáalyadi doo shił yá’áhoot’éeh da,” or “I do not like it at the jail.” Change the shił part to either nił or bił when speaking in the second person or third person, respectively.

Navajo loves to make nouns out of action words using nominalizers, as explained before (see: naat’áanii, bik’áá’dah’asdáhí, and Wááshindoon Aląąjį’ Dahsidáhígíí). But in awáalya’s case, saying awáalyaí (or awáalyaaí) refers to those that are in the jail. This would be the incarcerated people.

As for the jailer, he would be called awáálya yaa áhályáanii, which is like saying “the one who keeps the wisdom for the jail” (variations in translation exist).

ut tah ha loh

Át’ahálo is a Navajo expression that means “wait!” It’s a way of saying, “hold on” or “sit tight” without needing the entire set of conjugated verbs for “to wait.”

In speech, it is sometimes shortened to either át’ah or t’ahálo.

The word áłtsé also has a second meaning of “wait” but is primarily used to denote the first in a series of either nouns or actions. So both words can be used in the same sentence (e.g. “Wait, we will eat first.”).

whosh chih sh jih

Following up with the Navajo word nówehjí (further away; move!), is its opposing direction woshch’ishjí (or woshch’ishí).

It means ‘this way’ or ‘closer’.

A common way to use this word is woshch’ishígíí, which means ‘that which is closer by’. It’s a general term and can be clarified by preceding it with an object (noun). For example, “chidí woshch’ishígíí” takes on the meaning “the vehicle that is closer (or closest).”

bah eel ih

Bą́ą́h ílį́ is a Navajo expression that means “it is worth” or “it costs”.

Together with díkwíí, which denotes a query, you can ask “Díkwíí bą́ą́h ílį́?” and you would be asking “How much does this cost?” or “How much is this worth?”

Of course, this does not always apply to cost in terms of money. It can be used to denote the cost of a trade, as in “It cost 14 (woven) rugs.”

Beyond bą́ą́h ílį́, there is also bą́ą́h azlį́į́’ which is the past tense. (When I say past tense, I really mean ‘perfective’ – which is a way of saying the action was finished, perfected, or completed.) Bą́ą́h azlį́į́’ means “it cost.”

Going the other direction in time is bą́ą́h adooleeł, or “it will cost.”

Using béeso (money – dollars) as the currency, you can state a price:

Naakits’áadah béeso bą́ą́h ílį́. It costs 20 dollars.

Or, confirm a price using a conditional:

Da’ dízdiin béeso bą́ą́h azlį́į́’? Did it cost 40 dollars?