ـی

Northern Kurdish

Suffix

ـی (-î)

1. Arabic spelling of -î

Ottoman Turkish

Suffix

ـی • (-ı, -i, -u, -ü)

1. 3rd-person possessive suffix

   قیامت كونی

   kıyamet günü

   judgement day

Persian

Etymology 1

From Middle Persian Y (ī), from Proto-Iranian *Hyáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hyás, from Proto-Indo-European *yós (relative pronoun).

Alternative forms

• ٔ (-ye): used for words ending in ـه (-e) (ـهٔ (-e-ye))
• ـای (-i) (misspelling, Dari)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [.ji]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [.jɪ]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [.jɪ]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [.jɪ]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [.ji]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [.je]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [.ji]

Readings
Classical reading?
Dari reading?
Iranian reading?
Tajik reading?

Particle

Dari	ـی
Iranian Persian
Tajik	-и

ـی • (-yi／-ye)

1. The grammatical particle ezafe.

Usage notes

Written after words ending in the vowels ـه (-e), ـا (-â), or ـو (-u, -o).

Etymology 2

From Middle Persian -yk' / 𐭩𐭪𐭩 (yky /⁠-īg⁠/), itself from Old Persian -𐎡𐎣 (-ikah) (see there for further origin). Cognates include Northern Kurdish -î, Sanskrit -कस (-kasa), Proto-Slavic *-ъkъ, Latin -icus, Old English -iġ, English -y. There is no evidence to support a relation with the Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy) which however does merge with this suffix exclusively in some Arabic loanwords. See ـه (-e) for another instance where the 'g' phoneme is removed from the end of the Middle Persian suffix in its New Persian form. For a few examples in which the final 'g' phoneme in the Middle Persian -yk' / 𐭩𐭪𐭩 (yky /⁠-īg⁠/) suffix is not lost during the transition from Middle to New Persian, and instead transformed to a 'k' phoneme, refer to تاریک (tārīk, “dark”), باریک (bārīk, “thin, narrow, delicate”), تازیک (tāzīk, “Arab”) and نزدیک (nazdīk, “near”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [.(j)iː]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [.(j)iː]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [.(j)iː]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [.(j)iː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [.(j)i]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [.(j)iː]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [.(j)i]

Readings
Classical reading?
Dari reading?
Iranian reading?
Tajik reading?

Suffix

ـی • (-ī／-i)

1. Forms nouns or adjectives from nouns.
   1. of or pertaining to

      ‎خورشید (xoršīd, “sun”) + ‎ـی → ‎خورشیدی (xoršīdī, “solar”)

      ‎پارس (pārs, “Pars / Fars”) + ‎ـی → ‎پارسی (pārsī, “Persian”)

   2. one from or belonging to

      ‎تهران (tehrān, “Tehran”) + ‎ـی → ‎تهرانی (tehrānī, “Tehrani”)

   3. forms the word for a profession, and the place it is practiced, from the word for the person who practice it

      ‎خیاط (xayyāt, “tailor”) + ‎ـی → ‎خیاطی (xayyātī, “tailoring; tailor shop”)

   4. able to, capable of being, deserved to be, determined to, and/or destined to

      ‎خوردن (xordan, “to eat”) + ‎ـی → ‎خوردنی (xordanī, “edible”)

      ‎رفتن (raftan, “to go”) + ‎ـی → ‎رفتنی (raftanī, “destined to leave”)

2. forms surnames

Usage notes

ـی is the form that follows words ending in consonants. Adjectives ending in the short vowel ـه (-e) will use the form ـگی (-egī) for their derived nouns, while nouns ending in ـه (-e) will usually add the non-joining ای (-ī) to form their derived adjectives. Both nouns and adjectives ending in the long vowels ـا (-â) and ـو (-u) will use the form یی (-ī)

As a derivational suffix, ـی and the above-mentioned alternative forms take the stress in a word, as in خورشیدی (xoršīdī, “solar”). As the marked indefinite or relative definite suffix, the stress remains on the root of the word, as in خورشیدی (xoršīdī, “a sun / the sun which”)

Most Persian surnames end in this suffix.

Derived terms

Persian terms suffixed with ـی

References

• MacKenzie, D. N. (1986). A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary. OUP. p. 45.

Etymology 3

From Middle Persian 𐭩𐭧 (yḥ /⁠-īh⁠/).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [.ʔiː]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [.ʔiː]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [.ʔiː]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [.ʔiː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [.ʔi]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [.ʔiː]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [.ʔi]

Readings
Classical reading?
Dari reading?
Iranian reading?
Tajik reading?

Suffix

ـی • (-ī／-i)

1. Forms abstract nouns from adjectives.

   ‎بزرگ (bozorg, “big”) + ‎ـی → ‎بزرگی (bozorgi, “bigness”)

   ‎شیرین (širin, “sweet”) + ‎ـی → ‎شیرینی (širini, “sweetness”)

   ‎جوان (javân, “young”) + ‎ـی → ‎جوانی (javâni, “youth”)

Descendants

• → Hindustani: -ī

  Hindi: -ई (-ī)

  Urdu: ـی (-ī)

Etymology 4

From Middle Persian 𐭸 (1 /⁠ē(w)⁠/), from Old Persian 𐎠𐎡𐎺 (a-i-v /⁠aiva⁠/), Proto-Iranian *Háywah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Háywas, from Proto-Indo-European *óywos. Compare Ancient Greek οἶος (oîos), and Avestan 𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 (aēuua).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [.(j)eː]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [.(j)eː]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [.(j)eː]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [.(j)eː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [.(j)eː]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [.(j)iː]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [.(j)e]

Readings
Classical reading?
Dari reading?
Iranian reading?
Tajik reading?

Suffix

Dari	ـی
Iranian Persian
Tajik	-е

ـی • (-ē／-i)

1. a, one; marks a noun phrase as indefinite or non-specific, especially in the literary language

   Synonym: (colloquial) یه (ye)

2. marks a noun phrase attributed by a subordinate clause as restrictive

   ساختمانی که علی در آن زندگی می‌کند بزرگ است.

   sâxtemân-i ke 'ali dar ân zendegi mi-konad bozorg-ast.

   The building where Ali lives is big.

   Contrast with:

   آن ساختمان که علی در آن زندگی می‌کند بزرگ است.

   ân sâxtemân ke 'ali dar ân zendegi mi-konad bozorg-ast.

   That building, where Ali lives, is big.

Usage notes

This suffix is attached as a suffix to a noun in a sentence and acts as the indefinite object marker. most words use the joining ـی (-ī), unless the word ends in long vowels such as ـا (-â) or ـو (-u) or a non-joining consonant such as the final ه (-h) in خانه‌ (xâne). For instance, “a dog” would be سگی (sag-ī), but “houses” would be خانه‌هایی (xâne-hâ-ī), "a pumpkin" would be کدویی (kadu-ī) and “a house” would be خانه‌ای (xâne-ī).

Urdu

Etymology 1

Inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit -𑀇𑀅 (-ia), from Sanskrit -इक (-ika, diminutive suffix) or Sanskrit -ईय (-īya, adjectival suffix). Later influenced by Persian ـی (-i).

Suffix

ـی • (-ī) (Hindi spelling -ई)

2. relating to, forms adjectives from nouns

   ‎جوکِھم (jokhim, “risk”) + ‎ـِی (-ī) → ‎جوکِھمِی (jokhimī, “risky”)

   ‎پِسْتَہ (pista, “pistachio”) + ‎ـِی (-ī) → ‎پِسْتَئِی (pistaī, “having the color of [shelled] pistachios”)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from the nominative singular form of Sanskrit -इन् (-in, doer, possessor).

Suffix

ـی • (ī) m (Hindi spelling -ई)

1. doer, possessor

   ‎ساتھ (sāth, “company, support”) + ‎ـی (-ī) → ‎ساتھی (sāthī, “companion, partner”)

   ‎روگ (rog, “sickness, disease”) + ‎ـی (-ī) → ‎روگی (rogī, “sick person, patient”)

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Classical Persian ـی (-ī), from Middle Persian 𐭩𐭧 (yḥ /⁠-īh⁠/).

Suffix

ـی • (-ī) f (Hindi spelling -ई)

1. forms abstract nouns from adjectives or common nouns

   ‎روشن (rauśan, “bright”) + ‎ـی (-ī) → ‎روشنی (rauśnī, “brightness”)

Derived terms

Urdu terms suffixed with ـی