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זיי

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: זײַ

Yiddish

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Etymology

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Probably from Middle High German siu, a byform of sie (she, they), whence Yiddish זי (zi, she). Originally siu was nominative feminine and plural neuter, while sie was accusative feminine and plural masculine/feminine. This distinction was lost altogether in Standard German. However, systems that have made sie the feminine form and siu the plural form do exist in certain varieties of Bavarian. The Yiddish outcome of siu should actually be *zay rather than zey, but minor phonetic deviations are not unusual in function words.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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זיי (zey)

  1. they (third-person plural subject pronoun)
  2. dative/accusative of זיי (zey); them, to them

Verb

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זיי (zay)

  1. (nonstandard) Unpointed form of זײַ (zay): to be

See also

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Yiddish personal pronouns
person singular
1st 2nd 3rd m 3rd f 3rd n
nominative איך (ikh) דו (du) ער (er) זי (zi) עס (es)
dative מיר (mir) דיר (dir) אים (im) איר (ir) אים (im)
accusative מיך (mikh) דיך (dikh) אים (im) זי (zi) עס (es)
person plural
1st 2nd 3rd
nominative מיר (mir) איר (ir) זיי (zey)
dative אונדז (undz) אײַך (aykh) זיי (zey)
accusative אונדז (undz) אײַך (aykh) זיי (zey)