أي

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See also: إي, آی, ای, ایی, and اىى

Arabic

Etymology 1

From Proto-Semitic *ʔayy-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʔajj/
  • Audio(file)

Pronoun

أَيّ • (ʔayy) m 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
      whatever you call upon , to Him belongs the best names.
  3. any
    زُرْنِي فِي أَيِّ وَقْتٍ
    zurnī fī ʔayyi waqtin
    Visit me at any time.
Usage notes
  • While أَيّ (ʔayy) can be used with masculine as well as feminine nouns, the form أَيَّة (ʔayya) is exclusively used with feminine nouns.
Declension
Declension of pronoun أَيّ (ʔayy)
Singular basic singular triptote
Indefinite Definite Construct
Informal أَيّ
ʔayy 		— أَيّ
ʔayy
Nominative أَيٌّ
ʔayyun 		— أَيُّ
ʔayyu
Accusative أَيًّا
ʔayyan 		— أَيَّ
ʔayya
Genitive أَيٍّ
ʔayyin 		— أَيِّ
ʔayyi
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Conjunction

أَيْ • (ʔay)

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

Moroccan Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic أَيّ (ʔayy).

Pronunciation

Determiner

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

Etymology

From Arabic أيّ.

Pronunciation

Determiner

أيّ • (ʔayy)

  1. which?
  2. any

Pronoun

أيّ • (ʔayy)

  1. which?

Synonyms

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia