ni-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ni"

Languages (30)

Ahtna • Aromanian • Cebuano • Classical Nahuatl • Czech • Garo • Kamba • Mohawk • Mokilese • Navajo • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Ojibwe • Old English • Old Irish • Pipil • Polish • Serbo-Croatian • Swahili • Swazi • Tagalog • Ternate • Tumbuka • Wailaki • Welsh • West Makian • Xhosa • Yao (Africa) • Ye'kwana • Zulu

Page categories

Ahtna

Etymology

Compare Navajo ni- (terminative prefix).

Prefix

ni-

A terminative prefix referring to stopping or termination of an action, or performing an action up to a point.
Carries several extended meanings, which possibly are the result of conflation with other prefixes:
1. embedding into
2. hanging over, up and over
3. up vertically
4. off from shore
5. off of, undressing

Derived terms

Ahtna terms prefixed with ni-

References

Kari, James (1990), Ahtna Athabaskan Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, pages 311-312

Aromanian

Etymology

From Slavic ne-. Compare Romanian ne-.

Prefix

ni-

un-; de- (used to negate)

Derived terms

Aromanian terms prefixed with ni-

Cebuano

Etymology

From ning-, itself from ming-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ni/ [n̪i]

Prefix

ni- (infinitive & future mo-, mu-)

alternative form of ming-
Nikaon ko.
I ate.

Usage notes

The forms ming- and mi- are only ever used in formal contexts, ning- and ni- are more common in daily conversation.

Classical Nahuatl

Alternative forms

n- (before vowels)

Prefix

ni-

Subject prefix for verbs; indicates that the subject is first person singular: I.

Czech

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ney

Proto-Balto-Slavic *nei

Proto-Slavic *ni

Proto-Slavic *ni-

Old Czech ni-

Czech ni-

Inherited from Old Czech ni-, from Proto-Slavic *ni-.

Prefix

ni-

no

Derived terms

Czech terms prefixed with ni-

nic

nikdo

Garo

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Prefix

ni-

look at

Derived terms

Kamba

Alternative forms

n-

Prefix

ni-

I (used for conjugating verbs to the subjective or nominative case of the personal pronoun)

Mohawk

Etymology

From Proto-Iroquoian *ijiː.

Prefix

ni-

pronominal prefix for
They both (m) ____

Alternative forms

Forms of *ni-*
Initial consonant
Environment	t/s/h/k	n/r/w/’	a	e/en	o/on	i	y
Word-Initial	ni-	ni-	i-	n-	n-	n-	nii-

Prefix

ni-

partitive prefix

References

Gunther Michelson (1973), A thousand words of Mohawk, University of Ottawa Press, page 9
Nora Deering; Helga H. Delisle (1976), Mohawk: A teaching grammar (preliminary version), Quebec: Manitou College, pages 147, 172

Mokilese

Prefix

ni-

used to form the days of the week

Derived terms

Mokilese terms prefixed with ni-

References

Harrison, Sheldon P.; Albert, Salich Y. (1977), Mokilese-English Dictionary‎^[1], Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii, →ISBN, page 170

Navajo

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nɪ̀-/

Etymology 1

Prefix

ni-

Marks a noun as being have a second-person singular possessor
‎ni- + ‎bijaaʼ (“one's ear”) → ‎nijaaʼ (“your ear”)
Marks a postposition as having a second-person singular object
‎ni- + ‎bikʼi (“upon him/her/it”) → ‎nikʼi (“upon you”)
Marks a verb as having a second-person singular subject
‎ni- + ‎yicha (“he/she is crying”) → ‎nicha (“you're crying”)

Usage notes

Appears as ni- word-initially and after a position 1, 2, or 3 prefix, but otherwise disappears and causes the tone of the preceding vowel to disappear, as in nídaah (“you sit down”) (ni-ni-∅-daah)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Athabaskan *nə-.

Prefix

ni-

Marks a verb as belonging to the ni-imperfective paradigm, which contains verbs confined to the momentaneous aspect.

Conjugation

ni-imperfective	singular	duoplural	plural
1st person	nish-	nii-	danii-
2nd person	ní-	noh-	danoh-
3rd person	yí-		deí-
4th person	jí-		dají-
Other forms
Unspecified person	Spatial person	Simple passive	Agentive passive
í-	hó-	yí-	biʼdee-

Etymology 3

Prefix

ni-

Marks a verb as belonging to the terminative subaspect, marking the cessation or end of an action or the reaching of a goal.

Conjugation

imperfective	singular	duoplural	plural
1st person	ninish-	ninii-	nidanii-
2nd person	niní-	ninoh-	nidanoh-
3rd person	nii-		nidaa-
4th person	nijí-		nidají-

perfective (∅/ł)	singular	duoplural	plural
1st person	niní-	ninii-	nidanii-
2nd person	nííní-	ninoo-	nidanoo-
3rd person	niní-		nidaaz-
4th person	nizhní-		nidajiz-

perfective (d/l)	singular	duoplural	plural
1st person	ninish-	ninii-	nidanii-
2nd person	nííní-	ninooh-	nidanooh-
3rd person	nii-		nidaas-
4th person	nijí-		nidajis-

future	singular	duoplural	plural
1st person	nideesh-	nidii-	nidadii-
2nd person	nidíí-	nidooh-	nidadooh-
3rd person	nidoo-		nidadoo-
4th person	nizhdoo-		nidazhdoo-

iterative	singular	duoplural	plural
1st person	ninásh-	ninéii-	ninádeii-
2nd person	ninání-	nináh-	ninádaah-
3rd person	niná-		ninádaa-
4th person	ninájí-		ninádaji-

optative	singular	duoplural	plural
1st person	noosh-	noo-	nidaoo-
2nd person	noó-	nooh-	nidaooh-
3rd person	noo-		nidao-
4th person	nijó-		nidajó-

Derived terms

Etymology 4

Young and Morgan (1987, 1992) identified this prefix as distinct from other ni- prefixes; however, Young (2000) identified it as identical to the ni-imperfective prefix.^[1]

Prefix

ni-

Forms neuter imperfective/adjectival verbs
niłdził ― to be strong, stable, firm (ni-ł-dził)

Inflection

imperfective	singular	duoplural	plural
1st person	nish-	nii-	danii-
2nd person	ní-	noh-	danoh-
3rd person	ni-		dani-
4th person	jí-		dají-
Other forms
Unspecified person	Spatial person	Simple passive	Agentive passive
ʼí-	hó	—	—

Derived terms

Etymology 5

From Proto-Athabaskan *nə-.

Prefix

ni-

Marks the ni-perfective paradigm, which connotes an action that was terminal or finished

Etymology 6

In at least some cases, may be related to niʼ (“ground”)^[2]

Prefix

ni-

A thematic prefix

Derived terms

Navajo terms prefixed with ni- (thematic)

References

^ Robert W. Young (2000), The Navajo Verb System: An Overview, Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, →ISBN, page 85.
^ Young, Robert; Morgan, William; Midgette, Sally (1992), Analytical Lexicon of Navajo, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, →ISBN, page 699

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Same as the word nid, from Old Norse níð.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /niː/

Prefix

ni-

uninterrupted, intensely
very, a lot

Derived terms

Norwegian Bokmål terms prefixed with ni-

nitrist

References

“ni-” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
“ni-” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Doublet of nid. From Old Norse níð, from Proto-Germanic *nīþą.

Prefix

ni-

Used as an intensifier, especially in verbs

Derived terms

Norwegian Nynorsk terms prefixed with ni-

nibe

nilese

niskrike

References

“ni-” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

In, in, ni

Ojibwe

Prefix

ni-

A prefix denoting the first person

Usage notes

ni- is the unmarked form, and appears before stems that begin with the consonants p, t, k, h, ch, m, n, s, sh, w, and y. In animate intransitive verbs (vai) and transitive inanimate verbs (vti) conjugations, ni- or one of its alternative forms can act as part of a pair of affixes, with the affix -min (or a variant) to form the first person plural exclusive . In transitive animate verbs (vta) - that is verbs where the subject and the object are both animate - ni- can indicate that either the subject or the object is first-person (singular or plural), according to the rules of topicality hierarchy.

Alternative forms

Related terms

Preverb

ni-

alternative spelling of ani-

Old English

Etymology

From earlier *niwi-, before a regular sound change in which non-word-initial *w was lost before fully unstressed *i. The same sound change occurred to ǣ (“law”) ← *ǣi ← *āwi, sǣ (“sea”) ← *sǣi ← *sāwi, and glī (“joy”) ← *gliwi. It must have also occurred to nīewe (“new”) in the nominative singular, producing *nī ← *niwi, but its *w was restored by analogy with its inflected forms, which had a following *j instead of *i.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /niː/

Prefix

nī-

new-, newly

Derived terms

Old English terms prefixed with ni-

nibacen

nicenned

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *ni-, from Proto-Indo-European *ní. Cognate with Sanskrit नि- (ni-), Old Armenian նի- (ni-), and Russian низ- (niz-).

Not productive in Old Irish; found in only a handful of verbs.

Prefix

ni-

down

Derived terms

Old Irish terms prefixed with ni-

Pipil

Pronunciation

(Standard) IPA^(key): /ni/

Prefix

ni-

(personal) I, first-person singular subject marker.
Niaw nimumachtia Nawat
I'm going to learn Nawat

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ney

Proto-Balto-Slavic *nei

Proto-Slavic *ni

Proto-Slavic *ni-

Old Polish ni-

Polish ni-

Inherited from Old Polish ni-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɲi/
Rhymes: -i
Syllabification: ni-

Prefix

ni-

attatches to pronominals to negate; no-
‎ni- + ‎gdy → ‎nigdy

Derived terms

Polish terms prefixed with ni-

Serbo-Croatian

Prefix

ni- (Cyrillic spelling ни-)

Prefix prepended to pronouns to denote a negative meaning, synonymous with ne- (“no, not”).
igdje ili nigdje. ― anywhere or nowhere

itko ili nitko. ― anyone or no one

ikad ili nikad. ― anytime or never
Prefix prepended to copula verb biti in present tense to denote a negative meaning, synonymous with ne- (“not”).
Bio sam tu ali nisam bio tamo. ― I was here but I was not there.

Derived terms

Serbo-Croatian terms prefixed with ni-

Swahili

Other scripts
Ajami	نِـ

Pronunciation

Audio (Kenya): (file)

Prefix

ni-

I, 1st person singular subject concord
Antonym: si-

ninakupenda ― I like you
- 18th century, Abdallah bin Ali bin Nasir, Al-Inkishafi‎^[2], translation from R. Allen (1946), “Inkishafi—a translation from the Swahili”, in African Studies, volume 5, number 4, →DOI, pages 243–249, stanza 6:
  نِيَضِهِرِشِ يَغُ مَقَالِ ، اَبَيُ مُيُوْنِ نِقُصُدِيِ
  Niyaḍihirishe yangu maqali, ambayo moyoni niquṣudiye.
  Let me set forth the plan which I have in my heart.
verb-initial form of -ni- (“me, 1st person singular object concord”)

Swazi

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀-, via an intermediate form *mɪ̀-.

Prefix

ni-

you, you all; second-person plural subject concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *mʊ́-, via an intermediate form *mɪ́-.

Prefix

ni-

you, you all; second-person plural object concord.

Tagalog

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ni/ [n̪ɪ]
Syllabification: ni-

Prefix

ni- (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒ)

alternative form of -in-

Usage notes

Used when ⟨l⟩, ⟨r⟩, or ⟨y⟩, is at the start of the root.

Derived terms

Tagalog terms prefixed with ni-

Ternate

Etymology 1

Cognate with Tehit n- (“second-person prefix”).

Pronoun

ni- (Jawi ني-)

second-person plural clitic, you all

Etymology 2

Pronoun

ni- (Jawi ني-)

second-person singular possessive pronoun, your

References

Frederik Sigismund Alexander de Clercq (1890), Bijdragen tot de kennis der Residentie Ternate, E.J. Brill
Rika Hayami-Allen (2001), A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Tumbuka

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *ǹ-

Prefix

ni-

1st person singular subject concord, I

Wailaki

Etymology 1

Compare Navajo ni- (neuter/adjectival prefix).

Prefix

ni-

A thematic prefix or pair of homophonous thematic prefixes with the following meanings:
1. Relates to tactile descriptive qualities.
2. Relates to the mind and feelings.

Related terms

ł-

References

Begay, Kayla Rae (2017), Wailaki Grammar, University of California, Berkeley, pages 191-92

Etymology 2

Related to the pronoun niŋ. Compare Ahtna ne-, Navajo ni-.

Prefix

ni-

Marks a second person singular possessor of a noun or object of a postposition.
‎ni- + ‎-siʼ (“head”) → ‎nisiʼ (“your (singular) head”)

‎ni- + ‎-ł (“with”) → ‎nił (“with you”)

References

Begay, Kayla Rae (2017), Wailaki Grammar, University of California, Berkeley, page 220

Welsh

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˌniː/, /nɪ/

Prefix

ni-

nasal mutation of di-

Mutation

Mutated forms of *di-*
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
di-	ddi-	ni-	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

West Makian

Etymology 1

Cognate with Ternate ni-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /n̪i/

Pronoun

ni-

second-person singular possessive prefix, your

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /n̪i/

Pronoun

ni-

alternative form of na- (“our (inclusive)”) when preceded by a root-initial i

References

Clemens Voorhoeve (1982), The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[3], Pacific linguistics

Xhosa

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀-, via an intermediate form *mɪ̀-.

Prefix

ni-

you, you all; second-person plural subject concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *mʊ́-, via an intermediate form *mɪ́-.

Prefix

ni-

you, you all; second-person plural object concord.

Yao (Africa)

Alternative forms

n-

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *ǹ-

Prefix

ni-

1st person singular subject concord.

References

Alexander Hetherwick, Rev. A Handbook of the Yao Language, 1902

Ye'kwana

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ni-]

Prefix

ni-

Allomorph of n- (third-person prefix) used for stems that begin with a consonant.

Inflection

Ye'kwana personal markers

	pronoun	noun possessor/ series II verb argument		postposition object		series I verb argument
	pronoun	noun possessor/ series II verb argument		postposition object		transitive patient	intransitive patient-like		intransitive agent-like	transitive agent
first person	ewü	y-, ∅-, ü-, u-¹						w-, wi-
first person dual inclusive	küwü	k-, kü-, ku-, ki-								k-, kii-, ki-¹
second person	amödö	ö-, öy-/ödh-, o-, oy-/odh-, a-, ay-/adh-							m-, mi-
first person dual exclusive	nña	y-/dh-, ch-, ∅-, i-¹			chö-	∅-	n-, ni-
third person	tüwü	y-/dh-, ch-, ∅-, i-¹			chö-	n-, ni-	n-, ni-
distant past third person	tüwü	—				kün-, kun-, kin-, ken-, küm-, kum-, kim-, kini-
coreferential/reflexive	—	t-, tü-, tu-, ti-, te-				—
reciprocal	—	—	öö-

With following vowel lengthened if in an unreduced open syllable.

	series I verb argument: transitive agent and transitive patient
1st person > 2nd person	mön-, man-, mon-, möm-, möni-
1st person dual exclusive > 2nd person	mön-, man-, mon-, möm-, möni-
2nd person > 1st person	k-, kü-, ku-, ki-
2nd person > 1st person dual exclusive	k-, kü-, ku-, ki-
3rd person > any person X …or… any person X > 3rd person	see person X in the chart above

Zulu

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀-, via an intermediate form *mɪ̀-.

Prefix

ni-

you, you all; second-person plural subject concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *mʊ́-, via an intermediate form *mɪ́-.

Prefix

ní-

you, you all; second-person plural object concord.

References

C. M. Doke; B. W. Vilakazi (1972), “ni-”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “ni-”

[1] Robert W. Young (2000), The Navajo Verb System: An Overview, Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, →ISBN, page 85.

[2] Young, Robert; Morgan, William; Midgette, Sally (1992), Analytical Lexicon of Navajo, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, →ISBN, page 699

[1]

[2]

	singular	dual	plural
1st person	shi-	nihi-	danihi-
2nd person	ni-	nihi-	danihi-
3rd person	bi-
4th person (3o)	yi-
4th person (3a)	ha-, hw-
indefinite person (3i)	a-

	person	independent	subject concord		object concord	combined forms			possessive
	person	independent	affirmative	negative	object concord	na	ndi-	si-	possessive
singular	first	mimi	ni-	si-	-ni-	nami, na mimi	ndimi, ndiye	simi, siye	-angu
	second	wewe	u-	hu-	-ku-	nawe, na wewe	ndiwe, ndiye	siwe, siye	-ako
	third	yeye	a-, yu-	ha-, hayu-	-m-, -mw-, -mu-	naye, na yeye	ndiye	siye	-ake
plural	first	sisi	tu-	hatu-	-tu-	nasi, na sisi	ndisi, ndio	sio	-etu
	second	ninyi	m-, mw-, mu-	ham-, hamw-, hamu-	-wa-	nanyi, na ninyi	ndinyi, ndio	sinyi, sio	-enu
	third	wao	wa-	hawa-	-wa-	nao	ndio	sio	-ao
reflexive		—	—		-ji-	—			—

		independent		subject proclitic	possessive
		informal	formal	subject proclitic	possessive
singular	1st person	ngori	fangare^m, fajaru^f	to	ri
	2nd person	ngana	ngoni, jou ngoni	no	ni
	3rd person	una^m, mina^f		o^m, mo^f, i^nh	i^m, mi^f, ma^nh
plural	1st person inclusive	ngone		fo	na, nga
	1st person exclusive	ngomi	fangare ngomi^m, fajaru ngomi^f, fara ngomi¹	mi	mi, mia
	2nd person	ngoni		ni	na, nia
	3rd person	ana^h, ena^nh		i^{h, nh}, yo^{h, †}, ya^{nh, †}	na^h, nga^h, ma^nh

	singular	plural
1st person	shi-	ŋhoh-
2nd person	ni-	ŋhoh-
3rd person	bi-
Reflexive	ʼaa-
Indefinite	ki-
Thematic	kyʼi-
Obviative	yidi-
Reciprocal	ł-

Ojibwe personal prefixes
	stem begins with...	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
consonants	p t k h ch m n s sh w y	ni-	gi-	o-
	d g ' j z zh	nin-
	b	nim-
vowels	o	nindo-	gido-	odo-
	a aa e i	nind-	gid-	od-
	oo	n-	g-	od-
	ii	n-	g-	w-