أي

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See also: إي, آی, ای, ایی, and آیی

Arabic

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Etymology 1

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From Proto-Semitic *ʔayy-.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ʔajj/
  • Audio:(file)

Pronoun

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أَيّ (ʔayym or f

  1. which ...? what ...? what kind of ...? (followed by a noun in the genitive or a personal suffix)
    مِنْ أَيِّ بَلَدٍ أَنْتَ؟
    min ʔayyi baladin ʔanta?
    From which country are you?
    أَيًّا مِنْ هٰذِهِ الْأَلْعَابِ تُفَضِّلُ؟
    ʔayyan min hāḏihi l-ʔalʕābi tufaḍḍilu?
    Which of these games do you prefer?
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 31:34:
      وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ
      wa-mā tadrī nafsun māḏā taksibu ḡadan wa-mā tadrī nafsun bi-ʔayyi ʔarḍin tamūtu
      [...] and no soul perceives in what land it will die.
  2. whichever
    أَيَّ كِتَابٍ تَقْرَأْ يُفِدْكَ
    ʔayya kitābin taqraʔ yufidka
    Whichever book you read, it'll benefit you.
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 17:110:
      أَيًّا مَا تَدْعُوا فَلَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَاءُ ٱلْحُسْنَى
      ʔayyan mā tadʕū fa-lahu l-ʔasmāʔu l-ḥusnā
      [... by] whatever [name] you call upon [Him], to Him belongs the best names.
  3. any
    زُرْنِي فِي أَيِّ وَقْتٍ
    zurnī fī ʔayyi waqtin
    Visit me at any time.
Usage notes
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  • While أَيّ (ʔayy) can be used with masculine as well as feminine nouns, the form أَيَّة (ʔayya) is exclusively used with feminine nouns.
Declension
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Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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أَيْ (ʔay)

  1. that is to say, namely, i.e.
References
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  • Haywood, J.A., Nahmad, H.M. (1965) “أي”, in A new Arabic grammar, 2nd edition, London: Lund Humphries, →ISBN

Moroccan Arabic

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Etymology

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From Arabic أَيّ (ʔayy).

Pronunciation

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Determiner

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أي (ʔayy)

  1. any
    أي طريق خدتي غتوصلك لاين باغية.
    ʔayy ṭrīq ḵadti ḡatwaṣṣalki lāyin bāḡya.
    Any road you take will lead you to where you want.

South Levantine Arabic

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Etymology

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From Arabic أيّ.

Pronunciation

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Determiner

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أيّ (ʔayy)

  1. which?
  2. any

Pronoun

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أيّ (ʔayy)

  1. which?

Synonyms

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