hwi

See also: hwị

Cornish

Alternative forms

hwei (Revived Late Cornish)
why (Standard Cornish, Standard Written Form with Traditional Graphs)

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *swīs (compare Breton c’hwi, Welsh chi, Old Irish síi), from Proto-Indo-European *wos.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʍiː/, /ʍəɪ/

Pronoun

hwi

(Standard Written Form) you (formal or plural subject)
Hwi a welas.
You (pl.) saw.
you, your (formal or plural enclitic, used to reinforce previous pronoun)
agas lyver hwi
your (pl.) book

Ple ethewgh hwi?
Where did you (pl.) go?

**Cornish personal pronouns**
number	person		independent (subject)	suffixed			infixed	possessive (dependent)
number	person		independent (subject)	enclitic	emphatic	reduced	infixed	possessive (dependent)
singular	first		my	vy	evy	ma, a	'm	ow^A
	second		ty	jy, sy¹	tejy	ta, a	'th^M	dha^S
	third²	m	ev	ev	eev	va, a	'n	y^S
	third²	f	hi	hi	hyhi	N/A	's	hy^A
plural	first		ni	ni	nyni		'gan, 'n	agan, 'gan
	second³		hwi	hwi	hwyhwi		'gas, 's	agas, 'gas
	third		i	i	ynsi		's	aga^A, 'ga^A

¹ Uncommon.
² hun and ins have been suggested as non-binary 3rd person singular pronouns, though these have not yet officially adopted.
³ Infrequently used as a formal alternative to the singular.

^S Triggers soft mutation ^A Triggers aspirate mutation ^M Triggers mixed mutation

Kubo

Noun

hwi

water

References

Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

Old English

Adverb

hwī

Alternative form of hwȳ

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hwī (“with what”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /hwiː/

Adverb

hwī

why
- Heliand, verse 2026-2027
  Te huī sprikis thū thes wīf, sō filu manos mī far thesoro mėnigi?
  Why do you speak of that, woman, so much (you) remind me pressingly in front of this crowd?

Related terms