Na'vi words in this wiki
From the Early Pandora Wiki Canon Wiki lore
The Na'vi language was created by linguist Paul Frommer for the Avatar films. It has more than 2,600 words and a real grammar, and fans around the world speak it. Frommer still adds new words for fans. Canon
Building the name
| Piece | Meaning | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| tswìk | to suck | A real Na'vi verb Canon |
| -yu | one who does the action | Real pattern: ngop "create" → ngopyu "creator" Canon |
| tak | duck | The name used in the legend, after the duck's call; it fits Na'vi sounds, which have no b, d or g Wiki lore |
| 'awve + a | first | Real word 'awve, joined with the linking a Canon |
| Na'viyä | of the Na'vi | Real "of" ending -yä Canon |
Together: Na'viyä 'Awvea Taktswìkyu, "the First Duck-Sucker of the People."
The -yu ending turns a doing-word into a person or thing that does it. You can find it all over Na'vi: taronyu, "hunter," comes from taron, "to hunt." Canon
Say it out loud
| Word | Say it like |
|---|---|
| Taktswìkyu | tahk-TSWIK-yoo |
| Na'vi | NAH-vee (with a tiny catch where the ' is) |
| Eywa | AY-wah |
| Tsahik | tsah-HEEK |
The ' mark is a little stop in your throat, like the middle of "uh-oh." Canon
Phrases to try
| Na'vi | English |
|---|---|
| Kaltxì | Hello Canon |
| Oel ngati kameie | I See you (I understand who you really are) Canon |
| Irayo | Thank you Canon |
| Ngaru lu fpom srak? | Are you well? Canon |
| Eywa ngahu | Eywa be with you (goodbye) Canon |
| Ma … | "Oh …", used before a name when you speak to someone: ma Sìl Canon |
Counting in eights
The Na'vi have four fingers on each hand, eight in all, so they count in eights instead of tens. After 7 comes vol, "eight," which works like our "ten." Canon
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 'aw | mune | pxey | tsìng | mrr | pukap | kinä | vol |
Canon
One, two, three, many
Na'vi has special word-starts that say how many there are: me- for two, pxe- for three, and ay- for more than that. Ram means "mountain," so ayram means "mountains," as in Ayram alusìng, the floating mountains. Canon
Other words you will meet
| Na'vi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| loreyu | beautiful spiral (helicoradian) Canon |
| Naranawm | great eye (Polyphemus) Canon |
| Ayram alusìng | floating mountains Canon |
| lingtskxe | floating rock (unobtanium) Canon |
| tsaheylu | the bond made through the queue Canon |
| Kelutral | Hometree Canon |
| Vitraya Ramunong | Tree of Souls Canon |
| atokirina' | seeds of the sacred tree (woodsprites) Canon |
| ikran | mountain banshee Canon |
| toruk | great leonopteryx, "last shadow" Canon |
| pa'li | direhorse Canon |
| palulukan | thanator Canon |
| makto | to ride Canon |
| taronyu | hunter Canon |
| Tsahìk | spiritual leader (this wiki writes it Tsahik) Canon |
| Olo'eyktan | clan leader Canon |
| Eywa'eveng | Pandora Canon |
Fun sounds
Na'vi has "popping" sounds written px, tx and kx, made by stopping the air and letting it go with a little click, as in kaltxì. It has no letters b, d, j or q, and it can string many vowels together: meoauniaea has eight syllables! Canon
Learning more
Fans keep online dictionaries of every Na'vi word, with sound files so you can hear how they are said. With an adult, try the Reykunyu dictionary in the references below. Real world