Atiqausit (nouns) are words that are used to name people, places and things. A noun stem in Inuktut can appear with or without grammatical endings. Here are some examples:
| noun roots | nouns with affixes and endings |
|---|---|
| iqaluk fish |
iqalungmik a fish |
| nuna land |
nunavut our land |
| kiinaujat money |
kiinaujaqaqtugut We have money. |
| pualuuk (two) mitts |
pualuukkak my two mitts |
| Piita Peter |
Piitakkunni at Peter’s house |
| Qurluqtuq Kugluktuk |
Qurluqturmittauq in Kugluktuk as well |
Singular, Dual and Plural
Most nouns have a singular (1), dual (2) and plural (3+) form.
| SAMPLE | Singular | Dual (2) | Plural (3+) |
|---|---|---|---|
| woman | arnaq | arnaak | arnait |
| person | inuk | inuuk | inuit |
| man | angut | angutiik | angutit |
Nouns in the dual always end in –k and nouns in the plural always end in –t. The dual usually involves lengthening the last vowel of the stem where possible. The plural ending may be -it or just -t depending on the noun.
1
2
3+
| ulu | uluuk | ulut |
|---|---|---|
| nuvuja | nuvujaak | nuvujat |
| qajaq | qajaak | qajat |
| aasivak | aasivaak | aasivat |
| iji | ijiik | ijit |
| aiviq | aiviik | aivit |
| ivik | iviik | ivit |
| tuktu | tuktuuk | tuktut |
| kanguq | kanguuk | kangut |
| iqaluk | iqaluuk | iqaluitt |
| kigut | kigutiik | kigutit |
| umiaq | umiak | umiat |
| igluralaaq | igluralaak | igluralaat |
| puuq | puuk | puut |