ـی

Persian

Etymology 1

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle Persian -yk' / 𐭩𐭪𐭩 (-īg) or (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy).

Suffix

ـی • (-i)

1. Forms adjectives from nouns.

   تهران (Tehrân, “Tehran”) + ـی (-i) = تهرانی (Tehrâni, “Tehrani”)

   خورشید (xoršid, “sun”) + ـی (-i) = خورشیدی (xoršidi, “solar”)

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 (-egi) for their derived nouns, while nouns ending in ـه (-e) will usually add the non-joining ای (-i) to form their derived adjectives. Both nouns and adjectives ending in the long vowels ـا (-â) and ـو (-u) will use the form یی (-yi)

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

Most Persian surnames end in this suffix.

See also

• Category:Persian words suffixed with ـی

Etymology 2

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle Persian 𐭩𐭧 (-īh).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [iː]

Suffix

ـی • (-i)

1. Forms abstract nouns from adjectives.

   بزرگ (bozorg, “big”) + ـی (-i) = بزرگی (bozorgi, “bigness”)

   شیرین (širin, “sweet”) + ـی (-i) = شیرینی (širini, “sweetness”)

   جوان (javân, “young”) + ـی (-i) = جوانی (javâni, “youth”)

Etymology 3

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle Persian 𐭸 (ē(w)), from Old Persian 𐎠𐎡𐎺 (aiva), Proto-Iranian *Háywah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Háywas, from Proto-Indo-European *óywos. Compare Ancient Greek οἶος (oîos), and Avestan 𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 (aēuua).

Suffix

Dari	ـی
Iranian Persian
Tajik	-е

ـی • (-ê)

1. a, one

Usage notes

The usage is almost completely restricted to marking the indefinite noun of a sentence; in all other instances, the word یک (yek, “one”) is used. Etymologically, both of these words however derive from the same Proto-Indo-European root.

It is attached as a suffix to a noun in a sentence and acts as the indefinite object marker. Most words use the non-joining ای (-i), unless the word ends in the long vowels ـا (-â) and ـو (-u) or a non-joining consonant. For instance, “a house” would be خانه‌ای (xâne-i), “a dog” would be سگ‌ای (sag-i), and “houses” would be خانه‌هایی (xâne-ha-yi).