-нибудь

Russian

Alternative forms

  • -нить (-nitʹ)pronunciation spelling, Internet

Etymology

Compare Ukrainian будь-який (budʹ-jakyj) or Polish bądź.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [nʲɪbʊtʲ]
  • IPA(key): [nʲɪˌbutʲ]
  • Audio:(file)
  • (colloquial) IPA(key): [nʲɪtʲ] (phonetic respelling: -нить)
  • Audio:(file)

Suffix

-нибудь • (-nibudʹ)

  1. any-, some- (as in anything, something); a particle used to form compound indefinite pronouns

Usage notes

  • The letter у (u) in -нибудь (-nibudʹ) can carry the secondary stress; different from the primary stress that is common in Russian. As a similar tendency, the letter и (i) in -либо (-libo) also carries the secondary stress.

Derived terms

See also