kami

See also: Appendix:Variations of "kami"

Languages (29)

English

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Aklanon • Alangan • Amis • Bikol Central • Cebuano • French • Hanunoo • Hiligaynon • Iban • Indonesian • Inonhan • Japanese • Javanese • Kapampangan • Malay • Mansaka • Maranao • Mongondow • Musi • Old Sundanese • Ratagnon • Sakizaya • Serbo-Croatian • Sundanese • Tagalog • Tausug • West Albay Bikol • Yogad

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Page categories

English

A painting depicting Amaterasu, an important female kami in the Shinto religion.

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Japanese 神 (kami, “god, spirit, deity”).

Noun

kami (plural kamis or kami)

1. (religion, Shinto) An animistic god or spirit in the Shinto religion of Japan.
   • 2000, Ree Soesbee, “Armies on the March”, in The Crane (Legend of the Five Rings), Renton, Wash.: Wizards of the Coast, →ISBN, page 96:

     Chanting the mantra of the fire kami, they called to the blaze, summoning the heart of each flickering flame to life.

   • 2021, Marie Brennan [pseudonym; Bryn Neuenschwander], chapter 18, in The Night Parade of 100 Demons (Legend of the Five Rings), Nottingham, Nottinghamshire: Aconyte Books, →ISBN, page 211:

     But Ryōtora had definitely moved a shintai during the makeshift festival – and it must have been Saiun-nushi’s, because Sekken couldn’t imagine the shugenja could call a kami into a foreign vessel without noticing.

2. (philosophy) The metaphysical causal generator of motion, life, or divinish aura.

Translations

a god or spirit in the Shinto religion of Japan

• Japanese: 神 (ja) (kami)

Etymology 2

Two sheets of kami for origami, and a traditional origami crane.

Borrowed from Japanese 紙 (kami, “paper”).

Noun

kami (plural kami)

1. (papercraft) A basic origami paper, usually printed with a colour or pattern on one side.

Translations

origami paper

• Japanese: 紙 (ja) (kami)

Anagrams

• Mika, maki

Aklanon

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronoun

kami

1. we (exclusive)

Alangan

Pronoun

kamí

1. we (exclusive of the person spoken to)

Amis

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *kami. Compare Malay kami (“we”).

Pronoun

kami

1. we (exclusive of the person spoken to)

See also

Amis personal pronouns

	singular	plural
1st person	kako	kami (exclusive) kita (inclusive)
2nd person	kiso	kamo
3rd person	ciira	caira

Bikol Central

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈmi/ [kaˈmi]
• Hyphenation: ka‧mi

Pronoun

kamí (Basahan spelling ᜃᜋᜒ)

1. we (exclusive of the person spoken to)

   Nagtatrabaho kami sa sarong kompanya. Ika?

   We work at a company. You?

See also

Bikol Central personal pronouns

Person	Number	Absolute		Ergative		Oblique
Length		Full	Short	Full	Short
First	singular	ako		ko		sakuya, sako
	plural inclusive	kita		nyato	ta	satuya, sato
	plural exclusive	kami		nyamo	mi	samuya, samo
Second	singular	ika	ka	mo		saimo, simo
	plural	kamo		nindo		saindo
Third	singular	siya		niya		saiya
	plural	sinda		ninda		sainda

Cebuano

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ka‧mi
• IPA^(key): /kaˈmi/ [kɐˈmi]

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronoun

kamí (Badlit spelling ᜃᜋᜒ)

1. we; us (1st person plural exclusive absolutive form)

See also

Cebuano personal pronouns

			direct		indirect (postposed)		indirect (preposed)		oblique
	Length:		full	short1	full	short2	base	suffixed -a	full	short
singular	first person		akó	ko	nakò3	ko3	akò	akoa	kanakò	nakò
	second person		ikáw	ka	nimo	mo	imo	imoha	kanimo	nimo
	third person		siyá		niya		iya	iyaha	kaniya	niya
plural	first person	inclusive	kitá	ta	natò	ta	atò	atoa	kanatò	natò
		exclusive	kamí	mi	namò		amò	amoa	kanamò	namò
	second person		kamó	mo	ninyo		inyo	inyoha	kaninyo	ninyo
	third person		silá		nila		ila	ilaha	kanila	nila

¹ Forms in this column are placed after the verb or predicate they modify, and never used at the start of sentences.
² Forms in this column are literary and rarely used colloquially.
³ Ta is used over nako or ko where the focus is a second-person singular pronoun.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Giangan kami.

Noun

kamí (Badlit spelling ᜃᜋᜒ)

1. (Davao) Indonesian cinnamon (Cinnamomum burmanni)

French

Pronunciation

• Audio (France):

  (file)

Noun

kami m (invariable)

1. kami (spirit)

Further reading

• “kami”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Hanunoo

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *k-ami (“we (exclusive)”, 1pl. excl. nominative pronoun).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈmi/ [kɐˈmi]
• Rhymes: -i
• Syllabification: ka‧mi

Pronoun

kamí (Hanunoo spelling ᜣᜫᜲ)

1. we; us (exclusive)

See also

Hanunoo personal pronouns

Person	Number	Direct	Indirect	Oblique
First	singular	ako	niko	kangko, kang
	plural inclusive	kita	nita	kanta
	plural exclusive	kami	nimi	kanmi
Second	singular	kawo, ka	nimo	kanmo
	plural	kamo	niyo	kanyo
Third	singular	siya	niya	kanya
	plural	sida	nida	kanda

Further reading

• Conklin, Harold C. (1953), Hanunóo-English Vocabulary (University of California Publications in Linguistics), volume 9, London, England: University of California Press, →OCLC, page 138
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*ami”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Hiligaynon

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ka‧mi
• IPA^(key): /kaˈmi/ [kaˈmi]

Pronoun

kamí

1. we (exclusive)

See also

Hiligaynon personal pronouns

		absolute (ang/si)		ergative (sa/ni)		ergative (preposed)	oblique (sa)
		full	short	full	short	full
first	singular	ako	ko*	nakon	ko	akon	sa akon
	plural inclusive	kita		naton	ta	aton	sa aton
	plural exclusive	kami		namon		amon	sa amon
second	singular	ikaw	ka	nimo	mo	imo	sa imo
	plural	kamo		ninyo		inyo	sa inyo
third	singular	siya		niya		iya	sa iya
	plural	sila		nila		ila	sa ila

Iban

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *kami, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.mi/

Pronoun

kami

1. we (exclusive)

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay kami, from Proto-Malayic *kami, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈkami/ [ˈka.mi]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ami
• Syllabification: ka‧mi

Pronoun

kami

1. first person plural exclusive (not including you) pronoun: we, us, our

   Kami akan mengajarkan adik-adik tentang kebersihan.

   We will teach you about hygiene.

   Terima kasih telah membantu kami!

   Thank you for helping us!

   Ini tugas kami, bu.

   This is our assignment, miss.

2. editorial we; first person plural pronoun, which refers to institution the speaker/writer is acting for: we, us, our

Derived terms

• kekamian

See also

• kita (“we, us, our (inclusive)”)

Indonesian personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person exclusive	regular	aku, saya1	kami
	enclitic	-ku	-
	proclitic	ku-	-
1st person inclusive		-	kita
2nd person	regular	kamu, Anda2, kau3	kalian, Anda2, Anda sekalian2, Anda semua2
	enclitic	-mu	-
3rd person	regular	dia, beliau4, ia3	mereka
	enclitic	-nya	-
reflexive		diri5, diri sendiri
emphatic		sendiri

¹ Polite.
² Formal.
³ Now mostly literary.
⁴ Respectful.

⁵ Sometimes used as an emphatic marker instead of being reflexive.

Notes:

• This table only shows personal pronouns that are commonly used in the standard language.
• The second person pronouns are often replaced by kinship terms, titles, or the like.
• The enclitics are only used obliquely (object or possessor), while the proclitic is only used as a subject.

See each entry for more information.

Further reading

• “kami”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Inonhan

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronoun

kami

1. we; us (exclusive of the person spoken to)

Japanese

Romanization

kami

1. Rōmaji transcription of かみ

Javanese

Romanization

kami

1. romanization of ꦏꦩꦶ

Kapampangan

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəˈmi/ [kəˈmi]
• Hyphenation: ka‧mi

Pronoun

kami

1. we; us (exclusive of the person spoken to)

   Synonym: (preposed) ikami

Usage notes

• The word kami usually replaces ikami when in the middle of a sentence.

Derived terms

• ika-ikamimu
• kami-kamimu

See also

Kapampangan personal pronouns

		absolute		ergative	oblique
		disjunctive	enclitic
first person	singular	aku/i aku/yaku	ku		kanaku
	plural inclusive	ikatamu	katamu/tamu	tamu/ta	kekatamu
	plural exclusive	ikami, ike	kami/ke	mi	kekami/keke
second person	singular	ika	ka	mu	keka
	plural	ikayu/iko	kayu/ko	yu	kekayu/keko
third person	singular	iya/ya	ya	na	keya/kaya
	plural	ila	la	da/ra	karela

Malay

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *kami, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkami/ [ˈka.mi]

  • Audio (Malaysia):

    (file)

  • Audio (Malaysia):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ami, -mi, -i
• Hyphenation: ka‧mi

Pronoun

kami (Jawi spelling کامي)

1. Exclusive first person plural pronoun; we, us (excluding the person spoken to).

   Synonym: kita orang (informal)

2. (polite) First person singular pronoun; I, me.

   Synonyms: saya (polite), aku (informal)

Descendants

• Indonesian: kami

See also

• kita (including the person spoken to)

Malay personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person	standard	saya / ساي aku / اکو, ku- / كوـ (informal/towards God) -ku / ـكو (poetic possessive) hamba / همبا (dated) daku / داکو (poetic)	kami / کامي (exclusive) kita orang / كيت اورڠ (informal exclusive) kita / کيت (inclusive)
	royal	beta / بيتا
2nd person	standard	kamu / کامو
		engkau / اڠکاو, kau- / كاوـ (informal/poetic/towards God) kau / كاو (informal) awak / اوق (friendly/older towards younger) anda / اندا (formal) awda / اءودا (Brunei, formal) -mu / ـمو (poetic possessive) dikau / ديکاو (poetic)	anda semua / اندا سموا (formal) awak semua / اوق سموا kamu semua / كامو سموا kalian / کالين (archaic) kau orang / كاو اورڠ (informal)
	royal	tuanku / توانكو
3rd person	standard	dia / دي ia / اي beliau / بلياو (honorific) -nya / ـڽ (possessive)	mereka / مريک dia orang / دي اورڠ (informal)
	royal	baginda / بݢيندا

Further reading

• “kami”, in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu [Malay Literary Reference Centre] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

Mansaka

Pronoun

kami

1. we (exclusive)

Maranao

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronoun

kami

1. we (exclusive)

Mongondow

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kami/

Pronoun

kami

1. we (first person plural exclusive nominative pronoun; not including you)

See also

• kita (“we (inclusive)”)

Mongondow personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person exclusive	nominative	akuoy	kami
	genitive	ku	nami
	oblique	inako'	inami
1st person inclusive	nominative	-	kita
	genitive	-	naton
	oblique	-	inaton
2nd person	nominative	iko	mo'iko, kamu1
	genitive	mu	monimu, namu1
	oblique	inimu	imonimu, inamu1
3rd person	nominative	sia	mosia, taya1
	genitive	-ea, -nya	monia, naya1
	oblique	inia	imonia, inaya1

¹Only used with a numeral.

Musi

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kami/

Pronoun

kami

1. we (exclusive); I and other(s) but not those I am addressing
2. we: the speaker/writer alone. (This use of we is the editorial we, used by writers and others, including royalty—the royal we—as a less personal substitute for I. The reflexive case of this sense of we is ourself.)
3. us (exclusive); me and other(s) but not those I am addressing
4. our (exclusive); my and of other(s) but not of those I am addressing
5. ours

Related terms

• kitéq

Old Sundanese

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronoun

kami

1. I, me (1st person singular pronoun)
   • c. 16th century, Carita Parahiyangan:

     Ujar sang apatih, "Kami pun dititahan Rahiyangtang Sanjaya. Disuruh ngadugaan ka dinih. Saha nu diwastu dijieun ratu?"

     The patih replied: "I was ordered by Rahiang Sanjaya to investigate here. Who is the person who was appointed and declared as the king?"

2. we (1st person plural exclusive pronoun)

Descendants

• > Sundanese: kami (inherited)

Ratagnon

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronoun

kamí

1. we (exclusive of the person spoken to)

Sakizaya

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.ˈmi/, [ka.ˈmi]

Pronoun

kami

1. we (exclusive)

See also

Sakizaya personal pronouns

				nominative	oblique	genitive	possessive
singular	1st person			kaku	takunan / takuwan / takuwanan	aku	nu maku
	2nd person			kisu	tisuwan / tisuwanan	isu	nu misu
	3rd person			ciniza	cinizaan	niza	(nu) niza
plural	1st person		inclusive	kita	titanan/titaanan	ita	nu mita
	1st person		exclusive	kami	tamiyan / tamiyanan	niyam	(nu) niyam
	2nd person			kamu	tamuwan / tamuwanan	namu	(nu) namu
	3rd person			nuheni / ku(nu)heni	tunuheniyan	nuheni	(nu) nuheni

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *kamy, preserving the reflex of word-final */y/, which was lost in standard words kȃm and kȁmēn.

Noun

kami m inan (Cyrillic spelling ками)

1. (regional, obsolete) stone

References

• Skok, Petar (1972), “kami”, in Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika [Etymological Dictionary of the Croatian or Serbian Language] (in Serbo-Croatian), volumes 2 (K – poni¹), Zagreb: JAZU, page 26

Sundanese

Etymology

Inherited from Old Sundanese kami, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronoun

kami (Sundanese script ᮊᮙᮤ)

1. (dialectal, Banten, Brebes) I; me

   Synonym: aing

   Coordinate terms: abdi, kuring, urang, aing, kami, kula, kaula, sim kuring

See also

Sundanese personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person exclusive	lemes	abdi1, sim kuring2	abdi sadayana1, simkuring sadayana2
	loma	urang1, kuring2, kami3, 4	kuring sareréa
	cohag	aing	aing kabéhan
	enclitic	-ing †	-
1st person inclusive	lemes	-	urang samudayana
	loma	-	arurang, urang
2nd person	lemes	anjeun, hidep5	aranjeun, haridep5
	loma	manéh, silaing	maranéh
	cohag	sia, dia4	saria, sararia
3rd person	lemes	mantenna6, anjeunna	aranjeunna
	loma	manéhna, inya4, nyana4, inyana4	maranéhna
	cohag	si éta	-
	enclitic	-na	-
reflexive	lemes	nyalira
	loma	sorangan, diri

¹ Informal.
² Formal.
³ Expressing speaker's superiority.
⁴ Dialectal form.
⁵ Toward younger.
⁶ Respectful.

† Obsolete

Notes:

• The personal pronouns may vary depending on the dialect.
• The second person pronouns maybe replaced by kinship terms, titles, or the like.
• The second and third person singular pronouns maybe used plurally.

See each entry for more information.

Further reading

• Coolsma, S (1913), Soendaneesch-Hollandsch Woordenboek (in Dutch), Leiden: A.W. Sijthoff's Uitgeversmaatschappij
• Tjatur Wisnu Sasangka, Sry Ssatriya (1997), Bahasa Sunda di Kabupaten Brebes (Bahasa dan Sastra) (in Indonesian), XV, Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa – Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, page 50

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• cami — obsolete, Spanish-based spelling
• kmi — Internet and text messaging slang

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /kaˈmi/ [kɐˈmɪ], (colloquial) /kaˈme/ [kɐˈmɛ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -i
• Syllabification: ka‧mi

Pronoun

kamí (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜋᜒ)

1. we; us (exclusive of the person spoken to)

   Nagtatrabaho kami sa isang kumpanya. Ikaw?

   We work at a company. You?

Derived terms

• kami-kami

See also

Tagalog personal pronouns

Person	Number	Direct (ang)	Indirect (ng)	Oblique (sa)
First	singular	ako	ko	akin
	dual1	kita, kata	nita, nata, ta	kanita, kanata, ata
	plural inclusive	tayo	natin	atin
	plural exclusive	kami	namin	amin
First & Second	singular	kita2
Second	singular	ikaw, ka	mo	iyo
	plural	kayo, kamo	ninyo, niyo	inyo
Third	singular	siya	niya	kaniya
	plural	sila	nila	kanila

¹ First person dual pronouns are not commonly used in Standard Tagalog.
² Replaces ko ikaw.

Further reading

• “kami”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018.

Anagrams

• maki-, kima

Tausug

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronunciation

• (Sinūgan Parianun) IPA^(key): /kami/ [k̠ɑˈmi]
• Rhymes: -i
• Syllabification: ka‧mi

Pronoun

kami (Sulat Sūg spelling كَمِ)

1. we (exclusive)

West Albay Bikol

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronoun

kamí

1. we (exclusive of the person spoken to)

Yogad

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami.

Pronoun

kami

1. we (exclusive of the person spoken to)