li

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word li. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word li, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say li in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word li you have here. The definition of the word li will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofli, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

Translingual

Symbol

li

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

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

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

Alternative forms

  • (Korea): ri

Noun

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)‎, 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, 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, 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, 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

Etymology 2

From Mandarin 市厘 ().

Noun

li (plural li)

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

Etymology 3

From Mandarin  / ().

Noun

li (plural li)

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

Etymology 4

From Mandarin ().

Noun

li (plural li)

  1. An ancient Chinese cauldron having three hollow legs.

Etymology 5

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

Noun

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

Albanian

Etymology 1

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

Noun

li f (definite lia)

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

References

  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

Borrowed through Vulgar Latin from Latin līnum.

Noun

li m (definite liri)

  1. flax

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin ille (that one).

Pronoun

li

  1. him (indirect object)

Synonyms

Aromanian

Etymology

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

Pronoun

li f (short/unstressed accusative form of eali)

  1. (direct object) them (all-female group)
  • (feminine/masculine plural dative- short/unstressed form)
  • u (feminine singular accusative- short/unstressed form)
  • (a) lor (feminine/masculine plural dative- long/stressed form)

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin illī, dative common singular of ille.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

li (enclitic and proclitic)

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

Declension

Corsican

Etymology

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

Pronoun

li

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

See also

Article

li

  1. Archaic form of i.

References

Dutch

Pronunciation

Noun

li m (uncountable)

  1. li (Chinese unit of distance)

Esperanto

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Pronoun

li (accusative lin, possessive lia)

  1. (personal pronoun) he

Usage notes

  • 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 "ĝi" and or "oni" and or "li aŭ ŝi". Some people (reformists) 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

  • ili (they) (plural)

French

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Mandarin ().

Noun

li m (plural lis)

  1. li (Chinese unit of distance)

Etymology 2

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

Pronoun

li (second person singular, objective case)

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

Further reading

Anagrams

Galician

Verb

li

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

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

From Portuguese ali. Cognate with Kabuverdianu li.

Adverb

li

  1. here

Haitian Creole

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From French lui.

Pronoun

li (contracted form l)

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

Etymology 2

From French lire.

Verb

li

  1. to read

Ido

Etymology

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

Pronoun

li pl

  1. they, them
  • ili (they, them, masculine)
  • eli (they, them, feminine)
  • oli (they, them, neuter)

Istriot

Article

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

Etymology 1

From Latin illī, nominative masculine plural of ille.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): °/li/°
  • Homophone:
  • 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

li m pl

  1. (accusative) them (masculine)
    Li ricordo.I remember them.
Usage notes
  • Never elides.
See also

Etymology 2

Variant of gli.

Article

li m pl (singular lo)

  1. (archaic) Alternative form of gli
    li studentithe students

Pronoun

li m pl (singular lo)

  1. (dative, archaic) Alternative form of gli

Etymology 3

Adverb

li

  1. Misspelling of .

Anagrams

Japanese

Romanization

li

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

Jarawa

Etymology

Cognate to Önge li.

Pronunciation

Determiner

li

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

Pronoun

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

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

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese ali.

Adverb

li

  1. here

Khumi Chin

Li.

Etymology

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

Noun

li

  1. crossbow

References

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

Livonian

Verb

li

  1. second-person singular imperative of lǟdõ

Louisiana Creole

Etymology

(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

Pronoun

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

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

Descendants

  • French: li

Maltese

Alternative forms

  • illi (after a word-final consonant cluster)

Etymology

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

Pronoun

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.
    • 2018, Antoinette Borg, Amina, Merlin Publishers, →ISBN:
      Imnalla għajjatlu Fredu u kellu jwaqqaf l-eloġju ta’ nannuh, għax naħseb l-istorja li kien imiss kienet li għandu xi gżira privata.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

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

Conjunction

li

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

Derived terms

Mandarin

Romanization

li (li5 / li0, Zhuyin ˙ㄌㄧ)

  1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of
  2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of  /
  3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of  /
  4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of

li

  1. Nonstandard spelling of .
  2. Nonstandard spelling of .
  3. Nonstandard spelling of .
  4. Nonstandard spelling of .

Usage notes

  • 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

Etymology

From French le, lui.

Pronoun

li

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

See also

Michif

Etymology

From French le.

Pronunciation

Article

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

  1. the

Miskito

Noun

li

  1. water

References

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

Mokilese

Noun

li

  1. woman

Inflection

Moore

Etymology

from French lit (bed)

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /lí/

Noun

li

  1. bed

Munsee

Particle

[1]

  1. here, there, thus, so

References

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

Neapolitan

Pronunciation

Pronoun

li

  1. Alternative form of 'i

Niuatoputapu

Article

li

  1. the

Norman

Etymology

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

Pronoun

li

  1. (Guernsey) him

Northern Kurdish

Etymology

Cognate with Central Kurdish لە (le), from earlier *ne < *en. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *en.

Pronunciation

Preposition

Central Kurdish لە (le)

li

  1. on
    ew li hespekî siwar bûhe/she mounted on a horse
  2. at (time)
    li kêlîka dirustat the right moment
  3. in (location, country, city)
    li Kurdistanêin Kurdistan
  4. an element of several prepositions and circumpositions

Usage notes

  • In most cases, "li" refers to on rather than in. The more south it goes the more the sense becomes much more extensive; in Central Kurdish encapsulating from, on, in, over, etc. as a whole. Around more Northern dialects, (li) ser ("on top") is used to mean on and in those regions "li" especially has the meaning of in, often times replacing di in "di ... de" ("in, inside"), compare li ... de.
  • "li" can be added pretty much before any preposition except di, ji, bi; as in li ber, li pêş, li dijî, li hember, etc., all of which can be used without the li.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse hlíð.

Pronunciation

Noun

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

Anagrams

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

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

Alternative forms

Noun

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

  1. a sloping mountainside or hillside covered with grass or forest.
Inflection

Etymology 2

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

Alternative forms

Verb

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

References

Anagrams

Old French

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Latin illī (those). The use for the nominative singular is due to a Vulgar Latin alteration of ille under the influence of the pronoun quī (who, which). The same influence (through the dative cui) also explains the Vulgar Latin forms mentioned in etymology 2 below. Doublet of il (he).

Article

li

  1. the (masculine nominative singular and plural definite article)
Inflection
Old French definite articles
Case masculine feminine
singular subject li la, le 1
oblique le 1 la 1
plural subject li les
oblique les les

1 These singular forms elide to l' before a vowel or non-aspirate h.

Etymology 2

Either directly from Latin illī, dative singular of ille (that one), or from reduction of Old French lui, lei, themselves from Vulgar Latin *illui, *illei. This depends on whether the innovative forms had replaced illī entirely in Gaul or whether they existed side by side with it. Compare Italian gli, Spanish le, Portuguese lhe.

Pronoun

li

  1. third-person singular indirect object pronoun; to him, to her, to it, chiefly atonic form of lui and lei

Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin ille (that).

Article

li

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

Old Polish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Particle

li

  1. (attested in Lesser Poland, Greater Poland) interrogative particle: introduces a yes-no question
    • 1939 [end of the 14th century], Ryszard Ganszyniec, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Kubica, Ludwik Bernacki, editors, Psałterz florjański łacińsko-polsko-niemiecki [Sankt Florian Psalter]‎, Krakow: Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich, z zasiłkiem Sejmu Śląskiego [The Ossoliński National Institute: with the benefit of the Silesian Parliament], pages 72, 11:
      Kaco bog we y iestli wedzene (si est scientia) na wysocosci?
      [Kako Bog wie? I jestli wiedzenie (si est scientia) na wysokości?]
    • 1959 [1395], Henryk Kowalewicz, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz, editors, Wielkopolskie roty sądowe XIV-XV wieku, Roty poznańskie, volume I, number 187, Poznań:
      Kedi w wogewodi bili, tedi go szø pitali, moszeli goscza dafnoszcø sbicz
      [Kiedy u wojewody byli, tedy go się pytali, możeli gościa dawnością zbyć]
    1. (when reduplicated, attested in Pomerania, Greater Poland) whetheror
      • 1930 [c. 1455], “I Reg”, in Ludwik Bernacki, editor, Biblia królowej Zofii (Biblia szaroszpatacka), 14, 37:
        Mamly boiowacz s Fylystinmy a podaszly ge (num persequar Philisthiim, si trades eos) w røce israhelske?
        [Mamli bojować z Filistynmi a podaszli je (num persequar Philisthiim, si trades eos) w ręce israhelskie?]
      • 1930 [c. 1455], “Ex”, in Ludwik Bernacki, editor, Biblia królowej Zofii (Biblia szaroszpatacka), 17, 7:
        Gestly pan w nas czyly nyczs (estne..., an non)?
        [Jestli Pan w nas, czyli nics (estne..., an non)?]
      • 1930 [c. 1455-1460], Ortyle magdeburskie Vrtel 116-120, page 118:
        Pytalysczye nasz...: Gyestly k themv mvrowanemv domv nyewyasthą blyszką, czyly thy tho dzyeczy, czyly prawo
        [Pytaliście nas...: Jestli k temu murowanemu domu niewiasta bliska, czyli ty to dzieci, czyli [co jest] prawo]
      • Middle of the 15th century, Rozmyślanie o żywocie Pana Jezusa, page 694:
        Nye vymy, gdzye y nam vyedzyono any vymy, yesczely zyw, albo yvzly vbyly
        [Nie wimy, gdzie ji nam wiedziono ani wimy, jeszczeli żyw, albo jużli ji ubili]
      • 1874-1891 [15th century], Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności, , , volume XXIV, Grochów, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Kcynia, page 68:
        Primo an liceat, moszeli, volnoli yest, secundo an deceat, podobnoli, tertio an expediat, potzebnoli
        [Primo an liceat, możeli, wolnoli jest, secundo an deceat, podobnoli, tertio an expediat, potzebnoli]
      • 1930 [c. 1455], “Num”, in Ludwik Bernacki, editor, Biblia królowej Zofii (Biblia szaroszpatacka), 13, 19:
        Opatrzicze... lvd, genze bydli w nyey, gestli silni, czili mdli, iestli mali, czili wyeliki (considerate... et populum, qui habitator est eius, utrum fortis sit, an infirmus, si pauci numero, an plures)
        [Opatrzycie... lud, jenże bydli w niej, jestli silny czyli mdły, jestli mały czyli wieliki (considerate... et populum, qui habitator est eius, utrum fortis sit, an infirmus, si pauci numero, an plures)]
      • 1861 [1427], Pismo poświęcone naukom, sztukom i przemysłowi, volume III, Biblioteka Warszawska, page 40:
        Szescz czlowyekow ranyono, o pyancz gich mowyą tim rasem, szostego *wygmugyo, czso leszy we szmyertnich ranach, bo nye wem, bądzeli szyw, abo umrze
        [Sześć człowiekow raniono, a pięć jich mowią tym razem, szostego wyjmują, cso leży we śmiertnych ranach, bo nie wiem, będzieli żyw, abo umrze]
  2. and; and also
    • Middle of the 15th century, Rozmyślanie o żywocie Pana Jezusa, page 48:
      Czczyenye o tem, gdzye Marya vtenczasz byla, kyedy anyol k nyey przyschedl, czoly czynyla albo myslyla
      [Czcienie o tem, gdzie Maryja wtenczas była, kiedy anjoł k niej przyszedl, coli czyniła albo myśliła]

Conjunction

li

  1. (attested in Lesser Poland) Introduces a conditional; if
    • 1939 [end of the 14th century], Ryszard Ganszyniec, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Kubica, Ludwik Bernacki, editors, Psałterz florjański łacińsko-polsko-niemiecki [Sankt Florian Psalter]‎, Krakow: Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich, z zasiłkiem Sejmu Śląskiego [The Ossoliński National Institute: with the benefit of the Silesian Parliament], pages 129, 3:
      Bødzeszly lychoty chowacz (si iniquitates observaveris), pane, pane, kto sczyrzpy?
      [Będzieszli lichoty chować (si iniquitates observaveris), Panie, Panie, kto ścirzpi?]
    • 1895 [Fifteenth century], Franciszek Piekosiński, editor, Tłumaczenia polskie statutów ziemskich. Kodeks Działyńskich I, Lesser Poland, page 9:
      Ktoricole... zaklad weszmye..., tho gest konye abo gynsze bydlo..., nye mayą... dzelicz myedzy sobą, ale gestly zymye (si autem hiemali), tedy za tydzen, a gestly lecze (si fuerit in aestivo tempore), tedy za dwie nyedzeli mayą bycz chowany
      [Ktorykole... zakład weźmie..., to jest konie abo jinsze bydło..., nie mają... dzielić miedzy sobą, ale jestli zimie (si autem hiemali, Sul 22: paknięli zimie), tedy za tydzień, a jestli lecie (si fuerit in aestivo tempore), tedy za dwie niedzieli mają być chowany]

Derived terms

conjunctions
conjunction

Descendants

  • Polish: li

References

  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)
  • B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “li”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈli/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -i
  • Syllabification: li

Etymology 1

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

Particle

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

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
conjunctions
conjunctions

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Mandarin ().

Noun

li n (indeclinable)

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

Etymology 3

From Mandarin ().

Noun

li n (indeclinable)

  1. li (meaningful ceremony or ritual)

References

  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) “li”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]

Further reading

Portuguese

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: li
  • Rhymes: -i

Verb

li

  1. first-person singular preterite indicative of ler

Romagnol

Pronoun

li (plural le)

  1. she

References

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

Romanian

Pronoun

li (dative form of ele, form of le)

  1. to them

Usage notes

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

Sassarese

Alternative forms

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

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Article

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

  • Becomes l' before a vowel.

Pronoun

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 zerchuI'll look for them (literally, “Now I look for them”)
  3. dative of eddu
    Li cuzinu la trìgliaI'll prepare him mullet (literally, “I cook to him the mullet”)
  4. dative of edda
    Li fozzu li frisgioriI'll prepare her some flapjacks (literally, “I make to her the flapjacks”)
  5. dative of eddi

References

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

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *li.

Pronunciation

Particle

li (Cyrillic spelling ли)

  1. question-forming interrogative particle (postpositive, unlike other particles, never first word in a sentence)
    poznaješ li medo you know me?
    jesi li stigao na odredište?did you reach the destination?
    jeste li ga vid(j)elihave 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 je (Croatia) or da (Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro)
    je/da liwhether
    nemam pojma je/da li je došaoI have no idea whether he came
  3. (as a conjunction) if
    pokušaš li me napasti, ja ću ti uzvratitishould 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 padathe snow just keeps falling and falling...
    d(ij)ete plače li plačethe child just keeps crying and crying...

See also

  • zar (interrogative particle)

Sicilian

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

Article

li m pl or f pl

  1. (masculine and feminine plural definite article) the
    Synonym: i
Usage notes
  • 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
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

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

Alternative forms

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

Pronunciation

Pronoun

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
  • 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

Romanization

li

  1. Romanization of 𒇷 (li)

Swahili

Pronunciation

Verb

-li

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

Tedim Chin

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b-ləj.

Numeral

li

  1. four

References

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

Tooro

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

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

Verb

-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
  • 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
Derived terms
  • -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

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

Determiner

-li

  1. that, those (distal demonstrative determiner)
Declension
See also
  • -nu (this (proximal demonstrative determiner))

References

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Sino-Vietnamese word from (glass).

Noun

(classifier cái) li

  1. cup; glass
Derived terms
Derived terms

See also

Etymology 2

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

Noun

li

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

Volapük

Particle

li

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

Walloon

Pronunciation

Article

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 mwaisseThe master
    Li maistreceThe mistress
    L' omeThe man
    C' est li l' mwaisseHe is the master
    Les måjhonsThe houses
    Les omesThe men
    Çou sont ls åtes tchesteasThese are the other castles

Pronoun

li

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

West Makian

Pronunciation

Adverb

li

  1. also

References

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

Yoruba

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /lí/

Noun

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

See also

Zou

Zou cardinal numbers
 <  3 4 5  > 
    Cardinal : li

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Numeral

li

  1. four

References

  • 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