Na'vi/Adpositions

Besides case, the role of a noun in a clause may be indicated with an. This may occur either as a before the noun, as in English, or as an  at the end of the noun, as in Japanese, a greater degree of freedom than human languages allow. For example, "with you" may be either hu nga or ngahu. When used as suffixes, they are much like the numerous cases found in Hungarian and Finnish.

Attested adpositions
Adpositions may be stressed when they occur as prepositions, but not as suffixes, where they have no effect on the stress of the noun.


 * {| class=wikitable

!align=left| Adp. !!align=left| Len. !!align=left| English !!align=left| Example !!align=left| Translation
 * äo ||− || "under" || äo Utral Aymokriyä || under the Tree of Voices
 * eo ||− || "before (place), in front of" || eo ayoeng || before us
 * io ||− || "above" ||
 * uo ||− || "behind" ||
 * fa ||− || "with", "by means of" (instrument) || aylìʼufa ʼeylanä || in the words of a friend
 * fkip ||− || "up among" ||
 * fpi ||+|| "for the sake of"
 * ftu ||−|| "from" (direction) || Note irregular ftu sat "from that"
 * hu ||− || "with, together with" (accompaniment) || Eywa ngahu hu Eywa ||Gaia (be) with you with Eywa
 * ìlä ||+||"via, along, by"
 * ka ||− ||"across"
 * kip ||− || "among" || ayngakip || among you
 * kxamlä ||− || "through (the middle of)" || || (kxam "the middle" ìlä "via")
 * lok ||−|| "close to" || lok ʼawkx, ʼawkxlok || near the cliff (also a verb, "to approach")
 * luke ||−|| "without" || lu luke kxu || be without harm
 * maw ||−|| "after" (in time) || maw hìkrr || in a moment
 * mì ||+|| "in", "on" || mì teʼlan ʼRrtamì fìtrrmì || in the heart(s) on Earth on this day
 * mìkam ||−|| "between" || || (mì "in" kxam "the middle")
 * mungwrr  ||−|| "except" || éyktanmungwrr || except the leader
 * na ||− || "like", "as" || na ayskxe mì teʼlan rel na uniltìranyu || like stones in my heart (simile) a picture as an avatar (form)
 * -valign=top
 * ne ||− || "to" (direction) || terìran ayoe ayngane tsenge a tsane po karmä || we are walking your way the place to which she was going
 * nemfa ||− || "into" || || (from ne mì+fa)
 * pxaw ||− || "around" ||
 * pxel ||− || "like", "such as" || sute pxel nga || people such as you
 * ro ||+ || "at" (location) || ro fäpa, ro helku || at the top, at home
 * sì ||− || "and" (phrases) || trrä sì txonä, aylìʼut horentisì || of day and night, words and rules
 * sìn ||− || "on", "onto" (?) ||
 * sre ||+ || "before" (time) || sreseʼa || prophesize
 * ta ||− || "from" (generic) || aungia ta Eywa || a sign from Eywa
 * takip ||− || "from among" ||
 * tafkip ||− || "from up among" ||
 * teri ||− || "about, concerning" || teri lìʼfya leNaʼvi plltxe  || talk about the Naʼvi language
 * -valign=top
 * vay ||−|| "up to" (space or time) || vay set vaykrr ||up to now, still, (with a negative verb) not yet until
 * wä ||+|| "against" || || (as in "fight against")
 * }
 * mungwrr  ||−|| "except" || éyktanmungwrr || except the leader
 * na ||− || "like", "as" || na ayskxe mì teʼlan rel na uniltìranyu || like stones in my heart (simile) a picture as an avatar (form)
 * -valign=top
 * ne ||− || "to" (direction) || terìran ayoe ayngane tsenge a tsane po karmä || we are walking your way the place to which she was going
 * nemfa ||− || "into" || || (from ne mì+fa)
 * pxaw ||− || "around" ||
 * pxel ||− || "like", "such as" || sute pxel nga || people such as you
 * ro ||+ || "at" (location) || ro fäpa, ro helku || at the top, at home
 * sì ||− || "and" (phrases) || trrä sì txonä, aylìʼut horentisì || of day and night, words and rules
 * sìn ||− || "on", "onto" (?) ||
 * sre ||+ || "before" (time) || sreseʼa || prophesize
 * ta ||− || "from" (generic) || aungia ta Eywa || a sign from Eywa
 * takip ||− || "from among" ||
 * tafkip ||− || "from up among" ||
 * teri ||− || "about, concerning" || teri lìʼfya leNaʼvi plltxe  || talk about the Naʼvi language
 * -valign=top
 * vay ||−|| "up to" (space or time) || vay set vaykrr ||up to now, still, (with a negative verb) not yet until
 * wä ||+|| "against" || || (as in "fight against")
 * }
 * ta ||− || "from" (generic) || aungia ta Eywa || a sign from Eywa
 * takip ||− || "from among" ||
 * tafkip ||− || "from up among" ||
 * teri ||− || "about, concerning" || teri lìʼfya leNaʼvi plltxe  || talk about the Naʼvi language
 * -valign=top
 * vay ||−|| "up to" (space or time) || vay set vaykrr ||up to now, still, (with a negative verb) not yet until
 * wä ||+|| "against" || || (as in "fight against")
 * }
 * -valign=top
 * vay ||−|| "up to" (space or time) || vay set vaykrr ||up to now, still, (with a negative verb) not yet until
 * wä ||+|| "against" || || (as in "fight against")
 * }
 * }

Various locative and temporal adverbs are derived from these: neʼìm "toward the back", nefä "upwards", nekll "downwards"; taʼem "from above"; mawkrr "after, afterwards"; srekrr "before, beforehand". Note also kä neto "go away (toward the distance)" and tok mìso "be there in the distance", both perhaps based on the particle to "than". Sreseʼa "to prophesize" is literally "to foresee", sre+tseʼa.

There are words besides traditional adpositions that have the same dual preposition/suffix use, such as sì "and" and pe+, -pe "which?", though the latter case is a dual prefix/suffix (peu, ʼupe "what?"—see ), never a preposition.

Though a prefix, the adverbial nì- "-ly" functions as a generic adposition: nìfyaʼo alaw "in a clear manner". It may be used where no specific adposition is correct; mì fyaʼo, for example, would mean literally "in the way, on the path", not *"in the manner".

Lenition and the ambiguity of short plurals
When used as prepositions, certain of these trigger, marked "+" in the table above. One of the leniting prepositions is mì "in", as in mì sokx "in the body", from tokx "the body". This may cause some ambiguity with short plurals: mì sokx could also be short for mì aysokx "in the bodies". When mì is used as a suffix, however, the noun is not lenited.


 * {|class=wikitable

! !!colspan=2| noun !!colspan=2| preposition + noun ||colspan=2| noun-suffix !Singular !Short plural !Long plural
 * tokx || "body" ||rowspan=2| mì sokx || "in the body" || tokxmì || "in the body"
 * sokx ||rowspan=2| "bodies" ||rowspan=2| "in the bodies" || sokxmì ||rowspan=2| "in the bodies"
 * aysokx || mì aysokx || aysokxmì
 * }