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Introduction · Phonology · Pronouns · Particles · Nouns · Verbs · Adjectives · Numbers · Loanwords · Dialects · Toponyms

Nāhuatlahtōlli Nahuatl
Family	Sub-family	Language of	Script
Uto-Aztecan	Aztecan	Mexico	Latin

Nahuatl toponyms

Toponyms can be both place names, real or imaginary, as well as names derived from places or regions.

Toponyms in Nahuatl are easily recognizable because they use suffixes to recall some caracteristics of the place, thos suffixes are: -tlān, -tlah, -co, -tepētl, etc. Sometimes there is two or more suffixes/prefixes in combination.

Suffix	Meaning	Examples
-co	'in the place of...'	Mēxihco, Ācapōlco, Tlachco, Xōchimīlco
-tzinco	'in the venerable...'	Chīlpantzinco, Mēxihcaltzinco, Tōllāntzinco
-tlah	'place sowed with...'	Camocuauhtlah, Cuāuhtlah, Tlālnepantlah
-tlān / -lān	'place full of...'	Āhuacatlān, Zacatlān, Mazātlān, Tlaxcallān
-tepētl / -tepēc	'in the mountain of...'	Popōcatepētl, Chapōltepēc, Cōātepēc
-titlan	'place between...'	Tenōchtitlan, Texcaltitlan
-pan	'over...'	Ātīzapan, Axōchiāpan, Xālāpan
-īxco / -īxpan	'in front of...'	Ātlīxco, Xālīxco, Temīxco
-tēnco	'in the shore of..., in the rim of...'	Tiyanquiztēnco, Tequixquitēnco
-cān	'where...'	Cōlhuahcān, Teōtīhuacān, Tōllohcān
-mān	'in the hands of...'	Ācolmān, Cōlimān
-yān	'where + (impersonal verb)'	Ālmolōyān, Calimayān, Temōhuayān

Other forms as prefixes

Morpheme	Meaning	Examples
ā- / 'āl-	'water'	Ātēnco, Āltepētl
tlāl-	'ground'	Tlālpan
-cal-	'house'	Izcalli
cuauh-	'tree'	Cuauhtitlan