niin

Eastern Ojibwa

Alternative forms

• nii

Pronoun

niin

1. first-person singular pronoun: I, me

References

Jerry Randolph Valentine (2001) Nishnaabemwin Reference Grammar, University of Toronto, page 122

Finnish

Alternative forms

• nii (colloquial)

Etymology

The instructive plural form of ne (“they (things and animals)”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈniːn/, [ˈniːn]
• IPA^(key): /ˈniː/, [ˈniː] (colloquial)
• Rhymes: -iːn
• Syllabification^(key): niin

Adverb

niin (not comparable)

1. so, then, in that case

   Synonym: joten

2. so, to this or that extent

   Söin niin paljon, että oksensin.

   I ate so much that I vomited.

3. like that, in that way, so (in a way that the speaker does not directly show)

   Älä tee niin!

   Don't do that!

   Päätimme niin eilisessä kokouksessa.

   We decided so in yesterday's meeting.

4. very (to a great extent; especially when used emphatically or when talking about how one feels)

   Tuo on niin kaunis!

   That is so beautiful!

5. (dialectal) Used to stress a contradicting element in a sentence. No unambiguous translation into English.

   Synonym: (standard) -pas

   No, lapset, ei saa pierrä syödessä! – Saa, niin! – Tulee selkään niin että roikuu!

   – Hey, children, it is not allowed to fart when eating! – Yes it is! – And now you'll be hit boisterously!

Usage notes

• niin as an answer often has an additional meaning of "of course". As in the example, the interrogative suffix -ko / -kö is usually attached to the point of the question.

Derived terms

• ai niin
• ai niinkö
• ja niin edelleen
• niin ikään
• niin ja näin
• niin kuin
• niin ollen
• niin sanottu
• niin tai näin
• niin vain
• niinkään
• niinkö
• niinpä
• niinpä kai

 

Conjunction

niin

1. (coordinating) then; used to introduce the main clause after an auxiliary clause

   Jos yöllä on selkeää, niin tulee kova pakkanen.

   If it's clear at night, then it'll be heavy frost.

   • 1876, “Siionin laulu 260: Mun kotini taivaassa ihana on [Songs and Hymns of Zion, 574b: My Beautiful Home Is in Heaven on High]”, Herman Brueckner (1932), Alexandra Glynn (2008), transl., Edla Pöyry (lyrics), trad., Lauri-Kalle Kallunki (music):

     Kun maailma kuohuu ja on levoton, / niin Taivas vain rauhaa voi antaa

     This earth is so restless, how often I sigh! / My heart for my homeland is yearning.

     (literally, “When the world turmoils and is in unrest, / [then] Heaven alone may give peace”)

2. In the structure niin ... kuin ...: ... as well as ...

   niin siellä kuin täällä ― in there as well as in here

Usage notes

• In the sense "then" (to introduce the main clause), especially when used with jos (“if”), niin can often be omitted when no emphasis is desired. Its omission is more common in formal texts, while colloquially it is usually left in.

Interjection

niin

1. yes, yeah (especially when asked to confirm something)

   Synonyms: kyllä, joo, juu, jep

   Kotonako se tapahtui? –Niin.

   Was it home where it happened? –Yes.

2. right (either indicating agreement or having no opinion)

   Synonyms: aivan, jep, niinpä, näin, näinpä

Usage notes

• Affirmation is traditionally rather expressed through repetition of the verb than using the interjection.

– No oliko se ruoka hyvää? – Oli.

– Well, did you like the food? – I did.

Pronoun

niin

1. instructive plural of ne

Further reading

• “niin”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

Ingrian

Alternative forms

• nii, ni

Etymology

Instructive of neet (“these”). Akin to Finnish niin.

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈniːn/, [ˈniːn]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈniːn/, [ˈniːn]
• Rhymes: -iːn
• Hyphenation: niin

Particle

niin

1. yes

Synonyms

• ja

Antonyms

• ei

Adverb

niin

1. so (in that way)
   • 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus, Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 52:

     Niin sannoot kaikkiin maijen tööläiset.

     So say the workers of all countries.

   • 1936, L. G. Terehova, V. G. Erdeli, translated by Mihailov and P. I. Maksimov, Geografia: oppikirja iƶoroin alkușkoulun kolmatta klaassaa vart (ensimäine osa), Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-Pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 5:

     Tuli niin, jot möö mänimmä ääree seitsemän kilometran päähä laagerist.

     So it turned out, that we went about seven kilometers away from the camp.

Usage notes

• Niin is used anaphorically (having a referent whithin the linguistic context), while näin and noin are used deictically (having a referent outside the linguistic context). Compare a similar difference between neet (“these, those”), nämät (“these”) and noo (“those”).

Conjunction

niin

1. Used to join two verbal phrases in a causal relation: therefore, then

Derived terms

• ja niin etes
• niin ku
• niin saottu

 

References

• V. I. Junus (1936) Iƶoran Keelen Grammatikka‎^[2], Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 133
• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 342

Japanese

Romanization

niin

1. Rōmaji transcription of にいん

Ojibwe

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /niːn/

Pronoun

niin (Syllabics: ᓃᓐ)

1. first-person singular pronoun: I, me

   Gegaa gii-pizikawaa anishaa go niin gaa-ikowebinag.:

   She would have been almost run over if it hadn't been for me pushing her out of the way.

Usage notes

Unlike in English, the first person is often expressed in Ojibwe by adding the personal prefix ni- and a corresponding suffix to the verb. The indepedent personal pronoun niin is often use to express emphasis or contrast, or when there is no verb in the sentence.

Related terms

• niinawind
• niineta
• niinitam
• ni-

See also

Ojibwe personal pronouns

	singular	plural
1st person	niin, ᓃᓐ	niinawind, ᓃᓇᐎᓐᑦ (exclusive) giinawind, ᑮᓇᐎᓐᑦ (inclusive)
2nd person	giin, ᑮᓐ	giinawaa, ᑮᓇᐙ
3rd person	wiin, ᐐᓐ	wiinawaa, ᐐᓇᐙ

References

• The Ojibwe People's Dictionary https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/main-entry/niin-pron-per