い

See also: Appendix:Variations of "i"

い U+3044, い HIRAGANA LETTER I ← ぃ [U+3043] Hiragana ぅ → [U+3045]

Japanese

Stroke order

Etymology 1

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 以 in the cursive sōsho style.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [i]

Syllable

い (romaji i)

1. The hiragana syllable い (i). Its equivalent in katakana is イ (i). It is the second syllable in the gojūon order; its position is あ行い段 (a-gyō i-dan, “row a, section i”).

See also

• (Hiragana) 平仮名; あぁ, いぃ, うぅゔ, えぇ, おぉ, かゕが, きぎ, くぐ, けゖげ, こ𛄲ご, さざ, しじ, すず, せぜ, そぞ, ただ, ちぢ, つっづ, てで, とど, な, に, ぬ, ね, の, はばぱ, ひびぴ, ふぶぷ, へべぺ, ほぼぽ, ま, み, む, め, も, やゃ, 𛀆, ゆゅ, 𛀁, よょ, らら゚, りり゚, るる゚, れれ゚, ろろ゚, わゎわ゙, ゐ𛅐ゐ゙, 𛄟, ゑ𛅑ゑ゙, を𛅒を゙, ん, ー, ゝ, ゞ, ゟ

Etymology 2

Corruption of emphatic particle よ (yo) or exclamatory particle や (ya).

Particle

い • (i) 

1. Used in compounds with certain sentence-ending particles to create a familiar effect.

   だ (da) → だい (dai)

   か (ka) → かい (kai)

2. Used in compounds with certain sentence-ending particles to create an exclamatory effect.

   わ (wa) → わい (wai)

   ぞ (zo) → ぞい (zoi)

   や (ya) → やい (yai)

3. Used after verbs to create an exclamatory effect.

   勝(かっ)手(て)にしろい！

   Katte ni shiroi!

   Have it your way!

Alternative forms

• (dated) え (e)

Etymology 3

From Old Japanese. Possibly cognate with Korean nominal particle 이 (i).

Used in Old Japanese, still found in use in Chinese works annotated for Japanese readers of Early Middle Japanese in the early Heian period, then becoming more limited and appearing only in specialized Buddhist texts. Fallen into disuse by the late Heian period from the time of so-called “cloistered rule”.

Obsolete. Not used in modern Japanese.

Particle

い • (i) 

1. (obsolete) emphatic subject marker, added to nouns and verb stems
   • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 4, poem 545)

     吾背子之 跡履求 追去者 木乃関守伊 将留鴨

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 12, poem 3161)

     在千方 在名草目而 行目友 家有妹伊 将鬱悒

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 13, poem 3287)

     乾坤乃 神乎禱而 吾恋 公以必 不相在目八方

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 14, poem 3393)

     筑波祢乃 乎弖毛許能母尓 毛利敝須恵 波播已毛礼杼母 多麻曾阿比尓家留

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 797: Shoku Nihongi (edict 6)

     京職大夫從三位藤原朝臣麻呂等伊負圖龜一頭獻止

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 797: Shoku Nihongi (edict 12)

     聞看食國中能東方陸奥國守從五位上百濟王敬福伊部内少田郡仁黄金出在奏弖獻

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 797: Shoku Nihongi (edict 34)

     然後仁逆心乎以天朝庭乎動傾止之天兵乎備流時仁和氣伊申天在

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. (obsolete) emphatic phrase-final particle, emphasizing preceding phrase
   • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 3, poem 481)

     白細之 袖指可倍弖 靡寢 吾黒髪乃 真白髪尓 成極新世尓 共将有跡 玉緒乃 不絶射妹跡 結而石 事者不果 [...]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 7, poem 1359)

     向岳之 若楓木 下杖取 花待伊間尓 嘆鶴鴨

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 10, poem 1851)

     青柳之 糸乃細紗 春風尓 不乱伊間尓 令視子裳欲得

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

3. (obsolete) unbound nominalizing suffix:

   Examples: 木 (ko, “tree”, bound form, only found in compounds) + i → 木 (ki, “tree”, standalone form), 高 (taka, “height”, bound form) + i → 丈 (take, “height”, standalone form), 火 (ho, “fire”, bound form) + i → 火 (hi, “fire”, standalone form)

Derived terms

• あるいは (arui wa)
• いは (iwa)
• いし (ishi)
• いも (imo)

Etymology 3

An extension of use of the -i ending on adjectives.

Suffix

い • (-i) -i (adverbial く (-ku))

1. (informal) suffix forming adjectives: -ic; -al

   チャラチャラ (charachara, “onomatopoeia for jingling”) → チャラい (charai, “flashy”)

Inflection

Inflection of いい

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	かろ	karo
Continuative (連用形)	く	ku
Terminal (終止形)	い	i
Attributive (連体形)	い	i
Hypothetical (仮定形)	けれ	kere
Imperative (命令形)	かれ	kare
Key constructions
Informal negative	くない	ku nai
Informal past	かった	katta
Informal negative past	くなかった	ku nakatta
Formal	いです	i desu
Formal negative	くないです	ku nai desu
Formal past	かったです	katta desu
Formal negative past	くなかったです	ku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	くて	kute
Conditional	ければ	kereba
Provisional	かったら	kattara
Volitional	かろう	karō
Adverbial	く	ku
Degree	さ	sa

Etymology 4

For pronunciation and definitions of い – see the following entries.

【医】3 [noun] doctor; physician; medicine [affix] doctor [affix] medicine, the healing arts 【委】3 [affix] entrust; leave to [affix] cast aside; abandon [affix] detailed [affix] Short for 委員会 (iinkai, “committee”). 【意】3 [noun] thoughts; feelings [noun] intent; meaning; goodwill [affix] mind; idea; thought; feeling; intention [affix] meaning 【以】4 [prefix] from (this reference point) and (more) [prefix] by, with, by means of 【衣】4 [noun] clothes, clothing [affix] clothes, clothing [affix] garb, robe (as worn by a monk, nun, or priest) 【位】4 [affix] rank, place [counter] rank, place [counter] decimal place [counter] ghosts 【囲】5 [counter] counter for the amount that can be encircled in one's arms, used as a rough measurement of circumference (roughly 1.5 meters) [affix] surround; encircle; enclosure [affix] circumference 【胃】6 [noun] stomach [proper noun] (Chinese astronomy) Stomach Mansion (one of the Twenty-Eight Mansions) [affix] stomach 【易】5 [noun] something easy to do; easiness [affix] easy; simple 【移】5 [noun] (historical) under the Ritsuryō system of ancient Japan, an official document exchanged between officials with no direct authority over each other [affix] shift; move; change 【異】6 [noun] (literary) difference [noun] (Buddhism) change or disease, one of the four states or avasthā [adjective] (literary) strange; unusual [affix] different [affix] strange; unusual; extraordinary; excellent [affix] aberrant [affix] other; another 【遺】6 [noun] something fallen, something lost or left behind [affix] be left, remain [affix] leave behind after one's death, bequeath [affix] leave behind, forget [affix] give, present [affix] let leak 【依】S [affix] rely on; depend on [affix] according to [affix] as before 【為】S [noun] the twelfth string on a koto (Japanese zither) [noun] a fingering method for playing the shakuhachi (Japanese flute) [affix] do; perform; carry out 【畏】S [affix] fear [affix] respect 【威】S [noun] power; might; strength; authority [affix] power; might; strength; authority; dignity; majesty 【唯】S [interjection] polite particle used to respond to elders: yes [affix] polite particle used to respond to elders: yes 【維】S [affix] hold together; keep; maintain [affix] what holds together; net, supportive 【萎】S [affix] wither; droop 【椅】S [affix] Only used in 椅子 (isu, ishi, “chair”) 【彙】S [affix] to sort and collect; collection, compilation, group 【偉】S [noun] (literary) greatness [adjective] (literary) great [affix] great, excellent, magnificent, extraordinary 【違】S [affix] differ; vary [affix] go against; run counter to; disobey 【緯】S [noun] weft, woof [noun] parallels of latitude 【尉】S [affix] a watchman or military officer in the ancient Chinese military [affix] A military rank. 【慰】S [affix] comfort; console 【已】J [affix] already [affix] Alternative form of 以 (i) 【伊】J [proper noun] Short for 伊太利 (Italia, “Italy”). [affix] Short for 伊太利 (Italia, “Italy”). [affix] Short for 伊賀 (Iga, “Iga”). 【夷】J [noun] those people with differing languages and/or cultures [noun] a barbarian, savage; uncivilized people (living to the east of ancient Imperial China; included Japan) [noun] a neutral (position) 【怡】H [affix] rejoice; enjoy 【帷】H [noun] a curtain or hanging that covers all sides [affix] hanging; curtain 【蝟】H [noun] the Chinese name of the 針鼠 (harinezumi, “hedgehog”) 【縊】H [affix] hang; strangle 【姨】H [noun] a wife's sister; more specifically, a wife's younger sister [noun] a mother's sister, a maternal aunt [noun] a mistress (extramarital female lover); more specifically, a father's mistress 【彝】H [noun] in ancient China, a tripod kettle or other vessel used to make offerings to one's ancestors [noun] (by extension) cardinal principle [proper noun] Yi (ethnic group) 【扆】H [noun] in ancient China, a special windscreen placed behind the throne, made of red cloth embroidered with a pattern of axes and used during imperial audiences [noun] (by extension) the throne itself

(This term, い, is an alternative spelling of the above Sino-Japanese terms. For a list of all kanji read as い, not just those used in Japanese terms, see Category:Japanese kanji read as い.)

Etymology 5

From various Japonic origins.

For pronunciation and definitions of い – see the following entries.

【井】4 [noun] well (water source) [proper noun] a surname 【亥】J [proper noun] the Boar, the twelfth of the twelve Earthly Branches 【堰】J [noun] a dike or levee for containing water 【居】5 [noun] being (in a place), sitting (in a place); a seat 【寝】S [noun] (obsolete) sleep, sleeping 【胆】S [noun] gallbladder; liver 【猪】J [noun] a pig or wild boar 【藺】H [noun] a bulrush, a rush (plant) 【五】1 [noun] five 【五十】 [numeral] Combining form of いそ (iso) above: fifty, 50 [noun] (by extension) Combining form of いそ (iso) above: a large quantity 【斎】S [prefix] (Shinto) added to spiritual nouns to indicate purity and holiness: holy, pure, sacred

(This term, い, is an alternative spelling of the above terms. For a list of all kanji read as い, not just those used in Japanese terms, see Category:Japanese kanji read as い.)

(The following entry is uncreated: 汝.)

References

• Kurano, Kenji; Yūkichi Takeda (1958) Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 1: Kojiki, Norito, Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
• Kurano, Kenji (1936) Shoku Nihongi Senmyō (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
• Satake, Akihiro; Hideo Yamada; Rikio Kudō; Masao Ōtani; Yoshiyuki Yamazaki (c. 759) Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 1: Man’yōshū 1 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, published 1999, →ISBN.
• Satake, Akihiro; Hideo Yamada; Rikio Kudō; Masao Ōtani; Yoshiyuki Yamazaki (c. 759) Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 2: Man’yōshū 2 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, published 2000, →ISBN.
• Satake, Akihiro; Hideo Yamada; Rikio Kudō; Masao Ōtani; Yoshiyuki Yamazaki (c. 759) Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 3: Man’yōshū 3 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, published 2002, →ISBN.