ဘယ်

Burmese

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɛ̀/
  • Romanization: MLCTS: bhai • ALA-LC: bhayʻ • BGN/PCGN: bè • Okell: be

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b(w)ay (“left”), widely attested in Tibeto-Burman languages; compare Naxi wai (“id”). Said root is co-allofamic with Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(p/b)aːy (“lame, limp, askew”); more distant cognates from this latter root include perhaps Old Chinese 跛 (OC *prals, *paːlʔ, “to walk lame”), 頗 (OC *pʰaːl, *pʰaːlʔ, *pʰaːls, “slanting, oblique, perverse”), 坡 (OC *pʰaːl), 陂 (OC *pral, *prals, “riverbank, dike”), 詖 (OC *pral, *prals, “biased, insincere”) (STEDT).

Noun

ဘယ် • (bhai)

  1. left (the left side)
    Antonym: ညာ (nya)
Derived terms
  • ဘယ်ကျော် (bhai-kyau)
  • ဘယ်ပြန်ညာပြန် (bhai-prannya-pran)
  • ဘယ်သံ (bhaisam)
  • ဘယ်သန် (bhaisan)

Etymology 2

Adverb

ဘယ် • (bhai)

  1. (interrogative) where?
  2. (interrogative) which?
Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Luce, G. H. (1981) “-Ay Finals (> 32. What?)”, in A Comparative Word-List of Old Burmese, Chinese and Tibetan, London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, →ISBN, page 20

Further reading

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