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يعني. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
يعني, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
يعني in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
يعني you have here. The definition of the word
يعني will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
يعني, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Arabic
Etymology
Non-past of عَنَى (ʕanā, “to mean, to concern”). Compare Hebrew יען (ya'en, “because of, since”).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /jaʕ.niː/
Verb
يَعْنِي • (yaʕnī) (form I)
- third-person masculine singular non-past active indicative of عَنَى (ʕanā)
Interjection
يَعْنِي • (yaʕnī)
- (adverbial, conjunctive, prepositional, or adjectival) in other words, actually, namely, to wit, kind of, somewhat, id est, that is, meaning, you know
- (filler) er, so, uh, well
Descendants
Verb
يَعْنِيَ • (yaʕniya) (form I)
- third-person masculine singular non-past active subjunctive of عَنَى (ʕanā)
Gulf Arabic
Etymology
Non-past of Arabic عَنَى (ʕanā, “to mean, to concern”).
Verb
يَعْنِي • (yaʿnī)
- (transitive) means
Usage notes
- In the past tense, كان معناته is used, which means "its meaning was".
Interjection
يَعْنِي • (yaʿnī)
- (adverbial) kind of, somewhat
كان حلو الفلم ؟
يعني بس مو وايد .- Was the movie good?
Kind of, but not so much.
Usage notes
- The expression is only used when answering questions.
North Levantine Arabic
Conjunction
يعني • (yaʿni)
- so
عملنا اللي فينا نعملو، يعني رح نشوف شو بيصير- ʿMilna lli fīna naʿmlu, yaʿni raḥ nšūf šu biṣīr.
- We’ve done what we could, so we’ll see what happens.
Adverb
يعني • (yaʿni)
- namely; that is; in other words
لازم نسألو، يعني المعلم- Lāzim nisʾalu, yaʿni li-mʿallim.
- We have to ask him, I mean the teacher.
Interjection
يعني • (yaʿni)
- well; you know; er; uh
يعني... الموضوع أصعب من هيك- Yaʿni... l-mawḍūʿ ʾaṣʿab min hayk.
- Well... the affair is more complicated than that.
- kind of; I guess
كان حلو الفلم؟ — يعني، بس توقعتو أحلى- Kān ḥilu l-film? — Yaʿni, bas twaʾʾaʿtu ʾaḥla.
- Was the film good? — I guess, but I’d expected it to be better.
- (postpositioned) really; seriously; man; come on; used for emphasis
ما في فرق كبير. هو نفس الشي تقريبا، يعني- Ma fi fariʾ kbīr. Huwi nafs iš-ši taʾrīban, yaʿni.
- There’s no big difference. It’s roughly the same thing, really.
هيدا مش معقول، يعني- Hayda miš maʿʾūl, yaʿni.
- This is crazy, man.
South Levantine Arabic
Etymology
From Arabic يَعْنِي (yaʕnī).
Pronunciation
Interjection
يعني • (yaʕni)
- so, well, you know
- I guess, I suppose
- does that mean...? (in a question)