ni

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ni"

English

Pronunciation

  • Audio (General American):(file)

Noun

ni

  1. (grammar) Initialism of noun inanimate.

See also

Anagrams

Abinomn

Pronoun

ni

  1. you (singular)

Achang

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *nəj(ʔ).

Pronunciation

  • (Myanmar) /ni˧/
  • (Longchuan) [ne³¹]
  • (Xiandao) [nɛ³¹]

Adjective

ni

  1. near, close
    ni los
    come near

Further reading

  • Inglis, Douglas, Sampu, Nasaw, Jaseng, Wilai, Jana, Thocha (2005) A preliminary Ngochang–Kachin–English Lexicon[2], Payap University, page 93

Afar

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈni/ [ˈnɪ]

Determiner

  1. our
    • Saytun Qhuraan kee kay maqnah tarjamaty Qafar afal tani [The clear Qur'an and its explanation translated into the Afar language]‎[3], 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

Afar possessive determiners
1st person 2nd person 3rd person
m f
personal singular yi ku kay tet
plural ni sin ken
reflexive singular inní isí
plural ninní isinní, sinní

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)[4], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Ainu

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /nʲi/

Noun

ni (Kana spelling )

  1. tree
  2. wood

Synonyms

Albanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *nū, from Proto-Indo-European *nū (now). Cognate to Sanskrit नू (, now).[1] Often occurs in coordination with other particles, compare tani, nani, nime.

Adverb

ni

  1. now
    Synonyms: tash, tani, , nani, nime

References

  1. ^ Orel, Vladimir E. (2000) A concise historical grammar of the Albanian language: reconstruction of Proto-Albanian[1], Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 206

Anguthimri

Noun

ni

  1. (Mpakwithi) place
  2. (Mpakwithi) camp

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 ).

Pronoun

ni (unstressed accusative and reflexive form of noi)

  1. (direct object, first-person plural) us
  • noi (stressed accusative)

Pronoun

ni (unstressed dative and reflexive form of noi)

  1. (indirect object, first-person plural) (to) us
  • nau (stressed dative)

See also

Asturian

Noun

ni f (uncountable)

  1. nu (name for the letter of the Greek alphabet: Ν and ν)

Atong (India)

Etymology

From Proto-Bodo-Garo *nɯi⁴ (two), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kV-ni-s (two). Cognate with S'gaw Karen ခံ (khee), Tibetan གཉིས (gnyis), Sikkimese ཉི (nyi), Nuosu (nyip), Burmese နှစ် (hnac).

Pronunciation

Numeral

ni (Bengali script নি)

  1. two

Synonyms

References

Bambara

Etymology 1

Noun

ni

  1. soul, life, spirit

Etymology 2

Conjunction

ni

  1. if
    Ni taara sugu la, i bɛ ne ba ye.
    If you go to the market, you will see my mother
  2. when

References

Basque

Etymology

From Proto-Basque *ni.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ni/ [ni]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -i
  • Hyphenation: ni

Pronoun

ni (emphatic forms neu, nihaur, nerau)

  1. First-person singular personal pronoun; I
    • c. 1808, Juan Bautista Aguirre, Eracusaldiac [Lessons]‎[5], Tolosa, published 1850, page 473:
      [] Jauna: ez naiz ni beñere izan zu neure viotzean artzeco diña []
      [ [] Jauna, ez naiz ni beñere izan zu nere biotzean artzeko diña [] ]
      [] Lord, not even once have I been worth of belonging to your heart []
    • 1989, Gorka Aulestia, Basque-English Dictionary, Douglas: William A, page 53:
      Ni errege izan nintzen.
      I was king.
    • 2013, Patricio Urquizu Sarasua, Gramática de la lengua vasca, Universidad Nacional de Educación de Distancia, page 154:
      Ni etorri naiz.
      I have come.

Declension

Declension of ni
absolutive ni
ergative nik
dative niri
genitive nire, ene
comitative nirekin, enekin
causative nigatik, niregatik, enegatik
benefactive niretzat, niretako, enetzat, enetako
instrumental nitaz
inessive nigan, niregan, nire baitan, nitan, enegan, ene baitan
locative nire baitako, ene baitako
allative niregana, nireganat, nire baitara, nire baitarat, enegana, eneganat, ene baitara, ene baitarat
terminative nireganaino, nire baitaraino, eneganaino, ene baitaraino
directive niganantz, nireganantz, eneganantz
destinative niganako, nireganako, eneganako
ablative nireganik, niregandik, nire baitatik, nire baitarik, eneganik, enegandik, ene baitatik, ene baitarik

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

See also

Basque personal pronouns
singular plural
plain emphatic plain emphatic
1st person ni neu, nihaur, nerau gu geu, guhaur, gerok
2nd person familiar hi heu, hihaur, herori zuek zeuek, zuhauek, zerok
neutral zu zeu, zuhaur, zerori
3rd person use demonstrative and anaphoric pronouns

Further reading

  • ni”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
  • ni”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Biloxi

Noun

ni

  1. synonym of ani (water)

References

Breton

Etymology 1

From Proto-Brythonic *ni, from Proto-Celtic *snīs.

Pronoun

ni

  1. we (first-person plural personal pronoun)

See also

Breton personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person me ni
2nd person te c’hwi
3rd person m int
f hi

Etymology 2

From Proto-Brythonic *nei, from Proto-Celtic *neɸūss, from Proto-Indo-European *népōts.

Noun

ni m (plural nied)

  1. nephew

Catalan

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Conjunction

ni

  1. neither, nor

Adverb

ni

  1. not even, even

Etymology 2

Noun

ni f (plural nis)

  1. nu; the Greek letter Ν (lowercase ν)

Cornish

Alternative forms

  • (Revived Late Cornish) nei

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *snīs. Cognate with Breton ne and Welsh ni.

Pronoun

ni

  1. we (1st person plural subject pronoun)
    Ni a welas.
    We saw.
  2. our, us (1st person plural enclitic pronoun, used to reinforce previous pronoun)
    agan lyver ni
    our book
    Ple ethen ni?
    Where did we go?

See also

Cornish personal pronouns
number person independent
(subject)
suffixed infixed possessive
(dependent)
enclitic emphatic reduced
singular first my vy evy ma, a 'm owA
second ty jy, sy1 tejy ta, a 'thM dhaS
third2 m ev ev eev va, a 'n yS
f hi hi hyhi N/A 's hyA
plural first ni ni nyni 'gan, 'n agan, 'gan
second3 hwi hwi hwyhwi 'gas, 's agas, 'gas
third i i ynsi 's agaA, 'gaA

1 Uncommon.
2 hun and ins have been suggested as non-binary 3rd person singular pronouns, though these have not yet officially adopted.
3 Infrequently used as a formal alternative to the singular.

S Triggers soft mutation A Triggers aspirate mutation M Triggers mixed mutation

Czech

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈɲɪ]

Pronoun

ni f

  1. accusative singular of ona

Danish

Danish numbers (edit)
90
 ←  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]

Numeral

ni

  1. nine

Drung

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ku-ni(k).

Noun

ni

  1. day

References

  • Ross Perlin (2019) A Grammar of Trung[6], Santa Barbara: University of California

Dumbea

Pronunciation

Pronoun

ni

  1. they

References

Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl

Determiner

ni

  1. this.

Pronoun

ni

  1. this.

Esperanto

Etymology

From Italian noi, French nous, Spanish nos, Latin nos, plus the i of personal pronouns.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ni/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -i
  • Hyphenation: ni

Pronoun

ni (first-person plural, accusative nin, possessive nia)

  1. we (first-person plural personal pronoun)
    Ni batis lin.
    We hit him.
  2. ourselves
    Ni diris al ni.
    We said to ourselves.

See also

Esperanto personal pronouns
singular plural
nominative accusative possessive nominative accusative possessive
first person  mi  min  mia  ni  nin  nia
second
person
formal  vi  vin  via  vi  vin  via
familiar1  ci  cin  cia
third
person
masculine  li  lin  lia
feminine  ŝi  ŝin  ŝia
neuter  ĝi  ĝin  ĝia
gender-neutral2  ri
ŝli
 rin
ŝlin
 ria
ŝlia
reflexive  si  sin  sia  si  sin  sia
indefinite  oni  onin  onia  oni  onin  onia

1 The second person familiar pronouns are archaic.

2 The proposed gender-neutral third-person singular pronouns ri (rin, ria) and ŝli (ŝlin, ŝlia) are not widely used.

3 The proposed third-person feminine plural pronoun iŝi (iŝin, iŝia) is not widely used.

French

Etymology

From Middle French ny, from Old French ne, from Latin nec. Compare Italian , Catalan and Spanish ni, Portuguese nem.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ni/
  • Audio:(file)

Conjunction

ni

  1. 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]‎[7]:
      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).

Derived terms

See also

Further reading

Gothic

Romanization

ni

  1. romanization of 𐌽𐌹

Hanunoo

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *ni (marker of possession).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈni/ [ˈni]
  • Rhymes: -i
  • Syllabification: ni

Preposition

ni (Hanunoo spelling ᜨᜲ)

  1. of; by
    ti luka ni Badolime tube of Bado
    Kinaon ni Bado ti burot.
    The wild yam was eaten by Bado.

See also

Further reading

  • Conklin, Harold C. (1953) Hanunóo-English Vocabulary (University of California Publications in Linguistics), volume 9, London, England: University of California Press, →OCLC, page 198

Hausa

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Chadic, from Proto-Afroasiatic *ʔanāku.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /níː/
    • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA(key): [níː]

Pronoun

  1. I (1st person singular pronoun)

See also

  • mínì (1st person singular indirect object enclitic pronoun)
  • (1st person singular independent object pronoun)
  • -wá (1st person singular possessive enclitic pronoun)
Hausa personal pronouns
independent pronouns
singular plural
1st person
2nd person m kai
f
3rd person m shī
f ita
direct object pronouns*
singular plural
1st person ni mu
2nd person m ka ku
f ki
3rd person m shi su
f ta
indirect object pronouns
singular plural
1st person minì manà
2nd person m makà mukù
f mikì
3rd person m masà musù
f matà
* The default tone of the direct object pronouns is high, but it usually changes to low immediately after a high tone, unless that high tone is part of a verb with a high-low-high pattern.
See also the Hausa possessive pronouns.

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

Interjection

ni

  1. (colloquial) lo!, look!
    Itt van ni!Look! Here it is!

Usage notes

Most of the time it is used in its duplicated form: nini!

References

  1. ^ 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 Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Idi

Noun

ni

  1. water

References

Ido

Pronoun

ni

  1. (personal) we (first-person plural personal pronoun)

Ingrian

Pronunciation

Conjunction

ni

  1. 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

Etymology

From French and Spanish ni, from Latin nec (and not).

Adverb

ni

  1. and not.
    Io non sape, ni vole saperI don’t know, and I don’t want to know
  2. Neither, nor.
    Illo ni me place ni displaceIt neither pleases me nor displeases me
  3. And, or (following a "with no" or "without").
    Nos debe resister sin aqua ni alimentoWe must resist with no water or food

Italian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈni/
  • Rhymes: -i
  • Hyphenation:

Etymology 1

Blend of no +‎ .

Adverb

ni

  1. (informal) neither yes nor no

Etymology 2

Noun

ni m or f (invariable)

  1. nu (Greek letter)

Anagrams

Japanese

Romanization

ni

  1. The hiragana syllable (ni) or the katakana syllable (ni) in Hepburn romanization.

Kamano

Alternative forms

Noun

ni

  1. water

References

  • The Papuan Languages of New Guinea (1986, →ISBN

Kansa

Etymology

From Proto-Siouan *wa-rį́• (water).

Noun

ni

  1. water
  2. any liquid
  3. river

References

Kapampangan

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish ni (not even), from Old Spanish nin, from Latin nec, apocopated form of neque.

Conjunction

ni

  1. neither; nor
    Synonyms: ke, kesyo
    Niyakupin alikuman mekapangan.
    Even I did not eat anything.
    Nimangalinguwan nitabili, aliku.
    Neither moving on nor letting go, I can't.

See also

Adverb

ni

  1. not even
    Synonym: agyang
    Alakung inyad ninanuman.
    I did not even ask for anything.

Kedah Malay

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Pronoun

ni

  1. you (singular)

Klao

Noun

ni

  1. water

References

  • World Lexicon of Grammaticalization (2002, →ISBN

Laboya

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [niː]

Noun

ni

  1. coconut

References

  • Allahverdi Verdizade (2019) “ni”, in Lamboya word list[8], Leiden: LexiRumah

Latin

Etymology

From Old Latin nei, from Proto-Italic *nei, from Proto-Indo-European *néy (not), from *né. Cognates include Gothic 𐌽𐌴𐌹 (nei), Lithuanian nei, Old Church Slavonic ни (ni), Old Irish and Sanskrit (). See also .

Pronunciation

Adverb

(not comparable)

  1. not, if...not, unless- an absolutely negative particle like ne so only in combinations

Derived terms

Conjunction

  1. not, that not, unless; like ne in imperative and intentional clauses
    Ni quid tibi hinc in spem referas.Take not whatsoever hope hence.
    Vinum aliudve quid ni laudato.I don't praise wine or anything else.
    Numa constituit, ut pisces, qui squamosi non essent, ni pollucerent ... ni qui ad polluctum emerent.[The Roman king] Numa ordained that scaleless fish be neither offered [to the gods] ... nor bought for offering.

Ligurian

Etymology

From Latin nec.

Pronunciation

Conjunction

ni

  1. nor
  2. neither...nor
  3. either...or

Livonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *nügüt. Cognates include Finnish nyt.

Adverb

ni

  1. now

Lolopo

Etymology

From Proto-Loloish *(ʔ)-ne¹, from Proto-Lolo-Burmese *ʔnəj¹/³, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ku-ni(k) (sun; day).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ni³³]

Noun

ni 

  1. (Yao'an) day

References

  • Merrifield, Judith, Merrifield, Scott (2018) “Query for ni”, in Yao'an Loxrlavu – English Dictionary (in Chinese), SIL International

Luxembourgish

Etymology

Borrowed from German nie, from Middle High German nie, from Old High German nio. The expected Luxembourgish form would be *néi. Ni could only be explained as a generalized unstressed form, which is already implausible because this adverb is often stressed. The Rheinisches Wörterbuch (N = anno 1941) considers the word non-native throughout Central Franconian and says that nie was at that time still missing in a majority of dialects.

For Luxembourgish specifically, the Lexikon der Luxemburger Umgangssprache (1847) gives only kees. The Wörterbuch der Luxemburgischen Mundart (1906) gives kees, keemol, keemools and ni (but not yet nimools). The Luxemburger Wörterbuch (N = anno 1965) gives all forms and already labels kees dated or regional.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [niː]

Adverb

ni

  1. never
    Synonyms: nimools; keemol, keemools, (dated) kees

Malay

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ni/
  • Rhymes: -ni, -i

Determiner

ni (Jawi spelling ني)

  1. colloquial form of ini

Pronoun

ni (Jawi spelling ني)

  1. colloquial form of ini

Mandarin

Romanization

ni

  1. nonstandard spelling of
  2. nonstandard spelling of
  3. nonstandard spelling of
  4. nonstandard spelling of

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.

Pronunciation

  • (phonetic) IPA(key): [nʲi]
  • (phonemic) IPA(key): /nʲij/
  • Bender phonemes: {niy}

Noun

ni

  1. coconut tree
  • iu (coconut)

References

Middle English

Adverb

ni

  1. alternative form of ne

Conjunction

ni

  1. alternative form of ne

Middle Irish

Particle

ni

  1. alternative spelling of

Mizo

Etymology 1

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *nii (sun; day), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ku-ni(k) (sun; day).

Noun

ni

  1. sun
  2. day
  3. time

Etymology 2

Noun

ni

  1. aunt

References

Mohegan-Pequot

Pronoun

ni (first person singular)

  1. singular first-person pronoun I

Mokilese

Etymology

From Proto-Micronesian *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

ni

  1. coconut tree

Derived terms

References

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /nɪ̀/

Pronoun

ni

  1. second person singular pronoun you
    Shí dóó ni ayóo ałk’is niidlį́.
    You and I are really good friends.
  2. second person singular possessive pronoun yours
    Díí naaltsoos éí ni.
    This book is yours.

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.

See also

Navajo personal pronouns
singular dual plural
1st person shí nihí danihí
2nd person ni nihí danihí
3rd person daabí
4th person (3a) daahó

Naxi

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-ŋja.

Noun

ni

  1. fish

Etymology 2

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kV-ni-s.

Numeral

ni

  1. two

References

  • Naxi Dictionary by T.M. Pinson, Lijiang 2012

Ningil

Noun

ni

  1. water

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

Norwegian Bokmål cardinal numbers
 <  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

Numeral

ni

  1. nine

Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Nynorsk cardinal numbers
 <  8 9 10  > 
    Cardinal : ni
    Ordinal : niande

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old Norse níu.

Numeral

ni

  1. nine

Derived terms

References

Nutabe

Noun

ni

  1. water

References

Old Czech

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (13th CE) /ˈɲi/
  • IPA(key): (15th CE) /ˈɲi/

Pronoun

ni

  1. dual accusative of oně

Old High German

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ne.

Pronunciation

Particle

ni

  1. not

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Middle High German: ne
    • German: nee (dialectal)

Old Irish

Particle

ni

  1. alternative spelling of

Omaha-Ponca

Etymology

From Proto-Siouan *wa-rį́• (water).

Noun

ni

  1. 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

Determiner

ni (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نیۡ)

  1. this (agr: prox fem / prox non-nom masc)

References

  • Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “ni”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎[9], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Determiner

ni (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نیۡ)

  1. these (agr: prox)

References

  • Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “ni”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎[10], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Pronoun

ni (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نیۡ)

  1. it
  2. she (prox fem nom)

References

  • Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “ni”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎[11], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 4

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Pronoun

ni (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نیۡ)

  1. they (prox nom)

References

  • Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “ni”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎[12], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Polish

Pronunciation

 
  • IPA(key): /ˈɲi/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -i
  • Syllabification: ni
  • Homophone: -ni

Etymology 1

    Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ni.

    Conjunction

    ni

    1. (archaic) synonym of ani
    Derived terms

    Etymology 2

    See nie.

    Particle

    ni

    1. (dialectal, Przemyśl) alternative form of nie

    Etymology 3

    See ny.

    Noun

    ni n (indeclinable)

    1. alternative form of ny

    Further reading

    • ni in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
    • ni in Polish dictionaries at PWN
    • Aleksander Saloni (1899) “ni”, in “Lud wiejski w okolicy Przeworska”, in M. Arct, E. Lubowski, editors, Wisła : miesięcznik gieograficzno-etnograficzny (in Polish), volume 13, Warsaw: Artur Gruszecki, page 241

    Portuguese

    Etymology

    Borrowed from Ancient Greek νῦ ().

    Pronunciation

    • Hyphenation: ni

    Noun

    ni m (plural nis)

    1. nu (the thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet)

    Proto-Norse

    Romanization

    ni

    1. romanization of ᚾᛁ

    Rawang

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ni˧/

    Etymology 1

    Alternative forms

    Verb

    ni

    1. to pour; to water.

    Etymology 2

    Alternative forms

    Noun

    ni

    1. headhair.

    Etymology 3

    From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ku-ni(k). Cognate with Burmese နေ (ne) and နေ့ (ne.), Old Chinese (*njiɡ).

    Noun

    ni

    1. day (24 hour).
    See also

    Romanian

    Etymology 1

    Inherited from Latin.

    Pronoun

    ni

    1. alternative form of ne (dative of noi): to us
    Usage notes

    This form is used when ne (which is dative) is combined with the following accusatives:

    • îl (the accusative of el, contracted as ni-l)
    • îi (the accusative of ei, contracted as ni-i)
    • le (the accusative of ele)
    • se (the reflexive accusative of all third-person pronouns)
    See also

    Etymology 2

    Borrowed from Hungarian ni.

    Interjection

    ni

    1. (Transylvania) lo!, look!, behold!
      Ni la el!Look at him!

    Samoan

    Article

    ni

    1. some (plural indefinite article)

    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)

    1. (emphasizes negation) even, either
      ni ja to ne znam — even I don't know that; I don't know that either
      Nisam ni htio čuti njegov prijedlog.
      I didn't even want to hear his proposal.

    Conjunction

    ni (Cyrillic spelling ни)

    1. (shortening of niti) neither, nor
      ona nije ni pametna ni(ti) marljiva — she is neither smart nor industrious
      ni traga ni glasa o .. — not a trace about ..
      ni kriv ni dužan — completely innocent (lit. neither guilty nor indebted)

    Sicilian

    Alternative forms

    • nni

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): [ni]
    • (unstressed) IPA(key): [nɪ]

    Pronoun

    ni

    1. us, accusative of nuàutri
    2. us, dative of nuàutri
    3. us, reflexive of nuàutri

    Inflection

    nominative nuàutri
    prepositional nuàutri
    accusative ni
    dative ni
    reflexive ni
    possessive nostru

    See also

    Slovene

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /nìː/

    Verb

    1. negative third-person singular present of bíti

    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 *né (not) + *-kʷe (and). Compare Asturian and Galician nin, Catalan and French ni, Portuguese nem, Italian , Dalmatian ne. Indo-European cognates include Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌷 (nih) and Irish nach.

    Conjunction

    ni

    1. (coordinating) neither... nor
      Antonym: o ... o
      No tengo ni dinero ni tiempo.
      I have neither money nor time.
      1. (with three or more referents) none of...
        Ni Juan, ni Pedro, ni Felipe te darán la razón.
        None of John, Peter, or Phillip will give you the reason.
    2. nor, or
      No descansa de día ni de noche.
      He doesn't rest during the day nor during the night.
    Derived terms

    Adverb

    ni

    1. 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

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    ni f (plural níes)

    1. nu; the Greek letter Ν, ν
      Synonym: ny

    Further reading

    Swahili

    Other scripts
    Ajami نِـ

    Etymology

    The use as a focus marker is original. This then acquired a presentative meaning (“it is”), which was finally reanalyzed as a copula.[1] Cognate with Chichewa ndi.

    Pronunciation

    Particle

    ni

    1. focus marker
      • 2022, Muungano wa Tanganyika na Zanzibar: Chimbuko, Misingi na Maendeleo, Serikali ya Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania, →ISBN:
        Lengo la Mwalimu Nyerere kujiuzulu nafasi hiyo lilikuwa ni pamoja na kukiimarisha chama cha TANU kuweza kuyakabili vizuri majukumu ya uhuru.
        Mwalimu Nyerere's goal when he resigned from that position was nothing but to strengthen the TANU party to be able to effectively face the responsibilities of independence.

    Verb

    ni

    1. positive degree present and gnomic (all persons, numbers, and classes) of -wa (to be)

    References

    1. ^ John H. McWhorter (1992) “NI and the Copula System in Swahili: A Diachronic Approach”, in Diachronica, volume 9, number 1, →DOI, pages 15–46

    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 *yúHs. Compare Danish I.

    Pronunciation

    • Audio:(file)
    • IPA(key): /niː/
    • Rhymes: -iː

    Pronoun

    ni

    1. you (plural subjective case)
      Du är bara en person, men ni där borta är fyra personer
      You are just one person, but you / you guys / [except not in tone] y'all over there are four people
      Ni två är här, så jag ser er
      You [subject] two are here, so I see you [object]
    2. you (second-person singular subjective formal) (capitalized Ni, rare in contemporary Swedish)
      1. (historical) A title used when addressing a person, chiefly of lower social rank, or a person of the opposite sex among young people.
        Ni kan börja med att städa kontoret, fröken Andersson.
        –Javisst, Herr Direktör.
        You can start with cleaning the office, Miss Andersson.
        –Certainly, Mr. Director.
      2. (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?
        Would you like a bag with your purchase?

    Usage notes

    Both ni and er are second person plural forms, but can also be used as a formal second person singular pronoun, like German Sie and French vous. They may sometimes be capitalized as Ni and Er. The courteous ni was promoted around the year 1900 as an alternative to a complicated system of addressing people in the third person singular by their appropriate titles, which required knowledge of personal information like social status, occupation, and education, with terms like fru (Mrs.) or fröken (Ms.), greve (count), kamrer (accountant), and kandidat (bachelor's degree holder). However, this "ni-reform" was not well-liked, and ni mostly came to be used to address subordinates, with titles still being used to address superiors and other people "deemed worthy of a title," leading to ni acquiring a condescending tone. 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 acquired the condescending tone of ni. Titles and polite pronouns were gradually phased out during the 1960s and 1970s in the so-called du-reformen ("the you-reform"). In contemporary Swedish, du is used to address anyone regardless of differences in age or social status, with a few rare exceptions like royalty.

    Ni is occasionally used as polite address for customers by younger speakers, but this is often considered overly formal and a bit contrived, and may also come across as condescending, especially to old speakers. Politeness in contemporary Swedish is not conveyed through polite pronouns, but through polite phrases and indirectness, for example.

    Examples of the old system in vigorous use can be found in old novels and movies – for example Åsa-Nisse movies.

    Declension

    Swedish personal pronouns
    Number Person 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
    1Neologism. Usage has increased since 2010, though it remains limited.
    2Informal
    4Dialectal, also used lately as an alternative to man, to avoid association to the male gender.
    5Informal, somewhat dialectal
    6Formal address
    7Discouraged by the Swedish Language Council

    Synonyms

    See also

    • du (you (singular subjective case))
    • duskål

    References

    Anagrams

    Tagalog

    Pronunciation

    • (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ni/ [n̪ɪ]
    • Audio:(file)
    • Rhymes: -i
    • Syllabification: ni

    Etymology 1

    From Proto-Austronesian *ni (marker of possession).

    Preposition

    ni (plural nina, Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒ)

    1. of; possessive particle, used only with personal names
      bisikleta ni JuanJuan's bicycle
    2. objective marker for personal names, objective form of si; functional equivalent of ng
    Derived terms
    See also
    Tagalog markers
    direct (ang) indirect (ng) oblique (sa)
    common singular ang ng sa
    plural ang mga ng mga sa mga
    personal singular si ni kay
    plural / polite sina nina kina

    Etymology 2

    Borrowed from Spanish ni (not even), from Old Spanish nin, from Latin nec, apocopated form of neque.

    Conjunction

    ni (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒ)

    1. neither; nor
      Ni ako hindi nagsisigarilyo. Even I don't do cigarettes.
      Ni aso ni pusa. Neither dog nor cat.

    See also

    Adverb

    ni (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒ)

    1. not even
      Synonym: ni ultimo
      Hindi ako humingi ni isang butil ng bigas.I didn't ask not even for a single grain of rice.

    Anagrams

    Tarifit

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

    Pronunciation

    Verb

    ni (Tifinagh spelling ⵏⵉ)

    1. (intransitive) to mount (on an animal)
    2. (intransitive) to get into, to board, to embark (a vehicle)

    Conjugation

    This verb needs an inflection-table template.

    Derived terms

    • Verbal noun: tnaya (mounting, boarding)
    • Causative: sni (to make board)
      • Verbal noun: aseniy
    • tnaya (transport)
    • amnay (rider; cavalier, knight)

    Tokelauan

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): [ni]
    • Hyphenation: ni

    Etymology 1

    From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *ni. Cognates include Tuvaluan ni and Samoan ni.

    Article

    ni

    1. Plural indefinite article; any
    See also
    Tokelauan articles
    impersonal
    singular plural
    definite te
    indefinite he ni
    personal
    nominal pronominal
    simple ia
    after i/ki a a te
    after mai ia te

    Etymology 2

    Particle

    ni

    1. Changes a statement into a polite question; isn't it? doesn't it?

    References

    • R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary[13], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 250

    Unami

    Pronunciation

    Pronoun

    ni

    1. I

    Ura (Vanuatu)

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ni/, [ni]

    Noun

    ni

    1. tree

    Further reading

    • Terry Crowley, Ura: A Disappearing Language of Southern Vanuatu (1999)

    Uzbek

    Particle

    Other scripts
    Yangi Imlo
    Cyrillic ни
    Latin
    Perso-Arabic
    (Afghanistan)

    ni

    1. accusative case marker; placed after the direct object of a transitive verb
      Men O'zbek tilini o'rganyapman.
      I am studying Uzbek.

    Veps

    Etymology

    Borrowed from Russian ни (ni).

    Determiner

    ni

    1. not, not a, no

    Inflection

    Not inflected.

    Conjunction

    ni ... ni

    1. neither ... nor

    References

    • Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “ни”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎[14], 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

    Determiner

    ni

    1. (Central Vietnam) this

    Adverb

    ni

    1. (Central Vietnam) now

    See also

    Vietnamese demonstratives
    proximal
    (*-iː)
    distal 1
    (*-iːʔ)
    distal 2
    (*-əːʔ)
    distal 3/
    remote
    (*-ɔːʔ)
    interrogative
    (rime was a rounded
    back vowel)
    place, attributive1
    n-
    ni

    này/nầy
    nây

    nấy
    nớ nọ
    ()
    nào
    place, nominal2
    đ-
    đây đấy
    (ấy)
    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).
    visibility/evidentiality6
    distal
    (ngang)
    remote
    (huyền)
    Northern-Southern kia
    ()
    kìa
    (cờ)
    Central tề
    6 Originally, these demonstratives might have been used to assert that something is visible and/or verifiable. They have been bleached quite thoroughly and currently are usually used like other distal demonstratives. The biggest trace of their evidentiality might be in their usage as final particles, often in reduced forms /cờ: [t]ừ đấy về tới Hà Nội, còn những ba cái cầu nữa mà! ("From there to Hanoi, there're still three more bridges to cross!") (Ba ngày luân lạc, 1943) and their (pretty much) obligatory use when locating an object: Không phải cái này mà là cái kia. ("Not this one, that one.")


    Anagrams

    Welsh

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /niː/
    • Rhymes: -iː

    Etymology 1

    From Proto-Brythonic *ni, from Proto-Celtic *snīs.

    Pronoun

    ni

    1. us; we

    Etymology 2

    From Proto-Celtic *nīs, from Proto-Indo-European *ne h₁ésti (is not).

    Adverb

    ni (triggers mixed mutation)

    1. (literary) not
      • 2004, Beibl Cymraeg Newydd Diwygiedig[15], Cymdeithas y Beibl, Genesis 21:26:
        Dywedodd Abimelech, “Ni wn i ddim pwy a wnaeth hyn; ni ddywedaist wrthyf, ac ni chlywais i sôn am y peth cyn heddiw.”
        Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this; you did not tell me, and I did not hear anything about it until today.”
    Usage notes
    • Triggers mixed mutation (i.e. aspirate of p, t, c and soft of remaining mutatable letters) of a following consonant.
    • The form nid is used before a vowel. When the following consonant is g, which disappears under soft mutation, the form ni remains, thus ni + gwn becomes ni wn, not *nid wn.
    • In literary registers, dim (anything) may be added (as ddim, with soft mutation) for emphasis, so ni chlywais i ddim may mean either “I did not hear anything” or simply “I did not hear”. In the colloquial language, ni is omitted but the mixed mutation remains, giving chlywais i ddim (“I didn't hear”).[1]
    See also
    • dim (not) (colloquial)

    References

    1. ^ Gareth King, editor (2000), “ni”, in Pocket Modern Oxford Welsh Dictionary: Welsh-English, Oxford University Press, →ISBN

    West Makian

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /n̪i/

    Pronoun

    ni (possessive prefix ni)

    1. second-person singular pronoun, you

    See also

    West Makian personal pronouns
    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
    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.

    References

    • Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours[16], Pacific linguistics

    Wutunhua

    Etymology

    From Mandarin ().

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): [n̪i]

    Pronoun

    ni

    1. you (second-person subject pronoun)

    See also

    Wutunhua personal pronouns
    singular paucal collective
    subjective objective
    first person ngu nga ngu-jhege nga-mu
    second person ni nia ni-jhege ni-mu
    third person gu gu-jhege gu-mu

    Yil

    Noun

    ni

    1. water

    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

    Etymology 1

    Pronunciation

    IPA(key): /nĩ́/

    Noun

    1. The name of the Latin-script letter N/n.
    See also

    Etymology 2

    Alternative forms

    Pronunciation

    IPA(key): /nĩ́/

    Verb

    1. (transitive) to have

    Etymology 3

    Pronunciation

    IPA(key): /nĩ́/

    Preposition

    1. at, in (used when no movement is implied)
    2. preposition used for creating adverbials
    Derived terms
    See also

    Etymology 4

    Pronunciation

    IPA(key): /nĩ́/

    Verb

    1. (intransitive) to say
    See also

    Etymology 5

    Pronunciation

    IPA(key): /nĩ̄/

    Verb

    ni

    1. (transitive) to be (to have a quality or identification)
    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.

    1. Òun ni ọ̀rẹ́ mi. – He is my friend. (uses the emphatic pronoun òun instead of ó)
    2. Ṣé ọmọ Yorùbá ni yín? – Are you Yoruba? (Ọmọ Yorùbá becomes the subject of ni while "you" becomes the object pronoun yín)
    See also

    Etymology 6

    Pronunciation

    IPA(key): /nĩ̄/

    Verb

    ni

    1. (intransitive) to be bloated, to be tumid
    Derived terms

    Zou

    Etymology 1

    From Proto-Kuki-Chin *nii, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ku-ni(k). Cognates include Northern Min () and Burmese နေ (ne).

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ni˧/

    Noun

    ni

    1. sun

    Etymology 2

    Zou cardinal numbers
     <  1 2 3  > 
        Cardinal : ni

    From Proto-Kuki-Chin *ni, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kV-ni-s. Cognates include Northern Min () and Tibetan གཉིས (gnyis).

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ni˧/

    Numeral

    ni

    1. two

    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.)

    Adjective

    -ni?

    1. what (kind of)
    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.

    Pronoun

    -ni

    1. Combining stem of nina.

    References