li

Translingual

Symbol

li

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

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /liː/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iː

Etymology 1

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

• (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 (lí).

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 禮／礼 (lǐ).

Noun

li (plural li)

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

Etymology 4

From Mandarin 鬲 (lì).

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

• I'l, IL, il-

Albanian

Etymology 1

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

Alternative forms

• lijë

Noun

li f (definite lia)

1. pox
2. olive scab, peacock spot (Cycloconium oleaginum)

   Synonym: sypallua

Hyponyms

Derived terms

References

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

• le

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)

Related terms

• 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

Etymology

Inherited from Latin illī, dative common singular of ille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencian)
• Rhymes: -i

Pronoun

li (enclitic and proclitic)

1. him, her, it (indirect object, singular all genders)

   doneu-li una moneda ― give 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

• https://infcor.adecec.net/

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

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

• IPA^(key):
• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: li

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 "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

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

Related terms

• ili (“they”) (plural)

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /li/

  • Audio (Nancy, France)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -i
• Homophones: lient, lies, lis, lit, lits, lys

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Mandarin 里 (lǐ).

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

• chapter LI, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Anagrams

• il

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

• IPA^(key): /li/

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

Related terms

• 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

• -li (enclitic)

Pronunciation

• 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

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 studenti ― the students

Pronoun

li m pl (singular lo)

1. (dative, archaic) Alternative form of gli

Etymology 3

Adverb

li

1. Misspelling of lì.

Anagrams

• il, il-

Japanese

Romanization

li

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

Jarawa

Etymology

Cognate to Önge li.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /li/

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

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

• IPA^(key): /li˥/

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

• IPA^(key): /li/
• Rhymes: -i

Pronoun

li (third-person singular, plural yé, objective li, possessive sô, 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

• IPA^(key): /lɪ/

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.

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 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

• 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

• IPA^(key):

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

Moore

Etymology

from French lit (“bed”)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lí/

Noun

li

1. bed

Munsee

Particle

lí

1. here, there, thus, so

References

Neapolitan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i/

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

Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *en.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪ

Preposition

Central Kurdish	لە (le)

li

1. in

   li Kurdistanê ― in Kurdistan

2. an element of several prepositions and circumpositions

Related terms

• li ba
• li ... de
• li cem
• li ber
• li dijî
• li dora
• li gora
• li pey
• li pêş
• li rex
• li ser

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse hlíð.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /liː/

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

• “li” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Anagrams

• il

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /liː/

Etymology 1

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

Alternative forms

• Lid, lid (obsolete spellings)

Noun

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

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

Inflection

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 2012 (current) li lia lier liene Forms in italics are currently considered non-standard. Forms in were official, but considered second-tier. Forms in (parentheses) were allowed under Midlandsnormalen. 1Nouns were capitalised for most of the 19th century.

Etymology 2

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

Alternative forms

• lida, lide (long 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

Related terms

• lei
• leia, leie

References

• “li” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• il

Old French

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /li/

Article

li

1. the (masculine nominative singular and plural definite article)
   • c. 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:

     Li rois respont: "N'est pas mançonge"

     The king replied "this is no lie"

Inflection

Etymology 2

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

Pronoun

li

1. third-person singular indirect object pronoun; to him, to her, to it
   • c. 1180, Chrétien de Troyes, Lancelot ou le Chevalier de la charrette:

     Si li ancomancent a dire

     He started to tell him

Descendants

• French: lui

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. First attested in 1395. Displaced by Polish czy.

Pronunciation

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

Particle

li

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

Conjunction

li

1. if

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• Polish: li

References

• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, editor (2011–2015), chapter LI, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /li/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -i
• Syllabification: li

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Polish li.

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

Related terms

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Mandarin 里 (lǐ).

Noun

li n (indeclinable)

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

Etymology 3

From Mandarin 禮／礼 (lǐ).

Noun

li n (indeclinable)

1. li (meaningful ceremony or ritual)

References

• 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

• li in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• li in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) chapter LI, in Słownik języka polskiego‎
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) chapter LI, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861‎
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1902), chapter LI, in Słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish), volume 2, Warsaw, page 2730
• Witold Doroszewski, editor (1958–1969), chapter LI, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), Warszawa: PWN

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

• vi
• ni

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 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

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

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *li.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /li/

Particle

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

• zar (interrogative particle)

Sicilian

Alternative forms

• i

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /li/ (stressed)
• IPA^(key): /li/ (unstressed)

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

• IPA^(key): /li/ (stressed)
• IPA^(key): /li/ (unstressed)

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

• Audio (Kenya)

  (file)

Verb

-li

1. general relative positive degree stem of -wa, -wapo, -wako, or -wamo

   mambo yaliomo ― the 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

• IPA^(key): /li/

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

• Kaji, Shigeki (2007) A Rutooro Vocabulary‎, Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), →ISBN, pages 313-315, 409
• Entry 940 at Bantu Lexical Reconstructions 3
• Entry 945 at Bantu Lexical Reconstructions 3

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• ly

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key):
• (Huế) IPA^(key):
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key):

Etymology 1

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

Noun

(classifier cái) li

1. cup; glass

Derived terms

See also

• chén; cốc; tách

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

• IPA^(key): /li/

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 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

li

1. him, her, it (direct object, before verb)

   C' est li l' mwaisse ― It's him who's the master

West Makian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l̪i/

Adverb

li

1. also

References

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

Yoruba

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lí/

Noun

lí

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

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) lẹ́tà; á, bí, dí, é, ẹ́, fí, gí, gbì, hí, í, jí, kí, lí, mí, ní, ó, ọ́, pí, rí, sí, ṣí, tí, ú, wí, yí

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 ꇖ (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