li

See also: Appendix:Variations of "li"

Translingual

Symbol

li

(mathematics) The symbol for the logarithmic integral function.
(international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Limburgish.

English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /liː/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Rhymes: -iː

Etymology 1

An early romanization of Chinese Mandarin 里 (lǐ). As a Korean unit, via the Yale romanization of Korean 리 (ri), from the Chinese distance.

Alternative forms

(Korea): ri

Noun

li (plural lis or li)

The Chinese mile, a traditional unit of distance equal to 1500 chis or 150 zhangs, now standardized as a half-kilometer (500 meters).
Synonym: Chinese mile
- 1927, Li, Chi, “Archaeological Survey of the Fêng River Valley, Southern Shansi, China”, in Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1926 (Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections)‎, volume 78, number 7, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, OCLC 1051580882, page 129:
  It was a whole day's journey from I-ch'eng to Chü-wo which, in turn, is about 60 li east of Chiang Chou — one of the most important cities in southern Shansi and a center for curio-dealers.
- 1999 [1994], Zou, Heng (邹衡), “The Early Jin State Capital Discovered: a Personal Account”, in Roderick Whitfield; Wang Tao, transl., Exploring China's Past: New Discoveries and Studies in Archaeology and Art‎, Saffron Books, Eastern Art Publishing, →ISBN, OCLC 760663465, page 106:
  In 1979, while we were conducting our archaeological work in Yucheng and Quwo, Shanxi province, I noticed another historical record in the Kuodizhi (a comprehensive account of geography written in 641), which stated that "the ancient city of Tang was 20 li west of Yuchengxian in Jiangzhou."
- 2000, Chen, Shui-Bian, “Learning and Transformation”, in David J. Toman, transl., The Son of Taiwan: The Life of Chen Shui-Bian and His Dreams for Taiwan‎, Taiwan Publishing Co., Ltd., →ISBN, OCLC 45640623, page 40:
  The two gods who accompany Matsu, one with eyes that can see 1000 li⁶ and the other with ears that can hear far over the horizon, represent empathy, observation, and feeling. Government should be like Matsu, equipped with acute powers of observation; see clearly to the bottom of issues, and know how to respond.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:li.
The Korean mile, a traditional unit of distance equivalent to about 393 m.
- 1980, Kim, Il-sung, “Meeting with My Comrades-in-Arms in North Manchuria”, in Kim Il Sung Works‎, volume 48, Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House, OCLC 8532530, page 144:
  While scaling the Laoyeling Mountains, the Chinese Worker-Peasant Red Army, under the command of Mao Ze-dong and Zhu De, was successfully stepping up the historic 25 000-li Long March in China proper, breaking through the surrounding rings formed by Chiang Kai-shek’s army.
Synonym: Korean mile

Translations

Chinese unit of distance

Chinese: 里 (zh) (lǐ), 市里 (zh) (shìlǐ)
Dutch: li (nl)
French: li (fr) m
Japanese: 里 (ja) (り, ri)
Korean: 리(里) (ko) (ri)
Swedish: li (sv) c

Etymology 2

From Mandarin 市厘 (lí).

Noun

li (plural li)

A traditional Chinese unit of weight, equal to one-thousandth of a liang, or fifty milligrams.

Etymology 3

From Mandarin 禮／礼 (lǐ).

Noun

li (plural li)

(Chinese philosophy) A meaningful ceremony or ritual; etiquette, behaviour.

Etymology 4

From Mandarin 鬲 (lì).

Noun

li (plural li)

An ancient Chinese cauldron having three hollow legs.

Etymology 5

Altered from la, with the vowel changed to signify a raised note.

Noun

li (uncountable)

(music) In solfège, the raised sixth note of a major scale (the note A-sharp in the fixed-do system).
Synonyms: A-sharp, B-flat, ta, te

Anagrams

I'l, IL, il-

Albanian

Etymology 1

Orel suggests from South Slavic, compare Serbo-Croatian lȉh (“exclusive”), lȋh (“false, odd”), Slovene lȋh (“uneven, odd”).[1] However, generally thought to be from Ancient Greek εὐλογία (eulogía) "blessing", with a euphemistic sense development.[2][3] Compare e.g. the euphemistic synonym "e lume" (the happy/blessed one)[4]

Alternative forms

lijë

Noun

li f (definite singular lia)

pox
olive scab, peacock spot (Cycloconium oleaginum)
Synonym: sypallua

Hyponyms

hyponyms

li e bardhë (“chicken pox”)
li e dushkut (“chicken pox”)
li e dhenve (“sheeppox”)
li e madhe (“smallpox”)
li e mirë (“chicken pox”)
li e pyllit (“chicken pox”)
li e ullirit (“olive scab, peacock spot”) (Cycloconium oleaginum)

Derived terms

lijëvrarë
lijim
lijoj
lijosh
lijosje
lijuar

References

Orel, Vladimir (1998), “lijë”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Cologne: Brill, →ISBN, page 227
Eqrem Çabej, Studime etimologjike në fushë të shqipes, Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Instituti i Gjuhësisë dhe i Letërsisë, 1996, page 168
Eqrem Çabej, Studime Filologjike, Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH, Instituti i Gjuhësisë dje i Letërsisë., 1990, page 99
Eqrem Çabej, Studime gjuhësore: Nga historia e gjuhës shqipe, Rilindja, 1977, page 22

Etymology 2

Borrowed through Vulgar Latin from Latin līnum.

Noun

li m (definite singular liri)

flax

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin ille (“that one”).

Pronoun

li

him (indirect object)

Synonyms

le

Aromanian

Etymology

From Latin illis, dative common plural of ille. Compare Romanian le.

Pronoun

li f (short/unstressed accusative form of eali)

(direct object) them (all-female group)

Related terms

lã (feminine/masculine plural dative- short/unstressed form)
u (feminine singular accusative- short/unstressed form)
(a) lor (feminine/masculine plural dative- long/stressed form)

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin illī, dative common singular of ille.

Pronunciation

(Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈli/
Rhymes: -i

Pronoun

li (enclitic and proclitic)

him, her, it (indirect object, singular all genders)
doneu-li una moneda ― give him/her a coin

Declension

Catalan personal pronouns and clitics

	strong/subject	weak (direct object)		weak (indirect object)		possessive
singular		proclitic	enclitic	proclitic	enclitic
1st person	jo, mi³	em, m’	-me, ’m	em, m’	-me, ’m	meu
1st person majestic¹	nós	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
2nd person	tu	et, t’	-te, ’t	et, t’	-te, ’t	teu
2nd person formal¹	vós	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
2nd person very formal²	vostè	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
3rd person masculine	ell	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
3rd person feminine	ella	la, l’⁴	-la	li	-li	seu
3rd person neuter		ho	-ho	li	-li	seu
3rd person reflexive	si	es, s’	-se, ’s	es, s’	-se, ’s	seu
plural
1st person	nosaltres	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
2nd person	vosaltres	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
2nd person formal²	vostès	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person masculine	ells	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person feminine	elles	les	-les	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person reflexive	si	es, s’	-se, ’s	es, s’	-se, ’s	seu
adverbial
ablative/genitive		en, n’	-ne, ’n
locative		hi	-hi
¹⁾ Behaves grammatically as plural. ²⁾ Behaves grammatically as third person.			³⁾ Only as object of a preposition. ⁴⁾ Not before unstressed (h)i-, (h)u-.

Corsican

Etymology

From Latin illi, masculine plural of ille, from Old Latin olle. Cognates include Italian gli (“the, them”) and Romanian îi (“them”).

Pronoun

li

him, her (indirect object)
them (indirect object)
Archaic form of i.

Article

li

Archaic form of i.

References

https://infcor.adecec.net/

Dutch

Pronunciation

Audio (file)

Noun

li m (uncountable)

li (Chinese unit of distance).

Esperanto

Etymology

From Italian lui, French lui, or Spanish le, plus the i of personal pronouns.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [li]
Audio:
(file)
Hyphenation: li

Pronoun

li (accusative lin, possessive lia)

(personal pronoun) he

Usage notes

Li is traditionally used as both a masculine and a gender-neutral pronoun, but since the 1970s generic usage has sometimes been criticized and is increasingly being avoided and replaced by "li aŭ ŝi". Some people think this is an imperfect solution which is inappropriately long, and since the 2010s it is additionally also criticized by some as being too exclusive to non-binary people. In response to such criticisms, there have been various proposals for new pronouns, but the only proposal that has been gaining some adoption is ri.

Synonyms

(person whose gender is unknown): ri, ŝli

Related terms

ili (“they”) (plural)

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /li/

Noun

li m (plural lis)

li (Chinese unit of distance)

Anagrams

il

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

From Portuguese ali. Cognate with Kabuverdianu li.

Adverb

li

here

Haitian Creole

Etymology 1

From French lui.

Pronoun

li (contracted form l)

he
him
she
her
it

Etymology 2

From French lire.

Verb

li

to read

Ido

Etymology

From lu (“he, him, she, her, it, that”) +‎ -i (“-s; plural”).

Pronoun

li pl

they, them

Related terms

ili (“they, them”, masculine)
eli (“they, them”, feminine)
oli (“they, them”, neuter)

Istriot

Article

li

masculine plural definite article
- 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 40:
  Ti me pari oûna dea infra li dai,
  You seem to me a goddess among the gods

Italian

Etymology 1

From Latin illī, nominative masculine plural of ille.

Alternative forms

-li (enclitic)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): ^°/li/^°
Homophone: lì
Rhymes: -i
Hyphenation: li
As an unstressed clitic, it does not trigger syntactic gemination of the following consonant. It also actively blocks syntactic gemination of its initial consonant, such as after a word like però (“but”) that would normally trigger syntactic gemination. (This does not apply to the enclitic form -li, e.g. dalli a me (“give them to me”).)

Pronoun

li m pl

(accusative) them (masculine)
Li ricordo. ― I remember them.

Usage notes

Never elides.

Etymology 2

Variant of gli.

Article

li m pl (singular lo)

(archaic) Alternative form of gli
li studenti ― the students

Pronoun

li m pl (singular lo)

(dative, archaic) Alternative form of gli

Adverb

li

Misspelling of lì.

Anagrams

il, il-

Japanese

Romanization

li

Rōmaji transcription of り゚
Rōmaji transcription of リ゚

Jarawa

Etymology

Cognate to Önge li.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /li/

Determiner

li

this, these
li aːw ʈʰi talu.
This bow is long.
Synonym: lijə (“this here, this”)
Coordinate term: luwə (“that”)

Pronoun

li

this, these, this one, these ones
li topo t-ita-b.
He ate the snake.
li aːw.
This is a bow.
Coordinate term: luwə (“that”)

References

Kumar, Pramod (2012). Descriptive and Typological Study of Jarawa (PhD). Jawaharlal Nehru University. Page 85, 101—102.

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese ali.

Adverb

li

here

Khumi Chin

Li.

Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *lii, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *d-liy. Cognate to Burmese လေး (le:, “bow”) and S'gaw Karen ချံၣ် (khleè, “bow”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /li˥/

Noun

li

crossbow

References

K. E. Herr (2011) The phonological interpretation of minor syllables, applied to Lemi Chin‎, Payap University, page 45

Livonian

Verb

li

2nd person singular imperative form of lǟdõ

Louisiana Creole French

Etymology

From French lui.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /li/

Pronoun

li (third-person singular, plural yé, objective li, possessive sô, emphatic li-chin)

he.
him.
she.
her.
it.

Coordinate terms

mo
to
nou, no, nouzòt
vouzòt, ouzòt, zòt, zo
yé

Maltese

Alternative forms

illi (after a word-final consonant cluster)

Etymology

From Arabic اَلَّذِي‎ (allaḏī, relative pronoun). Compare common dialectal Arabic اللي‎ (illi, lli). The use as a conjunction is widely found in Maghrebi Arabic, so there is no reason to consider it a Romance influence (as might otherwise be thought; compare Italian che, which is both a relative pronoun and the conjunction “that”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lɪ/

Pronoun

li

(relative) who; which; that
Dan huwa r-raġel li seraq il-karozza. ― That’s the man who stole the car.
Din hija ħaġa li tħawwadni. ― This is something that confuses me.

Usage notes

Unlike standard Arabic, the relative pronoun is normally used also with indefinite referents (example sentence 2). However, it is optional in this case.

Conjunction

li

that
Nixtieq ngħidilha li nħobbha. ― I want to tell her that I love her.

Mandarin

Romanization

li (li⁵ / li⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄌㄧ)

Hanyu Pinyin reading of 哩.
Hanyu Pinyin reading of 裏／里.
Hanyu Pinyin reading of 裡／里.
Hanyu Pinyin reading of 里.

li

Nonstandard spelling of lī.
Nonstandard spelling of lí.
Nonstandard spelling of lǐ.
Nonstandard spelling of lì.

Usage notes

English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Mauritian Creole

Etymology

From French le, lui.

Pronoun

li

he, she, it (third-person singular personal pronoun)

Michif

Etymology

From French le.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [lɪ]

Article

li m (feminine la, masculine and feminine plural lii)

the

Miskito

Noun

li

water

References

Eduard Conzemius, Ethnographical Survey of the Miskito and Sumu Indians (1932)

Moore

Etymology

from French lit (“bed”)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lí/

Noun

li

bed

Munsee

Particle

lí[1]

here, there, thus, so

References

O'Meara, John (2014), “lí-”, in Delaware-English/English-Delaware Dictionary (Heritage), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, published 1996, →ISBN

Neapolitan

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /i/

Pronoun

li

Alternative form of 'i

Niuatoputapu

Article

li

the

Norman

Etymology

From Old French li, from Vulgar Latin *illui, a Vulgar Latin dative of Classical Latin ille.

Pronoun

li

(Guernsey) him

Northern Kurdish

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *en.

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -ɪ

Preposition

Central Kurdish	لە‎ (le)

li

in
li Kurdistanê ― in Kurdistan
an element of several prepositions and circumpositions

Related terms

li ... de
li cem
li ber
li dijî
li dora
li gora
li pey
li pêş
li rex
li ser

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse hlíð.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /liː/

Noun

li f or m (definite singular lia or lien, indefinite plural lier, definite plural liene)

A sloping mountainside or hillside covered with grass or forest.

References

“li” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Anagrams

il

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /liː/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hlíð, from Proto-Germanic *hlīdō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱléyteh₂ (“something leaned, inclined”).

Alternative forms

Lid, lid (obsolete spellings)

Noun

li f (definite singular lia, indefinite plural lier, definite plural liene)

a sloping mountainside or hillside covered with grass or forest.

Inflection

Historical inflection of li

	indefinite singular	definite singular	indefinite plural	definite plural
Aasen¹	Lid	Lidi	Lider	Liderna
1901			lider (lidir)	liderne (lidine)
1917	li	lia, lii	lier	liene
1938		lia [lii]
2012 (current)	li	lia	lier	liene

Forms in italics are currently considered non-standard. Forms in [brackets] were official, but considered second-tier. Forms in (parentheses) were allowed under Midlandsnormalen. ¹Nouns were capitalised for most of the 19th century.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse líða, from Proto-Germanic *līþaną. The sense of suffering may be a loan from Middle Low German.

Alternative forms

lida, lide (long forms)

Verb

li (present tense lir, past tense lei, supine lidd or lidt or liden, past participle lidd or liden, present participle lidande, imperative li)

(intransitive, of time) to pass, elapse
(intransitive) to suffer
1. (intransitive) to endure
2. (intransitive) to tolerate, like

Related terms

lei
leia, leie

References

“li” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

il

Old French

Etymology 1

From Latin ille (“that”). In the nominative singular, it was influenced by the nom. sg. form of the pronoun quī.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /li/

Article

li

the (masculine nominative singular and plural definite article)
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
  Li rois respont: "N'est pas mançonge"
  The king replied "this is no lie"

Inflection

Old French definite articles

Declension of the definite article le
	singular		plural
	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
nominative	li	la, le ¹	li	les
oblique	le ¹	la ¹	les	les
¹ These singular forms elide to l' before a vowel or non-aspirate h.

Etymology 2

From Latin illī (“to that one”), dative singular of Latin ille. Cognate of Spanish le, Portuguese lhe, Italian gli.

Pronoun

li

third-person singular indirect object pronoun; to him, to her, to it
- circa 1180, Chrétien de Troyes, Lancelot ou le Chevalier de la charrette:
  Si li ancomancent a dire
  He started to tell him

Descendants

French: lui

Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin ille (“that”).

Article

li

the (masculine nominative singular and plural definite article)

Old Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *li.[1][2] First attested in 1395.

Particle

li

interrogative particle: introduces a yes-no question
(when reduplicated) whether … or
(when reduplicated) both … and

Conjunction

li

if

Derived terms

conjunctions

atoli
azali
czyli
jeśli

Related terms

conjunction

albo
ale
le

Descendants

Polish: li

References

Boryś, Wiesław (2005) Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
Andrzej Bańkowski (2000) Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish)

S. Urbańczyk, editor (1963), “li”, in Słownik staropolski (in Old Polish), volume 4, Wrocław, Warsaw, Kraków: Polish Academy of Sciences, page 33

Polish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /li/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -i
Syllabification: li

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Polish li, from Proto-Slavic *li.[1][2] First attested in 1395.[3]

Particle

li

(archaic, literary) interrogative particle: introduces a yes-no question
Synonym: czy
(archaic, literary) only
Synonyms: jedynie, tylko
(Middle Polish) emphasis particle

Conjunction

li

(obsolete) if
Synonym: jeśli
(Middle Polish) since, because
Synonym: skoro
(Middle Polish) though
Synonyms: acz, aczkolwiek, chociaż, mimo że
(Middle Polish) when
Synonym: kiedy
(Middle Polish) or
Synonyms: albo, bądź, czy, lub

Derived terms

conjunctions

ali
aniżeli
aniżeliby

Related terms

conjunctions

albo
ale
ali
atoli
czyli
jeśli
le

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Mandarin 里 (lǐ).

Noun

li n (indeclinable)

li (Chinese unit of distance)
li (Chinese unit of weight)

Etymology 3

From Mandarin 禮／礼 (lǐ).

Noun

li n (indeclinable)

li (meaningful ceremony or ritual)

References

Boryś, Wiesław (2005) Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
Andrzej Bańkowski (2000) Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish)
S. Urbańczyk, editor (1963), “li”, in Słownik staropolski (in Old Polish), volume 4, Wrocław, Warsaw, Kraków: Polish Academy of Sciences, page 33

“li”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish], 2010-2022

Portuguese

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈli/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈli/

Hyphenation: li
Rhymes: -i

Verb

li

first-person singular preterite indicative of ler

Romagnol

Pronoun

li (plural le)

she

References

Ercolani, Libero (1971) Vocabolario Romagnolo-Italiano, Monte di Ravenna, page 232

Romanian

Pronoun

li (dative form of ele, form of le)

to them

Usage notes

This word is used when le (which is dative) is combined with the following accusatives:

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

Sassarese

Alternative forms

-lli (pronoun, enclitic, used when previous syllable is stressed)
-ri (pronoun, enclitic, used when previous syllable is unstressed)

Etymology

From Latin illī, illae, masculine and feminine plural forms of ille (“that”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /li/

Article

li m pl or f pl

Sassarese definite articles
	singular	plural
masculine	lu/l'	li/l'
feminine	la/l'	li/l'

the (masculine and feminine plural)

Usage notes

Becomes l' before a vowel.

Pronoun

li m pl or f pl

(followed by chi) those
Di curori vi ni so umbè. Ca so li chi tu priferi?
There are lots of colors. Which ones do you prefer?
(literally, “Of colors there are a lot. Which ones are those which you prefer?”)
them (accusative)
Abà li zerchu ― I'll look for them (literally, “Now I look for them”)
dative of eddu
Li cuzinu la trìglia ― I'll prepare him mullet (literally, “I cook to him the mullet”)
dative of edda
Li fozzu li frisgiori ― I'll prepare her some flapjacks (literally, “I make to her the flapjacks”)
dative of eddi
Dabboi li saruddu ― I'll (literally, “I cook for them the mullet”)

References

Rubattu, Antoninu (2006) Dizionario universale della lingua di Sardegna, 2nd edition, Sassari: Edes

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *li.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /li/

Particle

li (Cyrillic spelling ли)

question-forming interrogative particle (postpositive, unlike other particles, never first word in a sentence)
poznaješ li me ― do you know me?
jesi li stigao na odredište? ― did you reach the destination?
jeste li ga vid(j)eli ― have you seen him?
gd(j)e li se samo nalazimo? ― where could we be?
kad li će doći? ― when will he/they come?
je li? ― Is it? (Is that so? Isn't that so?)
used as conjunction with da (except in Croatian, je li is used instead)
da li ― whether
nemam pojma da li je došao ― I have no idea whether he came (Croatian: "nemam pojma je li došao")
(as a conjunction) if
pokušaš li me napasti, ja ću ti uzvratiti ― should you try to attack me, I'll strike you back (when "li" is used in this sense, it is usually translated as a subjunctive form "should", and when "ako" is used, it is usually translated as "if" - ako me pokušaš napasti = if you try to attack me)
used as an emphatic intensifier
a sn(ij)eg pada li pada ― the snow just keeps falling and falling...
d(ij)ete plače li plače ― the child just keeps crying and crying...

Sicilian

Alternative forms

i

Etymology 1

From the conflation of the apheresis of Latin illī and illae, both nominative plurals of ille.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /li/ (stressed)
IPA^(key): /lɪ/ (unstressed)

Article

li m pl or f pl

(masculine and feminine plural definite article) the
Synonym: i

Usage notes

This article is nowadays an obsolete variant, unlike its illiquid counterpart i. It is currently used only in some restricted areas where it is still withheld in conversational communications.
Today it is mostly used in crystallized contexts, such as singing, poetry or sayings and proverbs. In all these cases this definite article is more euphonetic than the variants, now predominant, which have undergone the lenition of the initial liquid consonant.
Its use is however almost undisputed before nouns (or nominalized forms of other parts of speech, most often adjectives) that begin with vowels. In this case the form is an apocopic l'. Otherwise, illiquid definite articles are phonetically absorbed by the following noun. I.e: l'arancini (liquid) and ârancini (illiquid).

Inflection

Sicilian articles
	Masculine singular definite article	Feminine singular definite article	Masculine and feminine plural definite article
Definite articles (liquid)	lu	la	li
Definite articles (illiquid)	u	a	i
Definite articles	nu (also: un,'n)	na

Etymology 2

From the conflation of the apheresis of Latin illī and illae, both nominative plurals of ille.

Alternative forms

-li (enclitic)
i (illiquid form)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /li/ (stressed)
IPA^(key): /lɪ/ (unstressed)

Pronoun

li m pl or f pl

(accusative) them
Li canusci? ― Do you know them?
Synonym: i
(accusative) them, these or those thing
Quannu ti li desi. ― When I gave them to you.
Synonym: i

Usage notes

This pronoun is now an obsolete variant. It is currently used only in some restricted areas where it is still withheld in conversational communications.
Today it is mostly used in crystallized contexts, such as singing, poetry or sayings and proverbs. In all these cases this definite article is more euphonetic than the variants, now predominant, which have undergone the lenition of the initial liquid consonant.
Its use is however almost undisputed before words that begin with vowels. In this case the form is an apocopic l'.

Sumerian

Romanization

li

Romanization of 𒇷 (li)

Tedim Chin

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b-ləj.

Numeral

li

four

References

Zomi Ordbog based on the work of D.L. Haokip

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

ly

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 璃 (“glass”).

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [li˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [lɪj˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [lɪj˧˧]

Noun

(classifier cái) li

cup, glass (def. 2)

Volapük

Particle

li

Appended with a hyphen to a verb, it turns the entire clause it is in into a question.

Walloon

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /li/

Article

li (after an open syllable and/or before a vowel: l', plural: les, plural after an open syllable and before a vowel: ls)

the
Li mwaisse ― The master
Li maistrece ― The mistress
L' ome ― The man
C' est li l' mwaisse ― He is the master
Les måjhons ― The houses
Les omes ― The men
Çou sont ls åtes tchesteas ― These are the other castles

Pronoun

li

him, her, it (direct object, before verb)
C' est li l' mwaisse ― It's him who's the master

West Makian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /l̪i/

Adverb

li

also

References

Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎, Pacific linguistics

Westrobothnian

Noun

li f

Alternative form of lid[1]

Etymology 2

From Old Norse lé, specifically the accusative léa, from Proto-Germanic *lewô. The duosyllabic accent might be derived from the definite singular form.

Pronunciation

(Hössjö) IPA^(key): [lìː]
(Skellefteå) IPA^(key): [lèɪ̯ːj]
(Luleå) IPA^(key): [lø̀ʏ̯ː]
(Kalix) IPA^(key): [lɛ̀ɪ̯ː]
Rhymes: -ìː
(ð-dropping) Rhymes: -ìː, -ìːð
(northern í-ý merger) Rhymes: -ìː, -ỳː

Noun

lî m (definite singular lien)

scythe[1]

Derived terms

libɑka (“the trailing edge of a scythe”)
liörv (“shaft on a scythe”)

Etymology 3

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

Noun

li n (definite singular liä)

afterbirth from calving[2]
Synonyms: ättföring, leg

Etymology 4

From Old Norse líða, from Proto-Germanic *līþaną. The sense “suffer” may be borrowed from Middle Low German, but derive from the same root in any case.

Verb

li

to elapse.[1]
he li på dɑgen ― The day draws to a close.
he var brɑno lide på ― It was quite late.
to come to an end, run out.
Da mâtn fâr lii fara ṣwiṇa strii. ― When the food begins to run low, the swine begin to fight. (proverb)
to suffer.[1]

References

Larsson, Evert, Söderström, Sven, “lid s. li:, lie s. lî:, lida v. li: etc”, in Hössjömålet : ordbok över en sydvästerbottnisk dialekt [The Hössjö speech: dictionary of a southern Westrobothnian dialect] (in Swedish) →ISBN, page 119
Rietz, Johan Ernst, “LI” in Svenskt dialektlexikon: ordbok öfver svenska allmogespråket [Swedish dialectal lexicon: a dictionary for the Swedish lects] (in Swedish), 1962 edition, Lund: C. W. K. Gleerups Förlag, published 1862–1867, page 400

Yoruba

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lí/

Noun

lí

The name of the Latin-script letter L.

Zou

**Zou cardinal numbers**
< 3	4	5 >
Cardinal : li

Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *lii, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b-ləj. Cognates include Burmese လေး (le:) and Sichuan Yi ꇖ (ly).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lī/
Hyphenation: li

Numeral

li

four

References

Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 40
Philip Thanglienmang (2014), “Zou Tonology”, in Indian Linguistics, volume 75, issue 1-2, ISSN 0378-0759

[1] Orel, Vladimir (1998), “lijë”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Cologne: Brill, →ISBN, page 227

[2] Eqrem Çabej, Studime etimologjike në fushë të shqipes, Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Instituti i Gjuhësisë dhe i Letërsisë, 1996, page 168

[3] Eqrem Çabej, Studime Filologjike, Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH, Instituti i Gjuhësisë dje i Letërsisë., 1990, page 99

[4] Eqrem Çabej, Studime gjuhësore: Nga historia e gjuhës shqipe, Rilindja, 1977, page 22

[5] O'Meara, John (2014), “lí-”, in Delaware-English/English-Delaware Dictionary (Heritage), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, published 1996, →ISBN

[6] Boryś, Wiesław (2005) Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN

[7] Andrzej Bańkowski (2000) Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish)

[8] Boryś, Wiesław (2005) Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN

[9] Andrzej Bańkowski (2000) Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish)

[10] S. Urbańczyk, editor (1963), “li”, in Słownik staropolski (in Old Polish), volume 4, Wrocław, Warsaw, Kraków: Polish Academy of Sciences, page 33

[hössjö-11] Larsson, Evert, Söderström, Sven, “lid s. li:, lie s. lî:, lida v. li: etc”, in Hössjömålet : ordbok över en sydvästerbottnisk dialekt [The Hössjö speech: dictionary of a southern Westrobothnian dialect] (in Swedish) →ISBN, page 119

[12] Rietz, Johan Ernst, “LI” in Svenskt dialektlexikon: ordbok öfver svenska allmogespråket [Swedish dialectal lexicon: a dictionary for the Swedish lects] (in Swedish), 1962 edition, Lund: C. W. K. Gleerups Förlag, published 1862–1867, page 400

li

Translingual

Symbol

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Noun

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

Etymology 3

Noun

Etymology 4

Noun

Etymology 5

Noun

Anagrams

Albanian

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Noun

Hyponyms

Derived terms

References

Etymology 2

Noun

Aragonese

Etymology

Pronoun

Synonyms

Aromanian

Etymology

Pronoun

Related terms

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Declension

Corsican

Etymology

Pronoun

See also

Article

References

Dutch

Pronunciation

Noun

Esperanto

Etymology

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Usage notes

Synonyms

Related terms

French

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

Anagrams

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

Adverb

Haitian Creole

Etymology 1

Pronoun

Etymology 2

Verb

Ido

Etymology

Pronoun

Related terms

Istriot

Article

Italian

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Pronoun