जी

See also: -जी

Hindi

Pronunciation

• (Delhi) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒiː/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Hindi जी (jī), from Prakrit 𑀚𑀻𑀅 (jīa), from Sanskrit जीव (jī́va, “long live”), the imperative of जीवति (jī́vati, “is alive”). Cognate with Braj जू (jū), Assamese জীউ (ziu).

Particle

जी • (jī) (Urdu spelling جی)

1. the honorific particle, usually appended to names (of any gender) and titles

   गाँधी जी ― gāndhī jī ― Gandhi

2. an expression of assent; yes, true, very well

   जी साहब! ― jī sāhab! ― Yes sir!

   जी हाँ! ― jī hā̃! ― Yes (formal)

3. an expression of enquiry; yes?, who is it?

Derived terms

• जी हाँ (jī hā̃, “yes”), हाँ जी (hā̃ jī)
• जी-हुज़ूर (jī-huzūr, “a yes-man, sycophant”)
  • जी-हुज़ूरी (jī-huzūrī, “sycophancy”)

Descendants

• → Malayalam: ജി (ji)
• → Nepali: जी (jī)
• → Dari: جی (jī)

Verb

जी • (jī)

1. inflection of जीना (jīnā):
   1. stem
   2. feminine singular perfective participle
   3. feminine singular perfect indicative
   4. second-person singular intimate present imperative

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-

Proto-Indo-European *-wós

Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós

Proto-Indo-Iranian *ǰiHwás

Sanskrit जीव (jīva)

Ashokan Prakrit 𑀚𑀻𑀯 (jīva)

Prakrit 𑀚𑀻𑀯 (jīva)

Hindi जी (jī)

Inherited from Prakrit जीअ (jīa), जीव (jīva, “life, body, soul”), from Sanskrit जीव (jīvá, “alive”). Related to the etymology above.

Noun

जी • (jī) m (Urdu spelling جی)

1. heart, mind (in the figurative, not anatomical, sense)

   Synonyms: दिल (dil), मन (man)

   उसके प्रेम ने मेरा जी ललचाया।

   uske prem ne merā jī lalcāyā.

   My heart was allured by their love.

   एक विचार अभी मेरे जी में आया।

   ek vicār abhī mere jī mẽ āyā.

   A thought just came to my mind.

Declension

Declension of जी (masc ī-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	जी jī	जी jī
oblique	जी jī	जियों jiyõ
vocative	जी jī	जियो jiyo

References

• Bahri, Hardev (1989) “जी”, in Siksarthi Hindi-Angrejhi Sabdakosa [Learners' Hindi-English Dictionary], Delhi: Rajpal & Sons.
• Dāsa, Śyāmasundara (1965–1975) “जी”, in Hindī Śabdasāgara [lit. Sea of Hindi words] (in Hindi), Kashi [Varanasi]: Nagari Pracarini Sabha
• Platts, John T. (1884) “जी”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.
• McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993) “जी”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press

Nepali

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi जी (jī). Doublet of जिउ (jiu).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [d͡zi]
• Phonetic Devanagari: जि

Suffix

जी • (jī)

1. A suffix used to denote reverence, placed after the noun. Roughly equivalent to Mr., Mrs. and Miss (Ms.) in English.

   Synonym: ज्यू (jyū)

References

• “जी”, in नेपाली बृहत् शब्दकोश (nepālī br̥hat śabdakoś) [Comprehensive Nepali Dictionary]‎^[1], Kathmandu: Nepal Academy, 2018
• Schmidt, Ruth L. (1993) “जी”, in A Practical Dictionary of Modern Nepali, Ratna Sagar
• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1931) “जी”, in A comparative and etymological dictionary of the Nepali language, London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, page 219