Navajo

Noun

sikʼis ‎(plural sikʼisóó)

1. my older brother, my older sister (of the same sex as me)
2. my older maternal cousin (of the same sex as me)
3. my friend (chiefly of the same sex as me)

Usage notes

The 1st-person singular possessive has si- rather than shi- because of coronal harmony: [sh] in shi- assimilates to [s] because of the alveolar sibilant ([s]) in the root, -kʼis. It is a very common error among younger Navajo speakers who do not know the language well to use shi- (shikʼis) in all cases, because they often do not know of this feature.

Inflection

Related terms

• hakʼis

See also

• alah