Nizhóní means beautiful. On one hand it can refer to something that’s attractive, and on the other it refers to something that is good.

This is because the Navajo idea of beauty goes beyond appearances. Beauty is a sense of being, and is comprised of harmony and balance that is felt within. Things outside of our own minds can remind us of that beauty, and those things we call nizhóní.

Modern day Navalish (a term for Navajo-English slang that I just made up) has a similar word – nizhóníful. You get the idea there…

To tell someone you think they’re beautiful, the second person form is nízhóní. As you can imagine, this term is related to hózhó, which is harmony. That word has deeper meanings, and is often equated with the Navajo way of life.