wjele

Lower Sorbian

Alternative forms

• ẃele (obsolete)

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *welh₁-, possibly through Proto-Slavic *velьjь (“great”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvʲɛlɛ/, [ˈvʲelə]; /ˈjɛlɛ/, [ˈjelə]

Determiner

wjele (indeclinable, comparative wěcej)

1. many

   z wjele słowami ― with many words

2. how many?

   z wjele kónimi? ― with how many horses?

Antonyms

• mało

Pronoun

wjele

1. much, many

   wjele źěła ― much work, lots of work

   Wjelim njejo znate až, […] ― Many people do not know that […] (literally, To many it is not known that)

2. how much?, how many?

   na wjele? ― how many times?

   po wjelim? ― how many at once? how much at once?

   Wjele to płaśi?

   How much does that cost?

   Wjele bratšow a sotšow maš?

   How many brothers and sisters do you have?

   Wjele cośo jerjegow?

   How many herrings do you want?

Usage notes

As a determiner, wjele is invariable; the noun it modifies is always plural is in whatever case is appropriate to its role in the sentence. As a pronoun, wjele may be followed by a noun in the genitive case, which may be either singular or plural, in which case it is invariable; or it may stand alone, in which case it is declinable.

Declension

Declension of wjele

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	—	—	wjele
Genitive	—	—	wjelich
Dative	—	—	wjelim
Accusative	—	—	wjele wjelich (optional animate form)
Instrumental	—	—	wjele
Locative	—	—	wjelimi

Further reading

• Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928) “ẃele”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
• Starosta, Manfred (1999) “wjele”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag