li

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "li"

Translingual[edit]

Symbol[edit]

li

  1. (mathematics) The symbol for the logarithmic integral function.
  2. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Limburgish.

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /liː/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Rhymes: -iː

Etymology 1[edit]

An early romanization of Chinese Mandarin 里 (lǐ). As a Korean unit, via the Yale romanization of Korean 리 (ri), from the Chinese distance.

Alternative forms[edit]

  • (Korea): ri

Noun[edit]

li (plural lis or li)

  1. The Chinese mile, a traditional unit of distance equal to 1500 chis or 150 zhangs, now standardized as a half-kilometer (500 meters).
    Synonym: Chinese mile
    • 1927, Chi Li, “Archaeological Survey of the Fêng River Valley, Southern Shansi, China”, in Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1926 (Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections)‎[1], volume 78, number 7, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, →OCLC, page 129:
      It was a whole day's journey from I-ch'eng to Chü-wo which, in turn, is about 60 li east of Chiang Chou — one of the most important cities in southern Shansi and a center for curio-dealers.
    • 1999 [1994], Heng (邹衡) Zou, “The Early Jin State Capital Discovered: a Personal Account”, in Roderick Whitfield, Wang Tao, transl., Exploring China's Past: New Discoveries and Studies in Archaeology and Art‎[2], Saffron Books, Eastern Art Publishing, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 106:
      In 1979, while we were conducting our archaeological work in Yucheng and Quwo, Shanxi province, I noticed another historical record in the Kuodizhi (a comprehensive account of geography written in 641), which stated that "the ancient city of Tang was 20 li west of Yuchengxian in Jiangzhou."
    • 2000, Shui-Bian Chen, “Learning and Transformation”, in David J. Toman, transl., The Son of Taiwan: The Life of Chen Shui-Bian and His Dreams for Taiwan‎[3], Taiwan Publishing Co., Ltd., →ISBN, →OCLC, page 40:
      The two gods who accompany Matsu, one with eyes that can see 1000 li⁶ and the other with ears that can hear far over the horizon, represent empathy, observation, and feeling. Government should be like Matsu, equipped with acute powers of observation; see clearly to the bottom of issues, and know how to respond.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:li.
  2. The Korean mile, a traditional unit of distance equivalent to about 393 m.
    Synonym: Korean mile
    • 1980, Il-sung Kim, “Meeting with My Comrades-in-Arms in North Manchuria”, in Kim Il Sung Works‎[4], volume 48, Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House, →OCLC, page 144:
      While scaling the Laoyeling Mountains, the Chinese Worker-Peasant Red Army, under the command of Mao Ze-dong and Zhu De, was successfully stepping up the historic 25 000-li Long March in China proper, breaking through the surrounding rings formed by Chiang Kai-shek’s army.
Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Mandarin 市厘 (lí).

Noun[edit]

li (plural li)

  1. A traditional Chinese unit of weight, equal to one-thousandth of a liang, or fifty milligrams.

Etymology 3[edit]

From Mandarin 禮／礼 (lǐ).

Noun[edit]

li (plural li)

  1. (Chinese philosophy) A meaningful ceremony or ritual; etiquette, behaviour.

Etymology 4[edit]

From Mandarin 鬲 (lì).

Noun[edit]

li (plural li)

  1. An ancient Chinese cauldron having three hollow legs.

Etymology 5[edit]

Altered from la, with the vowel changed to signify a raised note.

Noun[edit]

li (uncountable)

  1. (music) In solfège, the raised sixth note of a major scale (the note A-sharp in the fixed-do system).
    Synonyms: A-sharp, B-flat, ta, te

Anagrams[edit]

Albanian[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Orel suggests from South Slavic, compare Serbo-Croatian lȉh (“exclusive”), lȋh (“false, odd”), Slovene lȋh (“uneven, odd”).[1] However, generally thought to be from Ancient Greek εὐλογία (eulogía) "blessing", with a euphemistic sense development.[2][3] Compare e.g. the euphemistic synonym "e lume" (the happy/blessed one)[4]

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

li f (definite lia)

  1. pox
  2. olive scab, peacock spot (Cycloconium oleaginum)
    Synonym: sypallua
Hyponyms[edit]
hyponyms
Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “lijë”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 227
  2. ^ Eqrem Çabej, Studime etimologjike në fushë të shqipes, Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Instituti i Gjuhësisë dhe i Letërsisë, 1996, page 168
  3. ^ Eqrem Çabej, Studime Filologjike, Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH, Instituti i Gjuhësisë dje i Letërsisë., 1990, page 99
  4. ^ Eqrem Çabej, Studime gjuhësore: Nga historia e gjuhës shqipe, Rilindja, 1977, page 22

Etymology 2[edit]

Borrowed through Vulgar Latin from Latin līnum.

Noun[edit]

li m (definite liri)

  1. flax

Aragonese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin ille (“that one”).

Pronoun[edit]

li

  1. him (indirect object)

Synonyms[edit]

Aromanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin illis, dative common plural of ille. Compare Romanian le.

Pronoun[edit]

li f (short/unstressed accusative form of eali)

  1. (direct object) them (all-female group)

Related terms[edit]

  • lã (feminine/masculine plural dative- short/unstressed form)
  • u (feminine singular accusative- short/unstressed form)
  • (a) lor (feminine/masculine plural dative- long/stressed form)

Catalan[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Inherited from Latin illī, dative common singular of ille.

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

li (enclitic and proclitic)

  1. him, her, it (indirect object, singular all genders)
    doneu-li una moneda ― give him/her a coin

Declension[edit]

Catalan personal pronouns and clitics
strong/subject weak (direct object) weak (indirect object) possessive
singular proclitic enclitic proclitic enclitic
1st person jo, mi3 em, m’ -me, ’m em, m’ -me, ’m meu
1st person majestic1 nós ens -nos, ’ns ens -nos, ’ns nostre
2nd person tu et, t’ -te, ’t et, t’ -te, ’t teu
2nd person formal1 vós us -vos, -us us -vos, -us vostre
2nd person very formal2 vostè el, l’ -lo, ’l li -li seu
3rd person masculine ell el, l’ -lo, ’l li -li seu
3rd person feminine ella la, l’4 -la li -li seu
3rd person neuter ho -ho li -li seu
3rd person reflexive si es, s’ -se, ’s es, s’ -se, ’s seu
plural
1st person nosaltres ens -nos, ’ns ens -nos, ’ns nostre
2nd person vosaltres us -vos, -us us -vos, -us vostre
2nd person formal2 vostès els -los, ’ls els -los, ’ls seu
3rd person masculine ells els -los, ’ls els -los, ’ls seu
3rd person feminine elles les -les els -los, ’ls seu
3rd person reflexive si es, s’ -se, ’s es, s’ -se, ’s seu
adverbial
ablative/genitive en, n’ -ne, ’n
locative hi -hi
1) Behaves grammatically as plural.
2) Behaves grammatically as third person. 		3) Only as object of a preposition.
4) Not before unstressed (h)i-, (h)u-.

Corsican[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin illi, masculine plural of ille, from Old Latin olle. Cognates include Italian gli (“the, them”) and Romanian îi (“them”).

Pronoun[edit]

li

  1. him, her (indirect object)
  2. them (indirect object)
  3. Archaic form of i.

See also[edit]

Corsican personal pronouns
Nominative Dative Accusative Disjunctive
Singular 1st person eiu mi mè
2nd person tù ti tè
3rd person m ellu li u, l' ellu
3rd person f ella a, l' ella
Plural 1st person noi ci noi
2nd person voi vi voi
3rd person m elli li i, l' elli
3rd person f elle e, l' elle

Article[edit]

li

  1. Archaic form of i.

References[edit]

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

li m (uncountable)

  1. li (Chinese unit of distance).

Esperanto[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Italian lui, French lui, or Spanish le, plus the i of personal pronouns.

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

li (accusative lin, possessive lia)

  1. (personal pronoun) he

Usage notes[edit]

  • Li is traditionally used as both a masculine and a gender-neutral pronoun, but since the 1970s generic usage has sometimes been criticized and is increasingly being avoided and replaced by "li aŭ ŝi". Some people think this is an imperfect solution which is inappropriately long. In response to such criticisms, there have been various proposals for new pronouns, but the only proposal that has been gaining some adoption is ri.

Synonyms[edit]

  • (person whose gender is unknown): ri, ŝli

Related terms[edit]

  • ili (“they”) (plural)

French[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from Mandarin 里 (lǐ).

Noun[edit]

li m (plural lis)

  1. li (Chinese unit of distance)

Etymology 2[edit]

Probably from influence of Louisiana Creole li (“he, she, it”).

Pronoun[edit]

li (second person singular, objective case)

  1. (Louisiana) him
  2. (Louisiana) it

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Galician[edit]

Verb[edit]

li

  1. (reintegrationist norm) first-person singular preterite indicative of ler

Guinea-Bissau Creole[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Portuguese ali. Cognate with Kabuverdianu li.

Adverb[edit]

li

  1. here

Haitian Creole[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From French lui.

Pronoun[edit]

li (contracted form l)

  1. he
  2. him
  3. she
  4. her
  5. it

Etymology 2[edit]

From French lire.

Verb[edit]

li

  1. to read

Ido[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From lu (“he, him, she, her, it, that”) +‎ -i (“-s; plural”).

Pronoun[edit]

li pl

  1. they, them

Related terms[edit]

  • ili (“they, them”, masculine)
  • eli (“they, them”, feminine)
  • oli (“they, them”, neuter)

Istriot[edit]

Article[edit]

li

  1. masculine plural definite article
    • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 40:
      Ti me pari oûna dea infra li dai,
      You seem to me a goddess among the gods

Italian[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Latin illī, nominative masculine plural of ille.

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): °/li/°
  • Homophone: lì
  • Rhymes: -i
  • Hyphenation: li
  • As an unstressed clitic, it does not trigger syntactic gemination of the following consonant. It also actively blocks syntactic gemination of its initial consonant, such as after a word like però (“but”) that would normally trigger syntactic gemination. (This does not apply to the enclitic form -li, e.g. dalli a me (“give them to me”).)

Pronoun[edit]

li m pl

  1. (accusative) them (masculine)
    Li ricordo. ― I remember them.
Usage notes[edit]
  • Never elides.
See also[edit]
Italian personal pronouns
Number Person Gender Nominative Reflexive Accusative Dative Conjunctive Disjunctive Locative Partitive
Singular first — io mi, m', -mi me me —
second — tu ti, t', -ti te te
third m lui si2, s', -si lo, l', -lo gli, -gli glie, se2 lui, sé ci, c',
vi, v' (formal) 		ne, n'
f lei, Lei1 la, La1, l', L'1, -la, -La1 le3, Le1, -le3, -Le1 lei, Lei1, sé
Plural first — noi ci, c', -ci ce noi —
second — voi, Voi4 vi, Vi4, v', V'4, -vi, -Vi4 ve voi, Voi4
third m loro, Loro1 si, s', -si li, Li1, -li, -Li1 gli, -gli, loro (formal),
Loro1 		glie, se loro, Loro1, sé ci, c',
vi, v' (formal) 		ne, n'
f le, Le1, -le, -Le1
1 Third person pronominal forms used as formal terms of address to refer to second person subjects (with the first letter frequently capitalised as a sign of respect, and to distinguish them from third person subjects). Unlike the singular forms, the plural forms are mostly antiquated terms of formal address in the modern language, and second person plural pronouns are almost always used instead.
2 Also used as indefinite pronoun meaning “one”, and to form the passive.
3 Often replaced by gli, -gli in informal language.
4 Formal (capitalisation optional); in many regions, can refer to just one person (compare with French vous).

Etymology 2[edit]

Variant of gli.

Article[edit]

li m pl (singular lo)

  1. (archaic) Alternative form of gli
    li studenti ― the students

Pronoun[edit]

li m pl (singular lo)

  1. (dative, archaic) Alternative form of gli

Etymology 3[edit]

Adverb[edit]

li

  1. Misspelling of lì.

Anagrams[edit]

Japanese[edit]

Romanization[edit]

li

  1. Rōmaji transcription of り゚
  2. Rōmaji transcription of リ゚

Jarawa[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Cognate to Önge li.

Pronunciation[edit]

Determiner[edit]

li

  1. this, these
    Synonym: lijə (“this here, this”)
    Coordinate term: luwə (“that”)
    li aːw ʈʰi talu.
    This bow is long.

Pronoun[edit]

li

  1. this, these, this one, these ones
    Coordinate term: luwə (“that”)
    li topo t-ita-b.
    He ate the snake.
    li aːw.
    This is a bow.

References[edit]

  • Kumar, Pramod (2012) Descriptive and Typological Study of Jarawa[5] (PhD). Jawaharlal Nehru University. Page 85, 101—102.

Kabuverdianu[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Portuguese ali.

Adverb[edit]

li

  1. here

Khumi Chin[edit]

Li.

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *lii, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *d-liy. Cognate to Burmese လေး (le:, “bow”) and S'gaw Karen ချံၣ် (khleè, “bow”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

li

  1. crossbow

References[edit]

  • K. E. Herr (2011) The phonological interpretation of minor syllables, applied to Lemi Chin‎[6], Payap University, page 45

Livonian[edit]

Verb[edit]

li

  1. second-person singular imperative of lǟdõ

Louisiana Creole[edit]

Etymology[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “May be unrelated to French "il" or "lui".”)

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

li (third-person singular, plural yé, objective li, possessive sô, emphatic sokin, sochin)

  1. he
  2. him
  3. she
  4. her
  5. it

Descendants[edit]

  • → French: li

Maltese[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • illi (after a word-final consonant cluster)

Etymology[edit]

From Arabic اَلَّذِي (allaḏī, relative pronoun). Compare common dialectal Arabic اللي (illi, lli). The use as a conjunction is widely found in Maghrebi Arabic, so there is no reason to consider it a Romance influence (as might otherwise be thought; compare Italian che, which is both a relative pronoun and the conjunction “that”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

li

  1. (relative) who; which; that
    Dan huwa r-raġel li seraq il-karozza. ― That’s the man who stole the car.
    Din hija ħaġa li tħawwadni. ― This is something that confuses me.

Usage notes[edit]

  • Unlike standard Arabic, the relative pronoun is normally used also with indefinite referents (example sentence 2). However, it is optional in this case.

Conjunction[edit]

li

  1. that
    Nixtieq ngħidilha li nħobbha. ― I want to tell her that I love her.

Derived terms[edit]

Mandarin[edit]

Romanization[edit]

li (li5／li0, Zhuyin ˙ㄌㄧ)

  1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 哩
  2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 裏／里
  3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 裡／里
  4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 里

li

  1. Nonstandard spelling of lī.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of lí.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of lǐ.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of lì.

Usage notes[edit]

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

Mauritian Creole[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French le, lui.

Pronoun[edit]

li

  1. he, she, it (third-person singular personal pronoun)

See also[edit]

Mauritian Creole personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person mo
mwa (objective) 		nou
2nd person to (informal), ou (formal)
twa (objective) 		zot
3rd person li zot, bann-la

Michif[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French le.

Pronunciation[edit]

Article[edit]

li m (feminine la, masculine and feminine plural lii)

  1. the

Miskito[edit]

Noun[edit]

li

  1. water

References[edit]

  • Eduard Conzemius, Ethnographical Survey of the Miskito and Sumu Indians (1932)

Mokilese[edit]

Noun[edit]

li

  1. woman

Moore[edit]

Etymology[edit]

from French lit (“bed”)

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA(key): /lí/

Noun[edit]

li

  1. bed

Munsee[edit]

Particle[edit]

lí[1]

  1. here, there, thus, so

References[edit]

  1. ^ O'Meara, John (2014) “lí-”, in Delaware-English/English-Delaware Dictionary (Heritage), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, published 1996, →ISBN

Neapolitan[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

li

  1. Alternative form of 'i

Niuatoputapu[edit]

Article[edit]

li

  1. the

Norman[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French li, from Vulgar Latin *illui, a Vulgar Latin dative of Classical Latin ille.

Pronoun[edit]

li

  1. (Guernsey) him

Northern Kurdish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *en.

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

Central Kurdish لە (le)

li

  1. in
    li Kurdistanê ― in Kurdistan
  2. an element of several prepositions and circumpositions

Related terms[edit]

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse hlíð.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

li f or m (definite singular lia or lien, indefinite plural lier, definite plural liene)

  1. A sloping mountainside or hillside covered with grass or forest.

References[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse hlíð, from Proto-Germanic *hlīdō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱleytéh₂ (“something leaned, inclined”).

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

li f (definite singular lia, indefinite plural lier, definite plural liene)

  1. a sloping mountainside or hillside covered with grass or forest.
Inflection[edit]
Historical inflection of li
indefinite singular definite singular indefinite plural definite plural
Aasen1 Lid Lidi Lider Liderna
1901 lider (lidir) liderne (lidine)
1917 li lia, lii lier liene
1938 lia [lii]
2012 (current) li lia lier liene

Forms in italics are currently considered non-standard. Forms in [brackets] were official, but considered second-tier. Forms in (parentheses) were allowed under Midlandsnormalen. 1Nouns were capitalised for most of the 19th century.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse líða, from Proto-Germanic *līþaną. The sense of suffering may be a loan from Middle Low German.

Alternative forms[edit]

Verb[edit]

li (present tense lir, past tense lei, supine lidd or lidt or liden, past participle lidd or liden, present participle lidande, imperative li)

  1. (intransitive, of time) to pass, elapse
  2. (intransitive) to suffer
    1. (intransitive) to endure
    2. (intransitive) to tolerate, like
Related terms[edit]

References[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Old French[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Latin ille (“that”). In the nominative singular, it was influenced by the nom. sg. form of the pronoun quī.

Pronunciation[edit]

Article[edit]

li

  1. the (masculine nominative singular and plural definite article)
Inflection[edit]
Old French definite articles
Declension of the definite article le
singular plural
masculine feminine masculine feminine
nominative li la, le 1 li les
oblique le 1 la 1 les les
1 These singular forms elide to l' before a vowel or non-aspirate h.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Latin illī (“to that one”), dative singular of Latin ille. Cognate of Spanish le, Portuguese lhe, Italian gli.

Pronoun[edit]

li

  1. third-person singular indirect object pronoun; to him, to her, to it
Descendants[edit]

Old Occitan[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin ille (“that”).

Article[edit]

li

  1. the (masculine nominative singular and plural definite article)

Old Polish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *li.[1][2] First attested in 1395. Displaced by Polish czy.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): (10th–15th CE) /lʲi/
  • IPA(key): (15th CE) /lʲi/

Particle[edit]

li

  1. interrogative particle: introduces a yes-no question
  2. (when reduplicated) whether … or
  3. (when reduplicated) both … and

Conjunction[edit]

li

  1. if

Derived terms[edit]

conjunctions

Related terms[edit]

conjunction

Descendants[edit]

  • Polish: li

References[edit]

  1. ^ Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “li”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
  2. ^ Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “li”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)

Polish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Inherited from Old Polish li.[1][2]

Particle[edit]

li

  1. (archaic, literary) interrogative particle: introduces a yes-no question
    Synonym: czy
  2. (archaic, literary) only
    Synonyms: jedynie, tylko
  3. (Middle Polish) emphasis particle

Conjunction[edit]

li

  1. (obsolete) if
    Synonym: jeśli
  2. (Middle Polish) since, because
    Synonym: skoro
  3. (Middle Polish) though
    Synonyms: acz, aczkolwiek, chociaż, mimo że
  4. (Middle Polish) when
    Synonym: kiedy
  5. (Middle Polish) or
    Synonyms: albo, bądź, czy, lub
Derived terms[edit]
conjunctions
Related terms[edit]
conjunctions

Etymology 2[edit]

Borrowed from Mandarin 里 (lǐ).

Noun[edit]

li n (indeclinable)

  1. li (Chinese unit of distance)
  2. li (Chinese unit of weight)

Etymology 3[edit]

From Mandarin 禮／礼 (lǐ).

Noun[edit]

li n (indeclinable)

  1. li (meaningful ceremony or ritual)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “li”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
  2. ^ Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “li”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
  • Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) chapter LI, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]

Further reading[edit]

Portuguese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Hyphenation: li
  • Rhymes: -i

Verb[edit]

li

  1. first-person singular preterite indicative of ler

Romagnol[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

li (plural le)

  1. she

References[edit]

Ercolani, Libero (1971) Vocabolario Romagnolo-Italiano, Monte di Ravenna, page 232

Romanian[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

li (dative form of ele, form of le)

  1. to them

Usage notes[edit]

This word is used when le (which is dative) is combined with the following accusatives:

  • îl (the accusative of el, contracted as li-l)
  • îi (the accusative of ei, contracted as li-i)
  • le (the accusative of ele)
  • se (the reflexive accusative of all third-person pronouns)

See also[edit]

Sassarese[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • -lli (pronoun, enclitic, used when previous syllable is stressed)
  • -ri (pronoun, enclitic, used when previous syllable is unstressed)

Etymology[edit]

From Latin illī, illae, masculine and feminine plural forms of ille (“that”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /li/, (after a word ending in a vowel) /ri/

Article[edit]

li m pl or f pl

Sassarese definite articles
singular plural
masculine lu/l' li/l'
feminine la/l'
  1. the (masculine and feminine plural)

Usage notes[edit]

  • Becomes l' before a vowel.

Pronoun[edit]

li m pl or f pl

  1. (followed by chi) those
    Di curori vi ni so umbè. Ca so li chi tu priferi?
    There are lots of colors. Which ones do you prefer?
    (literally, “Of colors there are a lot. Which ones are those which you prefer?”)
  2. them (accusative)
    Abà li zerchu ― I'll look for them (literally, “Now I look for them”)
  3. dative of eddu
    Li cuzinu la trìglia ― I'll prepare him mullet (literally, “I cook to him the mullet”)
  4. dative of edda
    Li fozzu li frisgiori ― I'll prepare her some flapjacks (literally, “I make to her the flapjacks”)
  5. dative of eddi

References[edit]

  • Rubattu, Antoninu (2006) Dizionario universale della lingua di Sardegna, 2nd edition, Sassari: Edes

Serbo-Croatian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *li.

Pronunciation[edit]

Particle[edit]

li (Cyrillic spelling ли)

  1. question-forming interrogative particle (postpositive, unlike other particles, never first word in a sentence)
    poznaješ li me ― do you know me?
    jesi li stigao na odredište? ― did you reach the destination?
    jeste li ga vid(j)eli ― have you seen him?
    gd(j)e li se samo nalazimo? ― where could we be?
    kad li će doći? ― when will he/they come?
    je li? ― Is it? (Is that so? Isn't that so?)
  2. used as conjunction with da (except in Croatian, je li is used instead)
    da li ― whether
    nemam pojma da li je došao ― I have no idea whether he came (Croatian: "nemam pojma je li došao")
  3. (as a conjunction) if
    pokušaš li me napasti, ja ću ti uzvratiti ― should you try to attack me, I'll strike you back (when "li" is used in this sense, it is usually translated as a subjunctive form "should", and when "ako" is used, it is usually translated as "if" - ako me pokušaš napasti = if you try to attack me)
  4. used as an emphatic intensifier
    a sn(ij)eg pada li pada ― the snow just keeps falling and falling...
    d(ij)ete plače li plače ― the child just keeps crying and crying...

See also[edit]

  • zar (interrogative particle)

Sicilian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From the conflation of the apheresis of Latin illī and illae, both nominative plurals of ille.

Pronunciation[edit]

Article[edit]

li m pl or f pl

  1. (masculine and feminine plural definite article) the
    Synonym: i
Usage notes[edit]
  • This article is nowadays an obsolete variant, unlike its illiquid counterpart i. It is currently used only in some restricted areas where it is still withheld in conversational communications.
  • Today it is mostly used in crystallized contexts, such as singing, poetry or sayings and proverbs. In all these cases this definite article is more euphonetic than the variants, now predominant, which have undergone the lenition of the initial liquid consonant.
  • Its use is however almost undisputed before nouns (or nominalized forms of other parts of speech, most often adjectives) that begin with vowels. In this case the form is an apocopic l'. Otherwise, illiquid definite articles are phonetically absorbed by the following noun. I.e: l'arancini (liquid) and ârancini (illiquid).
Inflection[edit]
Sicilian articles
Masculine singular definite article Feminine singular definite article Masculine and feminine plural definite article
Definite articles (liquid) lu la li
Definite articles (illiquid) u a i
Definite articles nu
(also: un, 'n) 		na

Etymology 2[edit]

From the conflation of the apheresis of Latin illī and illae, both nominative plurals of ille.

Alternative forms[edit]

  • -li (enclitic)
  • i (illiquid form)

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

li m pl or f pl

  1. (accusative) them
    Synonym: i
    Li canusci? ― Do you know them?
  2. (accusative) them, these or those thing
    Synonym: i
    Quannu ti li desi. ― When I gave them to you.
Usage notes[edit]
  • This pronoun is now an obsolete variant. It is currently used only in some restricted areas where it is still withheld in conversational communications.
  • Today it is mostly used in crystallized contexts, such as singing, poetry or sayings and proverbs. In all these cases this definite article is more euphonetic than the variants, now predominant, which have undergone the lenition of the initial liquid consonant.
  • Its use is however almost undisputed before words that begin with vowels. In this case the form is an apocopic l'.

Sumerian[edit]

Romanization[edit]

li

  1. Romanization of 𒇷 (li)

Swahili[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

-li

  1. general relative positive degree stem of -wa, -wapo, -wako, or -wamo
    mambo yaliomo ― the things which are inside

Tedim Chin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b-ləj.

Numeral[edit]

li

  1. four

References[edit]

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

Tooro[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *dɪ̀ (“to be”, irregular verb). Cognate with Kikuyu -rĩ.

Verb[edit]

-li (defective)

  1. to be, to exist
    Synonyms: -ba, ni
    Tuli Batooro. ― We are Tooro people.
    • 2008, Ekitabu Ekirukwera N'Ebitabu Ebyeetwa Deturokanoniko/Apokurifa [Bible in Runyoro/Rutooro Interconfessional Translation], Bible Society of Uganda, Okubanza 4:9:
      Aho MUKAMA yakaguza Kaini ati: “Abberi owanyoko ali nkaha?” Kaini yagarukamu ati: “Tindukumanya; ninyowe mulinzi w'Owanyina nyowe?”
      Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
  2. to become
    Synonym: -ba
Usage notes[edit]
  • Since this is a defective verb, it does not have many conjugations, and the remaining conjugations needed are constructed using -ba as an auxiliary verb. For example, the 1st person singular negative remote past of -li is nkaba ntali (literally, “I was not being”).
  • This verb removes the augment of the noun after it (e.g. ndi manzi, not *ndi emanzi "I am a courageous person").
  • The 3rd person singular present and 3rd person plural present forms are usually only used after a locative class or a place name. In other cases, the noun is almost always left augmentless (e.g. muntu "he/she is a person").
Conjugation[edit]
Conjugation of -li (defective verb)
Tensed forms
Positive present (subject concord + -li)
Person Noun class Singular Plural
1st person ndi tuli
2nd person oli muli
3rd person 1/2 ali bali
3/4 guli eri
5/6 liri gali
7/8 kiri biri
9/10 eri ziri
11/10 ruli
12/14 kali buli
13 tuli
14/6 buli gali
15/6 kuli
16 hali
Negative present (ti- + subject concord + -li)
Person Noun class Singular Plural
1st person tindi tituli
2nd person toli timuli
3rd person 1/2 tali tibali
3/4 tiguli teri
5/6 tiriri tigali
7/8 tikiri tibiri
9/10 teri tiziri
11/10 tiruli
12/14 tikali tibuli
13 tituli
14/6 tibuli tigali
15/6 tikuli
16 tihali
Positive present continuative (subject concord + -kyali)
Person Noun class Singular Plural
1st person nkyali tukyali
2nd person okyali mukyali
3rd person 1/2 akyali bakyali
3/4 gukyali ekyali
5/6 likyali gakyali
7/8 kikyali bikyali
9/10 ekyali zikyali
11/10 rukyali
12/14 kakyali bukyali
13 tukyali
14/6 bukyali gakyali
15/6 kukyali
16 hakyali
Negative present continuative (ti- + subject concord + -kyali)
Person Noun class Singular Plural
1st person tinkyali titukyali
2nd person tokyali timukyali
3rd person 1/2 takyali tibakyali
3/4 tigukyali tekyali
5/6 tirikyali tigakyali
7/8 tikikyali tibikyali
9/10 tekyali tizikyali
11/10 tirukyali
12/14 tikakyali tibukyali
13 titukyali
14/6 tibukyali tigakyali
15/6 tikukyali
16 tihakyali
Positive past (subject concord + -ali)
Person Noun class Singular Plural
1st person nali twali
2nd person wali mwali
3rd person 1/2 yali baali
3/4 gwali yali
5/6 lyali gaali
7/8 kyali byali
9/10 yali zaali
11/10 rwali
12/14 kaali bwali
13 twali
14/6 bwali gaali
15/6 kwali
16 haali
For more conjugations, see -ba.
Derived terms[edit]
  • -roho (“to be at/on something, to be present”)
  • -rumu (“to be in something”)
  • -liyo (“to be there”)
  • -raha (“where is it?, where are they?”)
  • -ruku-, -liku-

Etymology 2[edit]

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *dɪ́á (“that, those”). Cognate with Swahili -le.

Determiner[edit]

-li

  1. that, those (distal demonstrative determiner)
Declension[edit]
Inflected forms of -li
Noun class non-copulative copulative
singular plural singular plural
1/2 oli bali nguli mbali
3/4 guli eri nguli ngiri
5/6 liri gali ndiri ngali
7/8 kiri biri nkiri mbiri
9/10 eri ziri ngiri nziri
11/10 ruli nduli
12/14 kali buli nkali mbuli
13 tuli ntuli
14/6 buli gali mbuli ngali
15/6 kuli nkuli
16 hali mpali
17 kuli
18 muli
See also[edit]
  • -nu (“this (proximal demonstrative determiner)”)

References[edit]

Vietnamese[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 璃 (“glass”).

Noun[edit]

(classifier cái) li

  1. cup; glass
Derived terms[edit]
Derived terms

See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

li

  1. a crease (a line or mark made by folding or doubling any pliable substance)

Volapük[edit]

Particle[edit]

li

  1. Appended with a hyphen to a verb, it turns the entire clause it is in into a question.

Walloon[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Article[edit]

li (after an open syllable and/or before a vowel: l', plural: les, plural after an open syllable and before a vowel: ls)

  1. the
    Li mwaisse ― The master
    Li maistrece ― The mistress
    L' ome ― The man
    C' est li l' mwaisse ― He is the master
    Les måjhons ― The houses
    Les omes ― The men
    Çou sont ls åtes tchesteas ― These are the other castles

Pronoun[edit]

li

  1. him, her, it (direct object, before verb)
    C' est li l' mwaisse ― It's him who's the master

West Makian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

li

  1. also

References[edit]

  • Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎[11], Pacific linguistics

Yoruba[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA(key): /lí/

Noun[edit]

lí

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter L.

See also[edit]

Zou[edit]

Zou cardinal numbers
 <  3 4 5  > 
    Cardinal : li

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *lii, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b-ləj. Cognates include Burmese လေး (le:) and Nuosu ꇖ (ly).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /lī/
  • Hyphenation: li

Numeral[edit]

li

  1. four

References[edit]

  • Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 40
  • Philip Thanglienmang (2014) “Zou Tonology”, in Indian Linguistics, volume 75, numbers 1-2, →ISSN
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