ঝি

Bengali

Etymology

Inherited from Magadhi Prakrit 𑀥𑀻𑀆 ~ 𑀥𑀺𑀆 (dhīā ~ dhiā), from earlier 𑀥𑀼𑀇𑀤𑀸 (dhuidā), from Sanskrit दुहिता (dúhitā), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *dúźʰHtā, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dʰúj́ʰHtā, from an earlier *dʰúǵʰHtā, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰugh₂tḗr (“daughter”).

The Old Indo-Aryan word morphed unusually with metathesis of aspiration (compare বইন ~ বোন (boin ~ bōn), from Old Indo-Aryan *बघिनी ~ भगिनी (baghinī ~ bhaginī)), deletion of the first vowel and lengthening of the second vowel in many Middle and New Indo-Aryan descendants, with additional palatalization (dh [dʰ] to jh [dźʰ]) in eastern (Magadhan), northwestern (Dardic), southwestern (Old Gujarati) and southern (Old Sinhalese) ones – indicating influence from a possibly pre-Vedic Indo-Aryan language (with loss of the first vowel and sporadic retention of the resulting cluster [dźʰ]; any way, causing the second vowel to be stressed and lengthened) or a non-Indo-European substrate.

Pronunciation

• (Rarh) IPA^(key): /dʒʱi/, [ˈdʒʱiˑ]

  Audio:

  (file)

• (Dhaka) IPA^(key): /dʑʱi/, [ˈdʑʱiː], [ˈdʑʱiˑ]

Noun

ঝি • (jhi)

1. daughter

   Synonyms: পুত্রী (putri), মেয়ে (meẏe), কন্যা (konna)

2. maidservant

Declension

Inflection of ঝি
nominative	ঝি jhi
objective	ঝিকে jhike
genitive	ঝির jhir
	Indefinite forms
nominative	ঝি jhi
objective	ঝিকে jhike
genitive	ঝির jhir
	Definite forms
	singular		plural
nominative	ঝিটা, ঝিটি jhiṭa (colloquial), jhiṭi (formal)		ঝিরা jhira
objective	ঝিটাকে, ঝিটিকে jhiṭake (colloquial), jhiṭike (formal)		ঝিদের(কে) jhider(ke)
genitive	ঝিটার, ঝিটির jhiṭar (colloquial), jhiṭir (formal)		ঝিদের jhider
Objective Note: In some dialects -রে (-re) marks this case instead of -কে (-ke).

Derived terms

• ঝিকে মেরে বউকে শেখানো (jhike mere bouke śekhanō)

References

• Subhasha Bhattacarya, Sailendra Biswas, Sailendra Biswas, and Jnanendramohana Dasa (2022) “ঝি”, in Digital Dictionaries of South India [Combined Bengali Dictionaries]