Wiktionary

ei

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ei"
Languages (47)
Catalan • Classical Nahuatl • Dutch • Estonian • Fala • Faroese • Finnish • Galician • German • Gothic • Icelandic • Ingrian • Italian • Japanese • Karelian • Kott • Latin • Latvian • Limburgish • Livvi • Malasanga • Mandarin • Mbyá Guaraní • Middle Dutch • Middle English • Middle High German • Murui Huitoto • North Frisian • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old Galician-Portuguese • Old High German • Old Saxon • Papiamentu • Portuguese • Romanian • Sabu • Sardinian • Scots • Tedim Chin • Tlingit • Veps • Votic • Welsh • Ye'kwana • Zou • Zyphe
Page categories

Catalan

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Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ei

  1. hey (exclamation to get attention)

Further reading

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Classical Nahuatl

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Numeral

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ei

  1. Obsolete spelling of ēyi.

Dutch

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Etymology

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From Middle Dutch ei, from Old Dutch *ei, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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ei n (plural eieren, diminutive eitje n)

  1. egg
    Ik heb een ei gebakken voor het ontbijt. ― I fried an egg for breakfast.
    Pasen is een feest waarbij veel eieren worden geschilderd. ― Easter is a festival where many eggs are painted.
    In deze doos zitten twaalf eieren. ― In this box, there are twelve eggs.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Afrikaans: eier
  • Berbice Creole Dutch: airi
  • Jersey Dutch: āi
  • Negerhollands: ee, eiu, eyu, eju

Anagrams

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Estonian

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Etymology

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From the Proto-Finno-Ugric negative verb stem *e- ~ *ä- ~ *a-. Cognates include Finnish ei and Northern Sami ii.

Interjection

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ei

  1. no

Antonyms

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Verb

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ei

  1. (auxiliary verb) don't, doesn't, not: used in negative forms of non-imperative verbs. Ma ei tea. I don't know. (Compare: Ma tean. I know.)

Usage notes

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The verb follows the word ei.

In the present tense indicative, the form of the verb coincides with the imperative of the second person singular. In past tenses indicative, the form of the verb is personal past participle. In the conditional mood, the form of the verb coincides with third person singular conditional in the present tense or the past tense. In the indirect mood, the form of the verb is the indirect form.

Derived terms

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Fala

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Etymology

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From Old Galician-Portuguese ei, from Inherited from Late Latin eo, from Classical Latin egō̆.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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ei m sg or f sg

  1. First person singular nominative pronoun; I

See also

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Fala personal pronouns
nominative dative accusative disjunctive
singular first person ei me, -mi mi
second person tú te, -ti ti
third
person 		m el le, -li uLV, oM el
f ela a ela
plural first
person 		common nos musL
nusLV
nos, -nusM 		nos
m noshotrusM noshotrusM
f noshotrasM noshotrasM
second
person 		common vos vusLV
vos, -vusM 		vos
m voshotrusM voshotrusM
f voshotrasM voshotrasM
third
person 		m elis le, -li usLV, osM elis
f elas as elas
third person reflexive — se, -si sí

Dialects:  L Lagarteiru   M Mañegu   V Valverdeñu

References

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  • Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎[1], 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

Faroese

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Etymology

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From Old Norse eigi.

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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ei

  1. not

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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  • ei og ikki - as well as, both ... and
  • grát ei - do not weep (song title by Eivør Pálsdóttir, 2007)

Finnish

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Etymology

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The indicative forms are from Proto-Finnic *e-, from Proto-Uralic *e- ~ *ä- ~ *a- (negative verb stem). The imperative forms are from Proto-Finnic *älä-, from the Proto-Finno-Ugric negative imperative verb stem *älä-.

Details and cognates

Noteworthy forms include eivät (pro earlier evät, reformed after ei). For more forms, see the Proto-Finnic and Proto-Uralic pages.

Cognates for the indicative forms include Estonian ei, Karelian ei, Livonian ä’b, Veps ei, Northern Sami ii, Skolt Sami ij, Erzya а- (a-), э- (e-), и- (i-), Eastern Mari ы- (y-), Udmurt уг (ug), Komi-Zyrian оз (oz), Northern Mansi [script needed] (ä-), Forest Enets [script needed] (i-) and Northern Selkup [script needed] (aša) (Taz). Cognates for the imperative forms include Estonian ära, Northern Sami ale, Kildin Sami ель (jel’), Erzya иля (iľa).

Not related to Swedish ej, Icelandic ei, Old Norse eigi, despite the similarity; the Finnic and Norse terms are false cognates.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈei̯/, [ˈe̞i̯]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ei
  • Syllabification(key): ei
  • Hyphenation(key): ei

Verb

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ei (third-person singular indicative)

  1. (auxiliary) The negative verb or negation verb; not, be not, do not, etc. [with connegative]
    En ole käynyt siellä. ― I have not been there.
    Hän ei ole kotona. ― She isn't home.
    Etkö tiedä? ― Don't you know?
    Älä koske siihen! ― Don't touch that!

Usage notes

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  • With certain conjunctions, contractions may be used (e.g. miksi + ei → miksei). In some cases, like ellei and jollei, the independent conjunction has fallen out of use, but the contractions still remain in use. For other cases, the contractions are optional, but commonly used. When the contraction is used, the negative verb may effectively shift ahead in the clause:
    En tiedä, miksi hän ei tullut. → En tiedä, miksei hän tullut.
    I don't know why he didn't come.
Grammar
  • The negation verb is used with the connegative form of the main verb.
  • In the active voice, the verb ei is inflected in person and mood (only for imperative, otherwise the indicative forms are used).
    • In the indicative mood and present tense (including for olla in the perfect tense), the connegative form is identical to the second-person singular imperative.
    • In the indicative mood and past tense (including for olla in the pluperfect tense and the main verb in the perfect and pluperfect tenses), the connegative form is the past active participle (-nut / -nyt).
    • In the conditional and potential moods, the connegative ends with the mood markers -isi- and -ne- (without the personal ending), respectively.
    • In the imperative mood, the connegative form is the same as the positive form for the second-person singular, while for the other forms a form ending in -ko / -kö is used.
  • In the passive voice, the third-person singular ei (or älköön for the imperative mood) is used.
    • In the present tense, the connegative form is the impersonal or passive form without the final -an / -än (indicative), -in (conditional), -en (potential) and -on / -ön (imperative).
    • In the past tense (including the perfect and pluperfect tenses), the connegative form is the past passive participle (-ttu / -tty).
  • The total object in the negative is always in the partitive case, not the accusative case (whether that be the nominative, genitive or a special form):
    Näen koiran. → En näe koiraa. ― I see a dog. → I don't see a dog. (accusative → partitive)
    Näen naiset. → En näe naisia. ― I see the women. → I don't see the women. (accusative → partitive)
    Näen sinut. → En näe sinua. ― I (can) see you. → I don't see you. (accusative → partitive)
An example of a full paradigm of active forms
  • Indicative:
  • Hän näkee. → Hän ei näe.
    He sees. / He does see. → He doesn't see.
  • Hän näki. → Hän ei nähnyt.
    He saw. / He did see. → He didn't see.
  • Hän on nähnyt. → Hän ei ole nähnyt.
    He has seen. → He hasn't seen.
  • Hän oli nähnyt. → Hän ei ollut nähnyt.
    He had seen. → He hadn't seen.
  • Conditional:
  • Hän näkisi. → Hän ei näkisi.
    He would see. → He wouldn't see.
  • Hän olisi nähnyt. → Hän ei olisi nähnyt.
    He would have seen. → He wouldn't have seen.
  • Imperative:
  • Näe! → Älä näe!
    See! → Don't see!
  • Potential:
  • Hän nähnee. → Hän ei nähne.
    He probably sees. → He probably doesn't see.
  • Hän lienee nähnyt. → Hän ei liene nähnyt.
    He probably has seen. → He probably hasn't seen.
An example of a full paradigm of passive forms
  • Indicative:
  • Hänet nähdään. → Häntä ei nähdä.
    He is seen. → He isn't seen.
  • Hänet nähtiin. → Häntä ei nähty.
    He was seen. → He wasn't seen.
  • Hänet on nähty. → Häntä ei ole nähty.
    He has been seen. → He hasn't been seen.
  • Hänet oli nähty. → Häntä ei ollut nähty.
    He had been seen. → He hadn't been seen.
  • Conditional:
  • Hänet nähtäisiin. → Häntä ei nähtäisi.
    He would be seen. → He wouldn't be seen.
  • Hänet olisi nähty. → Häntä ei olisi nähty.
    He would have been seen. → He wouldn't have been seen.
  • Imperative (the second form, perfect imperative, is rare):
  • Nähtäköön! → Älköön nähtäkö!
    Let (it) be seen! → Don't let (it) be seen!
  • Oltakoon nähty! → Älköön oltako nähty.
    Let (it) have been seen! → Don't let (it) have been seen!
  • Potential:
  • Hänet nähtäneen. → Häntä ei nähtäne.
    He probably is seen. → He probably isn't seen.
  • Hänet lienee nähty. → Häntä ei liene nähty.
    He probably has been seen. → He probably hasn't been seen.

Conjugation

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  • The negation verb has no infinitive form.
  • Indicative, conditional and potential moods use the indicative forms (stem e-), for which the verb is conjugated only in person (the moods are distinguished by the connegative form used).
  • In the imperative mood the negation verb has the stem äl-. As with all verbs, the first-person plural imperative is formal or dated, while the third-person imperative (both singular and plural) is dated.
  • An archaic optative mood exists and is used mainly in poetry.
Inflection of ei
person indicative mood imperative mood optative mood
1st sing. en — —
2nd sing. et älä (ällös)
3rd sing. ei älköön (älköön)
1st plur. emme älkäämme (älköömme)
2nd plur. ette älkää (älköötte)
3rd plur. eivät älkööt (älkööt)

Derived terms

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Interjection

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ei

  1. no (used to show disagreement, negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition)
    Onko hauki lintu? Ei, se on kala.
    Is a pike a bird? No, it is a fish.

Usage notes

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Usually inflected for person; see above.

Antonyms

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Further reading

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Galician

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Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ei

  1. gee up
    Synonym: arre
    Antonym: xo
  2. hey
    Synonyms: eh, oi

References

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German

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Etymology

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For the “caressing” sense compare Dutch aaien.

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ei

  1. whoa, hey (expression of surprise)
    Synonyms: ach, oh, huch, hui, hey
  2. (childish, parentese, often reduplicated as ei ei) said when patting or caressing a person or animal

Derived terms

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Gothic

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Romanization

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ei

  1. Romanization of 𐌴𐌹

Icelandic

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Etymology 1

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From Old Norse ei. A clipping of eigi, from Proto-Germanic *ni aiw-gin (“never”), from *ne, *ni (“not”) + *aiw (“always, for ever”) + *-gin. Not related to Finnish ei (“no”).

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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ei

  1. (archaic, poetic) not
    Synonyms: eigi, ekki
    Örvæntið ei!
    Despair not!
    Ég veit ei hvað skal segja.
    I know not what to say.
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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See e.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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ei

  1. dative singular indefinite of e

References

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Ingrian

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Etymology

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From Proto-Finnic *e-, from the Proto-Uralic *e-. Cognates include Finnish ei and Estonian ei.

Pronunciation

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Particle

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ei

  1. no

Antonyms

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Verb

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ei

  1. not
    • 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus, Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 63:
      Linnuil ono nälkä, evät rooka saa.
      The birds are hungry, they don't get food.

Usage notes

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  • ei is a defective verb: It is only inflected for person, and has a distinct imperative series.
Grammar
  • In the indicative, conditional, imperative and potential used with a connegative form of the main verb:
    • In the present indicative the connegative is formally identical to the imperative singular:
      hää ei taho ― she doesn't want
      höö evät taho ― they don't want
    • In the imperfect indicative, the connegative is formally identical to the past active participle (placed in the nominative singular in the singular, nominative plural in the plural):
      hää ei tahtont ― she didn't want
      höö evät tahtoneet ― they didn't want
    • In the conditional the connegative is formally identical to the third-person singular conditional form:
      hää ei tahtois ― she wouldn't want
      höö evät tahtois ― they wouldn't want
    • In the imperative, the connegative is formed by replacing the imperative endings of the verb by the element -ko:
      hää elköö tahtoko! ― may she not want!
      höö elkööt tahtoko! ― may they not want!
    • The second-person singular of the imperative takes a distinct connegative, which is formally identical to the present indicative connegative:
      elä taho! ― do not want!
    • In the potential, the connegative is formed by replacing the connegative endings of the verb by the element -ne:
      hää ei tahtone ― she probably won't want
      höö evät tahtone ― they probably won't want
  • For the impersonal forms, the third-person singular (ei / elköö) is used together with an impersonal connegative:
    ei tahota ― it isn't wanted
    ei tahottu ― it wasn't wanted
    ei tahottais ― it woudn't be wanted
    elköö tahottako ― may it not be wanted
    ei tahottane ― it probably won't be wanted
  • When used to negate an infinitive, adverb, noun, etc., the negative verb agrees with the subject of the sentence:
    hää herviijaa ei ehtiä ― he is afraid to not make it in time
    höö herviijaat evät ehtiä ― they are afraid to not make it in time

Conjugation

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Inflection of ei
indicative imperative
1st singular en -
2nd singular et elä
3rd singular ei elköö
1st plural emmä -
2nd plural että elkää
3rd plural evät elkööt
impersonal ei elköö
*) The interrogative is formed by adding the suffix -k (-kä?) or -kse to the indicative.

References

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  • V. I. Junus (1936) Iƶoran Keelen Grammatikka‎[3], Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 128
  • Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 29
  • Arvo Laanest (1997) Isuri keele Hevaha murde sõnastik, Eesti Keele Instituut, page 24
  • Olga I. Konkova, Nikita A. Dyachkov (2014) Inkeroin Keel: Пособие по Ижорскому Языку‎[4], →ISBN, page 15

Italian

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Etymology 1

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Syncopated form of elli (“he”), from Vulgar Latin *illi, from Latin ille (“that”).

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈe.i/[1], (before a verb) /e.i/[1]
  • Rhymes: -ei
  • Hyphenation: é‧i, (before a verb) e‧i

Pronoun

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ei m

  1. (poetic, archaic, after the verb) Alternative form of egli

Etymology 2

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Syncopated form of elli (“they”), from Latin illī (“those”).

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈe.i/[1], (before a verb) /e.i/[1]
  • Rhymes: -ei
  • Hyphenation: é‧i, (before a verb) e‧i

Pronoun

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ei m pl

  1. (archaic) Alternative form of elli

Etymology 3

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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ei

  1. (archaic) Alternative form of ebbi: first-person singular past historic of avere
    • 1300s–1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto I”, in Inferno [Hell]‎[5], lines 28–30; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎[6], 2nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:
      Poi ch’èi posato un poco il corpo lasso, ¶ ripresi via per la piaggia diserta, ¶ sì che ’l piè fermo sempre era ’l più basso.
      After my weary body I had rested, ⁠the way resumed I on the desert slope, ⁠so that the firm foot ever was the lower.
Usage notes
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Also spelled èi.

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 ei in Bruno Migliorini et al., Dizionario d'ortografia e di pronunzia, Rai Eri, 2007
  2. ^ ei in Bruno Migliorini et al., Dizionario d'ortografia e di pronunzia, Rai Eri, 2007

Japanese

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Romanization

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ei

  1. Rōmaji transcription of えい
  2. Rōmaji transcription of エイ

Karelian

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Verb

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ei

  1. (does) not

Kott

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Etymology 1

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From Proto-Yeniseian *ʔej- ("pine"). Compare Arin aja (“pine”).

Noun

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ei (plural en)

  1. pine tree

Etymology 2

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From Proto-Yeniseian *ʔej ("tongue"). Compare Pumpokol aj (“tongue”).

Noun

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ei (plural ējaŋ)

  1. voice, sound

Latin

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Etymology 1

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Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ei

  1. Alternative form of hei (“expression of grief or fear”)

Etymology 2

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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eī̆ or ēi

  1. inflection of is:
    1. dative masculine/feminine/neuter singular
    2. nominative masculine plural
Alternative forms
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  • aeī (Merovingian, hypercorrection)

Latvian

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Interjection

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ei

  1. used to stimulate somebody's attention
  2. used to express pleasure, surprise or admiration

Limburgish

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle Dutch ei, from Old Dutch *ei, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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ei n

  1. egg

Livvi

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Etymology

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From Proto-Finnic *ei. Cognates include Finnish ei and Estonian ei.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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ei

  1. not

Conjugation

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Inflection of ei
indicative imperative
1st singular en -
2nd singular et älä
3rd singular ei älgäh
1st plural emmo älgiämmö
2nd plural etto älgiä
3rd plural ei äldähes

References

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  • N. Gilojeva, S. Rudakova (2009) Karjalan kielen Livvin murdehen algukursu [Beginners' course of Karelian language's Livvi dialect]‎[7] (in Livvi), Petrozavodsk, →ISBN, page 20
  • Tatjana Boiko (2019) “ei”, in Suuri Karjal-Venʹalaine Sanakniigu (livvin murreh) [The Big Karelian-Russian dictionary (Livvi dialect)], 2nd edition, →ISBN, page 38

Malasanga

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Noun

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ei

  1. fire

Further reading

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  • Malcolm Ross, Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia, Pacific Linguistics, series C-98 (1988)

Mandarin

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Romanization

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ei

  1. Nonstandard spelling of ēi.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of ěi.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of èi.

Usage notes

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  • Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Mbyá Guaraní

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Noun

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ei

  1. honey

Middle Dutch

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old Dutch *ei, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Noun

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ei n

  1. egg

Inflection

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This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

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Further reading

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  • “ei”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
  • Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “ei”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

Middle English

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Noun

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ei

  1. Alternative form of ey (“egg”)

Middle High German

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old High German ei, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): (before 13th CE) /ˈɛi̯/

Noun

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ei n

  1. egg

Declension

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Declension of ei (strong neuter with plural in -er)
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein daȥ ei diu eiger, eier
genitive eines dës eiges, eies dër eiger, eier
dative eime dëm eige, eie dën eigern, eiern
accusative ein daȥ ei diu eiger, eier

Descendants

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  • Alemannic German:
    • Swabian: Oi
  • Bavarian: Oa
    • Mòcheno: oi
  • Central Franconian: Ei, Ää, Aai
    • Luxembourgish: Ee
  • German: Ei
  • Vilamovian: e
  • Yiddish: איי (ey)

References

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  • Benecke, Georg Friedrich, Müller, Wilhelm, Zarncke, Friedrich (1863) “ei”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke, Stuttgart: S. Hirzel

Murui Huitoto

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ei
Root Classifier
ei- —

Etymology

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Cognate with Minica Huitoto ei.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈɛi̯]
  • Hyphenation: ei

Root

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ei

  1. mother

Noun

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ei

  1. Synonym of eiño
    • 2008 [1978], Huitoto Murui Bible, 2nd edition, Mateo 1:3, page 5:
      Iaɨmaiaɨ mɨcorɨ eidɨ Tamar mɨcorɨ.
      The mother of the late two of them was the late Tamara.
  2. vocative of eiño

Declension

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Declension of ei
singular plural kinship plural
absolutive ei eiyaɨ eitɨaɨ
nominative eidɨ eiyaɨdɨ eitɨaɨdɨ
accusative eina eiyaɨna eitɨaɨna
dative/locative eimo eiyaɨmo eitɨaɨmo
ablative eimona eiyaɨmona eitɨaɨmona
instrumental eido eiyaɨdo eitɨaɨdo
causal eiri eiyaɨri eitɨaɨri
privative einino eiyaɨnino eitɨaɨnino

Derived terms

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References

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  • Shirley Burtch (1983) Diccionario Huitoto Murui (Tomo I) (Linguistica Peruana No. 20)‎[8] (in Spanish), Yarinacocha, Peru: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 75
  • Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak (2017) A grammar of Murui (Bue): a Witotoan language of Northwest Amazonia.‎[9], Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), page 125

North Frisian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old Norse eigi.

Adverb

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ei

  1. (Föhr-Amrum) not

Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology

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From Old Norse einn.

Pronunciation

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Article

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ei

  1. feminine singular of en

Pronoun

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ei

  1. feminine singular of en

Adverb

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ei

  1. (archaic) not

Synonyms

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Verb

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ei

  1. imperative of eie

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Old Norse einn.

Article

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ei f (masculine ein, neuter eit)

  1. a, an (indefinite article)
    Ei ny bok.
    A new book.

Pronoun

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ei

  1. feminine singular of ein

Etymology 2

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From Middle Norwegian eigh, from Old Norse eigi.

Adverb

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ei

  1. not
    Synonyms: ikkje, kje

References

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  • “ei” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
  • “ei”, in Norsk Ordbok: ordbok over det norske folkemålet og det nynorske skriftmålet, Oslo: Samlaget, 1950-2016

Old Galician-Portuguese

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Arabic هَا (hā, dialectally hê).

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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ei

  1. here is, here are

Descendants

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References

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Old High German

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm. Akin to Old English ǣġ, Old Norse egg.

Further Indo-European cognates include Latin ōvum and Ancient Greek ᾠόν (ōión)

Noun

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ei n

  1. (zoology) an egg

Descendants

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  • Middle High German: ei
    • Alemannic German:
      • Swabian: Oi
    • Bavarian: Oa
      • Mòcheno: oi
    • Central Franconian: Ei, Ää, Aai
      • Hunsrik: Eu
      • Luxembourgish: Ee
    • German: Ei
    • Vilamovian: e
    • Yiddish: איי (ey)

Old Saxon

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Noun

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ei n

  1. egg

Declension

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ei (neuter ja-stem)
singular plural
nominative ei ei
accusative ei ei
genitive eies eiō
dative eie eium
instrumental — —

Descendants

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  • Middle Low German: ei, egg, eig
    • Low German:
      • German Low German: Ei
        Westphalian:
        Lippisch: Egg
        Märkisch: Ägg
        Ravensbergisch: Åich
        Sauerländisch: Ai
        Westmünsterländisch: Äi
      • Plautdietsch: Ei

Papiamentu

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Etymology

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From Portuguese eis.

Pronoun

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ei

  1. there

Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Adverb

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ei (not comparable)

  1. Apocopic form of eis; used preceding the pronouns lo, la, los or las

Etymology 2

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Interjection

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ei

  1. hey (exclamation to get attention)

Romanian

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Inherited from Latin illī, nominative masculine plural of ille.

Pronoun

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ei m pl (third-person plural, feminine equivalent ele)

  1. (nominative form) they (used for an all-male or mixed-sex group)
    Synonym: (polite form) dumnealor
Declension
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Declension of ei
stressed unstressed
nominative ei
accusative ei îi
dative lor le
genitive lor
possessive forms
singular plural
masculine lor lor
neuter lor
feminine lor
reflexive forms
stressed unstressed
accusative sine se
dative sieși își

Pronoun

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ei m (stressed accusative form of ei)

  1. (direct object, preceded by preposition, such as "pe", "cu", "la", or "pentru") them (all-male or mixed-sex group)
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  • el (third-person masculine singular)
  • ea (third-person feminine singular)
  • ele (third-person feminine plural)

See also

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Romanian personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person eu noi
2nd person plain tu voi
semi-polite dumneata dumneavoastră
polite dumneavoastră
3rd person familiar m el ei
familiar f ea ele
polite m dumnealui dumnealor
polite f dumneaei

Etymology 2

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Inherited from Latin illaei.

Pronoun

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ei f (genitive form of ea, masculine equivalent lui, plural lor)

  1. her
    Synonym: său
    Ai cartea ei?
    Do you have her book?
Declension
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When it means her, ei is invariable – it stays the same no matter the gender, number (singular/plural) or case of the thing that is possessed.

Pronoun

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ei f (stressed dative form of ea, masculine equivalent lui, plural lor)

  1. to her
    Synonym: (unstressed form) îi

Sabu

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ei

Etymology

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From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Noun

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ei

  1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

References

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  • ABVD
  • Comparative Austronesian Dictionary

Sardinian

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Pronunciation

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Adverb

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ei

  1. yes

References

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Scots

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Noun

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ei (plural een)

  1. (Southern Scots) an eye.

Pronoun

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ei

  1. (Southern Scots, personal) he (alternative form of hei)

Tedim Chin

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Pronoun

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ei

  1. we

References

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  • Zomi Ordbog based on the work of D.L. Haokip

Tlingit

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Pronunciation

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Letter

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ei (upper case Ei)

  1. (US) A letter of the Tlingit alphabet, written in the Latin script.
    Synonym: è

See also

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Veps

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Etymology

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From Proto-Finnic *e-. Cognates include Finnish ei.

Verb

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ei

  1. not; expresses negation.

Inflection

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Inflection of ei
indicative imperative
1st singular en —
2nd singular ed ala
3rd singular ei algha
1st plural em algam
2nd plural et algat
3rd plural ei algha

References

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  • Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “не, ни”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎[10], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

Votic

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Etymology

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Compare Russian эй (ej), Finnish hei, Ingrian hei.

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ei

  1. hey

References

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  • Hallap, V., Adler, E., Grünberg, S., Leppik, M. (2012) “ei”, in Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language], 2nd edition, Tallinn

Welsh

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Etymology 1

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From Middle Welsh y, from Proto-Brythonic *eið, from Proto-Celtic *esyo m and *esyās f; compare Old Irish a (“his, her, its, their”) and Sanskrit अस्य (asyá, “his, its”) and अस्यास् (asyā́s, “her”).

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Determiner

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ei

  1. his, its (with reference to a masculine noun; triggers soft mutation of following consonant)
    Gwelir y thema dro ar ôl tro yn ei gerddi a’i emynau.
    The theme is seen repeatedly in his poems and his hymns.
  2. her, its (with reference to a feminine noun; triggers aspirate mutation of following consonant and h-prothesis of a following vowel)
    Gwelir y thema dro ar ôl tro yn ei cherddi a’i hemynau.
    The theme is seen repeatedly in her poems and her hymns.

Pronoun

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ei

  1. him, it (with reference to masculine nouns; as object of a verbal noun; triggers soft mutation of following consonant)
    • 18th century, Wil Hopcyn, “Bugeilio’r gwenith gwyn”:
      Myfi’n bugeilio’r gwenith gwyn,
      Ac arall yn ei fedi.
      Me watching the white wheat,
      And another reaping it.
  2. her, it (with reference to masculine nouns; as object of a verbal noun; triggers aspirate mutation of following consonant and h-prothesis of a following vowel)
    • Traditional, “Milgi, milgi”:
      Ar ben y bryn mae sgwarnog fach, ar hyd y nos mae'n pori
      A’i chefen brith a’i bola bola gwyn yn hidio dim am filgi.
      On top of the hill there's a little hare, all night long she grazes
      With her speckled back and her white white belly without taking any heed of any greyhound.
Usage notes
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  • In formal Welsh, masculine ef or feminine hi is added after the noun or verbnoun which ei precedes to indicates emphasis on the determiner or pronoun. In colloquial Welsh, the masculine takes e or o (southern and northern forms respectively) after a consonant and fe or fo (southern and northern) after a vowel, whereas the feminine takes hi, but is not necessarily an indicator of emphasis. Here, it is often included with the determiner and always included with the pronoun. The exception to the latter case is in passive constructions employing cael, where no addition is found.
  • In formal Welsh, the contraction 'i is a valid form of ei found after mostly functional vowel-final words. In colloquial Welsh, ei is often contracted to 'i after almost any vowel-final word. The exception is both forms of the language is after the preposition i (“to, for”), after which ei contracts to 'w. (Contraction to 'w after wedi is sometimes encountered but considered non-standard.)
  • Pronomial ei and 'i can occur before any verbal noun. Before a verb, pronomial 'i is found only in formal language after certain vowel-final preverbal particles. See entry for 'i for more information.
  • The colloquial pronunciation /iː/, /ɪ/ is the original pronunciation, as shown by the Middle Welsh form y. The more careful pronunciation /ei̯/ is a later spelling pronunciation.

Etymology 2

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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ei

  1. second-person singular future of mynd (also present tense in the literary language)

Further reading

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  • R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “ei”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

Ye'kwana

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Variant orthographies
ALIV ei
Brazilian standard ei
New Tribes ei

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Verb

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ei

  1. (intransitive, agentive) to be
Usage notes
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Many forms of this verb are irregular. Some are based on a root ei ~ e', some on a ~ aa, some on a'ja, and some on ööne ~ wene:

  • ei ~ e' is used with most tense/aspect/mood markers and all adverbial and nominal derivatives of the verb.
  • a ~ aa is used for the nonpast form, question forms, and two third-person forms na'ñojo and naichü.
  • a'ja is used for past imperfectives.
  • ööne ~ wene is used for the permanent aspect; this is the only verb in the language that has such an aspect.

The verb also takes an irregular suffix -ya in place of the ordinary recent/distant past perfective suffix -i. Similarly, the plural form of the same suffix is -yato rather than -icho.

This verb can be used as an auxiliary to form various constructions, making it possible to express tense/aspect/mood for constructions made with non-finite verb forms by putting the relevant markers on the copula instead.

Etymology 2

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Verb

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ei

  1. (transitive) to seek, to look for

References

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  • Cáceres, Natalia (2011) “a'ja, ei, ka, ma, na, öönene, wa, weneene”, in Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎[11], Lyon, pages 215–216, 238–239
  • Hall, Katherine (2007) “wenēne”, in Mary Ritchie Key & Bernard Comrie, editors, The Intercontinental Dictionary Series‎[12], Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, published 2021
  • Hall, Katherine (2007) “wenɲə”, in Mary Ritchie Key & Bernard Comrie, editors, The Intercontinental Dictionary Series‎[13], Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, published 2021

Zou

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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ei

  1. we (exclusive)

Synonyms

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References

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  • Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 40

Zyphe

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Verb

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ei

  1. to be salty

References

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  • Samson Alexander Lotven (2021) The Sound Systems of Zophei Dialects and Other Maraic Languages (Dissertation)‎[14]
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