شي

See also: سی, سے, and شی

Arabic

Root
ش و ي (š w y)
7 terms

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃajj/

Noun

شَيّ • (šayy) m

1. verbal noun of شَوَى (šawā) (form I)

Declension

Declension of noun شَيّ (šayy)

singular	basic singular triptote
	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	شَيّ šayy	الشَّيّ aš-šayy	شَيّ šayy
nominative	شَيٌّ šayyun	الشَّيُّ aš-šayyu	شَيُّ šayyu
accusative	شَيًّا šayyan	الشَّيَّ aš-šayya	شَيَّ šayya
genitive	شَيٍّ šayyin	الشَّيِّ aš-šayyi	شَيِّ šayyi

Hijazi Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic شَيْء (šayʔ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃajj/, [ʃaj]

Noun

شي • (šayy) m (plural أشياء (ʔašyāʔ))

1. a thing

   Synonym: حاجة (ḥāja)

2. object

   Synonym: غَرَض (ḡaraḍ)

Derived terms

• كُل شي (kull šayy, “everything”)

Pronoun

شي • (šayy)

1. something, anything

North Levantine Arabic

Alternative forms

• (Beqaa, noun and pronoun only) إشي (ʔiši)
• (coastal Syria, traditional) شَا (šā)

Etymology

From Arabic شَيْء (šayʔ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃiː/
• (old Beiruti) IPA^(key): /ʃeː/

Noun

شي • (šī) m (plural إشيا (ʔišya) or أشيا (ʔašya))

1. thing

   هيدي اشيا كتير مهمة ― haydi ʔišya ktīr mhimme. ― These are very important things.

Usage notes

• شي (šī) usually instead means something (see below), and only securely means thing when plural or construed with the definite article. The predominant term for thing otherwise is شغلة (šaḡle).

Derived terms

• شَيَّات (šayyāt, “-’s”, genitive exponent)
• شِي وْمِنُّو (šī w minno, “something in the middle”, literally “something and it’s [part] of it”)
• شْوَيّ (šwayy, “a little bit”)

Pronoun

شي • (šī) m

1. something, anything

   بدك شي تاني يا حبيبتي؟ ― baddik šī tāni ya ḥabībti? ― Do you want anything else, honey?

   بدي عطيك شي. ― baddi ʕaṭīk šī. ― I want to give you something.

Determiner

شي • (šī)

1. some, any

   في شي مشكلة؟ ― fī šī miškle? ― Is there any [kind of] problem?

   رح يرجع شي يوم ― raḥ yirjaʕ šī yōm. ― He’ll come back some day.

Adverb

شي • (šī)

1. circa, about

   لازم تنطرلك شي عشرين دقيقه

   lāzim tunṭurlak šī ʕišrīn dʔīʔa.

   You have to wait for about twenty minutes.

2. just, barely

   ما بدها هالقد شرح يعني شي إنك توصلهن الفكرة

   ma badd(h)a hal-ʔadd šarḥ yaʕni šī ʔinnak twaṣṣell(h)on l-fikra

   It doesn't need this much explaining. Like, it's enough just to get the idea across to them

   لسا شي طلعت من البيت (Syria) ― lissa šī ṭliʕt mn l-bēt ― I only just left the house.

Derived terms

• شي ما (šī ma, “as soon as”)
• مِنْشِي (minši, “as soon as”)

Particle

شي • (šī)

1. Optionally marks a yes-or-no question

   عنا حليب شي؟ ― ʕinna ḥalīb šī? ― Do we have milk?

Usage notes

• Can appear in any position governed by a verb, but most often used after intransitive verbs or after the object(s) of a transitive verb.

Noun

شي • (šē) m

1. (old Beiruti) alternative form of شِي (šī, “thing”)
   • 2018 April 2, Beirut Arab University, 3:59 from the start, in بَيْرُوتِي أُحّ (bayrūti ʔ̣uḥḥ) [Beiruti Dyed in the Wool]‎^[1], archived from the original on 28 September 2025:

     لا والله، ولله بيروت أحسِن شي، أحسن مدينة هيي مدينة بيروت يا إخوان

     lā waḷḷā, waḷḷa bayrūt ʔaḥsin šē, ʔaḥsan madīne hiyye madīnit bayrūt yā ʔiḵwēn

     No, I swear to God, I swear Beirut is the best. The best city is the city of Beirut, oh brothers,

     (literally, “I swear Beirut is the best thing”)

     The interviewee speaks a traditional Old Beiruti dialect, which features an emphatic ق (/⁠ʔ̣⁠/), pausal raising of final ـَا (-a) to ـِي (-e), and raising of words on patterns like فَعَل (CaCaC) to فَعِل (CaCiC, with [i]) — notice أَحْسِن (ʔaḥsin) instead of أَحْسَن (ʔaḥsan).

   • 2016, 0:11 from the start, in تعلم اللهجة البيروتية (taʕallam al-lahja l-bayrūtiyya) [Learn the Beiruti Dialect] (عكيف وعفيف (ʕakīf wa ʕafīf, “Akeef and Afeef”))‎^[2], archived from the original on 20 March 2023:

     عكيف: حَكْيِك كِلُّو غَلَط فَهِّمْهي
     عفيف: أَوَّل شي بيقولوا السِّتّ الوَالْدِة بَعَتِتْنِي مُش مَامَا

     ʕakīf: ḥakyik kullo ḡalaṭ fahhimhe
     ʕafīf: ʔawwal šē biʔūlo s-sitt l-wēlde baʕatitne, muš māmā!

     Akeef: Your speech is completely wrong... straighten her out
     Afeef: First things first, they say, "السِّتّ الوَالْدِة (s-sitt l-wālde, “my mother”, literally “the lady the mother”) sent me", not "Mama"!

     Notice فَهِّمْهي (fahhimhe, “straighten her out”, literally “help her understand”) instead of فَهِّمْهَا (fahhimha).

Usage notes

• Also an alternative pronunciation of all other senses and parts of speech.

South Levantine Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic شَيْء (šayʔ).

Noun

شي • (šī) m (plural أشيا (ʔašya) or إشيا (ʔišya))

1. alternative form of إشي (ʔiši): thing

Derived terms

• كل شي (kull ši, “everything”)
• ولا شي (wala ši, “nothing”)

Pronoun

شي • (šī or ši)

1. alternative form of إشي (ʔiši): something; anything

Determiner

شي • (ši)

1. akin to an indefinite article: some, any, one

   يا ريت أشوفه إذا برجع شي يوم.

   yā rēt ʔašūfo ʔiza birjaʕ ši yōm

   I would love to see him if he comes back someday.