ei

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ei"

Languages (46)

Catalan • Classical Nahuatl • Dutch • Estonian • Fala • Faroese • Finnish • Galician • German • Gothic • Icelandic • Ingrian • Italian • Japanese • Karelian • Kott • Latin • Latvian • Limburgish • Livvi • Malasanga • Mandarin • Mbyá Guaraní • Middle Dutch • Middle English • Middle High German • Murui Huitoto • North Frisian • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old Galician-Portuguese • Old High German • Old Saxon • Papiamentu • Portuguese • Romanian • Sabu • Sardinian • Scots • Tedim Chin • Tlingit • Veps • Votic • Welsh • Ye'kwana • Zou

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Page categories

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈej]

Interjection

ei

1. hey (exclamation to get attention)

Further reading

• “ei” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “ei”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024

Classical Nahuatl

Numeral

ei

1. Obsolete spelling of ēyi.

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch ei, from Old Dutch *ei, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛi̯/

• Audio (Belgium):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ei
• Rhymes: -ɛi̯
• Homophone: IJ

Noun

ei n (plural eieren, diminutive eitje n)

1. egg

   Ik heb een ei gebakken voor het ontbijt. ― I fried an egg for breakfast.

   Pasen is een feest waarbij veel eieren worden geschilderd. ― Easter is a festival where many eggs are painted.

   In deze doos zitten twaalf eieren. ― In this box, there are twelve eggs.

Derived terms

• de kip met de gouden eieren slachten
• een appel en een ei
• eendenei
• ei van Columbus
• eicel
• eidooier
• eierbal
• eierdop
• eieren voor zijn geld kiezen
• eierkoek
• eierkool
• eierlanding
• eierlopen
• eiermuts
• eiersalade
• eierstok
• eigeel
• eikapsel
• eileg
• eisprong
• eivorm
• eivormig
• eiwit
• het hele eiereneten
• kievitsei
• kippenei
• koek en ei
• op eieren lopen
• paasei
• struisvogelei
• van die boer geen eieren
• voor een appel en een ei

 

Descendants

• Afrikaans: eier
• Berbice Creole Dutch: airi
• Jersey Dutch: āi
• Negerhollands: ee, eiu, eyu, eju

Anagrams

• ie

Estonian

Etymology

From the Proto-Finno-Ugric negative verb stem *e- ~ *ä- ~ *a-. Cognates include Finnish ei and Northern Sami ii.

Interjection

ei

1. no

Antonyms

• jaa, jah

Verb

ei

1. (auxiliary verb) don't, doesn't, not: used in negative forms of non-imperative verbs. Ma ei tea. I don't know. (Compare: Ma tean. I know.)

Usage notes

The verb follows the word ei.

In the present tense indicative, the form of the verb coincides with the imperative of the second person singular. In past tenses indicative, the form of the verb is personal past participle. In the conditional mood, the form of the verb coincides with third person singular conditional in the present tense or the past tense. In the indirect mood, the form of the verb is the indirect form.

Derived terms

• eitama

Fala

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese ei, from Inherited from Late Latin eo, from Classical Latin egō̆.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈei̯/
• Rhymes: -ei̯
• Syllabification: ei

Pronoun

ei m sg or f sg

1. First person singular nominative pronoun; I

See also

Fala personal pronouns

			nominative	dative	accusative	disjunctive
first person	singular		ei	me, -mi		mi
	plural	common	nos	musL nusLV nos, -nusM		nos
		masculine	noshotrusM			noshotrusM
		feminine	noshotrasM			noshotrasM
second person	singular		tú	te, -ti		ti
	plural	common	vos	vusLV vos, -vusM		vos
		masculine	voshotrusM			voshotrusM
		feminine	voshotrasM			voshotrasM
third person	singular	masculine	el	le, -li	uLV, oM	el
		feminine	ela		a	ela
	plural	masculine	elis		usLV, osM	elis
		feminine	elas		as	elas
	reflexive		—	se, -si		sí

References

• Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎^[1], 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse eigi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ai]

Adverb

ei

1. not

Synonyms

• ikki

Derived terms

• ei og ikki - as well as, both ... and
• grát ei - do not weep (song title by Eivør Pálsdóttir, 2007)

Finnish

Etymology

The indicative forms are from Proto-Finnic *e-, from Proto-Uralic *e- ~ *ä- ~ *a- (negative verb stem). The imperative forms are from Proto-Finnic *älä-, from the Proto-Finno-Ugric negative imperative verb stem *älä-.

Details and cognates

Noteworthy forms include eivät (pro earlier evät, reformed after ei). For more forms, see the Proto-Finnic and Proto-Uralic pages.

Cognates for the indicative forms include Estonian ei, Karelian ei, Livonian ä’b, Veps ei, Northern Sami ii, Skolt Sami ij, Erzya а- (a-), э- (e-), и- (i-), Eastern Mari ы- (y-), Udmurt уг (ug), Komi-Zyrian оз (oz), Northern Mansi [script needed] (ä-), Forest Enets [script needed] (i-) and Northern Selkup [script needed] (aša) (Taz). Cognates for the imperative forms include Estonian ära, Northern Sami ale, Kildin Sami ель (jel’), Erzya иля (iľa).

Not related to Swedish ej, Icelandic ei, Old Norse eigi, despite the similarity; the Finnic and Norse terms are false cognates.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈei̯/, [ˈe̞i̯]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ei
• Hyphenation^(key): ei

Verb

ei (third-person singular indicative)

1. (auxiliary) The negative verb or negation verb; not, be not, do not, etc. [with connegative]

   En ole käynyt siellä. ― I have not been there.

   Hän ei ole kotona. ― She isn't home.

   Etkö tiedä? ― Don't you know?

   Älä koske siihen! ― Don't touch that!

Usage notes

• With certain conjunctions, contractions may be used (e.g. miksi + ei → miksei). In some cases, like ellei and jollei, the independent conjunction has fallen out of use, but the contractions still remain in use. For other cases, the contractions are optional, but commonly used. When the contraction is used, the negative verb may effectively shift ahead in the clause:

  En tiedä, miksi hän ei tullut. → En tiedä, miksei hän tullut.

  I don't know why he didn't come.

Grammar

• The negation verb is used with the connegative form of the main verb.
• In the active voice, the verb ei is inflected in person and mood (only for imperative, otherwise the indicative forms are used).
  • In the indicative mood and present tense (including for olla in the perfect tense), the connegative form is identical to the second-person singular imperative.
  • In the indicative mood and past tense (including for olla in the pluperfect tense and the main verb in the perfect and pluperfect tenses), the connegative form is the past active participle (-nut / -nyt).
  • In the conditional and potential moods, the connegative ends with the mood markers -isi- and -ne- (without the personal ending), respectively.
  • In the imperative mood, the connegative form is the same as the positive form for the second-person singular, while for the other forms a form ending in -ko / -kö is used.
• In the passive voice, the third-person singular ei (or älköön for the imperative mood) is used.
  • In the present tense, the connegative form is the impersonal or passive form without the final -an / -än (indicative), -in (conditional), -en (potential) and -on / -ön (imperative).
  • In the past tense (including the perfect and pluperfect tenses), the connegative form is the past passive participle (-ttu / -tty).
• The total object in the negative is always in the partitive case, not the accusative case (whether that be the nominative, genitive or a special form):

  Näen koiran. → En näe koiraa. ― I see a dog. → I don't see a dog. (accusative → partitive)

  Näen naiset. → En näe naisia. ― I see the women. → I don't see the women. (accusative → partitive)

  Näen sinut. → En näe sinua. ― I (can) see you. → I don't see you. (accusative → partitive)

An example of a full paradigm of active forms

• Indicative:

• Hän näkee. → Hän ei näe.

  He sees. / He does see. → He doesn't see.

• Hän näki. → Hän ei nähnyt.

  He saw. / He did see. → He didn't see.

• Hän on nähnyt. → Hän ei ole nähnyt.

  He has seen. → He hasn't seen.

• Hän oli nähnyt. → Hän ei ollut nähnyt.

  He had seen. → He hadn't seen.

• Conditional:

• Hän näkisi. → Hän ei näkisi.

  He would see. → He wouldn't see.

• Hän olisi nähnyt. → Hän ei olisi nähnyt.

  He would have seen. → He wouldn't have seen.

• Imperative:

• Näe! → Älä näe!

  See! → Don't see!

• Potential:

• Hän nähnee. → Hän ei nähne.

  He probably sees. → He probably doesn't see.

• Hän lienee nähnyt. → Hän ei liene nähnyt.

  He probably has seen. → He probably hasn't seen.

An example of a full paradigm of passive forms

• Indicative:

• Hänet nähdään. → Häntä ei nähdä.

  He is seen. → He isn't seen.

• Hänet nähtiin. → Häntä ei nähty.

  He was seen. → He wasn't seen.

• Hänet on nähty. → Häntä ei ole nähty.

  He has been seen. → He hasn't been seen.

• Hänet oli nähty. → Häntä ei ollut nähty.

  He had been seen. → He hadn't been seen.

• Conditional:

• Hänet nähtäisiin. → Häntä ei nähtäisi.

  He would be seen. → He wouldn't be seen.

• Hänet olisi nähty. → Häntä ei olisi nähty.

  He would have been seen. → He wouldn't have been seen.

• Imperative (the second form, perfect imperative, is rare):

• Nähtäköön! → Älköön nähtäkö!

  Let (it) be seen! → Don't let (it) be seen!

• Oltakoon nähty! → Älköön oltako nähty.

  Let (it) have been seen! → Don't let (it) have been seen!

• Potential:

• Hänet nähtäneen. → Häntä ei nähtäne.

  He probably is seen. → He probably isn't seen.

• Hänet lienee nähty. → Häntä ei liene nähty.

  He probably has been seen. → He probably hasn't been seen.

Conjugation

• The negation verb has no infinitive form.
• Indicative, conditional and potential moods use the indicative forms (stem e-), for which the verb is conjugated only in person (the moods are distinguished by the connegative form used).
• In the imperative mood the negation verb has the stem äl-. As with all verbs, the first-person plural imperative is formal or dated, while the third-person imperative (both singular and plural) is dated.
• An archaic optative mood exists and is used mainly in poetry.

Inflection of ei
person	indicative mood	imperative mood	optative mood
1st sing.	en	—	—
2nd sing.	et	älä	(ällös)
3rd sing.	ei	älköön	(älköön)
1st plur.	emme	älkäämme	(älköömme)
2nd plur.	ette	älkää	(älköötte)
3rd plur.	eivät	älkööt	(älkööt)

Derived terms

• ehkei
• ehtyä
• ei lainkaan
• ei ollenkaan
• eih
• ei-kenenkään-maa
• eikä
• eiköhän
• eittämättä
• eittää
• ei-verbaalinen
• ei-välttämätön
• ellei
• empiä
• jollei
• jottei
• miksei
• miltei
• muttei
• vaikkei

 

Related terms

• epä-
  • evätä

Interjection

ei

1. no (used to show disagreement, negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition)

   Onko hauki lintu? Ei, se on kala.

   Is a pike a bird? No, it is a fish.

Usage notes

Usually inflected for person; see above.

Antonyms

• (echo answer; using the verb in the positive)
• kyllä
• (colloquial) joo, juu

Further reading

• “ei”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈej]

Interjection

ei

1. gee up

   Synonym: arre

   Antonym: xo

2. hey

   Synonyms: eh, oi

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “ei”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “ei”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “ei”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

German

Etymology

For the “caressing” sense compare Dutch aaien.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɪ̯/

Interjection

ei

1. whoa, hey (expression of surprise)

   Synonyms: ach, oh, huch, hui, hey

2. (childish, parentese, often reduplicated as ei ei) said when patting or caressing a person or animal

Derived terms

• ei machen, ei ei machen (“to pat, caress”)

Gothic

Romanization

ei

1. Romanization of 𐌴𐌹

Icelandic

Etymology 1

From Old Norse ei. A clipping of eigi, from Proto-Germanic *ni aiw-gin (“never”), from *ne, *ni (“not”) + *aiw (“always, for ever”) + *-gin. Not related to Finnish ei (“no”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeiː/
• Rhymes: -eiː
• Homophones: ey, Ey

Adverb

ei

1. (archaic, poetic) not

   Örvæntið ei!

   Despair not!

   Ég veit ei hvað skal segja.

   I know not what to say.

Synonyms

• (not): eigi, ekki

Derived terms

• eður ei
• gleym-mér-ei

Etymology 2

See e.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛːɪ/
• Rhymes: -ɛːɪ

Noun

ei

1. dative singular indefinite of e

References

• “ei” and “eigi” in: Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon — Íslensk orðsifjabók, (1989). Reykjavík, Orðabók Háskólans. (Available on Málið.is under the “Eldra mál” tab.)

Ingrian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *e-, from the Proto-Uralic *e-. Cognates include Finnish ei and Estonian ei.

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈei̯/, [ˈe̞i̯]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈei̯/, [ˈe̞i̯]
• (Hevaha) IPA^(key): /ˈei̯/, [ˈe̞i̯]
• Rhymes: -ei̯
• Hyphenation: ei

Particle

ei

1. no

Antonyms

• niin, ja

Verb

ei

1. not
   • 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus, Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 63:

     Linnuil ono nälkä, evät rooka saa.

     The birds are hungry, they don't get food.

Usage notes

• ei is a defective verb: It is only inflected for person, and has a distinct imperative series.

Grammar

• In the indicative, conditional, imperative and potential used with a connegative form of the main verb:
  • In the present indicative the connegative is formally identical to the imperative singular:

    hää ei taho ― she doesn't want

    höö evät taho ― they don't want

  • In the imperfect indicative, the connegative is formally identical to the past active participle (placed in the nominative singular in the singular, nominative plural in the plural):

    hää ei tahtont ― she didn't want

    höö evät tahtoneet ― they didn't want

  • In the conditional the connegative is formally identical to the third-person singular conditional form:

    hää ei tahtois ― she wouldn't want

    höö evät tahtois ― they wouldn't want

  • In the imperative, the connegative is formed by replacing the imperative endings of the verb by the element -ko:

    hää elköö tahtoko! ― may she not want!

    höö elkööt tahtoko! ― may they not want!

  • The second-person singular of the imperative takes a distinct connegative, which is formally identical to the present indicative connegative:

    elä taho! ― do not want!

  • In the potential, the connegative is formed by replacing the connegative endings of the verb by the element -ne:

    hää ei tahtone ― she probably won't want

    höö evät tahtone ― they probably won't want

• For the impersonal forms, the third-person singular (ei / elköö) is used together with an impersonal connegative:

  ei tahota ― it isn't wanted

  ei tahottu ― it wasn't wanted

  ei tahottais ― it woudn't be wanted

  elköö tahottako ― may it not be wanted

  ei tahottane ― it probably won't be wanted

• When used to negate an infinitive, adverb, noun, etc., the negative verb agrees with the subject of the sentence:

  hää herviijaa ei ehtiä ― he is afraid to not make it in time

  höö herviijaat evät ehtiä ― they are afraid to not make it in time

Conjugation

Inflection of ei
	indicative	imperative
1st singular	en	-
2nd singular	et	elä
3rd singular	ei	elköö
1st plural	emmä	-
2nd plural	että	elkää
3rd plural	evät	elkööt
impersonal	ei	elköö
*) The interrogative is formed by adding the suffix -k (-kä?) or -kse to the indicative.

References

• V. I. Junus (1936) Iƶoran Keelen Grammatikka‎^[3], Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 128
• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 29
• Arvo Laanest (1997) Isuri keele Hevaha murde sõnastik, Eesti Keele Instituut, page 24
• Olga I. Konkova, Nikita A. Dyachkov (2014) Inkeroin Keel: Пособие по Ижорскому Языку‎^[4], →ISBN, page 15

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈej/
• Rhymes: -ej
• Hyphenation: éi

Etymology 1

Syncopated form of elli (“he”), from Vulgar Latin *illi, from Latin ille (“that”).

Pronoun

ei m

1. (poetic, archaic, after the verb) Alternative form of egli

Etymology 2

Syncopated form of elli (“they”), from Latin illī (“those”).

Pronoun

ei m pl

1. (archaic) Alternative form of elli

Japanese

Romanization

ei

1. Rōmaji transcription of えい
2. Rōmaji transcription of エイ

Karelian

Verb

ei

1. (does) not

Kott

Etymology 1

From Proto-Yeniseian *ʔej- ("pine"). Compare Arin aja (“pine”).

Noun

ei (plural en)

1. pine tree

Etymology 2

From Proto-Yeniseian *ʔej ("tongue"). Compare Pumpokol aj (“tongue”).

Noun

ei (plural ējaŋ)

1. voice, sound

Latin

Pronunciation 1

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

Interjection

ei

1. Alternative form of hei (“expression of grief or fear”)

Pronunciation 2

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈe.iː/, [ˈeiː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈe.i/, [ˈɛːi]

Pronoun

eī

1. inflection of is:
   1. dative masculine/feminine/neuter singular
   2. nominative masculine plural

Latvian

Interjection

ei

1. used to stimulate somebody's attention
2. used to express pleasure, surprise or admiration

Limburgish

Alternative forms

• Éï (Eupen)

Etymology

From Middle Dutch ei, from Old Dutch *ei, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛi̯/, [ɛːi̯]
• Hyphenation: ei
• Rhymes: -ɛi̯

Noun

ei n

1. egg

Livvi

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *ei. Cognates include Finnish ei and Estonian ei.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈei̯/
• Hyphenation: ei
• Rhymes: -ei̯

Verb

ei

1. not

Conjugation

Inflection of ei
	indicative	imperative
1st singular	en	-
2nd singular	et	älä
3rd singular	ei	älgäh
1st plural	emmo	älgiämmö
2nd plural	etto	älgiä
3rd plural	ei	äldähes

References

• N. Gilojeva, S. Rudakova (2009) Karjalan kielen Livvin murdehen algukursu [Beginners' course of Karelian language's Livvi dialect]‎^[5] (in Livvi), Petrozavodsk, →ISBN, page 20
• Tatjana Boiko (2019) “ei”, in Suuri Karjal-Venʹalaine Sanakniigu (livvin murreh) [The Big Karelian-Russian dictionary (Livvi dialect)], 2nd edition, →ISBN, page 38

Malasanga

Noun

ei

1. fire

Further reading

• Malcolm Ross, Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia, Pacific Linguistics, series C-98 (1988)

Mandarin

Romanization

ei

1. Nonstandard spelling of ēi.
2. Nonstandard spelling of ěi.
3. Nonstandard spelling of èi.

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.

Mbyá Guaraní

Noun

ei

1. honey

Middle Dutch

Alternative forms

• ey

Etymology

From Old Dutch *ei, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Noun

ei n

1. egg

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: ei
  • Afrikaans: eier
  • Berbice Creole Dutch: airi
  • Jersey Dutch: āi
  • Negerhollands: ee, eiu, eyu, eju
• Limburgish: ei

Further reading

• “ei”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “ei”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

Middle English

Noun

ei

1. Alternative form of ey (“egg”)

Middle High German

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German ei, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈɛi̯/

Noun

ei n

1. egg

Declension

Declension of ei (masculine, class 2 strong)

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	daȥ	ei	diu	eiger, eier
genitive	eines	dës	eiges, eies	dër	eiger, eier
dative	eime	dëm	eige, eie	dën	eigern, eiern
accusative	ein	daȥ	ei	diu	eiger, eier

Descendants

• Alemannic German:
  • Swabian: Oi
• Bavarian: Oa
  • Mòcheno: oi
• Central Franconian: Ei, Ää, Aai
  • Luxembourgish: Ee
• German: Ei
• Vilamovian: e
• Yiddish: איי (ey)

References

• Benecke, Georg Friedrich, Müller, Wilhelm, Zarncke, Friedrich (1863) “ei”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke, Stuttgart: S. Hirzel

Murui Huitoto

ei
Root	Classifier
ei-	—

Etymology

Cognate with Minica Huitoto ei.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛi̯]
• Hyphenation: ei

Root

ei

1. mother

Noun

ei

1. Synonym of eiño
   • 2008 [1978], Huitoto Murui Bible, 2nd edition, Mateo 1:3, page 5:

     Iaɨmaiaɨ mɨcorɨ eidɨ Tamar mɨcorɨ.

     The mother of the late two of them was the late Tamara.

2. vocative of eiño

Declension

Declension of ei

	singular	plural	kinship plural
Absolutive	ei	eiyaɨ	eitɨaɨ
Nominative	eidɨ	eiyaɨdɨ	eitɨaɨdɨ
Accusative	eina	eiyaɨna	eitɨaɨna
Dative/Locative	eimo	eiyaɨmo	eitɨaɨmo
Ablative	eimona	eiyaɨmona	eitɨaɨmona
Instrumental	eido	eiyaɨdo	eitɨaɨdo
Causal	eiri	eiyaɨri	eitɨaɨri
Privative	einino	eiyaɨnino	eitɨaɨnino

Derived terms

• eiño

 

References

• Shirley Burtch (1983) Diccionario Huitoto Murui (Tomo I) (Linguistica Peruana No. 20)‎^[6] (in Spanish), Yarinacocha, Peru: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 75
• Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak (2017) A grammar of Murui (Bue): a Witotoan language of Northwest Amazonia.‎^[7], Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), page 125

North Frisian

Alternative forms

• ai (Mooring)
• ek (Sylt)

Etymology

From Old Norse eigi.

Adverb

ei

1. (Föhr-Amrum) not

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse einn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æɪ̯/

Article

ei

1. feminine singular of en

Pronoun

ei

1. feminine singular of en

Adverb

ei

1. (archaic) not

Synonyms

• (not): ikke

Verb

ei

1. imperative of eie

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɛ̝ɪ̯ː]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse einn.

Article

ei f (masculine ein, neuter eit)

1. a, an (indefinite article)

   Ei ny bok.

   A new book.

Pronoun

ei

1. feminine singular of ein

Etymology 2

From Middle Norwegian eigh, from Old Norse eigi.

Adverb

ei

1. not

   Synonyms: ikkje, kje

References

• “ei” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
• “ei”, in Norsk Ordbok: ordbok over det norske folkemålet og det nynorske skriftmålet, Oslo: Samlaget, 1950-2016

Old Galician-Portuguese

Alternative forms

• ex
• ey

Etymology

Uncertain.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈej/

Adverb

ei

1. here is, here are
   • 13th century CE, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 147 (facsimile):

     eimeaca eimaca

     «ei-me aca; ei-m'aca!»

     "Here I am, here I am!"

Descendants

• Portuguese: ei, eis

Old High German

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm. Akin to Old English ǣġ, Old Norse egg.

Further Indo-European cognates include Latin ōvum and Ancient Greek ᾠόν (ōión)

Noun

ei n

1. (zoology) an egg

Descendants

• Middle High German: ei
  • Alemannic German:
    • Swabian: Oi
  • Bavarian: Oa
    • Mòcheno: oi
  • Central Franconian: Ei, Ää, Aai
    • Hunsrik: Eu
    • Luxembourgish: Ee
  • German: Ei
  • Vilamovian: e
  • Yiddish: איי (ey)

Old Saxon

Alternative forms

• eig, egg

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Noun

ei n

1. egg

Declension

Declension of ei (neuter ja-stem)

	singular	plural
nominative	ei	ei
accusative	ei	ei
genitive	eies	eiō
dative	eie	eium
instrumental	—	—

Descendants

• Middle Low German: ei, egg, eig
  • Low German:
    • German Low German: Ei

      Westphalian:

      Lippisch: Egg

      Märkisch: Ägg

      Ravensbergisch: Åich

      Sauerländisch: Ai

      Westmünsterländisch: Äi

    • Plautdietsch: Ei

Papiamentu

Etymology

From Portuguese eis.

Pronoun

ei

1. there

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈej/ [ˈeɪ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɐj/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɐj/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈej/
  • (Central Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈej/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈe/

Etymology 1

Adverb

ei (not comparable)

1. Apocopic form of eis; used preceding the pronouns lo, la, los or las

Etymology 2

Interjection

ei

1. hey (exclamation to get attention)

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjej/
• Rhymes: -ej
• Hyphenation: ei

• Audio:

  (file)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin illī, nominative masculine plural of ille.

Pronoun

ei m pl (third-person plural, feminine equivalent ele)

1. (nominative form) they (used for an all-male or mixed-sex group)

   Synonym: (polite form) dumnealor

Declension

Nominative
ei
Accusative
stressed		unstressed
ei		îi
Genitive
one form for all numbers and genders
lor
Dative
stressed		unstressed
lor		le
Reflexive
Accusative		Dative
stressed	unstressed	stressed	unstressed
sine	se	sieși	își

Pronoun

ei m (stressed accusative form of ei)

1. (direct object, preceded by preposition, such as "pe", "cu", "la", or "pentru") them (all-male or mixed-sex group)

Related terms

• el (third-person masculine singular)
• ea (third-person feminine singular)
• ele (third-person feminine plural)

See also

Romanian personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person		eu	noi
2nd person	plain	tu	voi
	semi-polite	dumneata	dumneavoastră
	polite	dumneavoastră
3rd person familiar	m	el	ei
	f	ea	ele
3rd person polite	m	dumnealui	dumnealor
	f	dumneaei

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin illaei.

Pronoun

ei f (genitive form of ea, masculine equivalent lui, plural lor)

1. her

   Synonym: său

   Ai cartea ei?

   Do you have her book?

Declension

declension of ei

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	ei		ei	ei	ei
	definite	—		—	—	—
genitive/ dative	indefinite	ei		ei	ei	ei
	definite	—		—	—	—

Pronoun

ei f (stressed dative form of ea, masculine equivalent lui, plural lor)

1. to her

   Synonym: (unstressed form) îi

Sabu

ei

Etymology

From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Noun

ei

1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

References

• ABVD
• Comparative Austronesian Dictionary

Sardinian

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA^(key): /ei/

Adverb

ei

1. yes

References

• “ei” in Ditzionàriu in línia de sa limba e de sa cultura sarda (2016). Searchable in multiple languages at ditzionariu.sardegnacultura.it

Scots

Noun

ei (plural een)

1. (Southern Scots) an eye.

Pronoun

ei

1. (Southern Scots, personal) he (alternative form of hei)

Tedim Chin

Pronoun

ei

1. we

References

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

Tlingit

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eː/

Letter

ei (upper case Ei)

1. (US) A letter of the Tlingit alphabet, written in the Latin script.

   Synonym: è

See also

• Canada: (Latin-script letters) A a, Á á, À à,  â, Ch ch, Chʼ chʼ, D d, Dł dł, Dz dz, E e, É é, È è, Ê ê, G g, Gw gw, Gh gh, Ghw ghw, H h, I i, Í í, Ì ì, Πî, J j, K k, Kw kw, Kʼ kʼ, Kʼw kʼw, Kh kh, Khw khw, Khʼ khʼ, Khʼw khʼw (L l), Ł ł, Łʼ łʼ (M m), N n (O o), S s, Sʼ sʼ, Sh sh, T t, Tʼ tʼ, Tl tl, Tlʼ tlʼ, Ts ts, Tsʼ tsʼ, U u, Ú ú, Ù ù, Û û, W w, X x, Xw xw, Xʼ xʼ, Xʼw xʼw, Xh xh, Xhw xhw, Xhʼ xhʼ, Xhʼw xhʼw, Y y (Ÿ ÿ), ․
• US: (Latin-script letters) A a, Á á, Aa aa, Áa áa, Ch ch, Chʼ chʼ, D d, Dl dl, Dz dz, E e, É é, Ee ee, Ée ée, Ei ei, Éi éi, G g, Gw gw, G̱ g̱, G̱w g̱w, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, Kw kw, Kʼ kʼ, Kʼw kʼw, Ḵ ḵ, Ḵw ḵw, Ḵʼ ḵʼ, Ḵʼw ḵʼw, L l, Lʼ lʼ (Ḻ ḻ, M m), N n (O o), Oo oo, Óo óo, S s, Sʼ sʼ, Sh sh, T t, Tʼ tʼ, Tl tl, Tlʼ tlʼ, Ts ts, Tsʼ tsʼ, U u, Ú ú, W w, X x, Xw xw, Xʼ xʼ, Xʼw xʼw, X̱ x̱, X̱w x̱w, X̱ʼ x̱ʼ, X̱ʼw x̱ʼw, Y y (Ÿ ÿ, Y̱ y̱), ․

Veps

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *e-. Cognates include Finnish ei.

Verb

ei

1. not; expresses negation.

Inflection

Inflection of ei
	indicative	imperative
1st singular	en	—
2nd singular	ed	ala
3rd singular	ei	algha
1st plural	em	algam
2nd plural	et	algat
3rd plural	ei	algha

References

• Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “не, ни”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎^[8], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

Votic

Etymology

Compare Russian эй (ej), Finnish hei, Ingrian hei.

Pronunciation

• (Luutsa, Liivtšülä) IPA^(key): /ˈei̯/, [ˈei̯]
• Rhymes: -ei̯
• Hyphenation: ei

Interjection

ei

1. hey

References

• Hallap, V., Adler, E., Grünberg, S., Leppik, M. (2012) “ei”, in Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language], 2nd edition, Tallinn

Welsh

Etymology 1

From Middle Welsh y, from Proto-Brythonic *eið, from Proto-Celtic *esyo m and *esyās f; compare Old Irish a (“his, her, its, their”) and Sanskrit अस्य (asyá, “his, its”) and अस्यास् (asyā́s, “her”).

Alternative forms

• ’i (after vowels)
• ’w (after i)

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA^(key): /ei̯/
  • (colloquial) IPA^(key): /iː/, /ɪ/
• Homophone: eu
• Rhymes: -ei̯

Determiner

ei

1. his, its (with reference to a masculine noun; triggers soft mutation of following consonant)

   Gwelir y thema dro ar ôl tro yn ei gerddi a’i emynau.

   The theme is seen repeatedly in his poems and his hymns.

2. her, its (with reference to a feminine noun; triggers aspirate mutation of following consonant and h-prothesis of a following vowel)

   Gwelir y thema dro ar ôl tro yn ei cherddi a’i hemynau.

   The theme is seen repeatedly in her poems and her hymns.

Pronoun

ei

1. him, it (with reference to masculine nouns; as object of a verbal noun; triggers soft mutation of following consonant)
   • 18th century, Wil Hopcyn, “Bugeilio’r gwenith gwyn”:

     Myfi’n bugeilio’r gwenith gwyn,
     Ac arall yn ei fedi.

     Me watching the white wheat,
     And another reaping it.

2. her, it (with reference to masculine nouns; as object of a verbal noun; triggers aspirate mutation of following consonant and h-prothesis of a following vowel)
   • Traditional, “Milgi, milgi”:

     Ar ben y bryn mae sgwarnog fach, ar hyd y nos mae'n pori
     A’i chefen brith a’i bola bola gwyn yn hidio dim am filgi.

     On top of the hill there's a little hare, all night long she grazes
     With her speckled back and her white white belly without taking any heed of any greyhound.

Usage notes

• In formal Welsh, masculine ef or feminine hi is added after the noun or verbnoun which ei precedes to indicates emphasis on the determiner or pronoun. In colloquial Welsh, the masculine takes e or o (southern and northern forms respectively) after a consonant and fe or fo (southern and northern) after a vowel, whereas the feminine takes hi, but is not necessarily an indicator of emphasis. Here, it is often included with the determiner and always included with the pronoun. The exception to the latter case is in passive constructions employing cael, where no addition is found.
• In formal Welsh, the contraction 'i is a valid form of ei found after mostly functional vowel-final words. In colloquial Welsh, ei is often contracted to 'i after almost any vowel-final word. The exception is both forms of the language is after the preposition i (“to, for”), after which ei contracts to 'w. (Contraction to 'w after wedi is sometimes encountered but considered non-standard.)
• Pronomial ei and 'i can occur before any verbal noun. Before a verb, pronomial 'i is found only in formal language after certain vowel-final preverbal particles. See entry for 'i for more information.
• The colloquial pronunciation /iː/, /ɪ/ is the original pronunciation, as shown by the Middle Welsh form y. The more careful pronunciation /ei̯/ is a later spelling pronunciation.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ei̯/

Verb

ei

1. second-person singular future of mynd (also present tense in the literary language)

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “ei”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

Ye'kwana

Variant orthographies

ALIV	ei
Brazilian standard	ei
New Tribes	ei

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ej]

Etymology 1

Verb

ei

1. (intransitive, agentive) to be

Usage notes

Many forms of this verb are irregular. Some are based on a root ei ~ e', some on a ~ aa, some on a'ja, and some on ööne ~ wene:

• ei ~ e' is used with most tense/aspect/mood markers and all adverbial and nominal derivatives of the verb.
• a ~ aa is used for the nonpast form, question forms, and two third-person forms na'ñojo and naichü.
• a'ja is used for past imperfectives.
• ööne ~ wene is used for the permanent aspect; this is the only verb in the language that has such an aspect.

The verb also takes an irregular suffix -ya in place of the ordinary recent/distant past perfective suffix -i. Similarly, the plural form of the same suffix is -yato rather than -icho.

This verb can be used as an auxiliary to form various constructions, making it possible to express tense/aspect/mood for constructions made with non-finite verb forms by putting the relevant markers on the copula instead.

Etymology 2

Verb

ei

1. (transitive) to seek, to look for

References

• Cáceres, Natalia (2011) “a'ja, ei, ka, ma, na, öönene, wa, weneene”, in Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎^[9], Lyon, pages 215–216, 238–239
• Hall, Katherine (2007) “wenēne”, in Mary Ritchie Key & Bernard Comrie, editors, The Intercontinental Dictionary Series‎^[10], Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, published 2021
• Hall, Katherine (2007) “wenɲə”, in Mary Ritchie Key & Bernard Comrie, editors, The Intercontinental Dictionary Series‎^[11], Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, published 2021

Zou

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əi̯˧/

Pronoun

ei

1. we (exclusive)

Synonyms

• key

References

• Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 40