या

See also: यों, यूँ, यी, यो, य, and ये

Braj

Pronoun

या (yā)

1. oblique of यह (yah)

   Synonym: इहिं (ihĩ)

See also

• इस (is) (hindi eqivalent)

Hindi

Pronunciation

• (Delhi) IPA^(key): /jɑː/, [jäː]

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Classical Persian یا (yā).

Conjunction

या • (yā) (Urdu spelling یا)

1. or

   Synonyms: अथवा (athvā), वा (vā), कि (ki)

   क्या आपको चाय या कॉफ़ी चाहिए?

   kyā āpko cāy yā kŏfī cāhie?

   Would you like tea or coffee?

   कौन बड़ा है, सुमित या सुमन?

   kaun baṛā hai, sumit yā suman?

   Who's bigger, Sumit or Suman?

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic يا (yā).

Interjection

या • (yā) (Urdu spelling یا)

1. O (vocative particle)

   Synonyms: (more common) अरे (are), हे (he)

   या ख़ुदा, क्या हो गया है!

   yā xudā, kyā ho gayā hai!

   O God, what has happened! (Islam)

Nepali

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [jä]
• Phonetic Devanagari: या

Conjunction

या • (yā)

1. or

Newar

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ja]

Postposition

या • (yā) (Newa Spelling 𑐫𑐵)

1. marks the genitive case: of, belonging to

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative scripts

• yā (Latin script)
• 𑀬𑀸 (Brahmi script)
• যা (Bengali script)
• යා (Sinhalese script)
• ယာ or ယႃ (Burmese script)
• ยา (Thai script)
• ᨿᩣ (Tai Tham script)
• ຍາ or ຢາ (Lao script)
• យា (Khmer script)
• 𑄠𑄂 (Chakma script)

Pronoun

या f

1. Devanagari script form of yā (“who”)

Declension

Declension table of "या" (feminine)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	या (yā)	यायो (yāyo) or या (yā)
Accusative (second)	यं (yaṃ)	यायो (yāyo) or या (yā)
Instrumental (third)	याय (yāya)	याहि (yāhi) or याभि (yābhi)
Dative (fourth)	याय (yāya) or यस्सा (yassā)	यासं (yāsaṃ) or यासानं (yāsānaṃ)
Ablative (fifth)	याय (yāya)	याहि (yāhi) or याभि (yābhi)
Genitive (sixth)	याय (yāya) or यस्सा (yassā)	यासं (yāsaṃ) or यासानं (yāsānaṃ)
Locative (seventh)	याय (yāya) or यायं (yāyaṃ) or यस्सं (yassaṃ)	यासु (yāsu)

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Alternative scripts

• যা (Assamese script)
• ᬬᬵ (Balinese script)
• যা (Bengali script)
• 𑰧𑰯 (Bhaiksuki script)
• 𑀬𑀸 (Brahmi script)
• ယာ (Burmese script)
• યા (Gujarati script)
• ਯਾ (Gurmukhi script)
• 𑌯𑌾 (Grantha script)
• ꦪꦴ (Javanese script)
• 𑂨𑂰 (Kaithi script)
• ಯಾ (Kannada script)
• យា (Khmer script)
• ຍາ (Lao script)
• യാ (Malayalam script)
• ᠶᠠᢇ (Manchu script)
• 𑘧𑘰 (Modi script)
• ᠶ᠋ᠠ᠋᠎ᠠ (Mongolian script)
• 𑧇𑧑 (Nandinagari script)
• 𑐫𑐵 (Newa script)
• ଯା (Odia script)
• ꢫꢵ (Saurashtra script)
• 𑆪𑆳 (Sharada script)
• 𑖧𑖯 (Siddham script)
• යා (Sinhalese script)
• 𑩻𑩛 (Soyombo script)
• 𑚣𑚭 (Takri script)
• யா (Tamil script)
• యా (Telugu script)
• ยา (Thai script)
• ཡཱ (Tibetan script)
• 𑒨𑒰 (Tirhuta script)
• 𑨪𑨊 (Zanabazar Square script)

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /jɑː/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /jɑː/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Indo-Iranian *yaH-, from Proto-Indo-European *yeh₂- (“to go”).

Root

या • (yā)

1. to go, proceed, move, walk, set out, march, advance, travel, journey
2. to go away, withdraw, retire
3. to flee, escape
4. to go towards or against, go or come to, enter, approach, arrive at, reach
5. to go to a woman for sexual intercourse
6. to go to for any purpose
7. to extend to
8. to last for
9. to pass away, elapse (said of time)
10. to vanish, disappear (as wealth)
11. to come to pass, prosper, succeed
12. to proceed, behave, act
13. to find out, discover
14. to receive or learn (a science) from
15. to undertake, undergo

Derived terms

Sanskrit terms belonging to the root या (0 c, 8 e)

Terms derived from the Sanskrit root या (17 c, 0 e)

Primary Verbal Forms

• याति (yā́ti) (Present)
• यास्यति (yāsyáti) (Future)
• याता (yātā́) (Periphrastic Future)
• अयासीत् (áyāsīt) (Aorist)
• ययौ (yayáu) (Perfect)

Secondary Forms

• यायते (yāyate) (Passive)
• यापयति (yāpáyati) (Causative)
• अयीयपत् (áyīyapat) (Causative Aorist)
• यियासति (yiyāsati) (Desiderative)
• याययते (yāyayate) (Intensive)
• यायेति (yāyeti) (Intensive)
• यायाति (yāyāti) (Intensive)

Non-Finite Forms

• यात (yātá) (Past Participle)
• यातुम् (yātum) (Infinitive)
• यातवे (yā́tave) (Infinitive)
• यातवै (yā́tavái) (Infinitive)
• यै (yái) (Infinitive)
• यात्वा (yātvā́) (Gerund)
• याय (yā́ya) (Gerund)
• यायम् (yāyam) (Gerund)
• यातव्य (yātavya) (Gerundive)
• याप्य (yāpya) (Causative Gerundive)
• यियासु (yiyāsu) (Desiderative Participle)

Derived Nominal Forms

• ययि (yayí)
• ययी (yayī́)
• या (yā)
• यातृ (yā́tṛ)
• याथ (yāthá)
• यान (yā́na)
• यानी (yā́nī)
• याम (yā́ma)
• यामन् (yā́man)
• यायावर (yāyāvará)
• यायिन् (yāyin)
• यियासा (yiyāsā)
• येष्ठ (yéṣṭha)

Prefixed Root Forms

• अतिया (atiyā)
• अनुया (anuyā)
• अपया (apayā)
• अभिया (abhiyā)
• अवया (avayā)
• आया (āyā)
• उद्या (udyā)
• उपया (upayā)
• निर्या (niryā)
• निया (niyā)
• पराया (parāyā)
• परिया (pariyā)
• प्रतिया (pratiyā)
• प्रया (prayā)
• विया (viyā)
• संया (saṃyā)

Noun

या • (yā) stem, f

1. going
2. a car
3. restraining
4. religious meditation
5. attaining
6. pudendum muliebre

Declension

Feminine ā-stem declension of या

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	याः (yāḥ)	यौ (yau) या¹ (yā¹)	याः (yāḥ)
accusative	याम् (yām)	यौ (yau) या¹ (yā¹)	याः (yāḥ) यः² (yaḥ²)
instrumental	या (yā)	याभ्याम् (yābhyām)	याभिः (yābhiḥ)
dative	ये (ye)	याभ्याम् (yābhyām)	याभ्यः (yābhyaḥ)
ablative	यः (yaḥ)	याभ्याम् (yābhyām)	याभ्यः (yābhyaḥ)
genitive	यः (yaḥ)	योः (yoḥ)	यानाम् (yānām) याम्² (yām²)
locative	यि (yi)	योः (yoḥ)	यासु (yāsu)
vocative	याः (yāḥ)	यौ (yau) या¹ (yā¹)	याः (yāḥ)

• ¹Vedic
• ²Perhaps

Etymology 2

From Proto-Indo-European *yeh₂- (“to beg, request”). Cognate with Tocharian B yāsk- (“to beg”), Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos, “zeal, ardor”), Old Irish áilid (“wishes strongly, implores”). याच् (yāc) is likely an enlargement of the root.

Root

या • (yā)

1. to go to for any request, implore, solicit

Derived terms

• अवया (avayā)
• अवयान (avayāna)
• इयान (iyāna)
• यामन् (yāman)
• यासिषीष्ठास् (yāsiṣīṣṭhās)
• यासीष्ट (yāsīṣṭa)

References

• Monier Williams (1899) “या”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, pages 838/2, 849/1.
• William Dwight Whitney, 1885, The Roots, Verb-forms, and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit Language, Leipzig: Breitkopf and Härtel, page 131
• Hellwig, Oliver (2010–2025) “yā”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.
• Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[1] (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, pages 407-408
• Lubotsky, Alexander (2011) The Indo-Aryan Inherited Lexicon (in progress) (Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Project), Leiden University, pages 617-8
• Cheung, Johnny (2007) Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 2), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 210