qui
Catalan
Pronoun
qui
- (interrogative) who, whom
- whoever
- 2019 August 17, Magí Camps, “Esther Tallada: “Cada traductor és fidel a la seva manera””, in La Vanguardia:
- Qui tradueix hi aporta coses, pren decisions en funció del que li suscita l’original, segons el que creu que és més important destacar.
- Whoever translates contributes things to it; they make decisions depending on what the original arouses in them, according to what they believe is most important to emphasize.
Further reading
- “qui” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “qui”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “qui” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “qui” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French
Etymology
Inherited from Middle French qui, from Old French qui, from Latin quī.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ki/
audio (file) Audio (file)
Pronoun
qui
- (interrogative) who, whom
- Tu as vu qui ?
- Who have you seen?
- Je ne sais pas qui vous êtes.
- I don't know who you are.
- (relative) who, whom (after a preposition), which, that
- La personne qui parle connait bien son sujet.
- The person who speaks knows his/her subject well.
- Cette voiture bleue qui passe me plait beaucoup.
- This blue car which is passing I like a lot.
- J’aime les chiens qui sont calmes.
- I like dogs that are quiet.
- Un homme à qui j’ai parlé.
- A man to whom I spoke/have spoken.
- Si lugubre que fût l’appartement, c’était un paradis pour qui revenait du lycée.
- Gloomy as the apartment was, it was still a paradise for those who came back from school.
- Rira bien qui rira le dernier.
- Who laughs last laughs well.
Usage notes
After a preposition, qui can only refer to people; things (including animals, objects, ideas, etc.) require the pronoun lequel. After the prepositions entre (“between”) and parmi (“among”), lesquels/lesquelles (the plural forms of lequel, the singulars being — logically — much less common) must be used whether referring to a person or a thing.
Derived terms
Further reading
- “qui”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Ido
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kwi/
Pronoun
qui
Pronoun
qui
- plural of quo
- (relative pronoun) which (plural)
- Esis tre bona kulteli qui me tranchis per. ― They were really good knives with which I cut.
- (interrogative pronoun) what (plural)
- Qui eventis? ― What (thing) happened? (indicating that several things happened) (direct question)
- Ka tu povas helpar me decidar qui metar? ― Can you help me to decide what to wear? (indicating that several things are to be worn) (indirect question)
Interlingua
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ki/
Usage notes
- As a relative, qui is used in the nominative and after prepositions.
- un contabile qui sape disfacer se del evidentia
- an accountant who knows how to get rid of evidence
- un contabile super qui nos pote contar
- an accountant on whom we can count
- In the oblique, que is used instead.
- un contabile que le policia non perseque
- an accountant whom the police are not pursuing
Italian
Alternative forms
- quì (misspelling)
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin *eccum hīc (with apocope), from Latin eccum + hīc.
The original geminated -cc-, though lost in the standard language, is still found in most regional Italian varieties.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkwi/*
Audio (file)
- (regional) IPA(key): */ˈkwi/*
- Rhymes: -i
Usage notes
Further reading
- qui in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
- qui in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
Latin
See also
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /kʷiː/, [kʷiː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /kwi/, [kwiː]
Audio (educated guess for Classical) (file)
Etymology 1
From earlier quei, from Proto-Italic *kʷoi, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis, *kʷos.
Alternative forms
Pronoun
quī (feminine quae, neuter quod); relative/interrogative pronoun
- (relative) who, that, which, what
- c. 177 CE, Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae 1.18.5:
- Nam quod ā Graecīs nunc κλέπτης dīcitur, antīquiōre Graecā linguā φὼρ dictum est. Hinc per adfīnitātem litterārum, quī φὼρ Graecē, est Latīnē 'fūr'.
- For, what is now said a κλέπτης by the Greeks, in older Greek language φώρ was said. Hence, by affinity of the letters, he who [is] a φώρ in Greek is in Latin a fūr.
- Nam quod ā Graecīs nunc κλέπτης dīcitur, antīquiōre Graecā linguā φὼρ dictum est. Hinc per adfīnitātem litterārum, quī φὼρ Graecē, est Latīnē 'fūr'.
- c. 524 CE, Boethius, De philosophiae consolatione 1.1:
- Mors hominum felix, quae se nec dulcibus annis
Inserit et maestis saepe uocata uenit.- Fortunate is that human death that doesn't step in during one's sweet years, and comes to the sorrowful after being often called!
- Mors hominum felix, quae se nec dulcibus annis
Usage notes
- See quis for the interrogative pronoun ("who?") or indefinite pronoun ("any(one)"), which share most but not all forms with the relative pronoun.
Declension
Irregular. Relative pronoun.
Number | Singular | Plural | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case / Gender | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
Nominative | quī | quae | quod | quī1 | quae | ||
Genitive | cuius1 | quōrum | quārum | quōrum | |||
Dative | cui1 | quibus quīs1 | |||||
Accusative | quem | quam | quod | quōs | quās | quae | |
Ablative | quō | quā | quō | quibus quīs1 |
1In Republican Latin or earlier, alternative spellings could be found for the following forms of quī/quis and its compounds: the masculine nominative singular or plural quī (old spelling quei), the genitive singular cuius (old spelling quoius), the dative singular cui (old spelling quoi or quoiei), the dative/ablative plural quīs (old spelling queis).
Adjective
quī or quis (feminine quae or qua, neuter quod); relative/interrogative pronoun
- (interrogative) who, what, which
- 55 BCE, Cicero, De Oratore 2.34:
- Qui enim cantus moderata oratione dulcior inveniri potest? Quod carmen artificiosa verborum conclusione aptius? Qui actor imitanda quam orator suscipienda veritate iucundior?
- What music can be found more sweet than the pronunciation of a well-ordered oration? What poem more agreeable than the skilful structure of prose? What actor has ever given greater pleasure in imitating, than an orator gives in supporting, truth?
- Qui enim cantus moderata oratione dulcior inveniri potest? Quod carmen artificiosa verborum conclusione aptius? Qui actor imitanda quam orator suscipienda veritate iucundior?
- (indefinite, after si, nisi, num, ne) anyone, any
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 1.31:
- Ariovistum [...] obsidēs nōbilissimī cuiusque līberōs poscere, et in eōs omnia exempla cruciatūsque ēdere, sī qua rēs nōn ad nūtum aut ad voluntātem eius facta sit.
- Ariovistus ... demanded the children of all the high nobles as hostages, and afflict them with every kind of cruelty, if anything wasn't done with his approval or for his pleasure.
- Ariovistum [...] obsidēs nōbilissimī cuiusque līberōs poscere, et in eōs omnia exempla cruciatūsque ēdere, sī qua rēs nōn ad nūtum aut ad voluntātem eius facta sit.
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 7.11:
- ne quem post se hostem relinqueret
- lest he should leave any enemy behind him
- ne quem post se hostem relinqueret
- 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita 26.1:
- […] dum ne quem militem legeret ex eo numero quibus senatus missionem reditumque in patriam negasset ante belli finem.
- […] provided he did not choose any soldier from those to whom the Senate had refused discharge and a return home before the end of the war
- […] dum ne quem militem legeret ex eo numero quibus senatus missionem reditumque in patriam negasset ante belli finem.
Declension
Irregular. Interrogative/indefinite determiner.
Number | Singular | Plural | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case / Gender | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
Nominative | quī1 quis |
quae qua2 |
quod | quī1 | quae | quae qua2 | |
Genitive | cuius1 | quōrum | quārum | quōrum | |||
Dative | cui1 | quibus quīs1 | |||||
Accusative | quem | quam | quod | quōs | quās | quae qua2 | |
Ablative | quō | quā | quō | quibus quīs1 |
1In Republican Latin or earlier, alternative spellings could be found for the following forms of quī/quis and its compounds: the masculine nominative singular or plural quī (old spelling quei), the genitive singular cuius (old spelling quoius), the dative singular cui (old spelling quoi or quoiei), the dative/ablative plural quīs (old spelling queis).
2When used as an indefinite word (pronoun or adjective), the feminine nominative singular and neuter nominative/accusative plural is usually qua (with short ă) instead of quae. Indefinite quă is generally only found directly after sī, nisi, num, or nē and may be considered to be either enclitic to the preceding word or (in Priscian's view) forming a compound with it; accordingly, sīqua, numqua, and nēqua are sometimes written together (as also are the masculines sīquis, numquis, and nēquis). The form quă is never used for the feminine plural, nor for any form of the relative pronoun or of the interrogative pronoun or adjective.
Derived terms
Descendants
- Balkan Romance:
- Italo-Romance:
- Northern Gallo-Romance:
- Southern Gallo-Romance:
- Ibero-Romance:
- Borrowings:
- → Interlingua: qui
References
- “qui¹”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- Allen, Joseph Henry, Greenough, James B. (1903) Allen and Greenough's New Latin grammar for schools and colleges: founded on comparative grammar, Boston: Ginn and Company, § 147 (relative pronoun)
- Allen, Joseph Henry, Greenough, James B. (1903) Allen and Greenough's New Latin grammar for schools and colleges: founded on comparative grammar, Boston: Ginn and Company, § 149 (indefinite adjective)
Etymology 2
Old instrumental case of quis, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey. Cognate with English why.
Adverb
quī (not comparable)
- (interrogative) In what way? how? whereby? by what means? why?
- (relative) wherewith, whereby, wherefrom, how; that, in order that
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.11:
- Ea quī cōnficeret, C. Trebōnium lēgātum relinquit.
- To complete these arrangements, he leaves C. Trebonius in command.
- Ea quī cōnficeret, C. Trebōnium lēgātum relinquit.
- (indefinite, with hercle, edepol, at, quippe, ut) somehow, surely
Synonyms
- (how?): ut
References
- “qui²”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “qui”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- qui in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- (ambiguous) the visible world: haec omnia, quae videmus
- (ambiguous) the vegetable kingdom: ea, quae terra gignit
- (ambiguous) the vegetable kingdom: ea, quae e terra gignuntur
- (ambiguous) the vegetable kingdom: ea, quae a terra stirpibus continentur
- (ambiguous) the vegetable kingdom: ea quorum stirpes terra continentur (N. D. 2. 10. 26)
- (ambiguous) the atmosphere: aer qui est terrae proximus
- (ambiguous) eastern, western Germany: Germania quae or Germaniae ea pars quae, ad orientem, occidentem vergit
- (ambiguous) where are you going: quo tendis?
- (ambiguous) I cannot wait till..: nihil mihi longius est or videtur quam dum or quam ut
- (ambiguous) nothing is more tiresome to me than..: nihil mihi longius est quam (c. Inf.)
- (ambiguous) since the time that, since (at the beginning of a sentence): ex quo tempore or simply ex quo
- (ambiguous) the middle ages: media quae vocatur aetas
- (ambiguous) Pericles, the greatest man of his day: Pericles, quo nemo tum fuit clarior
- (ambiguous) Pericles, the greatest man of his day: Pericles, vir omnium, qui tum fuerunt, clarissimus
- (ambiguous) it is more than twenty years ago: amplius sunt (quam) viginti anni or viginti annis
- (ambiguous) on the day after, which was September 5th: postridie qui fuit dies Non. Sept. (Nonarum Septembrium) (Att. 4. 1. 5)
- (ambiguous) to-day the 5th of September; tomorrow September the 5th: hodie qui est dies Non. Sept.; cras qui dies futurus est Non. Sept.
- (ambiguous) to fail to see what lies before one: quod ante pedes est or positum est, non videre
- (ambiguous) the world of sense, the visible world: res quas oculis cernimus
- (ambiguous) those to whom we owe our being: ei, propter quos hanc lucem aspeximus
- (ambiguous) the rest of one's life: quod reliquum est vitae
- (ambiguous) how old are you: qua aetate es?
- (ambiguous) our contemporaries; men of our time: homines qui nunc sunt (opp. qui tunc fuerunt)
- (ambiguous) how are you getting on: quo loco res tuae sunt?
- (ambiguous) under such circumstances: quae cum ita sint
- (ambiguous) from this point of view; similarly: quo in genere
- (ambiguous) by some chance or other: nescio quo casu (with Indic.)
- (ambiguous) Fortune's favourite: is, quem fortuna complexa est
- (ambiguous) it is most fortunate that..: peropportune accidit, quod
- (ambiguous) you were right in...; you did right to..: recte, bene fecisti quod...
- (ambiguous) Plato's ideal republic: illa civitas, quam Plato finxit
- (ambiguous) this is more plausible than true: haec speciosiora quam veriora sunt
- (ambiguous) a thing which is rather (very) dubious: quod aliquam (magnam) dubitationem habet (Leg. Agr. 1. 4. 11)
- (ambiguous) as far as I know: quod sciam
- (ambiguous) he attained his object: id quod voluit consecutus est
- (ambiguous) he attained his object: ad id quod voluit pervenit
- (ambiguous) abstruse studies: studia, quae in reconditis artibus versantur (De Or. 1. 2. 8)
- (ambiguous) the usual subjects taught to boys: doctrinae, quibus aetas puerilis impertiri solet (Nep. Att. 1. 2)
- (ambiguous) the usual subjects taught to boys: artes, quibus aetas puerilis ad humanitatem informari solet
- (ambiguous) men of that profession: qui ista profitentur
- (ambiguous) philosophical subjects: quae in philosophia tractantur
- (ambiguous) disciples of Plato, Platonists: qui sunt a Platone or a Platonis disciplina; qui profecti sunt a Platone; Platonici
- (ambiguous) moral science; ethics: philosophia, quae est de vita et moribus (Acad. 1. 5. 19)
- (ambiguous) moral science; ethics: philosophia, in qua de bonis rebus et malis, deque hominum vita et moribus disputatur
- (ambiguous) theoretical, speculative philosophy: philosophia, quae in rerum contemplatione versatur, or quae artis praeceptis continetur
- (ambiguous) practical philosophy: philosophia, quae in actione versatur
- (ambiguous) to determine the nature and constitution of the subject under discussion: constituere, quid et quale sit, de quo disputetur
- (ambiguous) to bring forward a proof of the immortality of the soul: argumentum afferre, quo animos immortales esse demonstratur
- (ambiguous) a proof of this is that..: argumento huic rei est, quod
- (ambiguous) it follows from this that..: sequitur (not ex quo seq.) ut
- (ambiguous) it follows from this that..: ex quo, unde, hinc efficitur ut
- (ambiguous) the point at issue: id, de quo agitur or id quod cadit in controversiam
- (ambiguous) the connection of thought: ratio, qua sententiae inter se excipiunt.
- (ambiguous) I have exhausted all my material: copiam quam potui persecutus sum
- (ambiguous) a digression, episode: quod ornandi causa additum est
- (ambiguous) I have nothing to write about: non habeo, non est quod scribam
- (ambiguous) a theme, subject proposed for discussion: id quod (mihi) propositum est
- (ambiguous) a theme, subject proposed for discussion: id quod quaerimus (quaeritur)
- (ambiguous) a theme, subject proposed for discussion: institutum or id quod institui
- (ambiguous) to set some one a theme for discussion: ponere alicui, de quo disputet
- (ambiguous) to let those present fix any subject they like for discussion: ponere iubere, qua de re quis audire velit (Fin. 2. 1. 1)
- (ambiguous) the question at issue: res, de qua nunc quaerimus, quaeritur
- (ambiguous) what is the meaning, the original sense of this word: quae est vis huius verbi?
- (ambiguous) what is the meaning, the original sense of this word: quae notio or sententia subiecta est huic voci?
- (ambiguous) what do we understand by 'a wise man': quem intellegimus sapientem?
- (ambiguous) what do we mean by 'virtue': quae intellegitur virtus
- (ambiguous) as the proverb says: ut or quod or quomodo aiunt, ut or quemadmodum dicitur
- (ambiguous) Cicero says in his 'Laelius.: Cicero dicit in Laelio (suo) or in eo (not suo) libro, qui inscribitur Laelius
- (ambiguous) a book which is attributed to some one: liber qui fertur alicuius
- (ambiguous) the book is attributed to an unknown writer: liber refertur ad nescio quem auctorem
- (ambiguous) the reader: legentes, ii qui legunt
- (ambiguous) a letter to Atticus: epistula ad Atticum data, scripta, missa or quae ad A. scripta est
- (ambiguous) I am pained, vexed, sorry: aegre, graviter, moleste fero aliquid (or with Acc. c. Inf. or quod)
- (ambiguous) there is nothing I am more interested in than..: nihil antiquius or prius habeo quam ut (nihil mihi antiquius or potius est, quam ut)
- (ambiguous) an atheist: qui deum esse negat
- (ambiguous) and may God grant success: quod deus bene vertat!
- (ambiguous) and may heaven avert the omen! heaven preserve us from this: quod di immortales omen avertant! (Phil. 44. 11)
- (ambiguous) God forbid: quod abominor! (procul absit!)
- (ambiguous) may heaven's blessing rest on it: quod bonum, faustum, felix, fortunatumque sit! (Div. 1. 45. 102)
- (ambiguous) movable, personal property: res, quae moveri possunt; res moventes (Liv. 5. 25. 6)
- (ambiguous) the necessaries of life: quae ad victum pertinent
- (ambiguous) a livelihood: quae suppeditant ad victum (Off. 1. 4. 12)
- (ambiguous) I have no means, no livelihood: non habeo, qui (unde) vivam
- (ambiguous) to talk of a subject which was then the common topic of conversation: in eum sermonem incidere, qui tum fere multis erat in ore
- (ambiguous) imports and exports: res, quae importantur et exportantur
- (ambiguous) the debtor: debitor, or is qui debet
- (ambiguous) the perfume exhaled by flowers: odores, qui efflantur e floribus
- (ambiguous) domestic animals: animalia quae nobiscum degunt (Plin. 8. 40)
- (ambiguous) a legislator: qui leges scribit (not legum lator)
- (ambiguous) aristocracy (as a form of government): civitas, quae optimatium arbitrio regitur
- (ambiguous) the aristocracy (as a party in politics): boni cives, optimi, optimates, also simply boni (opp. improbi); illi, qui optimatium causam agunt
- (ambiguous) the aristocracy (as a social class): nobiles; nobilitas; qui nobilitate generis excellunt
- (ambiguous) the public income from the mines: pecunia publica, quae ex metallis redit
- (ambiguous) men of military age: qui arma ferre possunt or iuventus
- (ambiguous) men exempt from service owing to age: qui per aetatem arma ferre non possunt or aetate ad bellum inutiles
- (ambiguous) veterans; experienced troops: qui magnum in castris usum habent
- (ambiguous) by the longest possible forced marches: quam maximis itineribus (potest)
- (ambiguous) the cohort on guard-duty: cohors, quae in statione est
- (ambiguous) subjects: qui imperio subiecti sunt
- (ambiguous) to sum up..: ut eorum, quae dixi, summam faciam
- (ambiguous) I will give you my true opinion: dicam quod sentio
- (ambiguous) this I have to say: haec habeo dicere or habeo quae dicam
- (ambiguous) without wishing to boast, yet..: quod vere praedicare possum
- (ambiguous) which I can say without offence, arrogance: quod non arroganter dixerim
- (ambiguous) to except the fact that..: praeterquam quod or nisi quod
- (ambiguous) from this it appears, is apparent: ex quo intellegitur or intellegi potest, debet
- (ambiguous) from this it appears, is apparent: ex quo perspicuum est
- (ambiguous) the main point: id quod maximum, gravissimum est
- (ambiguous) the main point: quod caput est
- (ambiguous) what is more important: quod maius est
- (ambiguous) the visible world: haec omnia, quae videmus
Etymology 3
Inflection of quis.
Macanese
Alternative forms
- (as a determiner) quê
Etymology
From a merger of Portuguese que, quer, and quão.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ki/
Conjunction
qui
- that
- Iou sintí qui vôs pôde vai
- I think that you can go
- (by extension) until, to the point of
- comê quí ravirâ ― to stuff oneself (literally, “to eat to the point of turning (around)”)
- rí qui istripâ ― to laugh one's head off (literally, “to laugh to the point of disembowelment”)
- than
- pió qui ― worse than
Determiner
qui
- (relative) what, which
- Synonym: qualunga
- qui cuza? ― what is that? (literally, “which thing?”)
- qui laia? ― how? (literally, “(in) what way?”)
- qui-foi? ― why? (literally, “what was?”)
- what a (preceding nouns) (indicates surprise, delight, or other strong feelings)
- Qui vegónha! ― What a shame!
- Qui boniteza! ― How beautiful! (literally, “What beauty!”)
Derived terms
- qui sabe (“who knows!, how should I know!”)
- qui-di (“where”)
Adverb
qui
- how, so (preceding adjectives) (indicates surprise, delight, or other strong feelings)
- Qui vida-fêde! ― How annoying!
- Qui afogoso! ― So rushed!
- Olá Ano-Bom ta vêm, qui azinha passá tamêm.
- I saw in the New Year, how quickly that has passed as well.
- placed between two of the same adjective to amplify the degree of said adjective
- fáci qui fáci ― very easy
- mucho qui mucho ― already very withered
Usage notes
- qui is often used to connect a noun with an adjective even without the sense of "that" or "so", for example:
- Árvre qui encorpado ― a sturdy tree (literally, “tree so sturdy / tree that sturdy”)
Old French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ki/
Pronoun
qui
- who
- c. 1170, Christian of Troyes, Yvain ou le Chevalier au Lion, lines 1–2:
- Li boins roys Artus de Bretaigne,
La qui proeche nous ensengne- The good king Arthur of Britain
Who teaches us valiance
- The good king Arthur of Britain
Old Occitan
Old Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈki/
Further reading
- “qui”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Portuguese
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈki/ [ˈki]
- Rhymes: -i
- Syllabification: qui
Further reading
- “qui”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014