-i

See also: -ī and Appendix:Variations of "i"

Languages (70)

Afar • Ahtna • Albanian • Alemannic German • Catalan • Chichewa • Chungli Ao • Chuukese • Cornish • Esperanto • Estonian • Finnish • Fwe • German • Gothic • Greenlandic • Hungarian • Icelandic • Ido • Indonesian • Italian • Japanese • Kongo • Latin • Lepontic • Lingala • Livonian • Livvi • Lower Sorbian • Lower Tanana • Makasar • Malay • Maltese • Middle English • Mizo • Mokilese • Namuyi • Norman • Northern Sami • Norwegian Nynorsk • Ojibwe • Old Czech • Old Dutch • Old English • Old High German • Old Irish • Old Norse • Old Polish • Palula • Polish • Portuguese • Romani • Romanian • Shona • Skolt Sami • Somali • Swahili • Swedish • Tagalog • Tumbuka • Turkish • Uzbek • Venda • Veps • Volapük • Welsh • Ye'kwana • Zulu

Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

From Latin -i.

Suffix

-i

Used to form adjectives for the species descriptor of a scientific name.

Derived terms

English

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy)bor.

Hebrew ־י (-i)bor.

Proto-Indo-European *-kos

Proto-Indo-Iranian *-kas

Old Persian -𐎡𐎣 (-i-k)

Middle Persian -yk' (/⁠-īg⁠/)

Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy)influ.

Persian (-ī)bor.

Proto-Indo-Iranian *i-

▲

Proto-Indo-Iranian *-kas

Proto-Indo-Iranian *-ikas

Sanskrit -इक (-ika)

Proto-Indo-Iranian *-iHyas

Sanskrit -ईय (-īya)

Prakrit -इय (-iya)

▲

Classical Persian (-ī)influ.

Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy)influ.

▲

Sanskrit -ई (-ī)influ.

Hindi -ई (-ī)bor.

Middle Persian 𐭩𐭧 (yḥ /⁠-īh⁠/)

Classical Persian (-ī)bor.

Urdu ـی (-ī)bor.

English -i

A conflation of the following suffixes:

For Semitic-speaking places, from the Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy) (nisba suffix) and from Hebrew ־י (-i), both sharing a common Semitic root.
For Indo-Iranian-speaking places, from Persian (-ī) and Hindustani Hindi -ई (-ī) / Urdu ـی (-ī).

In English, productive since the 19th century.

Pronunciation

enPR: ē, IPA^(key): /iː/

Suffix

-i

Used to form adjectives, nouns, demonyms (describing people of a particular city, region or country) or genonyms (describing people of a particular tribe, clan or family) and the language spoken by these people.
‎Hindustan + ‎-i → ‎Hindustani

‎Hind + ‎-i → ‎Hindi

‎Iran + ‎-i → ‎Irani

‎Iraq + ‎-i → ‎Iraqi

‎Israel + ‎-i → ‎Israeli

‎Awadh + ‎-i → ‎Awadhi

‎Kannauj + ‎-i → ‎Kannauji

‎Pakistan + ‎-i → ‎Pakistani

‎Pak + ‎-i → ‎Paki

‎Afghan + ‎-i → ‎Afghani

‎Bihar + ‎-i → ‎Bihari

‎Bengal + ‎-i → ‎Bengali

‎Punjab + ‎-i → ‎Punjabi

‎Chenab + ‎-i → ‎Chenabi

‎Kashmir + ‎-i → ‎Kashmiri

‎Sindh + ‎-i → ‎Sindhi

‎Rajasthan + ‎-i → ‎Rajasthani

‎Marwar + ‎-i → ‎Marwari

‎Gujarat + ‎-i → ‎Gujarati

‎Nepal + ‎-i → ‎Nepali

‎Kabul + ‎-i → ‎Kabuli

‎Baghdad + ‎-i → ‎Baghdadi
- 2025 July 24, Mubasher Sharief Pathan, “Chenab Valley United”, in Precious Kashmir‎^[1], archived from the original on 29 August 2025:
  According to Collins Dictionary and Wiktionary, the term was coined in 2017 by journalist Anzer Ayoob, the term Chenabi is derived from the Chenab River, with the suffix “-i”, commonly used to denote belonging.

Translations

suffix to form a demonym (especially in the Middle East)

Arabic: ـِيّ (ar) (-iyy)
Galician: -í (gl) m or f
Hebrew: ־ִי (he) m (-i)
Hindi: -ई (hi) (-ī)
Hungarian: -i (hu)
Persian: ـی (fa) (-ī)
Punjabi: -ਈ (pa) (-ī)
Spanish: -í (es) m or f
Urdu: ـی (ur) (-ī)

References

OED, s.v. "-i, suffix²".

Etymology 2

From Latin -ī (nominative plural).

Pronunciation

enPR: ī, IPA^(key): /aɪ/ (traditional English)
enPR: ē, IPA^(key): /iː/ (rare; imitation of the original Latin or of Italian)

Suffix

-i

Forms an alternative plural ending for various words borrowed from Latin that end in ⟨us⟩ in the singular.
‎focus + ‎-i → ‎foci

‎radius + ‎-i → ‎radii
1. (nonstandard, sometimes proscribed) Forms an alternative plural ending for various words that end in ⟨us⟩ in the singular, despite not being borrowed from Latin.
  ‎platypus + ‎-i → ‎platypi
  
  ‎amogus + ‎-i → ‎amogi

Usage notes

Prescriptively speaking, the ending is only applicable to words that were second-declension masculine nouns in Latin, such as the above examples. Descriptively speaking, the ending is often extended to other words like octopus (a third-declension noun in Latin with plural octopodes, not *octopi) and ignoramus (a verb in Latin, not a noun).
The ending traditionally “softens” preceding /k ɡ/ to /s d͡ʒ/, but non-softened pronunciations are also found today. Cf. loci /ˈləʊsaɪ/~/ˈləʊkaɪ/ and fungi /ˈfʌnd͡ʒaɪ/~/ˈfʌŋɡaɪ/.

References

OED, s.v. "-i, suffix¹".

Etymology 3

From Italian -i (masculine plural), from Latin -ī (see etymology 2).

Pronunciation

enPR: ē, IPA^(key): /iː/

Suffix

-i

Forms an alternative plural ending for words borrowed from Italian that end in ⟨o⟩ or ⟨e⟩ in the singular.
‎concerto + ‎-i → ‎concerti

‎calzone + ‎-i → ‎calzoni

Etymology 4

Variant of -ie or -y.

Pronunciation

enPR: ē, IPA^(key): /iː/

Suffix

-i

Used to form diminutives of given names.
Becki, Benji, Jimmi, Lexi, Nicki, Sammi, Sandi, Trini, Vicki

Afar

Pronunciation

(masculine) IPA^(key): /-i/
(feminine) IPA^(key): /-ˈi/

Suffix

-i or -í

Used to create nouns from class I verbs, denoting either the agent or the instrument of the action.

Usage notes

Used together with the prefix t- to create feminine nouns. The stress will shift to the last syllable.
Used together with the prefix y- to create masculine nouns. The stress will not be on the last syllable.

References

Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015), L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎^[2], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis), page 118

Ahtna

Alternative forms

-y

Etymology

Compare, perhaps, Navajo -í and -ii, which serve similar functions, as well as Lower Tanana -i.

Suffix

-i

Forms nouns from verbs with the meaning of 'the one who...'
Forms relative clauses
Forms numerals referring to non-human nouns

Usage notes

The forms -yi and -y are used with verbs ending in a vowel.
This suffix can trigger voicing of stem-final voiceless consonants.

Derived terms

Ahtna terms suffixed with -i

cʼekʼatsʼ uyii tnalʼaeni

-di

neyiigeʼ uʼeł dghaani

References

Kari, James (1990), Ahtna Athabaskan Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, page 67

Albanian

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Etymology

Continues Common Albanian *í ~ ý, from Proto-Albanian *íh ~ hýh, identical to the Pre-Proto-Albanian form, from Proto-Indo-European *ís ~ sós.^[1]

Potentially cognate with Messapic -aihi.^[2]^[3]^[4] Related to i (“of, the, to”), and found in ai (“he”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [i]

Article

-i m

masculine singular nominative suffixed definite article: the
‎malësor (“highlander”) + ‎-i → ‎malësori (“the highlander”)

‎mal (“mountain”) + ‎-i → ‎mali (“the mountain”)

Related terms

(suffixed article, suffix): -a, -e, -ë, -o, -u, -ia, -ja, -je, -jë, -at, -et, -ët, -it, -ot, -ut, -të, -ri, -ishte, -ishtja
(article, preposition): e, i, së, të

Suffix

-i

(stressed) forming abstract nouns from nomina agentis and adjectives
‎hajn (“robber, brigand”) + ‎-i → ‎hajni (“robbery, brigandry”)

‎lirë (“free, independent”) + ‎-i → ‎liri (“freedom”)

Derived terms

Albanian terms suffixed with -i

cal

-t

References

^ Demiraj, Bardhyl et al. (2021), “-i”, in DPEWA. Digitales Philologisch-Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altalbanischen [DPEWA. Digital Philological-Etymological Dictionary of Old Albanian]
^ Matzinger 2015, pp. 62–66
^ Ismajli 2015, pp. 65–68.
^ Matzinger, Joachim (2017). "The Lexicon of Albanian". In Klein, Jared; Joseph, Brian; Fritz, Matthias (eds.). Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics. 3. Walter de Gruyter.

Alemannic German

Suffix

-i

Forms clippings.
‎Schokolade + ‎-i → ‎Schoggi

‎Photographie + ‎-i → ‎Foti

‎Restaurant + ‎-i → ‎Resti
Forms deverbals.
‎frässe + ‎-i → ‎Frässi

Alemannic German terms suffixed with -i (clipping)

Alemannic German terms suffixed with -i (deverbal)

Frässi

Alemannic German terms suffixed with -i

Catalan

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Italic *-ios

Old Latin -ios

Latin -ius

Catalan -i

Inherited from Latin -ius, from Old Latin -ios, from Proto-Italic *-ios, from Proto-Indo-European *-yós. Cognate with Italian -io, Portuguese -io, Spanish -io.

Suffix

-i (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -ia, masculine plural -is, feminine plural -ies)

suffix forming adjectives from nouns

Derived terms

Catalan terms suffixed with -i

assiri

merovingi

Etymology 2

Neologism emerging in the early 2020s, chosen as offering distinction from the vowels in existing masculine and feminine suffixes.

Suffix

-i (suffix, plural -is)

suffix used to create gender-neutral nouns referring to non-binary people, unknown people, or mixed-gender groups of people; generally used by being substituted for the -a or -e- in the feminine forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and articles
- 2023, La Galera Editorial, Bel Olid‎^[3], archived from the original on 2023-4-24:
  Bel Olid (elli, Mataró, 1977) és escriptori, traductori, professori del Departament de Llengües i Literatures Romàniques i professori afiliadi del Centre d'Estudis de Gènere i Sexualitat, aquests dos últims càrrecs a la Universitat de Chicago.
  Bel Olid (they/them, Mataró, 1977) is a writer, translator, professor at the Department of Romance Languages and Literature and associate professor at the Center for Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Chicago.

References

Jun Moyano, editor (2023), Guia gramatical de llenguatge no-binari, 2nd edition, Barcelona: Raig Verd

Chichewa

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-ì. Cognate with Swahili -i and Tumbuka -i.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /i/

Suffix

-i

Forms agent nouns from verbs.

Derived terms

Chichewa terms suffixed with -i

Chungli Ao

Suffix

-i

Marks the agent of a transitive verb

Chuukese

Suffix

-i

added to intransitive verbs to make them transitive
(added to transitive verbs) him, her, it (third person singular indirect object)

Usage notes

In Chuukese, transitive verbs in their base form already have the third person singular indirect object implied on them, although the suffix -i can be added for emphasis.

Cornish

Etymology

From Middle Cornish -y, from Proto-Brythonic *-iβ̃. Cognate with Welsh -i.

Suffix

-i

Verb forming suffix
Synonyms: -a, -ya

Derived terms

Esperanto

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /i/
Audio: (file)

Etymology 1

Wikidata has a Lexeme related to:

-i (L312687)

Perhaps from Latin deponent verbs such as loquī (“to speak”). Perhaps from French and Spanish verbs ending in -ir.

Suffix

-i

verbal inflection marking the infinitive

Conjugation

Conjugation of -i
		singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
		present		past		future
tense		-as		-is		-os
active participle		-anta	-antaj	-inta	-intaj	-onta	-ontaj
active participle	acc.	-antan	-antajn	-intan	-intajn	-ontan	-ontajn
passive participle		-ata	-ataj	-ita	-itaj	-ota	-otaj
passive participle	acc.	-atan	-atajn	-itan	-itajn	-otan	-otajn
nominal active participle		-anto	-antoj	-into	-intoj	-onto	-ontoj
nominal active participle	acc.	-anton	-antojn	-inton	-intojn	-onton	-ontojn
nominal passive participle		-ato	-atoj	-ito	-itoj	-oto	-otoj
nominal passive participle	acc.	-aton	-atojn	-iton	-itojn	-oton	-otojn
adverbial active participle		-ante		-inte		-onte
adverbial passive participle		-ate		-ite		-ote

		infinitive	-i	imperative	-u	conditional	-us

Etymology 2

Common to English e (pronounced [i]) in me, she, he, we and the Italian accusative pronouns mi, ti, vi, li, si.

Suffix

-i

common vowel of personal pronouns: mi, ni, ci, vi, li, ŝi, ĝi, oni, ili, si.

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *-in.

Suffix

-i

Forms nouns from verbs, indicating instruments (tools) are used to perform that verb's action.

Inflection

Declension of -i (ÕS type 1e/veski, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		-i	-id
accusative	nom.	-i
accusative	gen.	-i
genitive		-i	-ite
partitive		-it	-eid
illative		-isse	-itesse -eisse
inessive		-is	-ites -eis
elative		-ist	-itest -eist
allative		-ile	-itele -eile
adessive		-il	-itel -eil
ablative		-ilt	-itelt -eilt
translative		-iks	-iteks -eiks
terminative		-ini	-iteni
essive		-ina	-itena
abessive		-ita	-iteta
comitative		-iga	-itega

Or less commonly:

Declension of -i (ÕS type 5/liige, length gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		-i	-med
accusative	nom.	-i
accusative	gen.	-me
genitive		-me	-mete
partitive		-it	-meid
illative		-messe	-metesse -meisse
inessive		-mes	-metes -meis
elative		-mest	-metest -meist
allative		-mele	-metele -meile
adessive		-mel	-metel -meil
ablative		-melt	-metelt -meilt
translative		-meks	-meteks -meiks
terminative		-meni	-meteni
essive		-mena	-metena
abessive		-meta	-meteta
comitative		-mega	-metega

Derived terms

Estonian terms suffixed with -i

arvuti

võti

Finnish

Etymology 1

From Proto-Finnic *-i, from Proto-Uralic *-j (specifically its fusion with the stem vowel). Originally allomorphic with -o (< *-oi, in which the *-i- caused labialization of the preceding *a).

Suffix

-i

A non-productive nominal suffix deriving nouns from nominal stems.
‎ukko (“(old) man”) + ‎-i → ‎ukki (“grandfather”)
Forms nouns from some verbs.
(seldom productive) Used to mark the first part of a compound word.
‎lehmä (“cow”) + ‎-i → ‎lehmi-

‎kolme (“three”) + ‎-i → ‎kolmi-

‎neljä (“four”) + ‎-i → ‎neli-

‎perä (“rear”) + ‎-i → ‎peri- (“ultimate”)

Usage notes

(first part in compound words): In some compounds, may only trigger a change from final -a to -o (-o < *-oi < *-a-i).

Declension

Usually:

Inflection of -i (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		-i	-it
genitive		-in	-ien
partitive		-ia	-eja
illative		-iin	-eihin
		singular	plural
nominative		-i	-it
accusative	nom.	-i	-it
accusative	gen.	-in	-it
genitive		-in	-ien
partitive		-ia	-eja
inessive		-issa	-eissa
elative		-ista	-eista
illative		-iin	-eihin
adessive		-illa	-eilla
ablative		-ilta	-eilta
allative		-ille	-eille
essive		-ina	-eina
translative		-iksi	-eiksi
abessive		-itta	-eitta
instructive		—	-ein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of -i (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-ini	-ini
accusative	nom.	-ini	-ini
accusative	gen.	-ini	-ini
genitive		-ini	-ieni
partitive		-iani	-ejani
inessive		-issani	-eissani
elative		-istani	-eistani
illative		-iini	-eihini
adessive		-illani	-eillani
ablative		-iltani	-eiltani
allative		-illeni	-eilleni
essive		-inani	-einani
translative		-ikseni	-eikseni
abessive		-ittani	-eittani
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-eineni

second-person singular possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-isi	-isi
accusative	nom.	-isi	-isi
accusative	gen.	-isi	-isi
genitive		-isi	-iesi
partitive		-iasi	-ejasi
inessive		-issasi	-eissasi
elative		-istasi	-eistasi
illative		-iisi	-eihisi
adessive		-illasi	-eillasi
ablative		-iltasi	-eiltasi
allative		-illesi	-eillesi
essive		-inasi	-einasi
translative		-iksesi	-eiksesi
abessive		-ittasi	-eittasi
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-einesi

first-person plural possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-imme	-imme
accusative	nom.	-imme	-imme
accusative	gen.	-imme	-imme
genitive		-imme	-iemme
partitive		-iamme	-ejamme
inessive		-issamme	-eissamme
elative		-istamme	-eistamme
illative		-iimme	-eihimme
adessive		-illamme	-eillamme
ablative		-iltamme	-eiltamme
allative		-illemme	-eillemme
essive		-inamme	-einamme
translative		-iksemme	-eiksemme
abessive		-ittamme	-eittamme
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-einemme

second-person plural possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-inne	-inne
accusative	nom.	-inne	-inne
accusative	gen.	-inne	-inne
genitive		-inne	-ienne
partitive		-ianne	-ejanne
inessive		-issanne	-eissanne
elative		-istanne	-eistanne
illative		-iinne	-eihinne
adessive		-illanne	-eillanne
ablative		-iltanne	-eiltanne
allative		-illenne	-eillenne
essive		-inanne	-einanne
translative		-iksenne	-eiksenne
abessive		-ittanne	-eittanne
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-einenne

third-person possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-insa	-insa
accusative	nom.	-insa	-insa
accusative	gen.	-insa	-insa
genitive		-insa	-iensa
partitive		-iaan -iansa	-ejaan -ejansa
inessive		-issaan -issansa	-eissaan -eissansa
elative		-istaan -istansa	-eistaan -eistansa
illative		-iinsa	-eihinsa
adessive		-illaan -illansa	-eillaan -eillansa
ablative		-iltaan -iltansa	-eiltaan -eiltansa
allative		-illeen -illensa	-eilleen -eillensa
essive		-inaan -inansa	-einaan -einansa
translative		-ikseen -iksensa	-eikseen -eiksensa
abessive		-ittaan -ittansa	-eittaan -eittansa
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-eineen -einensa

Inflection of -i (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		-i	-it
genitive		-in	-ien
partitive		-iä	-ejä
illative		-iin	-eihin
		singular	plural
nominative		-i	-it
accusative	nom.	-i	-it
accusative	gen.	-in	-it
genitive		-in	-ien
partitive		-iä	-ejä
inessive		-issä	-eissä
elative		-istä	-eistä
illative		-iin	-eihin
adessive		-illä	-eillä
ablative		-iltä	-eiltä
allative		-ille	-eille
essive		-inä	-einä
translative		-iksi	-eiksi
abessive		-ittä	-eittä
instructive		—	-ein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of -i (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-ini	-ini
accusative	nom.	-ini	-ini
accusative	gen.	-ini	-ini
genitive		-ini	-ieni
partitive		-iäni	-ejäni
inessive		-issäni	-eissäni
elative		-istäni	-eistäni
illative		-iini	-eihini
adessive		-illäni	-eilläni
ablative		-iltäni	-eiltäni
allative		-illeni	-eilleni
essive		-inäni	-einäni
translative		-ikseni	-eikseni
abessive		-ittäni	-eittäni
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-eineni

second-person singular possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-isi	-isi
accusative	nom.	-isi	-isi
accusative	gen.	-isi	-isi
genitive		-isi	-iesi
partitive		-iäsi	-ejäsi
inessive		-issäsi	-eissäsi
elative		-istäsi	-eistäsi
illative		-iisi	-eihisi
adessive		-illäsi	-eilläsi
ablative		-iltäsi	-eiltäsi
allative		-illesi	-eillesi
essive		-inäsi	-einäsi
translative		-iksesi	-eiksesi
abessive		-ittäsi	-eittäsi
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-einesi

first-person plural possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-imme	-imme
accusative	nom.	-imme	-imme
accusative	gen.	-imme	-imme
genitive		-imme	-iemme
partitive		-iämme	-ejämme
inessive		-issämme	-eissämme
elative		-istämme	-eistämme
illative		-iimme	-eihimme
adessive		-illämme	-eillämme
ablative		-iltämme	-eiltämme
allative		-illemme	-eillemme
essive		-inämme	-einämme
translative		-iksemme	-eiksemme
abessive		-ittämme	-eittämme
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-einemme

second-person plural possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-inne	-inne
accusative	nom.	-inne	-inne
accusative	gen.	-inne	-inne
genitive		-inne	-ienne
partitive		-iänne	-ejänne
inessive		-issänne	-eissänne
elative		-istänne	-eistänne
illative		-iinne	-eihinne
adessive		-illänne	-eillänne
ablative		-iltänne	-eiltänne
allative		-illenne	-eillenne
essive		-inänne	-einänne
translative		-iksenne	-eiksenne
abessive		-ittänne	-eittänne
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-einenne

third-person possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-insä	-insä
accusative	nom.	-insä	-insä
accusative	gen.	-insä	-insä
genitive		-insä	-iensä
partitive		-iään -iänsä	-ejään -ejänsä
inessive		-issään -issänsä	-eissään -eissänsä
elative		-istään -istänsä	-eistään -eistänsä
illative		-iinsä	-eihinsä
adessive		-illään -illänsä	-eillään -eillänsä
ablative		-iltään -iltänsä	-eiltään -eiltänsä
allative		-illeen -illensä	-eilleen -eillensä
essive		-inään -inänsä	-einään -einänsä
translative		-ikseen -iksensä	-eikseen -eiksensä
abessive		-ittään -ittänsä	-eittään -eittänsä
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-eineen -einensä

Note that if the stem has gradation, it is (almost always) preserved.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Conflated:

from Proto-Finnic *-i (from Proto-Uralic *-j (lative suffix))
from *-ik (from earlier *-jek, probably a combination of the aforementioned and Proto-Uralic *-k (lative suffix)).

Suffix

-i

Forms lative adverbs.
‎aueta (“to open”) + ‎-i → ‎auki (“open”)

‎ylä- (“upper, high”) + ‎-i → ‎yli (“over”)

Derived terms

Etymology 3

Suffix

-i

(dialectal, South East) alternative form of -inen, -nen

Usage notes

Does not affect the oldest -inen words such as nainen (“woman”).

Fwe

Suffix

-i

Nominalizing suffix forming nouns from verbs
‎-bàrà (“read”) + ‎-i → ‎mùbàrì (“reader”)

‎-rwà (“fight”) + ‎-i → ‎mùrwì (“fighter”)

Derived terms

Fwe terms suffixed with -i
mùbàrì
mùrwì
mùròzì
rúfù

References

Grunnink, Hilda (2022), A Grammar of Fwe, Language Science Press, page 154

German

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [i]
Audio (Germany (Berlin)): (file)

Etymology 1

From (especially Alemannic) Middle High German -ī, from Old High German -īn, from Proto-West Germanic *-īn (diminutive suffix). Generalized in Modern German through pet names like Rudi (Middle High German Ruodī). Cognate with English -en as in chicken, maiden.

Not directly related with English -ie, -y (from Old English -iġ), nor with Dutch -ie, -je (from Proto-West Germanic *-ikīn, whence German -chen). However, the vowel /i/ has an onomatopoeic quality to it, which is likely to reinforce its development or preservation in diminutives.

Suffix

-i (informal)

Forms pet names from given names, kinship terms, and terms of address.
‎Hans + ‎-i → ‎Hansi

‎Papa (“dad, daddy”) + ‎-i → ‎Papi (“pops”)

‎Schatz (“sweetheart, darling”) + ‎-i → ‎Schatzi
(endearing, sometimes derogatory) Forms nouns from adjectives and verbs denoting someone characterized by that word.
‎schlaff (“slack; weary”) + ‎-i → ‎Schlaffi (“weak, tired person”) (derogatory)

‎brummen (“to hum”) + ‎-i → ‎Brummi (“rig, truck”)
(usually colloquial, sometimes derogatory) Forms clippings, with a meaning of -ist, -ian, -an
‎Sozialdemokrat + ‎-i → ‎Sozi

‎Nationalsozialist + ‎-i → ‎Nazi

‎Ostdeutscher + ‎-i → ‎Ossi

‎Westdeutscher + ‎-i → ‎Wessi

‎Amerikaner + ‎-i → ‎Ami

‎Österreicher + ‎-i → ‎Ösi
(colloquial) Forms clippings.
‎Pullover + ‎-i → ‎Pulli

‎Schokolade + ‎-i → ‎Schoki
(left-wing, rare, predominantly youth speak) Forms gender-neutral nouns.
‎Schüler + ‎-i → ‎Schüli

‎Mitbewohner + ‎-i → ‎Mitbewohni

Usage notes

This suffix is almost exclusively used as part of two-syllable words, with sounds from the second vowel onwards being clipped as needed.

Etymology 2

From various sources, chiefly Hebrew ־י (-ī), Arabic ي (-iyy), Persian (-ī), and Hindi -ई (-ī).

Suffix

-i

an unproductive ending of nouns for Semitic and Indo-Iranian groups, especially peoples
‎Irak + ‎-i → ‎Iraki

‎Israel + ‎-i → ‎Israeli

‎Pakistan + ‎-i → ‎Pakistani

Etymology 3

From Latin -ī (nominative plural suffix of the o-declension), in part directly, in part through Italian -i.

Suffix

-i

forms the plurals of some nouns of Latin origin with a singular in -us.
‎Terminus (“technical term”) + ‎-i → ‎Termini
forms the plurals of some nouns of Italian origin with a singular in -o.
‎Salto (“somersault”) + ‎-i → ‎Salti

Usage notes

Nouns in -us predominantly form their plurals in -en (Radius > Radien), less often in -usse (Zirkus > Zirkusse) or either of these (Globus > Globen, Globusse). Plurals in -i are less frequent than in English and mostly restricted to highly learned parlance. For this reason, hypercorrect formations (such as English octopi) are also rare.
The use with Italian borrowings is more common, though -os is usually possible alternatively and is preferred in the vernacular (Saltos). Forms in -en also exist, but they are more lexicalised (e.g. Fresken, Risiken, Szenarien).

Derived terms

Gothic

Romanization

-i

romanization of -𐌹

Greenlandic

Pronunciation

(Nuuk) IPA^(key): /-i/, [-ɪ]

Suffix

-i (v-v^?, truncative^?)

Intransitivizes.

Usage notes

Sometimes additive after r stems.

Many verbs are intransitivized simply by changing the inflectional ending, without changing the stem; of those that do use an affix, it is not predictable which of -i, -nnig, -ller and -si are used. Also, verbs may use more than one of these, with similarly unpredictable results (e.g. errorsivoq (“wash clothes”) vs. erruivoq (“do dishes”), both from errorpaa). If a verb uses one of these affixes, the unaffixed intransitive form may be passive, reciprocal or reflexive w.r.t. the transitive form.

Synonyms

-nnig, -ller, -si

References

Bjørnum, S.: Grønlandsk grammatik, pp. 67-68. Atuagkat 2003.
Vestgrønlands Grammatik, p. 106-107, F.A.J. Nielsen, 2014

Hungarian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [i]
Rhymes: -i

Etymology 1

Developed from earlier -é, the lative case suffix. Attested since 1193.

Suffix

-i

(adjective-forming suffix) Added to proper nouns, certain common nouns and postpositions to form adjectives:
2. names of places (toponyms)
  ‎Amerika (“America”) + ‎-i → ‎amerikai (“American”)
4. names of people (anthroponyms, thus eponyms)
  ‎Freud (“Freud”) + ‎-i → ‎freudi (“Freudian”)
5. certain common nouns
  ‎város (“city”) + ‎-i → ‎városi (“urban”)
  
  ‎kémia (“chemistry”) + ‎-i → ‎kémiai (“chemical”)
6. postpositions (as part of the phrase in which they occur)
  ‎az ablak alatt (“under the window”) + ‎-i → ‎az ablak alatti szék (“the chair under the window”)

Usage notes

Final -o and -ö (which only occur in non-Hungarian words) change to -ó and -ő.^[1]
Oslo → oslói (“Oslovian”)

Malmö → malmői (“Malmö-based”)

Victor Hugo → Victor Hugó-i (“Hugolian, Hugonian, Hugoesque”)
If the suffix -i were to follow word-final -i, only one is retained (so one needs to know the original form).^[2]^[3]
Helsinki → helsinki (“Helsinkian”)

Zamárdi (a town in Somogy County, Hungary) → zamárdi (“from Zamárdi”, in theory, it could also derive from a non-existent *Zamárd)
The other word-final short vowels (a, e, u, ü) remain unchanged (just like long ones and consonants).
Prága (“Prague”) → prágai (“Praguian”)

Goethe → goethei (“Goethean”)

Peru → perui (“Peruvian”)

Öskü (a village in Veszprém County, Hungary) → ösküi (“from Öskü”)

The fact that word-final a and e remain short before the adjective-forming -i often becomes distinctive against the multiple-possession possessives of words that end in a and e, e.g. formai (“formal”) and formái (“his/her/its forms”) or megyei (“county-level”) and megyéi (“his/her/its counties”).

Names with a fleeting vowel: Eger → egri, as well as names ending in -halom, e.g. Szigethalom → szigethalmi.
Names ending in -falu (e.g. Leányfalu) may be suffixed in three ways: The official way is retaining the full form, e.g. leányfalui; in the vernacular, leányfalusi may be heard; and forms like leányfalvi are increasingly rare.^[4]
Names ending in a possessive suffix such as -falva, -halma, -háza, -földe (outside elements of proper names: földje), -telke: Official usage increasingly prefers retaining the whole name (e.g. nyíregyházai from Nyíregyháza), though in common parlance the word-final a and e tend to be dropped (e.g. nyíregyházi). The drawback of the latter is that the original form cannot be established (as nyíregyházi could theoretically derive from a non-existent *Nyíregyház).^[4]
For non–proper noun elements with a possessive suffix, native speakers often have a hard time trying to add this suffix, e.g. whether the last element of (Erzsébet királyné) útja and (Örs vezér) tere should become úti and téri (losing the mark of the possessive) or útjai and terei (having an ambiguous sense, primarily used for multiple possessions). As a rule of thumb, the former solution may be preferable.^[4]

Suffix

-i

possessive suffix for multiple possessions
1. (with no noun for possessor) his, her, its ……-s (third-person singular; the pronoun ő (“s/he”) being optional for emphasis)
  kapu (“gate”) → a kapui (“his/her/its gates”), az ő kapui (“his/her gates”)
  
  érme (“coin”) → az érméi (“his/her/its coins”), az ő érméi (“his/her coins”)
2. (with no noun for possessor, formal) your ……-s (second-person singular, grammatically resembling the third person sg.)
  kapu (“gate”) → a kapui (“your [formal] gates”), az ön kapui, a maga kapui (“your [formal] gates”)
3. construed with a noun or certain pronouns as the possessor: ……’s ……-s, ……-s of …… (third-person sg. or pl., depending on the noun or pronoun)
  az ember(nek a) kapui ― the person’s gates
  
  a gyerek(nek az) érméi ― the child’s coins
  
  az emberek(nek a) kapui ― the people’s gates
  
  a gyerekek(nek az) érméi ― the children’s coins
  
  az önök kapui, a maguk kapui ― your (plural, formal) gates
  
  azok(nak a) kapui ― the gates of those
  
  ki(k)nek az érméi? ― whose coins?

Usage notes

(possessive suffix) Variants:
-i is added to words ending in a vowel except -i. Final -a changes to -á-; final -e changes to -é-. The latter feature distinguishes it from the -i (adjective-forming suffix), which does not lengthen the preceding -a/-e.

-ai is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant

-ei is added to some front-vowel words ending in a consonant

-jai is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant or the vowel -i

-jei is added to some front-vowel words ending in a consonant or the vowel -i
- If the possessed noun is in the plural and the possessor is expressed in English with a possessive pronoun only (rather than a noun), e.g. “their toys” (as opposed to “the children’s toys”), the -ik/-aik/-eik/-jaik/-jeik suffixes are required in Hungarian.

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Suffix

-i

(personal suffix) Forms the definite third-person singular present tense of verbs (indicative mood).
‎kér (“to request”) + ‎-i → ‎kéri (“he/she asks him/her or for that thing, he/she is asking him/her or for that thing”)

Usage notes

(personal suffix) See harmonic variants in the table below.

Present tense definite – personal endings

Person		Back vowel	Front vowel
Person		Back vowel	unrounded	rounded
én	1st person singular	-om	-em	-öm
te	2nd person singular	-od	-ed	-öd
ő maga ön	3rd person singular or formal 2nd person singular	-ja	-i
mi	1st person plural	-juk	-jük
ti	2nd person plural	-játok	-itek
ők maguk önök	3rd person plural or formal 2nd person plural	-ják	-ik
See also: present-tense indefinite-object suffixes and second-person-object suffixes for informal addressing.

Etymology 4

Inherited from ancient diminutive suffix *-i̮, a variant of -a (“diminutive suffix”). Starting from the late 16th century, became increasingly popular through the shortening of given names (e.g., Mari for Mária) and the influence of German diminutive names (e.g., Betti, Frici).

Suffix

-i

(diminutive suffix) Added to nouns or their clipped form; mostly used by the younger generation or in informal conversations.
fagylalt → fagyi (“ice cream”)

Etymology 5

See -e.

Suffix

-i

(dialectal, except for some set forms) alternative form of -e (third-person singular single-possession possessive suffix)
se szeri, se száma ― (instead of szere)^[5]
(dialectal, except for some set forms) alternative form of -é (combining form of the above)
íziben a mindenit töviről hegyire jószerivel frissiben dögivel bőviben sebtiben felibe/fölibe köribe közibe ― (instead of standard ízében, a mindenét, tövéről hegyére, jószerével, frissében (uncommon), dögével (uncommon), bővében, sebtében, felébe/fölébe, körébe/köréje, közébe/közéje/közé)^[5]

References

^ Section 216 in A magyar helyesírás szabályai, 12. kiadás (‘The Rules of Hungarian Orthography, 12th edition’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2015. →ISBN
^ Section 173 in A magyar helyesírás szabályai, 12. kiadás (‘The Rules of Hungarian Orthography, 12th edition’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2015. →ISBN
^ Section 215 in A magyar helyesírás szabályai, 12. kiadás (‘The Rules of Hungarian Orthography, 12th edition’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2015. →ISBN
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Grétsy, László and Gábor Kemény, editors. Nyelvművelő kéziszótár (“Concise Dictionary for Language Cultivation”). Second, revised and extended edition. Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2005. →ISBN
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 birtokos személyjelek alaki változatai [“form variants of possessive suffixes”] in Grétsy, László and Gábor Kemény, editors. Nyelvművelő kéziszótár (“Concise Dictionary for Language Cultivation”). Second, revised and extended edition. Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2005. →ISBN

Icelandic

Etymology 1

From Old Norse -i f (weak īn-stem nouns), from Proto-Germanic *-į̄, cognate with Gothic -𐌴𐌹 (-ei).

Suffix

-i f (noun-forming suffix, genitive singular -i, nominative plural -ir or -ar) (causes i-mutation)

indefinite nominative singular of -i f (some weak feminine nouns)
Synonym: -a f (weak feminine nouns)

ævi (“lifetime”); veiði (“a hunt”); lygi (“a lie”)
a nominal suffix, forming abstract nouns, mostly from adjectives (usually no plural forms)
‎glaður (“glad”) + ‎-i → ‎gleði (“joy”)

‎reiður (“angry”) + ‎-i → ‎reiði (“anger”)

Declension

Declension of -i (feminine)
	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	-i	-in	-ir, -ar	-irnar, -arnar
accusative	-i	-ina	-ir, -ar	-irnar, -arnar
dative	-i	-inni	-um	-unum
genitive	-i	-innar	-a	-anna

Derived terms

Icelandic terms suffixed with -i (feminine abstract noun)

Etymology 2

From Old Norse -i m (weak an-stem nouns).

Suffix

-i m (noun-forming suffix, genitive singular -a, nominative plural -ar)

indefinite nominative singular of -i m (most weak masculine nouns)
bolli (“cup”); gluggi (“window”); hagi (“pasture”)
forms some abstract nouns
‎leka (“to leak”) + ‎-i → ‎leki (“leak”)

‎þungur (“heavy”) + ‎-i → ‎þungi (“weight”)
forms masculine personal nouns (mostly gender-neutral)
1. forms hypocorisms or short forms of male names
  ‎Sigurður + ‎-i → ‎Siggi
  
  ‎Björgvin + ‎-i → ‎Bjöggi
2. forms short forms of nouns for male people
  ‎hómósexúalisti (“gay man”) + ‎-i → ‎hommi
  
  ‎stjúpfaðir (“stepfather”) + ‎-i → ‎stjúpi
3. forms demonyms from placenames
  ‎Belgía (“Belgium”) + ‎-i → ‎Belgi (“Belgian person”)
  
  ‎Slóvenía (“Slovenia”) + ‎-i → ‎Sloveni (“Slovenian person”)

Declension

Declension of -i (masculine)
	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	-i	-inn	-ar, -ir¹	-arnir, -irnir¹
accusative	-a	-ann	-a, -i¹	-ana, -ina¹
dative	-a	-anum	-um	-unum
genitive	-a	-ans	-a	-anna

¹A few demonyms: Dani, Grikki, Ítali, Tyrki, Japani.

Derived terms

Icelandic terms suffixed with -i (masculine abstract noun)

forði

kvíði

Icelandic terms suffixed with -i (masculine personal noun)

landi

nemi

Etymology 3

From Old Norse -i n (strong, long ją-stem nouns), from Proto-Germanic *-ją. Strong, short ją-stem nouns have no ending in modern Icelandic, but a j appears in the dative and genetive plural. Compare kyn (“sex”), ber (“berry”), nef (“nose”).

Suffix

-i n (noun-forming suffix, genitive singular -is, nominative plural -i) (causes i-mutation)

inflection of -i n (strong neuter nouns):
1. indefinite nominative/accusative/dative singular
2. nominative/accusative plural
stræti (“street”); kerti (“candle”); epli (“apple”)
forms concrete nouns derived from various bases
‎sáð n (“seed grain”, noun) + ‎-i → ‎sæði (“semen”)

‎stýra (“to steer”, verb) + ‎-i → ‎stýri (“steering wheel”)

‎and- (“against”, prefix) + ‎-i → ‎enni (“forehead”)
forms abstract nouns from nouns and adjectives
‎góður (“good”, adjective) + ‎-i → ‎gæði pl (“quality”)

‎dómur m (“verdict”, noun) + ‎-i → ‎dæmi (“example”)

‎frjáls (“free”, adjective) + ‎-i → ‎frelsi (“freedom”)

Declension

Declension of -i (neuter)
	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	-i	-ið	-i	-in
accusative	-i	-ið	-i	-in
dative	-i	-inu	-um, -jum¹	-unum, -junum¹
genitive	-is	-isins	-a, -ja¹	-anna, -janna¹

¹After k or g.

Derived terms

Icelandic terms suffixed with -i (neuter concrete noun)

atriði

áfengi

hverfi

Icelandic terms suffixed with -i (neuter abstract noun)

Etymology 4

From Old Norse -i (adverbial ending).

Suffix

-i

adverbial ending
‎langur (“long”, adjective) + ‎-i → ‎lengi (with i-mutation)

‎inn (“in”, adverb of motion) + ‎-i → ‎inni (“inside”, adverb of location)

fjarri (“far away”)

Etymology 5

From various Old Norse noun endings, among others -i (dative ending) and -i (accusative plural ending).

indefinite dative singular of -ur / -∅ m or n (all strong neuter nouns, many strong masculine nouns)
‎hundur m (“dog”) + ‎-i → ‎hundi

‎gaur m (“guy”) + ‎-i → ‎gauri

‎gras n (“grass”) + ‎-i → ‎gauri

‎hús n (“grass”) + ‎-i → ‎gauri
indefinite accusative/dative singular of -ir m (some strong masculine nouns)
‎hellir (“cave”) + ‎-i → ‎helli

‎læknir (“doctor”) + ‎-i → ‎lækni
indefinite accusative plural of -ur / -∅ m (some strong masculine nouns, with nominative plural in -ir)
‎stafur (“letter”) + ‎-i → ‎stafi

‎guð (“god”) + ‎-i → ‎guði

‎bolur (“t-shirt”) + ‎-i → ‎boli
feminine singular
1. indefinite nominative/accusative/dative singular of -i f (a few strong feminine nouns)
  helgi (“weekend”); heiði (“heath”); mýri (“swamp”)
2. indefinite accusative/dative singular of -ur / -∅ f (very few strong feminine nouns and some peronal names)
  ‎brúður (“bride”) + ‎-i → ‎brúði
  
  ‎Hildur (woman's name) + ‎-i → ‎Hildi
  
  ‎Þórdís (woman's name) + ‎-i → ‎Þórdísi

Etymology 6

Mostly from Old Norse -i.

Suffix

-i

first-person singular present indicative of -a (weak i-stem verbs)
Synonyms: -a, -∅

‎nýta (“to utilize”) + ‎-i → ‎nýti (“(I) utilize”)

‎fylgja (“to accompany”) + ‎-i → ‎fylgi (“(I) accompany”)

Suffix

-i

inflection of -a (all verbs):
1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
2. third-person plural present subjunctive
‎kasta (“to throw”) + ‎-i → ‎kasti (“(that I/he/she/they) throw”)

‎aka (“to drive”) + ‎-i → ‎aki (“(that I/he/she/they) drive”)

Suffix

-i (triggers i-mutation)

first/third-person singular past subjunctive of -a (strong verbs)
Synonyms: -ði, -di, -ti, -aði

‎drekka (“to drink”) + ‎-i → ‎drykki (“(I/he/she) would drink”)

‎vinna (“to work”) + ‎-i → ‎ynni (“(I/he/she) would work”)

References

Alexander Jóhannesson (1927), Die Suffixe im Isländischen [The Icelandic suffixes] (in German), Halle: Max Niemeyer Gutenberg Buchdruckerei, §45, pages 35-38

Ido

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian -i, Russian -и (-i). Also from English -i, used with Latin and Italian borrowings.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /i/

Suffix

-i

-s; marks the plural form of nouns, by replacing the -o ending
‎libro (“book”) + ‎-i → ‎libri (“books”)

Indonesian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [-i]

Etymology 1

Inherited from Malay -i, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *-i (local transitive suffix)

Suffix

-i (non-active/imperative/basic -i, active meng- -i, passive di- -i)

verbal suffix for manipulating, completing, or placing the object from a noun
transitive verbal suffix for causation in surface of the object from an adjective
transitive verbal suffix for doing activity to the object from a transitive verb
transitive locative imperative verbal suffix from a noun:
1. to apply or give [base] to the object
  Hormati orang tua! ― honour/respect parent!
2. to remove [base] from the object
  kuliti ― (de)skin, peel
transitive adverbial imperative verbal suffix from a noun: to act as/be [base] with reference to object
Sutradarai film ini! ― Direct this movie! (literally, “Become the producer of this film!”)

Usage notes

This suffix is never used after verbs ending in final -i for euphonic reasons and to avoid near-homophony with bare forms (-∅). Thus, beli (“to buy”) does not derive into *belii, although -in allows violation of the previous rule such as beliin (“buy it!”). Other examples include cari (← *carii) and capai (← *capaii).
When this suffix is combined with the prefixes meng-, di-, ter-, and ke-, the imperative aspect is lost.

Etymology 2

From Malay -i, from Arabic nisba suffix ـِيّ (-iyy).

Alternative forms

-iah, -ni, -wi, -wiah

Suffix

-i

adjective suffix (with the meaning “related to ...”)

Derived terms

Italian

Etymology 1

Suffix

-i (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)

used with a stem to form the second-person singular present of regular -are, -ere verbs and those -ire verbs that do not take "isc"
used with a stem to form the second-person imperative of -ere verbs
used with a stem to form the first-, second- and third-person singular present subjunctive of -are verbs
used with a stem to form the third-person singular imperative of -are verbs

Etymology 2

There are two competing theories:

From Latin -ī, nominative plural of masculine nouns in -us.
From Latin -ōs, accusative plural of the same nouns, according to the sound change -os > -oi > -i (compare the pronoun vi).

Suffix

-i (non-lemma form of noun-forming suffix)

used to form the plural of nouns ending in -o

Etymology 3

There are two competing theories:

Formed analogically by borrowing the -i plural of Italian nouns in -o.
Formed phonologically from the expected Latin nominative/accusative plural -ēs according to the sound change -es > -ei > -i (compare etymology 1 above).

Suffix

-i (non-lemma form of noun-forming suffix)

used to form the plural of nouns ending in -e

Etymology 4

Perhaps from the Latin genitive singular ending -ī of masculine nouns in -us.

Suffix

-i m or f by sense (noun-forming suffix, invariable)

forms surnames from proper names, occupations, etc.
‎Giacomo (“James, Jacob”) + ‎-i → ‎Giacomi (surname)

‎Giacometto (“Jim, Jake”) + ‎-i → ‎Giacometti (surname)

‎ferraro (“smith”) + ‎-i → ‎Ferrari (surname)

Japanese

Romanization

-i

Rōmaji transcription of い

Kongo

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-ì.

Suffix

-i

used for creation of agent nouns

Latin

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈiː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈiː]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic *-ai, from unknown origin.

Suffix

-ī

Used for the first person present perfect singular form of any regular verb.

Etymology 2

Unknown. Compare Proto-Celtic *-ī (genitive singular ending). Displaced Proto-Italic -osjo (See Proto-Italic *-os.), which was descended from Proto-Indo-European -osyo. (See Proto-Indo-European *-os.)

Suffix

-ī

genitive/locative singular of -us for second-declension nouns.
genitive masculine/neuter singular of -us for first/second-declension adjectives.
(uncommon) genitive feminine singular of -us for first/second-declension adjectives.

Etymology 3

From the pronominal declension.^[1] Displaced -es except in the third declension.

Suffix

-ī

nominative/vocative plural of -us for most second-declension nouns.
nominative/vocative masculine plural of -us for first/second-declension adjectives.

Etymology 4

Noun

-ī

dative/ablative singular of -ēs

Etymology 5

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Suffix

-ī

dative singular of -s
ablative neuter singular of -s

References

^ Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 261

Lepontic

Suffix

-i

romanization of -𐌉

Lingala

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-ì (“agent noun suffix”).

Suffix

-i

Forms agent nouns from verbs.

Derived terms

Lingala terms suffixed with -i

Livonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *-inën.

Suffix

-i

Forms adjectives, mainly from nouns or sometimes other adjectives.
Forms diminutives from nouns.

Declension

Words from this suffix generally belong to LEL declension classes 189–202.

Derived terms

Livvi

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /-i/

Suffix

-i

Used to form agent nouns from verbs; -er

Declension

back vowel harmonic

front vowel harmonic

Declension of -i (Type 19/lugii, no gradation)
	singular	plural
nominative	-i	-jat
genitive	-jan	-join, -jiin
partitive	-jua	-joi, -jii
illative	-jah	-joih, -jiih
inessive	-jas	-jois, -jiis
elative	-jaspäi	-joispäi, -jiispäi
allative	-jale	-joile, -jiile
adessive	-jal	-joil, -jiil
ablative	-jalpäi	-joilpäi, -jiilpäi
translative	-jakse	-joikse, -jiikse
essive	-jannu	-joinnu, -jiinnu
abessive	-jattah	-joittah, -jiittah
comitative	-janke	-joinke, -jiinke
instructive		-join, -jiin
prolative	-jači

Declension of -i (Type 20/keittäi, no gradation)
	singular	plural
nominative	-i	-jät
genitive	-jän	-jöin, -jiin
partitive	-jiä	-jöi, -jii
illative	-jäh	-jöih, -jiih
inessive	-jäs	-jöis, -jiis
elative	-jäspäi	-jöispäi, -jiispäi
allative	-jäle	-jöile, -jiile
adessive	-jäl	-jöil, -jiil
ablative	-jälpäi	-jöilpäi, -jiilpäi
translative	-jäkse	-jöikse, -jiikse
essive	-jänny	-jöinny, -jiinny
abessive	-jättäh	-jöittäh, -jiittäh
comitative	-jänke	-jöinke, -jiinke
instructive		-jöin, -jiin
prolative	-jäči

Derived terms

Livvi terms suffixed with -i

Lower Sorbian

Alternative forms

-y (after “hard” consonants)

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *-jь.

Suffix

-i

suffix creating an adjective from a noun, denoting ‘of or pertaining to’

Derived terms

Lower Sorbian terms suffixed with -i

bóžy

Lower Tanana

Alternative forms

-yi

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *-(y)iˑ. Compare Navajo -í and -ii and Ahtna -i, -yi.

Suffix

-i

A nominal suffix for non-human nouns with the meaning of 'the one who...,' 'with it [verb] is done.' Used to derive nouns from verbs, adverbs, and other nouns.
Forms numerals and demonstratives referring to non-human nouns.
Forms subordinating clauses
property
Forms gerunds from verbs.

Usage notes

The form -yi is used on stems ending in a vowel.
Generally triggers voicing of final voiceless consonants. Compare, for example, the unsuffixed kwn' dakwth with the suffixed kwn' dakwdhi.
The variant form -a is relatively frequent.

Derived terms

Lower Tanana terms suffixed with -i

badri

be'aɬ ch'edetthedi

be'aɬ k'oxudeniyi

be'aɬ k'oxudeniyi beyi dhedloyi

be'aɬ ts'etsan' dedet'odhi

be'aɬ xodonoch'edetiyi

bek'et dranh dodetili

benenh noch'endet'wghi

bet'oxwdiɬt'ayi bedena'

beyi ch'edeltreghi ch'elik

beyit ch'eyiga' det'ani

beyit ch'eyiga' ghelniyi

beyit tr'exeyayi

beyit xeyedayi

bili be'aɬ detotr'elyaghi

ch'edeltreghi ch'elik

ch'etthi' nodet'oddhi

dodetl'edzi ch'ejege'

donwxts'eni eɬtr'eya'

eɬ bega' k'ah dent'ayi

niɬk'a deneyhxw dadhtoni

niɬk'a tok'i xwdadhtoni

notixw dadhtoni ts'iɬk'i bek'edi

oɬts'enayi xwdadhtoni

tr'enonuneya k'ol'wzri

tr'ont'eyi

References

Kari, James et al. (2024), Kari, James, editor, Lower Tanana Dene Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, pages 28-29

Makasar

Etymology 1

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *-i, from Proto-Austronesian *-i.

Suffix

-i (Lontara spelling ᨕᨗ or 𑻱𑻳)

suffix forming transitive verbs

Derived terms

Makasar terms suffixed with -i

Etymology 2

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ia.

Pronoun

-i (Lontara spelling ᨕᨗ or 𑻱𑻳)

he, him, she, it, they, them (third person singular and plural)

Malay

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /-i/
- (after a consonant) IPA^(key): [-i]^{[n 1]}
- (after [u]) IPA^(key): [-wi]
- (etymology 1; after non-[u] vowel) IPA^(key): [-ʔi]^{[n 2]}

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *-i (local transitive suffix).

Suffix

-i (Jawi spelling ـي, active meng- -i, 3rd person passive di- -i)

Gives a causative meaning or a meaning of causing something to form imperative transitive verbs.
‎hamba (“slave”) + ‎-i → ‎hambai (“enslave”)

‎baik (“good”) + ‎-i → ‎baiki (“to make something good; to fix”)
Gives a locative meaning, that is, of stating a locational element to imperative verbs.
‎tumpah (“to fall out”) + ‎-i → ‎tumpahi (“fall onto”)

‎dekat (“close, near”) + ‎-i → ‎dekati (“get closer or nearer to; to approach”)
(with duplicated, reciprocal verbs) Forms a transitive version of the base verb with any of the aforementioned properties for the benefit of one another.

Usage notes

^ For some speakers, when the Etymology 1 form of this suffix (along with -an) is added to a stem that starts with any consonant except /r/, the consonant would be geminated, so that alami (“to experience”) and hadapi (“to face”) which respectively are affixations of alam (“realm”) and hadap (“front”) with the -i suffix, are pronounced as /alammi/ [a.lam.mi] and /hadappi/ [ha.dap̚.pi], not as /alami/ [a.la.mi] and /hadapi/ [ha.da.pi].
^ This suffix is never used after verbs ending in final -i for euphonic reasons and to avoid near-homophony with bare forms (-∅). Thus, beli (“to buy”) does not derive into *belii.

Synonyms

(first sense, generally before an inanimate object, but not always) -kan

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic nisba suffix ـِيّ (-iyy).

Suffix

-i (Jawi spelling ـي)

Forms adjectives related to certain base words of Arabic or Persian origin.
‎abad (“century”) + ‎-i → ‎abadi (“eternal, everlasting”)

‎bahar (“sea”) + ‎-i → ‎bahari (“sea-related”)

firdaus (“paradise”) + -i → firdausi (“paradisiacal”)

‎hakikat (“reality, fact”) + ‎-i → ‎hakiki (“true”)

maghrib (“west”) + -i → maghribi (“western”)

‎Habsyah (“Abyssinia (obs.), Ethiopia (mod.)”) + ‎-i → ‎Habsyi (“Ethiopian”)

Qibt + -i → Qibti (“a Copt, anything pertaining their Coptic culture”)

‎Rum (“Rome”) + ‎-i → ‎Rumi (“Roman”)

Syatibah (“Xàtiva”) + -i → Syatibi (“someone from Xàtiva, a setabense”)

Alternative forms

-iah, -iyah, -ni, -wi, -wiah

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English -ee, from Middle English -ee, -ē, from Anglo-Norman and Old French -ee, French -é, -ée, endings forming past participle of verbs ending in -er.

Suffix

-i (Jawi spelling ـي)

(obsolete, unproductive) -ee.
francaisi ― franchisee

Derived terms

Maltese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɪ/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy).

Suffix

-i m (feminine -ija, plural -in)

a derivational suffix, chiefly creating adjectives from nouns

Usage notes

Note that Romance adjectives in -i are treated differently and do not inflect.

Derived terms

Maltese terms suffixed with -i (adjectival)

Related terms

-ijiet

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Sicilian -i. Though -i is not used as a plural ending in Arabic, it was integrated fairly easily as a large number of broken plurals happen to end in this vowel, compare ‎tieqa → ‎twieqi, etc.

Suffix

-i

a common plural suffix
1. used in nouns and adjectives in -u
  ‎numru (“number”) + ‎-i → ‎numri (“numbers”)
  
  ‎illużorju (“illusory”) + ‎-i → ‎illużorji
2. used in some nouns in -a, chiefly ones of Romance origin
  ‎frawla (“strawberry”) + ‎-i → ‎frawli (“strawberries”)
  
  ‎qawsalla (“rainbow”) + ‎-i → ‎qawsalli (“rainbows”)
3. used in some nouns and adjectives in a consonant, chiefly ones of Romance origin
  ‎frisk (“fresh”) + ‎-i → ‎friski

Usage notes

Adjectives in -iku change to -iċi: ‎demokratiku (“democratic”) → ‎demokratiċi.

Etymology 3

Inherited from Arabic ـِي (-ī, “possessive suffix, 1st person singular”).

Suffix

-i

1st-person singular pronominal suffix: my, me
Synonym: tiegħi (independent possessive)

‎sħab + ‎-i → ‎sħabi (“my friends”)

‎ktieb + ‎-i → ‎ktiebi (“my book”)

‎taħt + ‎-i → ‎taħti (“under me”)

Related terms

jien

Middle English

Etymology 1

Suffix

-i

alternative form of -ien (infinitival suffix)

Etymology 2

Suffix

-i

alternative form of -y

Etymology 3

Suffix

-i

alternative form of -yf

Mizo

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Suffix

-i

Forms relative clauses in which the referent is female.
Used to form female given names.
Coordinate term: -a

Mokilese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /-i/

Suffix

-i

Forms transitive verbs from intransitive verbs or nouns.

Derived terms

Namuyi

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [-i˧]

Suffix

-i

Used to give the prospective aspect to verbs

Derived terms

Namuyi terms suffixed with -i

hǟi

mwĭ

References

Štěpán Pavlík (2017), The Description of Namuzi Language‎^[4], Prague: Charles University (PhD Thesis), page 49

Norman

Etymology

From Latin -īre, the ending of the present active infinitive form of fourth conjugation verbs.

Suffix

-i

(Jersey) A suffix forming infinitives of many verbs.

Derived terms

Northern Sami

Etymology 1

From Proto-Samic *-jē. Cognate with Finnish -ja.

Suffix

-i (with odd-syllable stems -eaddji)

Forms agent nouns from verbs.
‎oahppat (“to learn”) + ‎-i → ‎oahppi (“student”)

‎čállit (“to write”) + ‎-i → ‎čálˈli (“writer”)

‎láibut (“to bake”) + ‎-u → ‎láibu (“baker”)

‎oahpahit (“to teach”) + ‎-eaddji → ‎oahpaheaddji (“teacher”)

Usage notes

This suffix triggers the strongest grade on a preceding stressed syllable.

When attached to verbs in -ut, the suffix becomes -u.

Inflection

Even i-stem, no gradation

Nominative

-i

Genitive

-i
-ẹ

Singular

Plural

Nominative

-i

-it

Accusative

-i

-iid

Genitive

-i
-ẹ

-iid

Illative

-ái

-iide

Locative

-is

-iin

Comitative

-iin

-iiguin

Essive

-in

Possessive forms
	Singular	Dual	Plural
1st person	-án	-áme	-ámet
2nd person	-át	-áde	-ádet
3rd person	-is	-iska	-iset

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Proto-Samic *-jëj.

Suffix

-i

Forms adjectives indicating an abundance of something.
‎geađgi (“stone”) + ‎-i → ‎geađgái (“stony”)

‎vuodja (“fat”) + ‎-i → ‎vuddjii (“rich in fat”)

Usage notes

This suffix triggers the strongest grade on a preceding stressed syllable.

Phonologically, the suffix is actually the consonant j, and so it forms a diphthong with the final vowel of the base word's stem rather than replacing that vowel. Thus, the resulting word is essentially identical to the illative singular form. The noun declines as a contracted stem, with the inflectional stem lacking the -i.

Inflection

Odd, no gradation

Nominative

-i

Genitive

-ja

Singular

Plural

Nominative

-i

-jat

Accusative

-ja

-jiid

Genitive

-ja

Illative

Locative

Comitative

Essive

Possessive forms
	Singular	Dual	Plural
1st person	-jan	-jeamẹ	-jeamẹt
2nd person	-jat	-jeattẹ	-jeattẹt
3rd person	-jis	-jeaskkạ	-jeasẹt

Derived terms

Northern Sami terms suffixed with -i (abundance)

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Suffix

-i

The ending of the illative singular case.

Usage notes

This suffix triggers the strong grade on a preceding stressed syllable.

When possessive suffixes are attached, the suffix changes to the form -s- (for even-syllable stems) or -sa- (for odd-syllable stems).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Suffix

-i

(non-standard since 2012) Used to form past participle of strong verbs.
(non-standard since 2012) Used to form singular definite form for strong feminine nouns.
(non-standard since 2012) Used to form plural definite form for neuter nouns.
(non-standard since 2012) Used to form feminine singular indefinite form for many adjectives.
(non-standard since 2012) Used to form neuter singular indefinite form for many adjectives.

Ojibwe

Final

-i

be such a number, such an amount

Derived terms

dashi

Final

-i

occurs after initials to form animate intransitive verbs (vai)

Derived terms

niibawi

Final

-i

occurs in inanimate intransitive verbs (vii)

Derived terms

dagwaagin

Final

-i

occurs in some uninflected words, including preverbs

Derived terms

ingoji
onji-

References

The Ojibwe People's Dictionary https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/word-part/i-final-644943
The Ojibwe People's Dictionary https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/word-part/i-final-644942
The Ojibwe People's Dictionary https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/word-part/i-final-644856
The Ojibwe People's Dictionary https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/word-part/word-part/i-final-654844
The Ojibwe People's Dictionary https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/word-part/i-final-3a8bda4a-247f-4fae-96ad-c8054d2a5525

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *-i, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *-īˀ, from Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈi/
IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈi/

Suffix

-i f (inflectional suffix)

forms feminine form of Nt-participles
‎jsa + ‎-i → ‎jsúci

‎prosě + ‎-i → ‎prosieci
forms feminine form of S-participles
‎byv + ‎-i → ‎byvši

‎řek + ‎-i → ‎řekši
forms feminine form of short comparatives
‎lepí + ‎-i → ‎lepši

‎mlazí + ‎-i → ‎mlazši

Derived terms

Suffix

-i f (noun-forming suffix)

(rare) forms female equivalent of nouns
‎host + ‎-i → ‎hosti

‎chot + ‎-i → ‎choti

Declension

Declension of -i (i-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	-i	-i	-i
genitive	-i	-ú	-í
dative	-i	-ma	-em
accusative	-i	-i	-i
vocative	-i	-i	-i
locative	-i	-ú	-ech
instrumental	-ú	-ma	-mi

This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *-ī, from Proto-Germanic *-į̄.

Suffix

-i f

-ness, -th Forms abstract nouns from adjectives which represent the state, quality or measure of the adjective.

Inflection

Declension of -i (feminine īn-stem noun - no plural)

case	singular
nominative	-i
accusative	-i
genitive	-i
dative	-i

Synonyms

-heit
-itha

Derived terms

Old Dutch terms suffixed with -i

Descendants

Middle Dutch: -e
- Dutch: -e (functionally archaic)

Old English

Suffix

-i

alternative form of -iġ

Old High German

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂

Proto-Germanic *-į̄

Proto-West Germanic *-ī

Old High German -i

From Proto-West Germanic *-ī, from Proto-Germanic *-į̄.

Suffix

-ī

productive suffix used to form abstract nouns from adjectives
‎manag (“many”) + ‎-i → ‎menigī, managī (“crowd, amount”)

‎tiuf (“deep”) + ‎-i → ‎tiufī (“depth”)

‎finstar (“dark”) + ‎-i → ‎finstrī, finstarī (“darkness”)

‎hōh (“high”) + ‎-i → ‎hōhī (“height”)

‎lang (“long”) + ‎-i → ‎lengī (“length”)

‎breit (“broad”) + ‎-i → ‎breitī (“breadth”)

Declension

Declension of -ī (īn-stem)
case	singular	plural
nominative	-ī	—
accusative	-ī	—
genitive	-ī	—
dative	-ī	—

Derived terms

Descendants

Middle High German: -e
- German: -e

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *-īniz. Cognate to Gothic -𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (-eins).

Suffix

-ī

non-productive suffix used to form action nouns from weak verbs
‎toufen (“to baptise”) + ‎-i → ‎toufī (“baptism”)

‎wellen (“to choose”) + ‎-i → ‎welī (“choice”)

Usage notes

In Old High German, this suffix is neither frequent nor productive. Many weak verbs have action nouns with -unga instead.

Declension

Female n-declension

Old Irish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /i/

Suffix

-i (suffixed pronoun)

him
it (object pronoun)

Usage notes

This suffix is used only after third-person singular forms. After 1st person singular forms in -(e)a, 1st person plural forms in -mi, and 3rd person plural forms in -(a)it, the suffix -it is sometimes used.

Derived terms

Old Irish terms suffixed with -i

Old Norse

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *-į̄, cognate with Gothic -𐌴𐌹 (-ei).

Suffix

-i f

-th; forms abstract nouns from adjectives which represent 'the state, quality or measure of' the adjective

Declension

Declension of -i (weak īn-stem, singular only)
feminine	singular
feminine	indefinite	definite
nominative	-i	-in
accusative	-i	-ina
dative	-i	-inni
genitive	-i	-innar

Derived terms

Old Norse terms suffixed with -i (abstract noun)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *-ô, cognate with Gothic -𐌰 (-a).

Suffix

-i m

forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade form of the base
Synonyms: -andi, -ari, -ir

Declension

Declension of -i (weak an-stem)
masculine	singular		plural
masculine	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	-i	-inn	-ar	-arnir
accusative	-a	-ann	-a	-ana
dative	-a	-anum	-um	-unum
genitive	-a	-ans	-a	-anna

Derived terms

Old Norse terms suffixed with -i (agent noun)

Etymology 3

From a conflation of several older dative singular suffixes:

In a-stems, from Proto-Norse -ᛖ (-ē), from Proto-Germanic *-ai, from Proto-Indo-European *-oey or *-oy, from *-os (a-stem suffix) +‎ *-ey (dative singular suffix) or *-i (locative singular suffix).
In u-stems, from Proto-Norse -ᛁᚢ (-iu), from Proto-Germanic *-iwi, from late Proto-Indo-European *-ewi, from *-us (u-stem suffix) +‎ *-i (locative singular suffix).
In īn-stems, from Proto-Norse *-ᛁᚾ (-īn), from Proto-Germanic *-īni, from *-ī (ī/jō-stem suffix) +‎ *-ani (an-stem dative singular suffix).

Suffix

-i

a-/u-/īn-stem indefinite dative singular suffix
‎steinn (“stone”) + ‎-i → ‎steini (“to the stone”)

Descendants

Icelandic: -i
Faroese: -i
Middle Norwegian: -i, -e
Elfdalian: -i
Old Swedish: -i, -e
- Swedish: -e (obsolete)
Old Danish: -æ, -e

Etymology 4

Inherited from Proto-Germanic *-inz, from Proto-Indo-European *-ims (i-stem accusative plural), from *-is (i-stem suffix) +‎ *-ms (accusative plural suffix).

Suffix

-i

masculine i-stem indefinite accusative plural suffix
‎bekkr (“bank”) + ‎-i → ‎bekki (“banks”)

Descendants

Icelandic: -i
Faroese: -i (Suðuroy, obsolete)^[1]
Middle Norwegian: -i, -e
Elfdalian: -i
Old Swedish: -i, -e
Old Gutnish: -e
Old Danish: -æ, -e

References

^ Hammershaimb, V. U. (1854), “Færøisk sproglære”, in Annaler for nordisk oldkyndighed og historie, Kjöbenhavn: Det Kongelige Nordiske oldskriftselskab, →OCLC, page 274: “Gf. flt. endes på Syderø på i, men er ellers overalt bleven lig nf.”

Old Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-isder.

Proto-Indo-European *-ósder.

Proto-Slavic *-ьjь

Old Polish -i

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *-ьjь.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /iː/
IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /i/

Suffix

-i

forms adjectives from nouns, usually possessive

Derived terms

Old Polish terms suffixed with -i

Descendants

Polish: -i

Palula

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /-i/

Suffix

-i

Feminine agreement suffix

References

Henrik Liljegren; Naseem Haider (2011), “-i”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[5], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-isder.

Proto-Indo-European *-ósder.

Proto-Slavic *-ьjь

Old Polish -i

Polish -i

Inherited from Old Polish -i.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /i/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -i
Syllabification: -i
Homophones: i, -i-

Suffix

-i m

forms masculine adjectives meaning "belonging to", especially for animals
‎koza + ‎-i → ‎kozi

‎kot + ‎-i → ‎koci

‎pies + ‎-i → ‎psi
forms masculine adjectives derived from prepositional phrases
‎noga + ‎-i → ‎beznogi

Declension

Declension of -i (soft)

singular					plural
	masculine animate	masculine inanimate	feminine	neuter	virile (= masculine personal)	non-virile
nominative/vocative	-i		-ia	-ie	-i	-ie
genitive	-iego		-iej	-iego	-ich
dative	-iemu		-iej	-iemu	-im
accusative	-iego	-i	-ią	-ie	-ich	-ie
instrumental	-im		-ią	-im	-imi
locative	-im		-iej	-im	-ich

Derived terms

Polish terms suffixed with -i

lwi

osi

psi

Portuguese

Suffix

-i (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)

a suffix indicating the inflection of -ir:
1. first-person singular preterite indicative
2. second-person plural imperative

Related terms

-ei (affirmative imperative for 2nd-conjugation verbs)
-ai (affirmative imperative for 1st-conjugation verbs and negative imperative for 3rd-conjugation verbs)

Romani

Suffix

-i

Forms the nominative singular of vocalic oikoclitic feminine nouns
Forms the nominative feminine singular of vocalic oikoclitic adjectives
Attaches to the perfective stem to form the third-person singular feminine past tense of intransitive verbs

Romanian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin -ī (second-declension plural ending).

Pronunciation

(after roots ending in a single consonant) IPA^(key): /ʲ/
(after roots ending in two or more consonants and the vowel u) IPA^(key): /i/
(after roots ending in vowels) IPA^(key): /j/

Suffix

-i

Forms the indefinite plural of masculine nouns and many feminine nouns.
‎lup + ‎-i → ‎lupi

‎tată + ‎-i → ‎tați

‎fiu + ‎-i → ‎fii

‎frate + ‎-i → ‎frați

Usage notes

The suffix may cause phonetic changes, vowel deletion or both.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin illī, nominative masculine plural of ille.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /j/

Suffix

-i m

masculine plural, nominative and accusative definite article

Usage notes

This form of the definite article is used for masculine plural nouns in the nominative and accusative cases (as attached to the indefinite plural, which always ends in a vowel):

‎lupi + ‎-i → ‎lupii
‎tați + ‎-i → ‎tații
‎fii + ‎-i → ‎fiii
‎frați + ‎-i → ‎frații
‎copii + ‎-i → ‎copiii

Related terms

-l (masculine/neuter singular nominative and accusative)
-a (feminine singular nominative and accusative)
-le (feminine plural nominative and accusative)
-lui (masculine/neuter singular genitive and dative)
-ei (feminine singular genitive and dative)
-lor (plural genitive and dative)

Etymology 3

Inherited from Latin -īre, the ending of the present active infinitive form of fourth conjugation verbs. Cognate with Spanish and French -ir, Italian -ire, etc.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /i/

Suffix

-i

A suffix forming infinitives of fourth conjugation verbs.

Usage notes

Most verbs with infinitives in -i are marked by the once-inchoative infix -esc- in many parts of their conjugation, as well as in various derived words; two such verbs are vorbi (“to say”) and iubi (“to love”).
A sizable group of verbs have infinitives in -i but do not use the infix -esc-, and feature various stem changes in conjugation; these include, among others, the common verbs dormi (“to sleep”), simți (“to feel”), auzi (“to hear”).
There is a variant form, -î, derived from the same Latin source.

Conjugation

conjugation of -i (fourth conjugation, no infix)

number		singular			plural
infinitive			a -i
gerund			-ind
past participle			-it
person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	-	-i	-e	-im	-iți	-
	imperfect	-eam	-eai	-ea	-eam	-eați	-eau
	simple perfect	-ii	-iși	-i	-irăm	-irăți	-iră
	pluperfect	-isem	-iseși	-ise	-iserăm	-iserăți	-iseră
subjunctive		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
subjunctive	present	să -	să -i	să -ă	să -im	să -iți	să -ă
imperative		—	tu	—	—	voi	—
	affirmative		-e			-iți
	negative		nu -i			nu -iți

Derived terms

Romanian terms suffixed with -i

foi

Etymology 4

From e (“is”).

Suffix

-i

is

Shona

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-ì (“agent noun forming suffix”)

Suffix

-i

Suffix for forming agent nouns from verbs

Derived terms

Shona terms suffixed with -i

Skolt Sami

Etymology 1

From Proto-Samic *-jē.

Suffix

-i

Forms agent nouns from verbs.

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

Skolt Sami terms suffixed with -i (agent noun)

jåårǥlõʹtti

lookki

Etymology 2

From Proto-Samic *-jëj.

Suffix

-i

Forms adjectives indicating an abundance of something.

Usage notes

Phonologically, the suffix is actually the consonant j, and so it forms a diphthong with the final vowel of the base word's stem rather than replacing that vowel.

Inflection

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

Skolt Sami terms suffixed with -i (abundance)

čäccai

Somali

Etymology 1

From Proto-Somaloid *i, from Proto-Cushitic *yi, from Proto-Afroasiatic *yi (“me”). Cognate with Maay i, Garre i, Aweer i, Rendille i, Arbore ye, Daasanach ye, Burji ee, Blin yé.

Pronoun

-i

I (first-person singular clitic personal pronoun)

Etymology 2

Compare Oromo -ti.

Suffix

-i

Nominative suffix for feminine nouns.
naag (absolutive) > naagi (nominative, “woman”)

inan (absolutive) > inani (nominative, “girl”)

Etymology 3

Compare Oromo -uu.

Suffix

-i (after vowel -n)

Forms the infinitive form of a verb.

References

“-i”, in Qaamuuska Af-Soomaaliga, 2012

Swahili

Etymology 1

Suffix

-i

(without TAM infix) general negative marker
sijui ― I don't know
- 18th century, Abdallah bin Ali bin Nasir, Al-Inkishafi‎^[7], translation from R. Allen (1946), “Inkishafi—a translation from the Swahili”, in African Studies, volume 5, number 4, →DOI, pages 243–249, stanza 11:
  مُيُ وَاغُ نِنِ هُزُدُكَانِ ، لِكُغُرِيِلُ هِيْلَ نِنْنِ ،
  Moyo wangu nini huzundukani, likughuriyelo hela ni-n'ni?
  Soul, why not awake? Hi! what is it that cheats you?

Usage notes

Borrowed verbs with indicative form not ending in -a do not take this suffix.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-ì.

Alternative forms

(after a vowel) -zi

Suffix

-i

suffix used in nominal forms of verbs, in conjunction with a noun class prefix
‎-penda (“to love”) + ‎-i → ‎mpenzi (“lover”)

‎-andika (“to write”) + ‎-i → ‎maandishi (“writing, script”)

Usage notes

This suffix triggers spirantization of the preceding consonant

Original	Spirantized
k	sh
t	s
p	f
w	v
b	v/z
d, l, g, ∅	z
nd	nd/nz
mb	mb/mv/nz

Other consonants are left unchanged.

Swedish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈiː/

Suffix

-i

-y; when added to one noun, creates a new one that indicates the use or activity of the first. See also -eri.

Derived terms

Swedish terms suffixed with -i

antonymi

telefoni

Tagalog

Alternative forms

-e — colloquial

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /i/ [ɪ]
Rhymes: -i
Syllabification: -i

Suffix

-i (verb-forming suffix, Baybayin spelling ᜒ) (now dialectal, Batangas, Quezon, Marinduque)

imperative suffix, usually equivalent to -in / -an mo in Standard Tagalog and other dialects
Buksi yung pinto!
Open the door!

Derived terms

Tagalog terms suffixed with -i

huti

palangii

Tumbuka

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-ì. Cognate with Swahili -i and Chichewa -i.

Suffix

-i

Forms agent nouns from verbs

Derived terms

Tumbuka terms suffixed with -i

Turkish

Pronunciation

(senses 1, 2, 3, and 6) IPA^(key): [i]
(senses 4 and 5) IPA^(key): [iː]

Etymology 1

From Ottoman Turkish ـی (-i), from Proto-Turkic *-ni (“accusative suffix”).

Suffix

-i

Accusative suffix
‎gelin + ‎-i → ‎gelini

Kitabı bana ver.
Give me the book.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish ـی (-i), from Proto-Turkic *-si (“third-person singular possessive suffix”).

Suffix

-i

Third-person singular possessive suffix denoting singular possession.
‎ev (“house”) + ‎-i → ‎evi (“his/her/its house”)

‎ofis (“office”) + ‎-i → ‎ofisi (“his/her/its office”)

Derived terms

Turkish terms suffixed with -i (possessive)

Etymology 3

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish ـی (-i), from Proto-Turkic *-ig.

Suffix

preceding vowel
a / ı	e / i	o / u	ö / ü
-ı	-i	-u	-ü

-i

Suffix creating nouns from verbs
‎ver- (“to give”) + ‎-i → ‎veri (“datum”)

‎diz- (“to align”) + ‎-i → ‎dizi (“sequence, set, series”)

Derived terms

Etymology 4

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish ـی (-î), from Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy).

Alternative forms

-î

Suffix

-i

Nisba suffix; creates adjectives.

Usage notes

The alternative form -î is used when the resulting adjective would otherwise be identical to the definite accusative form (e.g. ‎resim (“picture”) + ‎-î → ‎resmî (“official, formal”), not resmi, which is the definite accusative form of the same noun).

Derived terms

Etymology 5

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish ـی (-i), from Persian .

Suffix

-i

Suffix creating abstract nouns from nouns or adjectives

Derived terms

Turkish terms suffixed with -i (Persian abstract suffix)

cerrahi

mimari

Etymology 6

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish ـِ (-i), from Classical Persian ـِ (-i).

Suffix

-i

the ezafe particle

Uzbek

Suffix

-i

third-person singular possessive suffix, used after a noun ending in a consonant; also used to form definite accusative forms of nouns
Bu kitobi.
This is its book.

Venda

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-ì (“agent noun suffix”).

Suffix

-i.

Forms agent nouns from verbs

Derived terms

Venda terms suffixed with -i

Veps

Etymology 1

From Proto-Finnic *-ja.

Suffix

-i

-er; forms agent nouns from verbs.

Usage notes

When attached to a verb with a stem in -e-, this becomes -ii.

Inflection

Inflection of -i (inflection type 7/pedai)
nominative sing.	-i
genitive sing.	-jan
partitive sing.	-jad
partitive plur.	-jid
	singular	plural
nominative	-i	-jad
accusative	-jan	-jad
genitive	-jan	-jiden
partitive	-jad	-jid
essive-instructive	-jan	-jin
translative	-jaks	-jikš

inessive	-jas	-jiš
elative	-jaspäi	-jišpäi
illative	-jaha	-jihe

adessive	-jal	-jil
ablative	-jalpäi	-jilpäi
allative	-jale	-jile

abessive	-jata	-jita
comitative	-janke	-jidenke
prolative	-jadme	-jidme

approximative I	-janno	-jidenno
approximative II	-jannoks	-jidennoks
egressive	-jannopäi	-jidennopäi

terminative I	-jahasai	-jihesai
terminative II	-jalesai	-jilesai
terminative III	-jassai	—

additive I	-jahapäi	-jihepäi
additive II	-jalepäi	-jilepäi

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Adjectival/participal use of the agent noun suffix above.

Suffix

-i

-ing; forms the present active participle of verbs.

Usage notes

When attached to a verb with a stem in -e-, this becomes -ii.

Inflection

Inflection of -i (inflection type 7/pedai)
nominative sing.	-i
genitive sing.	-jan
partitive sing.	-jad
partitive plur.	-jid
	singular	plural
nominative	-i	-jad
accusative	-jan	-jad
genitive	-jan	-jiden
partitive	-jad	-jid
essive-instructive	-jan	-jin
translative	-jaks	-jikš

inessive	-jas	-jiš
elative	-jaspäi	-jišpäi
illative	-jaha	-jihe

adessive	-jal	-jil
ablative	-jalpäi	-jilpäi
allative	-jale	-jile

abessive	-jata	-jita
comitative	-janke	-jidenke
prolative	-jadme	-jidme

approximative I	-janno	-jidenno
approximative II	-jannoks	-jidennoks
egressive	-jannopäi	-jidennopäi

terminative I	-jahasai	-jihesai
terminative II	-jalesai	-jilesai
terminative III	-jassai	—

additive I	-jahapäi	-jihepäi
additive II	-jalepäi	-jilepäi

Derived terms

Category Veps present active participles not found

Volapük

Suffix

-i

A morpheme used to mark the accusative singular of a word (such as a noun or pronoun).
Dog beiton mani. / Mani beiton dog
The dog bites the man.

Mot löfof omi. / Omi löfof mot. (a.s., hicili, soni, u higaaporn).
The mother loves him. (e.g. the (male) child, son, or (male) lovebird).

Welsh

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /i/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Brythonic *-i, from Proto-Celtic *-esa, plural ending of neuter s-stems like *tegos (“house”) (whence Welsh tŷ, plural tai < *tegos, plural *tegesa).^[1] Cognate with Cornish -i.

Suffix

-i

Pluralisation suffix
Synonyms: -aid, -aint, -au, -ed, -edd, -en, -iadau, -iaid, -iau, -ion, -od, -oedd, -on, -ydd, -yr, -ys

‎plwyf (“parish”) + ‎-i → ‎plwyfi (“parishes”)

‎maen (“stone”) + ‎-i → ‎meini (“stones”)

‎toiled (“toilet”) + ‎-i → ‎toiledi (“toilets”)

Etymology 2

From Old Welsh -im, from Proto-Brythonic *-iβ̃.

Suffix

-i

Forms verbnouns from verb stems.
Synonyms: -o, -u

Usage notes

This suffix is mostly used for verbs where the stem ends in the consonant w (though for some such verbs, such as cadw, the verbnoun is given by the stem without a suffix) or the vowel in the last syllable is o, oe, or sometimes a.^[2]

Etymology 3

Suffix

-i

forming abstract nouns, -ness, -ment
‎diog (“lazy”) + ‎-i → ‎diogi (“laziness”)

‎truan (“poor, wretched”) + ‎-i → ‎trueni (“pity, shame”)

‎tlawd (“poor”) + ‎-i → ‎tlodi (“poverty”)

Usage notes

-i causes i-affection of internal vowels.

Etymology 4

Suffix

-i

used to form pet names
‎Wil + ‎-i → ‎Wili

‎Siân + ‎-i → ‎Siani

‎mam (“mother, mum”) + ‎-i → ‎mami (“mummy”)

Etymology 5

Suffix

-i

(literary) verb suffix for the second-person singular present indicative/future
(colloquial) verb suffix for the second-person singular future

Usage notes

In the literary language, -i causes i-affection of internal vowels, for example, ‎canu (“to sing”) + ‎-i → ‎ceni (“you sing, you will sing”).

Derived terms

Welsh terms suffixed with -i

ogi

toi

References

^ Peter C. H. Schrijver (1995), Studies in British Celtic Historical Phonology (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 5), Amsterdam; Atlanta, Ga.: Rodopi, page 393.
^ Morris Jones, John (1913), A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative, Oxford: Clarendon Press, § 202 v.

Ye'kwana

Variant orthographies
ALIV	-i
Brazilian standard	-i
New Tribes	-i

Etymology 1

Unknown; unlike the other possessive suffixes found in the language, -i has no known cognates in any other Cariban language.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [-i]

Suffix

-i

marks a noun as possessed; used mostly with nouns referring to instruments, technologies, and manufactured products, and also with all loanwords

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

-∅ (allophone after diphthongal i)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [-i]

Suffix

-i

forms the singular of the recent past perfective tense
forms the singular of the distant past perfective tense when both the agent and patient (if there is one) of the verb are third-person

Usage notes

This suffix does not cause syllable reduction. When it attaches to a stem that ends in a vowel followed by i, this suffix is unrealized (disappears).

The second sense can be readily distinguished from the first because it requires the distant-past third-person marker kün- instead of ordinary person markers.

Derived terms

-icho

Etymology 3

Possibly of the same origin as the previous suffix.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [-i]

Suffix

-i

forms the prohibitive mood

Usage notes

When the patient/object of a verb with this suffix is third-person, or when the object/patient is first-person and the subject/agent is second-person, it must also take the prefix ön- (or one of its allomorphs) after the person marker. However, this prefix is not found when the object/patient is first-person and the subject/agent is third-person.

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [-i]

Suffix

-i

forms the interrogative of the third-person form na of the copula ei

References

Cáceres, Natalia (2011), “-i”, in Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎^[8], Lyon, pages 112–113, 204–206, 213–222, 233, 440

Zulu

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-ì.

Suffix

-i

Forms agent nouns from verbs.

Usage notes

The suffix replaces the -a inherent in the verb stem.

Derived terms

[1] Demiraj, Bardhyl et al. (2021), “-i”, in DPEWA. Digitales Philologisch-Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altalbanischen [DPEWA. Digital Philological-Etymological Dictionary of Old Albanian]

[2] Matzinger 2015, pp. 62–66

[3] Ismajli 2015, pp. 65–68.

[4] Matzinger, Joachim (2017). "The Lexicon of Albanian". In Klein, Jared; Joseph, Brian; Fritz, Matthias (eds.). Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics. 3. Walter de Gruyter.

[5] Section 216 in A magyar helyesírás szabályai, 12. kiadás (‘The Rules of Hungarian Orthography, 12th edition’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2015. →ISBN

[6] Section 173 in A magyar helyesírás szabályai, 12. kiadás (‘The Rules of Hungarian Orthography, 12th edition’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2015. →ISBN

[7] Section 215 in A magyar helyesírás szabályai, 12. kiadás (‘The Rules of Hungarian Orthography, 12th edition’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2015. →ISBN

[Nyelvmuv-8] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Grétsy, László and Gábor Kemény, editors. Nyelvművelő kéziszótár (“Concise Dictionary for Language Cultivation”). Second, revised and extended edition. Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2005. →ISBN

[nyelvmuvelo-9] 5.0 ^5.1 birtokos személyjelek alaki változatai [“form variants of possessive suffixes”] in Grétsy, László and Gábor Kemény, editors. Nyelvművelő kéziszótár (“Concise Dictionary for Language Cultivation”). Second, revised and extended edition. Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2005. →ISBN

[10] Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 261

[11] For some speakers, when the Etymology 1 form of this suffix (along with -an) is added to a stem that starts with any consonant except /r/, the consonant would be geminated, so that alami (“to experience”) and hadapi (“to face”) which respectively are affixations of alam (“realm”) and hadap (“front”) with the -i suffix, are pronounced as /alammi/ [a.lam.mi] and /hadappi/ [ha.dap̚.pi], not as /alami/ [a.la.mi] and /hadapi/ [ha.da.pi].

[12] This suffix is never used after verbs ending in final -i for euphonic reasons and to avoid near-homophony with bare forms (-∅). Thus, beli (“to buy”) does not derive into *belii.

[13] Hammershaimb, V. U. (1854), “Færøisk sproglære”, in Annaler for nordisk oldkyndighed og historie, Kjöbenhavn: Det Kongelige Nordiske oldskriftselskab, →OCLC, page 274: “Gf. flt. endes på Syderø på i, men er ellers overalt bleven lig nf.”

[14] Peter C. H. Schrijver (1995), Studies in British Celtic Historical Phonology (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 5), Amsterdam; Atlanta, Ga.: Rodopi, page 393.

[15] Morris Jones, John (1913), A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative, Oxford: Clarendon Press, § 202 v.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[1]

[n 1]

[n 2]

[1]

[1]

[2]

	independent	absolutive	nominative	possessive
1^st sg / 1^st pl exclusive	nakke	-a'	ku-	-ku
1^st pl exclusive (archaic)	kambe	-kang	ki-	-mang
1^st pl inclusive / 2^nd sg polite	katte	-ki'	ki-	-ta
2^nd sg / pl familiar	kau	-ko	nu-	-nu
3^rd sg / pl	ia	-i	na-	-na

person	infixed			suffixed
See Appendix:Old Irish affixed pronouns for details on how these forms are used. Note that the so-called “infixed” pronouns are technically prefixes, but they are never the first prefix in a verbal complex.
person	class A	class B	class C	suffixed
1 sg	m-^L	dom-^L, dam-^L		-um
2 sg	t-^L	dot-^L, dat-^L, dut-^L, dit-^L		-ut
3 sg m	a-^N, e-^N	d-^N	id-^N, did-^N, d-^N	-i, -it
3 sg f	s-^(N)	da-		-us
3 sg n	a-^L, e-^L	d-^L	id-^L, did-^L, d-^L	-i, -it
1 pl	n-	don-, dun-, dan-		-unn
2 pl	b-	dob-, dub-, dab-		-uib
3 pl	s-^(N)	da-		-us

Translingual

Etymology

Suffix

Derived terms

English

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Suffix

Translations

See also

References

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Suffix

Usage notes

References

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

Suffix

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

Suffix

Afar

Pronunciation

Suffix

Usage notes

References

Ahtna

Alternative forms

Etymology

Suffix

Usage notes

Derived terms

References

Albanian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Article

Related terms

Suffix

Derived terms

References

Alemannic German

Suffix

Catalan

Etymology 1

Suffix

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Suffix

References

Chichewa

Etymology

Pronunciation

Suffix

Derived terms

Chungli Ao

Suffix

Further reading

Chuukese

Suffix

Usage notes

Cornish

Etymology

Suffix

Derived terms

Esperanto

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Suffix

Conjugation

Etymology 2

Suffix

Further reading

Estonian

Etymology

Suffix

Inflection

Derived terms

Finnish