ni

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ni"

English

Pronunciation

Audio (GA) (file)

Noun

ni

(grammar) Initialism of noun inanimate.

Anagrams

-in, -in', IN, i'n, in, in-

Abinomn

Pronoun

ni

you (singular)

Afar

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈni/

Determiner

ní

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

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)‎, Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Ainu

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nʲi/

Noun

ni (Kana spelling ニ)

tree
wood

Synonyms

cikuni

Albanian

Alternative forms

tani
nani
nime

Etymology

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

Adverb

ni

now
Synonyms: tash, tani, hë, nani, nime

Related terms

nu

References

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

Anguthimri

Noun

ni

(Mpakwithi) place
(Mpakwithi) camp

References

Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 187

Aromanian

Alternative forms

nã

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin nīs, from Latin nos. Compare Romanian ne (older form nă).

Pronoun

ni (unstressed accusative and reflexive form of noi)

(direct object, first-person plural) us

Related terms

noi (stressed accusative)

Pronoun

ni (unstressed dative and reflexive form of noi)

(indirect object, first-person plural) (to) us

Related terms

nau (stressed dative)

Asturian

Noun

ni f (uncountable)

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 *g/s-ni-s (“two”). Cognate with S'gaw Karen ခံ (khee), Tibetan གཉིས (gnyis), Sikkimese ཉི (nyi), Sichuan Yi ꑍ (nyip), Burmese နှစ် (hnac).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ni/

Numeral

ni (Bengali script নি)

two

Synonyms

rongni
tu
do

References

van Breugel, Seino. 2015. Atong-English dictionary, second edition. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/487044/Atong_English_Dictionary.

Bambara

Noun

ni

soul, life, spirit

Conjunction

ni

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

References

Richard Nci Diarra, Lexique bambara-français-anglais, December 13, 2010

Basque

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ni/, [ni]
Audio (file)

Pronoun

ni

First-person singular personal pronoun; I
- 1989, Gorka Aulestia, Basque-English Dictionary, William A. Douglas, 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 Basque personal pronouns

Common pronouns
	singular			plural
	1st person	2nd person (informal)	2nd person (neutral)	1st person	2nd person
absolutive	ni	hi	zu	gu	zuek
ergative	nik	hik	zuk	guk	zuek
dative	niri	hiri	zuri	guri	zuei
genitive	nire, ene	hire	zure	gure	zuen
comitative	nirekin, enekin	hirekin	zurekin	gurekin	zuekin
causative	nigatik, niregatik, enegatik	higatik, hiregatik	zugatik, zuregatik	gugatik, guregatik	zuengatik
benefactive	niretzat, niretako, enetzat,enetako	hiretzat, hiretako	zuretzat, zuretako	guretzat, guretako	zuentzat, zuendako
instrumental	nitaz	hitaz	zutaz	gutaz	zuetaz
inessive	nigan, niregan, nire baitan, nitan, enegan, ene baitan	higan, hiregan, hire baitan, hitan	zugan, zuregan, zure baitan, zutan	gugan, guregan, gure baitan, gutan	zuengan, zuen baitan, zuetan
locative	nire baitako, ene baitako	hire baitako	gu baitako, gure baitako	zu baitako, zure baitako	zuen baitako
allative	niregana, nireganat, nire baitara, nire baitarat, enegana, eneganat, ene baitara, ene baitarat	hiregana, hireganat, hire baitara, hire baitarat	zugana, zuregana, zuganat, zureganat, zu baitara, zure baitara, zu baitarat, zure baitarat	gugana, guregana, guganat, gureganat, gu baitara, gure baitara, gu baitarat, gure baitarat	zuengana, zuenganat, zuen baitara, zuen baitarat
terminative	nireganaino, nire baitaraino, eneganaino	higanaino, hireganaino, hire baitaraino	zuganaino, zureganaino, zu baitaraino, zure baitaraino	guganaino, gureganaino, gu baitaraino, gure baitaraino	zuenganaino, zuen baitaraino
directive	niganantz, nireganantz, eneganantz	higanantz, hireganantz	zuganantz, zureganantz	guganantz, gureganantz	zuenganantz
destinative	niganako, nireganako, eneganako	higanako, hireganako	zuganako, zureganako	guganako, gureganako	zuenganako
ablative	nireganik, niregandik, nire baitatik, nire baitarik, eneganik, enegandik, ene baitatik, ene baitarik	higanik, hireganik, higandik, hiregandik, hire baitatik, hire baitarik	zuganik, zureganik, zugandik, zuregandik, zu baitatik, zu baitarik, zure baitatik, zure baitarik	guganik, gureganik, gugandik, guregandik, gu baitatik, gu baitarik, gure baitatik, gure baitarik	zuenganik, zuengandik, zuen baitatik, zuen baitarik
Emphatic pronouns
absolutive	neu	heu	zeu	geu	zeuek
ergative	neuk	heuk	zeuk	geuk	zeuek
dative	neuri	heuri	zeuri	geuri	zeuei
genitive	neure	heure	zeure	geure	zeuen
comitative	neurekin	heurekin	zeurekin	geurekin	zeuekin
causative	neugatik, neuregatik	heugatik, heuregatik	zugatik, zuregatik	gugatik, guregatik	zuengatik
benefactive	neuretzat, neuretako	heuretzat, heuretako	zeuretzat, zeuretako	geuretzat, geuretako	zeuentzat, zeuendako
instrumental	neutaz	heutaz	zeutaz	geutaz	zeuetaz
inessive	neugan	heuregan, heure baitan	zeugan, zeuregan	geugan, geuregan	zeuengan
locative	neure baitako	heure baitako	zeure baitako	geure baitako	zeuen baitako
allative	neuregana	heugana, heuregana, heure baitara, heure baitarat	zeugana, zeuregana	geugana, geuregana	zeuengana
terminative	neuregaino	heuganaino, heureganaino, heure baitaraino	zeuganaino, zeureganaino	geuganaino, geureganaino	zeuenganaino
directive	neuganantz	heuganantz, heureganantz	zeuganantz, zeureganantz	geuganantz, geureganantz	zeuenganantz
destinative	neureganako	heuganako, heureganako	zeuganako, zeureganako	geuganako, geureganako	zeuenganako
ablative	neuganik, neugandik	heuganik, heureganik, heugandik, heuregandik, heure baitatik, heure baitarik	zeuganik, zeureganik, zeugandik, zeuregandik	geuganik, geureganik, geugandik, geuregandik	zeuenganik, zeuengandik

Related terms

neu

Biloxi

Noun

ni

Synonym of ani (“water”)

References

David Kaufman, Tanêks-Tąyosą Kadakathi: Biloxi-English Dictionary (University of Kansas, 2011, →ISBN, page 34

Breton

Etymology 1

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

Pronoun

ni

we (first-person plural personal pronoun)

Etymology 2

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

Noun

ni m (plural nied)

nephew

Catalan

Pronunciation

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

Conjunction

ni

neither, nor

Adverb

ni

not even, even

Noun

ni f (plural nis)

Nu; the Greek letter Ν (lowercase ν).

Danish

**Danish cardinal numbers**
< 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

nine

Drung

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nəj.

Noun

ni

day

References

Ross Perlin (2019) A Grammar of Trung‎, Santa Barbara: University of California

Dumbea

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ni/

Pronoun

ni

they

References

Leenhardt, M. (1946) Langues et dialectes de l'Austro-Mèlanèsie. Cited in: "ⁿDuᵐbea" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.
Shintani, T.L.A. & Païta, Y. (1990) Dictionnaire de la langue de Païta, Nouméa: Sociéte d'etudes historiques de Nouvelle-Calédonie. Cited in: "Drubea" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.

Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl

Determiner

ni

this.

Pronoun

ni

this.

Esperanto

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Audio (file)
IPA^(key): /ni/

Pronoun

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

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

French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ni/
audio (file)

Conjunction

ni

neither; nor
- 1898, Revue du monde invisible, p.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]‎:
  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

ni chair ni poisson
ni oui ni non
ni plus ni moins
ni vu ni connu

Gothic

Romanization

ni

Romanization of 𐌽𐌹

Hausa

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Pronoun

nī

I (1st person singular pronoun)

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

(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

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.)

Idi

Noun

ni

water

References

Idi Organised Phonology Data

Ido

Pronoun

ni

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

Ingrian

Pronunciation

(Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈni/, [ˈni]

(Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈni/, [ˈni]

Rhymes: -i

Hyphenation: ni

Conjunction

ni

Alternative form of niin
- 1937, V. A. Tetjurev, N. I. Molotsova, transl., 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

nec

Etymology

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

Adverb

ni

and not.
Io non sape, ni vole saper ― I don’t know, and I don’t want to know
Neither, nor.
Illo ni me place ni displace ― It neither pleases me nor displeases me
And, or (following a "with no" or "without").
Nos debe resister sin aqua ni alimento ― We must resist with no water or food

Italian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈni/
Rhymes: -i
Hyphenation: nì

Etymology 1

Blend of no +‎ sì.

Adverb

ni

(informal) neither yes nor no

Noun

ni m or f (invariable)

nu (Greek letter)

Anagrams

in, in-

Japanese

Romanization

ni

Rōmaji transcription of に
Rōmaji transcription of ニ

Kamano

Alternative forms

nina

Noun

ni

water

References

The Papuan Languages of New Guinea (1986, →ISBN

Kansa

Etymology

From Proto-Siouan *wa-rį́• (“water”).

Noun

ni

water
any liquid
river

References

Kansa dictionary
Quapaw dictionary, in notes: "ni (ni) - water, river, liquid (Kanza)"

Kedah Malay

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ni/

Pronoun

ni

you (singular)

Klao

Noun

ni

water

References

World Lexicon of Grammaticalization (2002, →ISBN

Laboya

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [niː]

Noun

ni

coconut

References

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

Latin

Etymology

From Old Latin nei, from Proto-Indo-European *néy (“not”), from *ne. Cognates include Gothic 𐌽𐌴𐌹 (nei), Lithuanian nei, Old Church Slavonic ни (ni), Old Irish ní and Sanskrit न (na, “ná”). See also nē.

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /niː/, [niː]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ni/, [niː]

Adverb

nī (not comparable)

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

Derived terms

quid nī? (why not?)
nīmīrum (not wonderful)
nisi

Conjunction

nī

not, that not, unless; like ne in imperative and intentional clauses
Ni quid tibi hinc in spem referas. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
Vinum aliudve quid ni laudato. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
Numa constituit, ut pisces, qui squamosi non essent, ni pollucerent ... ni qui ad polluctum emerent. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Ligurian

Etymology

From Latin nec.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ni/

Conjunction

ni

nor
neither...nor
either...or

Livonian

Etymology

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

Adverb

ni

now

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Middle High German nie, from Old High German nio. Cognate with German nie.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /niː/

Adverb

ni

never

Synonyms

(never): nimools, keemol, keemools

Malay

Alternative forms

ini
اين‎
ني‎

Etymology

Shortened form of ini, from Proto-Malayic *(i)ni(ʔ), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)ni, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)ni.

Pronunciation

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

Determiner

ni

(colloquial) this (the (thing) here)
(colloquial) this (known (thing) just mentioned)
(colloquial) this (known (thing) about to be mentioned)
(colloquial) this (known (thing) that the speaker does not think is known to the audience)

Pronoun

ni

(colloquial) this (The thing, item, etc. being indicated)

Mandarin

Romanization

ni

Nonstandard spelling of nī.
Nonstandard spelling of ní.
Nonstandard spelling of nǐ.
Nonstandard spelling of nì.

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.

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

coconut tree

Related terms

iu (coconut)

References

Marshallese–English Online Dictionary

Middle English

Adverb

ni

Alternative form of ne

Conjunction

ni

Alternative form of ne

Middle Irish

Particle

ni

Alternative spelling of ní

Mohegan-Pequot

Pronoun

ni (first person singular)

singular first-person pronoun I

Navajo

Pronoun

ni

second person singular pronoun you
Shí dóó ni ayóo ałk’is niidlį́.
You and I are really good friends.
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.

Naxi

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-ŋja.

Noun

ni

fish

Etymology 2

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g/s-ni-s.

Numeral

ni

two

References

Naxi Dictionary by T.M. Pinson, Lijiang 2012

Ningil

Noun

ni

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

IPA^(key): /ni/

Numeral

ni

nine

Derived terms

førtini
nittini

Related terms

niende

References

“ni” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

nio, nie

Etymology

From Old Norse níu.

Numeral

ni

nine

Derived terms

førtini
nittini

References

“ni” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Nutabe

Noun

ni

water

References

Paul Rivet, Nouvelle contribution à l’étude de l’ethnologie précolombienne de Colombie, Journal de la Société des Américanistes volume 35, pages 25-39 (1943), page 26

Old High German

Alternative forms

ne

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ne.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ni/

Particle

ni

not

Derived terms

nein

Descendants

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

Old Irish

Particle

ni

Alternative spelling of ní

Omaha-Ponca

Etymology

From Proto-Siouan *wa-rį́• (“water”).

Noun

ni

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

IPA^(key): /ni/

Determiner

ni (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نیۡ)

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

References

Liljegren, Henrik; Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎, 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

IPA^(key): /ni/

Determiner

ni (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نیۡ)

these (agr: prox)

References

Liljegren, Henrik; Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎, 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

IPA^(key): /ni/

Pronoun

ni (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نیۡ)

it
she (prox fem nom)

References

Liljegren, Henrik; Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎, 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

IPA^(key): /ni/

Pronoun

ni (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نیۡ)

they (prox nom)

References

Liljegren, Henrik; Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎, Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Polish

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ni.

Conjunction

ni

(archaic) Alternative form of ani

Derived terms

ni pies, ni wydra
ni tak, ni siak
ni to, ni sio

Particle

ni

(dialectal) Alternative form of nie

Noun

ni n (indeclinable)

Alternative form of ny

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek νῦ (nû).

Noun

ni f (plural nis)

nu (the thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet)

Proto-Norse

Romanization

ni

Romanization of ᚾᛁ

Rawang

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ni˧/

Alternative forms

vni

Verb

ni

to pour; to water.

Alternative forms

vni

Noun

ni

headhair.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nəj. Cognate with Burmese နေ (ne) and နေ့ (ne.), Old Chinese 日 (OC *njiɡ).

Noun

ni

day (24 hour).

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Hungarian ni.

Pronoun

ni

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)

Interjection

ni

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

Samoan

Article

ni

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)

(emphasizes negation) even, either
ni ja to ne znam — even I don't know that; I don't know that either
nisam hteo/htio ni da čujem za pr(ij)edlog — I didn't even want to hear of the proposal

Conjunction

ni (Cyrillic spelling ни)

(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

us, accusative of nuàutri
us, dative of nuàutri
us, reflexive of nuàutri

Inflection

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

Slovene

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nìː/

Verb

ní

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

Conjunction

ni

(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.
nor, or
No descansa de día ni de noche.
He doesn't rest during the day nor during the night.

Derived terms

ni chicha ni limonada
ni come, ni deja comer
ni fu ni fa
ni idea
ni ir ni venir
ni lerdo ni perezoso
ni más ni menos
ni olvido, ni perdón
ni tanto ni tan calvo

Adverb

ni

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

ni a dos tirones
ni a la de tres
ni a tiros
ni a tres tirones
ni bien
ni borracho
ni de broma
ni de coña
ni de guasa
ni de lejos
ni Dios
ni en sueños
ni gaitas
ni ganas
ni hablar
ni harto de vino
ni hecho a propósito
ni idea
ni jota
ni media palabra
ni modo
ni mu
ni mucho menos
ni muerto
nini
ni palabra
ni pensarlo
ni pío
ni pizca
ni por asomo
ni que
ni que decir tiene
ni qué hostias
ni qué leches
ni qué niño muerto
ni qué ocho cuartos
ni remotamente
ni siquiera
ni un pelo
no ni na

Noun

ni f (plural níes)

nu; the Greek letter Ν, ν
Synonym: ny

Swahili

Pronunciation

Audio (Kenya) (file)

Verb

ni

is

Usage notes

This lemma is the only Swahili verb that is never inflected -- for the inflected form of English to be, see -wa.

Prefix

ni

Marks a verb's object as 1st person singular.
wananipenda
They like me

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 *yū́. Compare Danish I.

Pronunciation

audio (file)
IPA^(key): /niː/
Rhymes: -iː

Pronoun

ni

you (plural nominative), "y'all"
you (second-person singular nominative formal) (capitalized Ni, rare in modern use)
1. (obsolete) title used when addressing a person of lower social rank
  –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. (colloquial, 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?
  Do you want a bag with your purchase?

Usage notes

Both ni and er are second person plural forms, but can also be used as formal second person singular, as in the German Sie or French vous. It may sometimes also be capitalized (Ni, Er) The courteous "ni" was introduced in Swedish around the year 1900 as an alternative to the more complicated pattern of addressing others in the third person singular by their appropriate titles. This required knowledge of social status, occupation, educations, etc. with terms like fru (“Mrs.”) or fröken (“Ms.”), greve (“count”), kamrer (“accountant”), kandidat (“bachelor's degree holder”), etc. This was phased out gradually during the 1960s and 1970s in the so-called du-reformen, (“the you-reform”). In contemporary Swedish, du is universal and may be used to address anyone, regardless of differences in social status or age.

Ni is used occasionally by younger speakers to address customers, though this is often seen as being overly formal and too contrived, especially by older speakers. Formality and politeness in Swedish is not conveyed through specific grammatical forms, but primarily done through indirectness, manners of speaking or various other behaviors.

Declension

Swedish personal pronouns

Number	Person	Type	Nominative	Oblique	Possessive
Number	Person	Type	Nominative	Oblique	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
	second	archaic	I	eder	eder, eders⁶	edert	edra
	third	—	de, dom³	dem, dom³	deras
	third	reflexive	—	sig, sej³	sin	sitt	sina

¹Neologism. Usage has increased since 2010, and has gained widespread acceptance today.

²Informal

³Colloquial pronunciation spelling.

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

Anagrams

in

Tagalog

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ni/, [nɪ]
(file)

Etymology 1

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

Preposition

ni (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒ, plural nina)

Of; possessive particle. Used only with personal names.
bisikletani Juan ― Juan's bicycle
Objective marker for personal names—objective form of si; functional equivalent of ng.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish ni (“not even”).

Conjunction

ni (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒ)

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

Adverb

ni (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒ)

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

Tokelauan

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈni/
Hyphenation: ni

Etymology 1

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

Article

ni

Plural indefinite article; any

Particle

ni

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

References

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

Unami

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ni]

Pronoun

ni

I

Ura (Vanuatu)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ni/, [ni]

Noun

ni

tree

Uzbek

Particle

ni (Cyrillic ни)

accusative case marker. It is 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

not, not a, no

Inflection

Not inflected.

Conjunction

ni ... ni

neither ... nor

References

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

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

Determiner

ni

(dialectal, Central Vietnam) this

Adverb

ni

(dialectal, Central Vietnam) here

Anagrams

in

Welsh

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /niː/
Rhymes: -iː

Etymology 1

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

Pronoun

ni

us; we

Etymology 2

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

Adverb

ni

not

West Makian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /n̪i/

Pronoun

ni (possessive prefix ni)

second-person singular pronoun, you

References

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

Yil

Noun

ni

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nĩ́/

Noun

ní

The name of the Latin-script letter N.

Alternative forms

nẹ́ (Oǹdó, Ìkálẹ̀)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nĩ́/

Verb

ní

(transitive) to have

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nĩ́/

Preposition

ní

at, in (used when no movement is implied)
preposition used for creating adverbials

Derived terms

láàárọ̀ (“in the morning”)
lábẹ́ (“under”)
lálaalẹ́ (“every evening”)
lálẹ́ (“in the evening”)
lánàá (“yesterday”)
láràárọ̀ (“every morning”)
láyé àtijọ́ (“historically”)
lẹ́ẹ̀kan (“once”)
lẹ́yìn (“behind, except”)
lóde òní (“nowadays”)
lójoojúmọ́ (“everyday”)
lókè (“over, above”)
lónìí (“today”)
lóòótọ́ (“in truth”)
lópin (“at the end”)
lórí (“on top, on”)
lọ́dọọdún (“every year”)
lọ́jọ́ ọ̀la (“in the future”)
lọ́la (“tomorrow”)
lọ́sàn-án (“in the afternoon”)
lọ́sọ̀ọ̀sán (“every afternoon”)
lọ́sọ̀ọ̀sẹ̀ (“every week”)
lọ́tùn-ún-la (“the day after tomorrow”)
ní báyìí (“at this time”)
níbẹ̀rẹ̀ (“at the start”)
níbẹ̀ (“there”)
níbí (“here”)
níbikíbi (“anywhere”)
níbo (“where”)
nígbàkugbà (“at any time”)
nígbà tí (“when”)
níjẹta (“two days ago”)
nílé (“at home”)
nílẹ̀ (“down”)
nínú (“inside”)
nípòkípò (“in any position”)
nísàlẹ̀ (“below, under”)
nítorí (“because of”)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nĩ́/

Verb

ní

(intransitive) to say

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nĩ̄/

Verb

ni

(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.

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nĩ̄/

(intransitive) to be bloated, to be tumid

Derived terms

níni

Zou

Etymology 1

Ni.

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *nii, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nəj. Cognates include Min Bei 日 (nì) and Burmese နေ (ne).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ni˧/

Noun

ni

sun

Etymology 2

**Zou cardinal numbers**
< 1	2	3 >
Cardinal : ni

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *ni, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g/s-ni-s. Cognates include Min Bei 二 (nī) and Tibetan གཉིས (gnyis).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ni˧/

Numeral

ni

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^?

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

Combining stem of nina.

References

C. M. Doke; B. W. Vilakazi (1972), “-ni”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “-ni”

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

[2] 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.)

ni

English

Pronunciation

Noun

See also

Anagrams

Abinomn

Pronoun

Afar

Pronunciation

Determiner

See also

References

Ainu

Pronunciation

Noun

Synonyms

Albanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Adverb

Related terms

References

Anguthimri

Noun

References

Aromanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronoun

Related terms

Pronoun

Related terms

See also

Asturian

Noun

Atong (India)

Etymology

Pronunciation

Numeral

Synonyms

References

Bambara

Noun

Conjunction

References

Basque

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

Biloxi

Noun

References

Breton

Etymology 1

Pronoun

Etymology 2

Noun

Catalan

Pronunciation

Conjunction

Adverb

Noun

Danish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Numeral

Drung

Etymology

Noun

References

Dumbea

Pronunciation

Pronoun

References

Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl

Determiner

Pronoun