わい

See also: ワイ

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spelling
私

Generally regarded as a shift from わし (washi), itself from 私 (watashi, “I, me”).^[1]^[2] First cited in a text from 1920,^[1] but likely older.

The second-person sense of you likely arose via the same general indirection mechanisms that gave rise to all Japanese personal pronouns. Consider also ancient 汝 (na) or more modern 己 (onore), used for both first- and second-person referral. This usage is first cited in a text from 1923,^[1] but is likely older.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) わい [wàí] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
IPA^(key): [ɰᵝa̠i]

Pronoun

わい • (wai)

(dialect, Kansai, Kagoshima; or Internet slang) I, me (first-person pronoun, mainly used by males)
you (second-person pronoun, used when addressing an equal or inferior)
Synonym: お前 (omae)

Etymology 2

See い (i).

Particle

わい • (wai)

(dated or dialectal) A particle used in the end of sentences to indicate admiration or emotion. Slightly stronger than わ (wa).

Usage notes

Mainly used during the Edo period. Now only used by elderly males or in dialectal speech.

Etymology 3

The reading of various kanji.

Affix

わい • (wai)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[KDJ-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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[2]