ni
English
Pronunciation
Audio (GA) (file)
Abinomn
Afar
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈni/, [ˈnɪ]
Determiner
ní
- our
- Saytun Qhuraan kee kay maqnah tarjamaty Qafar afal tani [The clear Qur'an and its explanation translated into the Afar language], Suurat Al-Faatica, verse 5:
- Diggah nanu Ni Rabbow koo inkittosnaah Qibaada dibuk koo caglisna, nanu ni-caagiidah inkih cato koo esserra.
- Our God, with strength we make you whole, only you we give [our] adoration, we as one ask you for help with our afairs.
See also
References
- E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) “ni”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
- Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie), Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)
Albanian
Etymology
From Proto-Albanian *nū, from Proto-Indo-European *nū (“now”). Cognate to Sanskrit नू (nū, “now”).[1] Often occurs in coordination with other particles, compare tani, nani, nime.
Related terms
References
- Orel, Vladimir E. (2000) A concise historical grammar of the Albanian language: reconstruction of Proto-Albanian, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 206
Anguthimri
References
- Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 187
Aromanian
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin nīs, from Latin nos. Compare Romanian ne (older form nă).
Pronoun
ni (unstressed accusative and reflexive form of noi)
- (direct object, first-person plural) us
Related terms
- noi (stressed accusative)
Pronoun
ni (unstressed dative and reflexive form of noi)
- (indirect object, first-person plural) (to) us
Related terms
- nau (stressed dative)
See also
Asturian
Atong (India)
Etymology
From Proto-Bodo-Garo *nɯi⁴ (“two”), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g/s-ni-s (“two”). Cognate with S'gaw Karen ခံ (khee), Tibetan གཉིས (gnyis), Sikkimese ཉི (nyi), Nuosu ꑍ (nyip), Burmese နှစ် (hnac).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/
References
- van Breugel, Seino. 2015. Atong-English dictionary, second edition. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/487044/Atong_English_Dictionary.
Bambara
Conjunction
ni
References
- Richard Nci Diarra, Lexique bambara-français-anglais, December 13, 2010
Basque
Etymology
From Proto-Basque *ni.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/ [ni]
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -i
- Hyphenation: ni
Declension
Common pronouns | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular | plural | |||||||
1st person | 2nd person (informal) | 2nd person (neutral) | 1st person | 2nd person | ||||
absolutive | ni | hi | zu | gu | zuek | |||
ergative | nik | hik | zuk | guk | ||||
dative | niri | hiri | zuri | guri | zuei | |||
genitive | nire, ene |
hire | zure | gure | zuen | |||
comitative | nirekin, enekin |
hirekin | zurekin | gurekin | zuekin | |||
causative | nigatik, niregatik, enegatik |
higatik, hiregatik | zugatik, zuregatik | gugatik, guregatik | zuengatik | |||
benefactive | niretzat, niretako, enetzat,enetako |
hiretzat, hiretako | zuretzat, zuretako | guretzat, guretako | zuentzat, zuendako | |||
instrumental | nitaz | hitaz | zutaz | gutaz | zuetaz | |||
inessive | nigan, niregan, nire baitan, nitan, enegan, ene baitan |
higan, hiregan, hire baitan, hitan | zugan, zuregan, zure baitan, zutan | gugan, guregan, gure baitan, gutan | zuengan, zuen baitan, zuetan | |||
locative | nire baitako, ene baitako | hire baitako | gu baitako, gure baitako | zu baitako, zure baitako | zuen baitako | |||
allative | niregana, nireganat, nire baitara, nire baitarat, enegana, eneganat, ene baitara, ene baitarat |
hiregana, hireganat, hire baitara, hire baitarat | zugana, zuregana, zuganat, zureganat, zu baitara, zure baitara, zu baitarat, zure baitarat |
gugana, guregana, guganat, gureganat, gu baitara, gure baitara, gu baitarat, gure baitarat |
zuengana, zuenganat, zuen baitara, zuen baitarat | |||
terminative | nireganaino, nire baitaraino, eneganaino |
higanaino, hireganaino, hire baitaraino |
zuganaino, zureganaino, zu baitaraino, zure baitaraino |
guganaino, gureganaino, gu baitaraino, gure baitaraino |
zuenganaino, zuen baitaraino | |||
directive | niganantz, nireganantz, eneganantz |
higanantz, hireganantz | zuganantz, zureganantz | guganantz, gureganantz | zuenganantz | |||
destinative | niganako, nireganako, eneganako |
higanako, hireganako | zuganako, zureganako | guganako, gureganako | zuenganako | |||
ablative | nireganik, niregandik, nire baitatik, nire baitarik, eneganik, enegandik, ene baitatik, ene baitarik |
higanik, hireganik, higandik, hiregandik, hire baitatik, hire baitarik |
zuganik, zureganik, zugandik, zuregandik, zu baitatik, zu baitarik, zure baitatik, zure baitarik |
guganik, gureganik, gugandik, guregandik, gu baitatik, gu baitarik, gure baitatik, gure baitarik |
zuenganik, zuengandik, zuen baitatik, zuen baitarik | |||
Emphatic pronouns | ||||||||
absolutive | neu | heu | zeu | geu | zeuek | |||
ergative | neuk | heuk | zeuk | geuk | ||||
dative | neuri | heuri | zeuri | geuri | zeuei | |||
genitive | neure | heure | zeure | geure | zeuen | |||
comitative | neurekin | heurekin | zeurekin | geurekin | zeuekin | |||
causative | neugatik, neuregatik | heugatik, heuregatik | zugatik, zuregatik | gugatik, guregatik | zuengatik | |||
benefactive | neuretzat, neuretako | heuretzat, heuretako | zeuretzat, zeuretako | geuretzat, geuretako | zeuentzat, zeuendako | |||
instrumental | neutaz | heutaz | zeutaz | geutaz | zeuetaz | |||
inessive | neugan | heuregan, heure baitan | zeugan, zeuregan | geugan, geuregan | zeuengan | |||
locative | neure baitako | heure baitako | zeure baitako | geure baitako | zeuen baitako | |||
allative | neuregana | heugana, heuregana, heure baitara, heure baitarat | zeugana, zeuregana | geugana, geuregana | zeuengana | |||
terminative | neuregaino | heuganaino, heureganaino, heure baitaraino | zeuganaino, zeureganaino | geuganaino, geureganaino | zeuenganaino | |||
directive | neuganantz | heuganantz, heureganantz | zeuganantz, zeureganantz | geuganantz, geureganantz | zeuenganantz | |||
destinative | neureganako | heuganako, heureganako | zeuganako, zeureganako | geuganako, geureganako | zeuenganako | |||
ablative | neuganik, neugandik | heuganik, heureganik, heugandik, heuregandik, heure baitatik, heure baitarik |
zeuganik, zeureganik, zeugandik, zeuregandik | geuganik, geureganik, geugandik, geuregandik | zeuenganik, zeuengandik |
Derived terms
- neu
- ni beldur
- niganatu (“to bring closer to me”)
- nihaur
- nik al dakit (“who knows”)
- nik dakita (“who knows”)
- nik uste (“I suppose”)
- niketz
- niretar (“my family, my associates”)
- niretu
- nirezko
- nitasun
Biloxi
References
- David Kaufman, Tanêks-Tąyosą Kadakathi: Biloxi-English Dictionary (University of Kansas, 2011, →ISBN, page 34
Breton
Etymology 1
From Proto-Brythonic *ni, from Proto-Celtic *snīs.
Etymology 2
From Proto-Brythonic *nei, from Proto-Celtic *neɸūss, from Proto-Indo-European *népōts.
Catalan
Danish
< 8 | 9 | 10 > |
---|---|---|
Cardinal : ni Ordinal : niende | ||
Etymology
From Old Norse níu, from Proto-Germanic *newun, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁néwn̥ (“nine”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /niː/, [niːˀ]
Drung
Etymology
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nəj.
Dumbea
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/
References
- Leenhardt, M. (1946) Langues et dialectes de l'Austro-Mèlanèsie. Cited in: "ⁿDuᵐbea" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.
- Shintani, T.L.A. & Païta, Y. (1990) Dictionnaire de la langue de Païta, Nouméa: Sociéte d'etudes historiques de Nouvelle-Calédonie. Cited in: "Drubea" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.
Esperanto
Pronunciation
Audio (file) - IPA(key): /ni/
French
Etymology
From Middle French ny, from Old French ne, from Latin nec. Compare Italian né, Catalan and Spanish ni, Portuguese nem.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/
audio (file)
Conjunction
ni
- neither; nor
- 1898, Revue du monde invisible, page 339:
- Notre imagination, si ardente qu’on la suppose, ne peut ni guérir instantanément une lésion organique, ni ressusciter un mort.
- Our imagination, so ardent as we suppose, can neither instantaneously heal an organic lesion, nor resuscitate the dead.
- 1876, Bulletins et mémoires de la Société médicale des hôpitaux de Paris, Volume 12:
- […] les constitutions accidentelles ou intercurrentes ne sont ni moins importantes ni plus faciles à expliquer.
- […] accidental or intercurrent constitutions are neither less important nor easier to explain.
- c. 1656–1662, Blaise Pascal, “Preuves par discours I – Papier original : RO 3-1 r° / v° et RO 7-1 r° / v°”, in Pensées [Thoughts]:
- Mais nous ne connaissons ni l’existence ni la nature de Dieu, parce qu’il n’a ni étendue, ni bornes.
- But we know neither the existence nor the nature of God, because He has neither extent nor limits.
Usage notes
- Used with the negative particle ne.
- Chiefly used at least twice in the same sentence the same way neither and nor would be used in an English sentence, such as ni riche, ni pauvre (“neither rich nor poor”).
See also
Further reading
- “ni”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Gothic
Hungarian
Etymology
Native word of debated origin:[1]
- Shortened from nézd (“look!”) ~ nízd (a dialectal variant).
- An onomatopoeia expressing astonishment.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈni]
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: ni
Usage notes
Most of the time it is used in its duplicated form: nini!
References
- ni in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN. (See also its 2nd edition.)
Further reading
- ni in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
Ido
Ingrian
Pronunciation
- (Ala-Laukaa) IPA(key): /ˈni/, [ˈni]
- (Soikkola) IPA(key): /ˈni/, [ˈni]
- Rhymes: -i
- Hyphenation: ni
Conjunction
ni
- Alternative form of niin
- 1937, V. A. Tetjurev, translated by N. I. Molotsova, Loonnontiito (ensimäin osa): oppikirja alkușkoulun kolmatta klaassaa vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-Pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 6:
- Jot saavva tiitä mitä ono pintamaas, ni pittää tehä mokomat oopьtat.
- In order to get to know what is in the topsoil, (that's why) it's important to perform such experiments.
References
- Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 340
Interlingua
Alternative forms
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈni/
- Rhymes: -i
- Hyphenation: nì
Kamano
Alternative forms
References
- The Papuan Languages of New Guinea (1986, →ISBN
Kansa
Etymology
From Proto-Siouan *wa-rį́• (“water”).
References
- Kansa dictionary
- Quapaw dictionary, in notes: "ni (ni) - water, river, liquid (Kanza)"
Kedah Malay
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/
Laboya
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [niː]
Latin
Etymology
From Old Latin nei, from Proto-Italic *nei, from Proto-Indo-European *néy (“not”), from *ne. Cognates include Gothic 𐌽𐌴𐌹 (nei), Lithuanian nei, Old Church Slavonic ни (ni), Old Irish ní and Sanskrit न (ná). See also nē.
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /niː/, [niː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ni/, [niː]
Adverb
nī (not comparable)
Conjunction
nī
- not, that not, unless; like ne in imperative and intentional clauses
- Ni quid tibi hinc in spem referas. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
- Vinum aliudve quid ni laudato. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
- Numa constituit, ut pisces, qui squamosi non essent, ni pollucerent ... ni qui ad polluctum emerent. ― Numa ordained scaleless fish not to be served nor bought for serving.
Ligurian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/
Lolopo
Etymology
From Proto-Loloish *(ʔ)-ne¹, from Proto-Lolo-Burmese *ʔnəj¹/³, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nəj (“sun; day”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ni³³]
References
- Merrifield, Judith, Merrifield, Scott (2018) “Query for ni”, in Yao'an Loxrlavu – English Dictionary (in Chinese), SIL International
Luxembourgish
Etymology
From Middle High German nie, from Old High German nio. Cognate with German nie.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /niː/
Synonyms
- (never): nimools, keemol, keemools
Malay
Etymology
Shortened form of ini, from Proto-Malayic *(i)ni(ʔ), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)ni, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)ni.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/
- Rhymes: -ni, -i
Determiner
ni
Mandarin
Romanization
ni
Usage notes
- Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
Marshallese
Etymology
From Proto-Micronesian *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.
Related terms
- iu (coconut)
References
Middle Irish
Mizo
Etymology 1
From Proto-Kuki-Chin *nii (“sun; day”), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nəj (“sun; day”).
References
- Lorrain, J. Herbert (1940) “ni”, in Dictionary of the Lushai language, Calcutta: Asiatic Society
Mohegan-Pequot
Navajo
Pronoun
ni
Usage notes
The verb in Navajo incorporates information about person, and many sentences may thus not have explicit independent pronouns. For instance:
- Hooghandi naniná.
- Ni éí hooghandi naniná.
Both sentences are grammatically complete, and mean essentially the same thing: you are at home. The verb naniná is in the second-person form, so the pronoun can be safely omitted, as in the first sentence. This is similar to pronoun dropping in other languages where the verb specifies person, such as Spanish. Meanwhile, the explicit use of ni in the second sentence emphasizes that the speaker is talking about you. This can be thought of as roughly equivalent to the use of emphasis in English: while the first sentence comes across as you're at home, the second one is more like you, you're at home.
Naxi
Etymology 1
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-ŋja.
Etymology 2
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g/s-ni-s.
References
- Naxi Dictionary by T.M. Pinson, Lijiang 2012
Ningil
References
- transnewguinea.org, citing D. C. Laycock, Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea (1968), Oceanic Linguistics, 7 (1): 36-66 : /niː/
- Margaret Manning, Naomi Saggers, A Tentative Phonemic Analysis of Ningil (SIL), in Phonologies of five Austronesian languages (Richard Loving, John M. Clifton; 1975) : /ni/
Norwegian Bokmål
< 8 | 9 | 10 > |
---|---|---|
Cardinal : ni Ordinal : niende | ||
Etymology
From Old Norse níu (whence also Danish ni, Icelandic níu, Faroese níggju and Swedish nio) from Proto-Germanic *newun, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁néwn̥. Cognate with Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌽 (niun); Old English niġon (English nine); Old Frisian nigun (West Frisian njoggen); Old High German niun (German neun).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/
Related terms
References
- “ni” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
< 8 | 9 | 10 > |
---|---|---|
Cardinal : ni Ordinal : niande | ||
References
- “ni” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Nutabe
References
- Paul Rivet, Nouvelle contribution à l’étude de l’ethnologie précolombienne de Colombie, Journal de la Société des Américanistes volume 35, pages 25-39 (1943), page 26
Old High German
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *ne.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/
Derived terms
Old Irish
Omaha-Ponca
Etymology
From Proto-Siouan *wa-rį́• (“water”).
References
- Alice Cunningham Fletcher, Francis La Flesche, The Omaha Tribe (1970), page 166
Phalura
Etymology 1
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/
Determiner
ni (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نیۡ)
- this (agr: prox fem / prox non-nom masc)
References
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/
Determiner
ni (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نیۡ)
- these (agr: prox)
References
Etymology 3
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/
Pronoun
ni (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نیۡ)
- it
- she (prox fem nom)
References
Etymology 4
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/
Pronoun
ni (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نیۡ)
- they (prox nom)
Polish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɲi/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -i
- Syllabification: ni
Etymology 1
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ni.
Derived terms
- ni pies, ni wydra
- ni tak, ni siak
- ni to, ni sio
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek νῦ (nû).
Proto-Norse
Rawang
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni˧/
Alternative forms
Alternative forms
Etymology 3
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nəj. Cognate with Burmese နေ (ne) and နေ့ (ne.), Old Chinese 日 (*njiɡ).
See also
- yáng (“daytime”)
Romanian
Etymology 1
Inherited from Latin.
Usage notes
This form is used when ne (which is dative) is combined with the following accusatives:
Samoan
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic *ni (“nor, not”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *nej, from Proto-Indo-European *ney. Compare ni-, ne.
Particle
ni (Cyrillic spelling ни)
Sicilian
Alternative forms
- nni
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ni]
- (unstressed) IPA(key): [nɪ]
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈni/ [ˈni]
- Rhymes: -i
- Syllabification: ni
Etymology 1
From Old Spanish nin, from Latin nec, apocopated form of neque, from Proto-Indo-European *nekʷe (“and not, neither, nor”), from *ne (“not”) + *-kʷe (“and”). Compare Asturian and Galician nin, Catalan and French ni, Portuguese nem, Italian né, Dalmatian ne. Indo-European cognates include Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌷 (nih) and Irish nach.
Conjunction
ni
Derived terms
- ni chicha ni limonada
- ni come, ni deja comer
- ni corto ni perezoso
- ni fu ni fa
- ni grado ni gracias
- ni idea
- ni ir ni venir
- ni lerdo ni perezoso
- ni más ni menos
- ni olvido, ni perdón
- ni pena ni gloria
- ni rey ni roque
- ni tanto ni tan calvo
- ni va ni viene
- ni visto ni oído
- sin chistar ni mistar
- sin oficio ni beneficio
- sin pena ni gloria
- sin pies ni cabeza
- sin tripas ni cuajar
Adverb
ni
- not even
- No descansaba ni por un minuto
- I didn't rest even for a minute.
- Ni yo sé qué significa esta palabra.
- Not even I know what this word means.
Derived terms
- ni a balazos
- ni a cañón
- ni a cañonazos
- ni a dos tirones
- ni a la de tres
- ni a palos
- ni a tiros
- ni a tres tirones
- ni bien
- ni borracho
- ni buscado con un candil
- ni cosa que lo valga
- ni Cristo que lo fundó
- ni de broma
- ni de coña
- ni de guasa
- ni de lejos
- ni Dios
- ni en sueños
- ni gaitas
- ni ganas
- ni hablar
- ni hablar del peluquín
- ni harto de vino
- ni hecho a propósito
- ni idea
- ni jota
- ni media palabra
- ni modo
- ni mu
- ni mucho menos
- ni muerto
- ni palabra
- ni pensarlo
- ni pío
- ni pizca
- ni por asomo
- ni por esas
- ni por un cristo
- ni que
- ni que decir tiene
- ni qué hostias
- ni qué leches
- ni qué niño muerto
- ni qué ocho cuartos
- ni qué pan caliente
- ni remotamente
- ni siquiera
- ni un pelo
- nini
- no dejar verde ni seco
- no ni na
- ya ni la friegas
Further reading
- “ni”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Swahili
Pronunciation
Audio (Kenya) (file)
Swedish
Etymology
Since 1661, through rebracketing of the 2nd plural verb suffix -(e)n and the older pronoun I ("ye"), e.g. vissten I > visste ni (“did you know”). Compare Icelandic þér and þið which developed similarly.
The Old Swedish ī, īr derives from Old Norse *īʀ (East Norse variant of ér) from Proto-Germanic *jīz, from Proto-Indo-European *yū́. Compare Danish I.
Pronunciation
audio (file) - IPA(key): /niː/
- Rhymes: -iː
Pronoun
ni
- you (plural nominative)
- Du är bara en person, men ni där borta är fyra personer
- You are just one person, but you/you guys over there are four people
- you (second-person singular nominative formal) (capitalized Ni, rare in modern use)
- (obsolete) title used when addressing a person of lower social rank
- –Ni kan börja med att städa kontoret, fröken Andersson.
–Javisst, Herr Direktör.- –You can start with cleaning the office, miss Andersson.
–Certainly, Mr. Director
- –You can start with cleaning the office, miss Andersson.
- (colloquial, perceived formal, derogatory to some) by some considered a respectful alternative to du (“you”), especially when addressing customers or the elderly
- Vill ni ha en påse med köpet?
- Do you want a bag with your purchase?
- (obsolete) title used when addressing a person of lower social rank
Usage notes
Both ni and er are second person plural forms, but can also be used as formal second person singular, as in the German Sie or French vous. It may sometimes also be capitalized (Ni, Er). The courteous "ni" was introduced in Swedish around the year 1900 as an alternative to the more complicated pattern of addressing others in the third person singular by their appropriate titles. This required knowledge of social status, occupation, educations, etc. with terms like fru (“Mrs.”) or fröken (“Ms.”), greve (“count”), kamrer (“accountant”), kandidat (“bachelor's degree holder”), etc. However this "ni-reform" was not well liked and when authority came to use the word ni to their subordinates the word got a condescending undertone. Interestingly enough the older I, from which ni was originally formed, was used alongside ni all along (and is still in use in some dialects) but never got the condescending undertone that ni got. This was all phased out gradually during the 1960s and 1970s in the so-called du-reformen, (“the you-reform”). In contemporary Swedish, du is universal and may be used to address anyone, regardless of differences in social status or age.
Ni is used occasionally by younger speakers to address customers in order to be formal and polite. However this is often seen as being overly formal and too contrived, even condescending and insulting, especially by older speakers. Formality and politeness in modern Swedish is not conveyed through specific grammatical forms, but primarily done through indirectness, manners of speaking or various other behaviors.
Declension
Number | Person | Type | Nominative | Oblique | Possessive | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
common | neuter | plural | |||||
singular | first | — | jag | mig, mej3 | min | mitt | mina |
second | — | du | dig, dej3 | din | ditt | dina | |
third | masculine (person) | han | honom, han2, en5 | hans | |||
feminine (person) | hon | henne, na5 | hennes | ||||
gender-neutral (person)1 | hen | hen, henom7 | hens | ||||
common (noun) | den | den | dess | ||||
neuter (noun) | det | det | dess | ||||
indefinite | man or en4 | en | ens | ||||
reflexive | — | sig, sej3 | sin | sitt | sina | ||
plural | first | — | vi | oss | vår, våran2 | vårt, vårat2 | våra |
second | — | ni | er | er, eran2, ers6 | ert, erat2 | era | |
archaic | I | eder | eder, eders6 | edert | edra | ||
third | — | de, dom3 | dem, dom3 | deras | |||
reflexive | — | sig, sej3 | sin | sitt | sina |
Synonyms
References
Anagrams
Tagalog
Pronunciation
- (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ni/ [nɪ]
Audio: (file) - Rhymes: -i
- Syllabification: ni
Etymology 1
From Proto-Austronesian *ni (“marker of possession”).
Preposition
ni (plural nina, Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒ)
See also
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Spanish ni (“not even”), from Old Spanish nin, from Latin nec, apocopated form of neque.
Conjunction
ni (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒ)
Adverb
ni (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒ)
- not even
- Hindi ako humingi ni isang butil ng bigas. ― I didn't ask not even for a single grain of rice.
Tarifit
Alternative forms
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Verb
ni (Tifinagh spelling ⵏⵉ)
Conjugation
This verb needs an inflection-table template.
Tokelauan
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ni]
- Hyphenation: ni
Etymology 1
From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *ni. Cognates include Tuvaluan ni and Samoan ni.
See also
Ura (Vanuatu)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni/, [ni]
Further reading
- Terry Crowley, Ura: A Disappearing Language of Southern Vanuatu (1999)
Uzbek
Particle
ni (Cyrillic ни)
- accusative case marker. It is placed after the direct object of a transitive verb.
- Men O'zbek tilini o'rganyapman.
- I am studying Uzbek.
Veps
Inflection
Not inflected.
References
- Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “ни”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary], Petrozavodsk: Periodika
Vietnamese
Etymology
See này.
This is one of many cases in which monophthongs were not diphthongized in Central Vietnamese, compare mày vs. mi, chấy vs. chí, nước vs. nác.
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ni˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [nɪj˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [nɪj˧˧]
See also
Vietnamese demonstratives | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laurence Thompson (1965), Vietnamese Grammar | |||||||||||||||||||
Unspecified | Close to the speaker or newly introduced | Remote, already identified | |||||||||||||||||
PLACE đ- (first register) |
đâu ‘wherever’ |
đây ‘here’ |
đấy ‘there’ | ||||||||||||||||
REFERENCE n- (second register) |
nào ‘whichever’ |
này ‘this’ |
nọ ‘that’ | ||||||||||||||||
PROPORTION b- (first register) |
bao ‘to whatever extent’ |
bây ‘to this extent’ |
bấy ‘to that extent’ | ||||||||||||||||
MANNER s- (first register) v- (second register) |
sao ‘however’ |
vầy ‘this way’ |
vậy ‘that way’ | ||||||||||||||||
Nguyễn Phú Phong (1992), “Vietnamese Demonstratives Revisited” | |||||||||||||||||||
D• (Indefinite) | D1 (Proximal) | D2 (Medial) | D3 (Distal) | ||||||||||||||||
+NOM(inal) | đâu place-what |
đây place-this |
đấy place-that1 |
||||||||||||||||
±NOM(inal) | đó (place-)that1 |
kia (place-)that2 | |||||||||||||||||
–NOM(inal) | nào what |
nầy this |
nấy/ấy that1 |
nọ that2 |
Proximal (*-iː) |
Distal 1 (*-iːʔ) |
Distal 2 (*-əːʔ) |
Distal 3/ Remote (*-ɔːʔ) |
Interrogative (rime was a rounded back vowel) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place, attributive1 n- |
ni nì này |
nấy | nớ | nọ | nào |
Place, nominal2 đ- |
đây | đí đấy |
— | đó | đâu |
Manner r- |
ri rày |
— | rứa | — | ru sao3 |
Extent 14 b- |
bây | bấy | — | — | bao |
Extent 25 v- |
vầy | vậy | — | — | — |
1 Originally can only follow a nominal (being used attributively), hence nơi này (“this place; here”), nơi nào (“where”) (no longer completely true in the modern language). 2 Can be used on its own/is itself nominal, hence đây (“here”), đâu (“where”). 3 From earlier *C-raːw (where *C is nonspecific consonant). 4 Placed before the head: bây nhiêu (“this much”), bấy nhiêu (“that much”), bao nhiêu (“how much”). 5 Placed after the head: nhanh vầy (“this fast”), nhanh vậy (“that fast/so fast”). |
Anagrams
Welsh
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /niː/
- Rhymes: -iː
Etymology 1
From Proto-Brythonic *ni, from Proto-Celtic *snīs.
Etymology 2
From Proto-Celtic *nīs, from Proto-Indo-European *ne h₁ésti (“is not”).
West Makian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /n̪i/
See also
independent | possessive prefix | |
---|---|---|
1st person singular | de | ti |
2nd person singular | ni | ni |
3rd person singular | me | mVan., dVinan. |
1st person plural inclusive | ene | nV |
1st person plural exclusive | imi | mi |
2nd person plural | ini | fi |
3rd person plural | eme | di |
- V indicates the expected assimilated vowel of the following noun, following standard West Makian vowel harmony.
Yil
References
- transnewguinea.org, citing D. C. Laycock, Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea (1968), Oceanic Linguistics, 7 (1): 36-66 : /niː/
- A Tentative Phonemic Statement in Yil in West Sepik Province, in Phonologies of five Austronesian languages (Richard Loving, John M. Clifton; 1975) : /ni/
Yoruba
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /nĩ́/
See also
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /nĩ́/
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /nĩ́/
Derived terms
- lẹ́ẹ̀kan (“once”)
- lẹ́yìn (“behind, except”)
- lọ́dọọdún (“every year”)
- lọ́jọ́ ọ̀la (“in the future”)
- lọ́la (“tomorrow”)
- lọ́sọ̀ọ̀sẹ̀ (“every week”)
- lọ́sọ̀ọ̀sán (“every afternoon”)
- lọ́sàn-án (“in the afternoon”)
- lọ́tùn-ún-la (“the day after tomorrow”)
- lábẹ́ (“under”)
- lálaalẹ́ (“every evening”)
- lálẹ́ (“in the evening”)
- lánàá (“yesterday”)
- láràárọ̀ (“every morning”)
- láyé àtijọ́ (“historically”)
- láàárọ̀ (“in the morning”)
- lóde òní (“nowadays”)
- lójoojúmọ́ (“everyday”)
- lókè (“over, above”)
- lónìí (“today”)
- lópin (“at the end”)
- lórí (“on top, on”)
- lóòótọ́ (“in truth”)
- ní báyìí (“at this time”)
- níbẹ̀ (“there”)
- níbẹ̀rẹ̀ (“at the start”)
- níbikíbi (“anywhere”)
- níbo (“where”)
- níbí (“here”)
- nígbà tí (“when”)
- nígbàkugbà (“at any time”)
- níjẹta (“two days ago”)
- nílẹ̀ (“down”)
- nílé (“at home”)
- nínú (“inside”)
- nípòkípò (“in any position”)
- nísàlẹ̀ (“below, under”)
- nítorí (“because of”)
See also
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /nĩ́/
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /nĩ̄/
Usage notes
This verb cannot be used with regular subject pronouns such as mo or ó, and emphatic subject pronouns must be used in their place. This verb is also often used in a flipped structure where the quality or identification becomes the grammatical subject of the verb while an object pronoun is used for the actual subject of the sentence.
- Òun ni ọ̀rẹ́ mi. – He is my friend. (uses the emphatic pronoun òun instead of ó)
- Ṣé ọmọ Yorùbá ni yín? – Are you Yoruba? (Ọmọ Yorùbá becomes the subject of ni while "you" becomes the object pronoun yín)
Derived terms
Zou
Etymology 1
From Proto-Kuki-Chin *nii, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nəj. Cognates include Northern Min 日 (nì) and Burmese နေ (ne).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni˧/
Etymology 2
< 1 | 2 | 3 > |
---|---|---|
Cardinal : ni | ||
From Proto-Kuki-Chin *ni, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g/s-ni-s. Cognates include Northern Min 二 (nī) and Tibetan གཉིས (gnyis).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ni˧/
References
- Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 40
Zulu
Etymology 1
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Inflection
Enumerative concord, tone H | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Modifier | ||||
Class 1 | muni | |||
Class 2 | bani | |||
Class 3 | muni | |||
Class 4 | mini | |||
Class 5 | lini | |||
Class 6 | mani | |||
Class 7 | sini | |||
Class 8 | zini | |||
Class 9 | yini | |||
Class 10 | zini | |||
Class 11 | luni | |||
Class 14 | buni | |||
Class 15 | kuni | |||
Class 17 | kuni |
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
References
- C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “-ni”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “-ni”