Na'vi

From lingoXpress, the open language reference.

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Na'vi is the elegant language of the Na'vi people from James Cameron's Avatar, inspired by Polynesian and African languages.

Description

Na'vi was created by linguist Paul Frommer for James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar. The language features ejective consonants, a tripartite case system, and a free word order. With the release of Avatar: The Way of Water, Na'vi has gained renewed interest. The language has over 2,700 documented words and an active learner community. Its phonology was designed to sound alien yet pronounceable for the actors.

Sample Vocabulary

Na'vi	English	Clue
'ä'	oops!	oops! (exclamation)
'a'aw	a few, several	a few, several (adjective)
'ä'o	pitcher plant	pitcher plant (noun)
'ak	ow, ouch	ow, ouch (exclamation)
'akra	soil (fertile)	soil (noun)
'aku	remove, take away, take off	remove, take away, take off (verb)
'al	waste	waste (verb)
'älek	determined	determined (adjective)
'ali'ä	collar / choker	collar, choker (noun)
'ampi	touch	touch (verb)
'ampirikx	leaf pitcher plant	leaf pitcher plant (noun)
'ana	hanging vine	hanging vine (noun)
'anla	yearn for	yearn for (verb)
'änsyem	complete	complete (adjective)
'ango	soft (of a sound)	soft (adjective)
'angtsìk	hammerhead	hammerhead (noun)
'are	poncho, cape, shawl	poncho, cape, shawl (noun)
'ärìp	move	move (verb)
'asap	sudden shock	sudden shock (noun)
'asap si	be shocked, be startled	be shocked, be startled (verb)