ي

See also: ى [U+0649 ARABIC LETTER ALEF MAKSURA], ی [U+06CC ARABIC LETTER FARSI YEH], ې [U+06D0 ARABIC LETTER E], ۍ [U+06CD ARABIC LETTER YEH WITH TAIL], ئ [U+0626 ARABIC LETTER YEH WITH HAMZA ABOVE], ے [U+06D2 ARABIC LETTER YEH BARREE], and ۓ [U+06D3 ARABIC LETTER YEH BARREE WITH HAMZA ABOVE]

ي U+064A, ي
ARABIC LETTER YEH
ى
[U+0649]
Arabic ◌ً
[U+064B]
Isolated form Final form Medial form Initial form
ي ـي ـيـ يـ
U+FEF1, ﻱ
ARABIC LETTER YEH ISOLATED FORM

[U+FEF0]
Arabic Presentation Forms-B
[U+FEF2]
U+FEF2, ﻲ
ARABIC LETTER YEH FINAL FORM

[U+FEF1]
Arabic Presentation Forms-B
[U+FEF3]
U+FEF3, ﻳ
ARABIC LETTER YEH INITIAL FORM

[U+FEF2]
Arabic Presentation Forms-B
[U+FEF4]
U+FEF4, ﻴ
ARABIC LETTER YEH MEDIAL FORM

[U+FEF3]
Arabic Presentation Forms-B
[U+FEF5]

Acehnese

Pronunciation

  • (Name of letter) IPA(key): [ja]
  • (Phoneme) IPA(key): [j]

Letter

ي (ya) (no case)

  1. The thirty-fourth letter of the Acehnese alphabet, written in the Arabic script.

See also

Arabic

Etymology 1

    From the Nabataean letter 𐢍 (l, yodh), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤉 (l, yodh), from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓂝. See also Classical Syriac ܝ (l, yodh), Hebrew י (l, yodh), Ancient Greek Ι (I), Latin I and Latin J.

    Pronunciation

    • (letter name): IPA(key): /jaːʔ/
    • (phoneme): IPA(key): /j/, /iː/ (in Literary Arabic)
    • (phoneme): IPA(key): /j/, /i(ː)/, /e(ː)/ (in Arabic dialects and loanwords)

    Letter

    ي / ي‍ـ‍ / ‍ـي‍ـ / ـي • (yāʔ) (no case)

    1. The twenty-eighth and last letter of the Persian alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by و.
    Usage notes
    • After kasra it is pronounced as a long ī /iː/ or y /j/ after fatḥa, ḍamma and before other vowels.
    • In the final position alif maqṣūra ألف مقصورَة "restricted alif" is always written without dots (ـى). alif maqṣūra always follows a fatḥa and is transliterated as ā; see ى for its pronunciation. It is also called alif layyina (ألف لينَة) "flexible alif"
    • The traditional usage remains in Egypt and Sudan, for which the final yāʾ is written without dots and is visually identical to alif maqṣūra.
    Descendants
    • Persian: ی

    Symbol

    ي / ي‍ـ‍ / ‍ـي‍ـ / ـي • (yāʔ)

    1. The tenth numeral symbol of the Arabic alphabet (traditional abjad order, used for list numbering), written in the Arabic script; preceded by ط () and followed by ك (k).

    Etymology 2

      Compare Biblical Hebrew ־ִי (-i).

      Suffix

      ـِي or ـِيَ or ـيَ • ( or -iya or -ya)

      1. bound object pronoun: me, my
        لِـ (li-, to) + ‎ـِي () → ‎لِي (, to me)
        • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 7:105:
          قَدْ جِئْتُكُم بِبَيِّنَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ فَأَرْسِلْ مَعِيَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
          qad jiʔtukum bibayyinatin min rabbikum faʔarsil maʕiya banī ʔisrāʔīla
          (please add an English translation of this quotation)
      Usage notes

      أَنَا (ʔanā) has four enclitic forms, used in different contexts and generally not interchangeable. The enclitic forms ـنِي (-nī) and ـنِيَ (-niya) are attached to prepositions ending in نْ (n) with no final vowel (e.g., مِنْ (min) and عَنْ (ʕan)) and to verbs. They may also be added to the class of particles traditionally called "the sisters of إِنَّ (ʔinna)" (except لَعَلَّ (laʕalla)).

      The forms ـِي () and ـيَ (-ya) are used elsewhere mostly interchangeably, though restrictions in metrical poetry often determine which variant is used. All short case endings before the suffix are elided (that is, those of the singular, the broken plural, and the so-called sound feminine plural), as in قَوْلِي (qawlī, my speech (nominative, accusative, or genitive)), أَصَابِعِي (ʔaṣābiʕī, my fingers (nominative, accusative, or genitive)), and مُعَلِّمَاتِي (muʕallimātī, my female teachers (nominative, accusative, or genitive)).

      In cases where ـِي () would be preceded by a long vowel, as when suffixing sound masculine plural nouns or nouns ending in or -an, only ـيَ (-ya) is used and this -n (if present in the first place) is removed, as in أَمْرِيكَايَ (ʔamrīkāya, my America (nominative, accusative, or genitive)), عَصَايَ (ʕaṣāya, my stick (nominative, accusative, or genitive)), فَتَايَ (fatāya, my boy (nominative, accusative, or genitive)).

      If the word ends in a long close vowel (that is, or ), the long close vowel assimilates to /i/ and the suffix is geminated, thus producing ـِيَّ (-iyya), as in مُعَلِّمِيَّ (muʕallimiyya, my teachers (nominative, accusative, or genitive)) (from مُعَلِّمُو (muʕallimū, (the) teachers of (nominative)) or مُعَلِّمِي (muʕallimī, teachers of (accusative or genitive))) and قَاضِيَّ (qāḍiyya, my judge (nominative, accusative, or genitive); my judges (nominative, accusative, or genitive)) (from قَاضِي (qāḍī, (the) judge of (nominative)) or from قَاضُو (qāḍū, (the) judges of (nominative)) or قَاضِي (qāḍī, (the) judges of (accusative or genitive))).

      As for when it's attached to a deficient sound masculine plural nouns (that is, ending in the diphthong -aw or -aj), it's largely the same. Still, the long close vowel assimilates to /a/ instead, thus producing ـَيَّ (-ayya) as in مُصْطَفَيَّ (muṣṭafayya, my chosen (ones) (nominative, accusative, or genitive)) (from مُصْطَفَوْ (muṣṭafaw, (the) chosen (ones) of (nominative)) or مُصْطَفَيْ (muṣṭafay, (the) chosen (ones) of (accusative or genitive))).

      Therefore, when suffixed, such nouns, like nouns with short endings, are described as indeclinable in traditional Arabic grammar. However, the last long vowel is retained if it is open (that is, ), as in إِصْبَعَايَ (ʔiṣbaʕāya, my two fingers (nominative)) (from إِصْبَعَا (ʔiṣbaʕā, (the) two fingers of (nominative)). If the word ends in the diphthong -aj, ـيَ (-ya) is used, /j/ is elided, and the suffix is geminated, as in إِصْبَعَيَّ (ʔiṣbaʕayya, my two fingers (accusative or genitive)) (from إِصْبَعَيْ (ʔiṣbaʕay, (the) two fingers of (accusative or genitive)). Thus, suffixed dual nouns are distinguishable in case, unlike all the other forms.

      Derived terms
      Arabic terms suffixed with ي (pronoun)
      Arabic personal pronouns
      Isolated nominative1 pronouns
      singular dual plural
      1st person أَنَا (ʔanā) نَحْنُ (naḥnu)
      2nd person m أَنْتَ (ʔanta) أَنْتُمَا (ʔantumā) أَنْتُمْ (ʔantum), أَنْتُمُ (ʔantumu)2
      f أَنْتِ (ʔanti) أَنْتُنَّ (ʔantunna)
      3rd person m هُوَ (huwa) هُمَا (humā) هُمْ (hum), هُمُ (humu)2
      f هِيَ (hiya) هُنَّ (hunna)
      Isolated accusative pronouns
      singular dual plural
      1st person إِيَّايَ (ʔiyyāya) إِيَّانَا (ʔiyyānā)
      2nd person m إِيَّاكَ (ʔiyyāka) إِيَّاكُمَا (ʔiyyākumā) إِيَّاكُم (ʔiyyākum), إِيَّاكُمُ (ʔiyyākumu)2
      f إِيَّاكِ (ʔiyyāki) إِيَّاكُنَّ (ʔiyyākunna)
      3rd person m إِيَّاهُ (ʔiyyāhu) إِيَّاهُمَا (ʔiyyāhumā) إِيَّاهُمْ (ʔiyyāhum), إِيَّاهُمُ (ʔiyyāhumu)2
      f إِيَّاهَا (ʔiyyāhā) إِيَّاهُنَّ (ʔiyyāhunna)
      Enclitic accusative and genitive pronouns
      singular dual plural
      1st person ـنِي (-nī), ـنِيَ (-niya), ـي (-y), ـيَ (-ya)3 ـنَا (-nā)
      2nd person m ـكَ (-ka) ـكُمَا (-kumā) ـكُم (-kum), ـكُمُ (-kumu)2
      f ـكِ (-ki) ـكُنَّ (-kunna)
      3rd person m ـهُ (-hu), ـهِ (-hi)4 ـهُمَا (-humā), ـهِمَا (-himā)4 ـهُم (-hum), ـهُمُ (-humu)2, ـهِم (-him)4, ـهِمِ (-himi)2,4
      f ـهَا (-hā) ـهُنَّ (-hunna), ـهِنَّ (-hinna)4

      1. Also used to emphasize attached pronouns and as a copula.
      2. ـمْ (-m) becomes ـمُ (-mu) (or ـمِ (-mi) with vowel harmony) before the so-called elidable hamza (such as the definite article الـ (al--)).
      3. Specifically, ـنِي (-nī, me) is attached to verbs, but ـِي () or ـيَ (-ya, my) is attached to nouns. In the latter case, ـيَ (-ya) is attached to nouns whose construct state ends in a long vowel or diphthong (e.g. in the sound masculine plural and the dual), while ـِي () is attached to nouns whose construct state ends in a short vowel, in which case that vowel is elided (e.g. in the sound feminine plural, as well as the singular and broken plural of most nouns). Furthermore, of the masculine sound plural is assimilated to before ـيَ (-ya) (presumably, -aw of masculine defective -an plurals is similarly assimilated to -ay). Prepositions use ـِي () or ـيَ (-ya), even though in this case it has the meaning of “me” rather than “my”. The sisters of inna can use either form (e.g. إِنَّنِي (ʔinnanī) or إِنِّي (ʔinnī)).
      4. Vowel harmony: ـهِـ (-hi-) occurs after -i, , or -ay, and ـهُـ (-hu-) elsewhere (after -a, , -u, , -aw).

      Etymology 3

        Compare Akkadian and Biblical Hebrew ־ִי (-i).

        Suffix

        ـِيّ • (-iyy)

        1. The nisba suffix, an extremely productive suffix used to derive adjectives (with the meaning “related to ...”) or nouns (with the meaning “person related to ...”) from other nouns: for instance, فَنِّيّ (fanniyy, artistic, artist) derived from فَنّ (fann, art), عِرَاقِيّ (ʕirāqiyy, Iraqi, an Iraqi) derived from عِرَاق (ʕirāq, Iraq).
        Derived terms
        Arabic terms suffixed with ي (nisba)

        Etymology 4

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /jaː/

          Particle

          يَٰـ • (yā-)

          1. (Classical Arabic) alternative spelling of يَا () (vocative particle)
          Usage notes

          See يا#Usage notes for details.

          See also

          Hijazi Arabic

          Pronunciation

          • (letter name): IPA(key): /jaːʔ/
          • (phonemes): IPA(key): /j/, /iː/, /eː/, /i/ (word-final)

          Letter

          ي • (jāʔ) (no case)

          1. The twenty-eighth and last letter of the Hijazi Arabic alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by و (wāw).

          See also

          Kazakh

          Alternative scripts
          Arabic ي
          Cyrillic И, и/Й, й
          Latin I, i/İ, i

          Pronunciation

          • (letter name): IPA(key): /ja ˌʲeki noˈqat/
          • (phoneme): IPA(key): /əj/ (back)
          • (phoneme): IPA(key): /ij/, /ɘj/ (front)
          • (phoneme): IPA(key): /j/ (consonantal)

          Letter

          ي • (ï, y) (no case, Cyrillic equivalent И or и or Й or й or (sometimes) Ий or ий or :ый)

          1. The twenty-ninth letter of the Kazakh alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by ى.

          Usage notes

          • Represents the back vowel dipthong /əj/, unless a small ء (hamza) was placed in the beginning of the word. In Kazakh the Hamza marks that all vowels in the following word are fronted.
          • The letter ي cannot act as a vowel in the beginning of a word or when it is written proceeding another vowel. When ي is unable to make a vowel sound, it becomes the consonant sound /j/.

          See also

          Malay

          Pronunciation

          • (Name of letter) IPA(key): [jɐ]
          • (Phoneme, Consonant) IPA(key): [j]
          • (Phoneme, Vowel) IPA(key): [i], [e], [ɛ]
          • (Phoneme, Vowel, Closed ultima, Johor-Selangor) IPA(key): [e], [ɛ]

          Letter

          ي / ي‍ـ / ‍ـي‍ـ / ـي (no case)

          1. The thirty-fourth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Arabic script.

          See also

          Old Ruthenian

          Letter

          ي • (j) (no case)[1]

          1. (Middle Belarusian Arabica) A letter of the Old Ruthenian alphabet, written in the Arabic script.

          See also

          References

          1. ^ Antonovich (1968), page 192: “ي

          Pashto

          Pronunciation

          • (letter name): IPA(key): /ˈklaka je/
          • (phoneme): IPA(key): /j/, /i/

          Letter

          ي • (klaka ye) (no case)

          1. The forty-first letter of the Pashto alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by ۀ and followed by ې.

          Suffix

          ي • (transliteration needed)

          1. indicates the third person plural present form of verbs
          2. at the end of nouns and adjectives, indicates that the word is masculine in the singular oblique case or plural direct case
          3. used in the non-declining adjective class

          South Levantine Arabic

          Etymology 1

          From Arabic ـِي ().

          Suffix

          ـي • (-i after consonant, -y after vowelm or f

          1. Enclitic form of أنا (ʔana)
          2. I, me, my
          Usage notes
          • This form is only used attached to nouns, prepositions and conjunctions. After verbs, the form ـني (-nee) is used instead.
          See also
          South Levantine Arabic enclitic pronouns
          Singular Plural
          after consonant after vowel
          1st person after verb ـني (-ni) ـنا (-na)
          else ـِي (-i) ـي (-y)
          2nd person m ـَك (-ak) ـك (-k) ـكُم (-kom) / ـكو (-ku)
          f ـِك (-ek) ـكي (-ki)
          3rd person m ـُه (-o) ـه (-h) ـهُم (-hom)
          f ـها (-ha)

          Etymology 2

          From Arabic ـِي ().

          Suffix

          ـي • (-im (feminine ـيّة (-iyye), plural ـيّين (-iyyīn))

          1. Nisba suffix turning nouns into adjectives or nouns for people related to

          Uyghur

          Pronunciation

          • (letter name): IPA(key): /je/
          • (phoneme): IPA(key): /j/

          Letter

          ي • (ye) (no case)

          1. The thirty-second and last letter of the Uyghur alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by ئى.

          Yoruba

          Pronunciation

          • (letter name): IPA(key): /jí/
          • (phoneme): IPA(key): /j/

          Letter

          ي (transliteration needed) (no case, Latin equivalent Y or y)

          1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Yoruba alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by و.