ni

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ni"

Languages (87)

English

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Page categories

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

Noun

ni

1. (grammar) Initialism of noun inanimate.

See also

• na
• nad
• nid

Anagrams

• -in, -in', IN, i'n, in, in-

Abinomn

Pronoun

ni

1. you (singular)

Afar

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈni/ [ˈnɪ]

Determiner

ní

1. our
   • Saytun Qhuraan kee kay maqnah tarjamaty Qafar afal tani [The clear Qur'an and its explanation translated into the Afar language]‎^[2], 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	3rd person 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)‎^[3], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Ainu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nʲi/

Noun

ni (Kana spelling ニ)

1. tree
2. 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”). Often occurs in coordination with other particles, compare tani, nani, nime.

Adverb

ni

1. now

   Synonyms: tash, tani, hë, nani, nime

Related terms

• nu

Anguthimri

Noun

ni

1. (Mpakwithi) place
2. (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)

1. (direct object, first-person plural) us

Related terms

• noi (stressed accusative)

Pronoun

ni (unstressed dative and reflexive form of noi)

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

Related terms

• nau (stressed dative)

See also

• vi

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ni/

Numeral

ni (Bengali script নি)

1. 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

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

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

Basque

Etymology

From Proto-Basque *ni.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ni/ [ni]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -i
• Hyphenation: ni

Pronoun

ni

1. First-person singular personal pronoun; I
   • c. 1808, Juan Bautista Aguirre, Eracusaldiac [Lessons]‎^[4], 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 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
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
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

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

 

Further reading

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

Biloxi

Noun

ni

1. 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

1. 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)

1. nephew

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ni]
• Rhymes: -i

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)

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɲɪ]

Pronoun

ni f

1. accusative singular of ona

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

1. nine

Drung

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nəj.

Noun

ni

1. day

References

• Ross Perlin (2019) A Grammar of Trung‎^[5], Santa Barbara: University of California

Dumbea

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ni/

Pronoun

ni

1. 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

1. this.

Pronoun

ni

1. 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)

1. we (first-person plural personal pronoun)

   Ni batis lin.

   We hit him.

2. 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

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]‎^[6]:

     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

 

See also

• soit

Further reading

• “ni”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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 Bado ― lime tube of Bado

   Kinaon ni Bado ti burot.

   The wild yam was eaten by Bado.

See also

• si

 

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

• níi

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Pronoun

nī

1. I (1st person singular pronoun)

See also

• mínì (1st person singular indirect object enclitic pronoun)
• nì (1st person singular independent object pronoun)
• -wá (1st person singular possessive enclitic pronoun)

Hungarian

Etymology

Native word of debated origin:

1. Shortened from nézd (“look!”) ~ nízd (a dialectal variant).
2. 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!

Further reading

• ni in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Idi

Noun

ni

1. water

References

• Idi Organised Phonology Data

Ido

Pronoun

ni

1. (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

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

• nec

Etymology

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

Adverb

ni

1. and not.

   Io non sape, ni vole saper ― I don’t know, and I don’t want to know

2. Neither, nor.

   Illo ni me place ni displace ― It neither pleases me nor displeases me

3. 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

1. (informal) neither yes nor no

Etymology 2

Noun

ni m or f (invariable)

1. nu (Greek letter)

Anagrams

• in, in-

Japanese

Romanization

ni

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

Kamano

Alternative forms

• nina

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

• 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

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^[7], Leiden: LexiRumah

Latin

Etymology

From Old Latin nei, from Proto-Italic *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 (ná). See also nē.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /niː/, [niː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ni/, [niː]

Adverb

nī (not comparable)

1. 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

1. 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. ― Numa ordained scaleless fish not to be served nor bought for serving.

Ligurian

Etymology

From Latin nec.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ni/

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 *s-nəj (“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

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /niː/

Adverb

ni

1. never

Synonyms

• (never): nimools, keemol, keemools

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 nī.
2. Nonstandard spelling of ní.
3. Nonstandard spelling of nǐ.
4. Nonstandard spelling of nì.

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

Related terms

• iu (coconut)

References

• Marshallese–English Online Dictionary

Middle English

Adverb

ni

1. Alternative form of ne

Conjunction

ni

1. Alternative form of ne

Middle Irish

Particle

ni

1. Alternative spelling of ní

Mizo

Etymology 1

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *nii (“sun; day”), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nəj (“sun; day”).

Noun

ni

1. sun
2. day
3. time

Etymology 2

Noun

ni

1. aunt

References

• Lorrain, J. Herbert (1940) “ni”, in Dictionary of the Lushai language, Calcutta: Asiatic Society

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

• ni pwespwes
• ni rei
• ni roam
• ni soal
• ni wahssa

References

• Harrison, Sheldon P., Mokilese-English Dictionary, University of Hawaii Press 1977

Navajo

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	bí	bí	daabí
4th person (3a)	hó	hó	daahó

Naxi

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-ŋja.

Noun

ni

1. fish

Etymology 2

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g/s-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

• IPA^(key): /ni/

Numeral

ni

1. nine

Derived terms

• førtini
• nittini

Related terms

• niende

References

• “ni” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Nynorsk cardinal numbers

<  8	9	10  >
Cardinal : ni     Ordinal : niande

Alternative forms

• nio, nie (dialectal)

Etymology

From Old Norse níu.

Numeral

ni

1. nine

Derived terms

• førtini
• nittini

References

• “ni” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Nutabe

Noun

ni

1. 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 Czech

Pronunciation

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

Pronoun

ni

1. dual accusative of oně

Old High German

Alternative forms

• ne

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ne.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ni/

Particle

ni

1. not

Derived terms

• nein

Descendants

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

Old Irish

Particle

ni

1. Alternative spelling of ní

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

• IPA^(key): /ni/

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)‎^[8], 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)

1. these (agr: prox)

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 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)

1. it
2. she (prox fem nom)

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 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)

1. they (prox 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

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɲi/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -i
• Syllabification: ni
• Homophone: -ni

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ni.

Conjunction

ni

1. (archaic) Alternative form of ani

Derived terms

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

 

Particle

ni

1. (dialectal) Alternative form of nie

Etymology 2

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

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek νῦ (nû).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈni/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈni/

• 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

• vni

Verb

ni

1. to pour; to water.

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• vni

Noun

ni

1. headhair.

Etymology 3

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

Noun

ni

1. day (24 hour).

See also

• yáng (“daytime”)

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

• li
• vi

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

• nuàutri
• vi

Slovene

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nìː/

Verb

ní

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 *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

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

• ni chicha ni limonada
• ni come, ni deja comer
• ni corto ni perezoso
• ni fu ni fa
• ni grado ni gracias
• ni idea
• ni ir ni venir
• ni lerdo ni perezoso
• ni más ni menos
• ni olvido, ni perdón
• ni pena ni gloria
• ni rey ni roque
• ni tanto ni tan calvo
• ni va ni viene
• ni visto ni oído
• sin chistar ni mistar
• sin oficio ni beneficio
• sin pena ni gloria
• sin pies ni cabeza
• sin tripas ni cuajar

 

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

• ni a balazos
• ni a cañón
• ni a cañonazos
• ni a dos tirones
• ni a la de tres
• ni a palos
• ni a tiros
• ni a tres tirones
• ni bien
• ni borracho
• ni buscado con un candil
• ni cosa que lo valga
• ni Cristo que lo fundó
• ni de broma
• ni de coña
• ni de guasa
• ni de lejos
• ni Dios
• ni en sueños
• ni gaitas
• ni ganas
• ni hablar
• ni hablar del peluquín
• ni harto de vino
• ni hecho a propósito
• ni idea
• ni jota
• ni media palabra
• ni modo
• ni mu
• ni mucho menos
• ni muerto
• ni palabra
• ni pensarlo
• ni pío
• ni pizca
• ni por asomo
• ni por esas
• ni por un cristo
• ni que
• ni que decir tiene
• ni qué hostias
• ni qué leches
• ni qué niño muerto
• ni qué ocho cuartos
• ni qué pan caliente
• ni remotamente
• ni siquiera
• ni un pelo
• nini
• no dejar verde ni seco
• no ni na
• ya ni la friegas

 

Etymology 2

Noun

ni f (plural níes)

1. nu; the Greek letter Ν, ν

   Synonym: ny

Further reading

• “ni”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28

Swahili

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Verb

ni

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

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

1. you (plural nominative)

   Du är bara en person, men ni där borta är fyra personer

   You are just one person, but you/you guys over there are four people

2. 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. However this "ni-reform" was not well liked and when authority came to use the word ni to their subordinates the word got a condescending undertone. 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 got the condescending undertone that ni got. This was all 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 in order to be formal and polite. However this is often seen as being overly formal and too contrived, even condescending and insulting, especially by older speakers. Formality and politeness in modern 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
					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

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

Synonyms

• I

References

• ni in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• ni in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• ni in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• in

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 Juan ― Juan's bicycle

2. objective marker for personal names, objective form of si; functional equivalent of ng

Derived terms

• ani

 

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.

Related terms

• ni ultimo

 

See also

• kahit
• man

 

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

• -in, -in-, in-

Tarifit

Alternative forms

• ney

Etymology

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

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	nā
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^[12], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 250

Unami

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ni]

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]‎^[13], 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˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [nɪj˧˧]

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 nì này/nầy nây	nấy	nớ	nọ (nó)	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 (cơ)			kìa (cờ)
Central	tê			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 cơ/cờ: [t]ừ đấy về tới Hà Nội, còn những ba cái cầu nữa cơ mà! ("From there to Hanoi, there're still three more bridges to cross!") (Ba ngày luân lạc, 1943).

Anagrams

• in

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^[14], 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”).

See also

• dim (“not”) (colloquial)

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
1st person plural 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^[15], Pacific linguistics

Wutunhua

Etymology

From Mandarin 你 (nǐ).

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

ní

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

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) lẹ́tà; á, bí, dí, é, ẹ́, fí, gí, gbì, hí, í, jí, kí, lí, mí, ní, ó, ọ́, pí, rí, sí, ṣí, tí, ú, wí, yí

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• nẹ́ (Ondo, Ikalẹ)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nĩ́/

Verb

ní

1. (transitive) to have

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nĩ́/

Preposition

ní

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

Derived terms

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

 

See also

• sí

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nĩ́/

Verb

ní

1. (intransitive) to say

See also

• sọ
• wí

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

• jẹ́
• wà

Etymology 6

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nĩ̄/

1. (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 Northern Min 日 (nì) 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 *g/s-ni-s. Cognates include Northern Min 二 (nī) 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

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