ki

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ki"

Languages (57)

Translingual • English

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Abenaki • Aimele • Albanian • Azerbaijani • Breton • Central Bikol • Chungli Ao • Cornish • Danish • Dena'ina • Dutch • Eastern Ojibwa • Fijian • Finnish • Fula • Guinea-Bissau Creole • Haitian Creole • Hokkien • Hungarian • Indonesian • Japanese • Javanese • Kabuverdianu • Kristang • Laz • Māori • Mauritian Creole • Middle Welsh • Mizo • Mohawk • Nǀuu • Old French • Pacoh • Palula • Papiamentu • Polish • Rapa Nui • Rohingya • Serbo-Croatian • Slovene • Sumerian • Sundanese • Swahili • Talysh • Tat • Tok Pisin • Tokelauan • Tongan • Tooro • Turkish • Unami • Vietnamese • Woiwurrung • Yoruba • Zou

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Kikuyu.

Symbol

ki

1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Kikuyu.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Kikuyu terms

English

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Hawaiian kibor.

English ki

Borrowed from Hawaiian ki.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kiː/
• Rhymes: -iː

Noun

ki (countable and uncountable, plural kis)

1. A plant native to the Pacific islands and China (Cordyline fruticosa); ti.

Translations

plant

• Czech: dračinka křovitá

Etymology 2

Noun

ki (plural kis)

1. Alternative form of key (a kilogram)
   • 2005, Dave Courtney, Dave Courtney's Heroes and Villains, London: Virgin Books, →ISBN, page 113:

     And that's what I think happened to Joe. Someone who worked for him walked in and asked to buy a ki of heroin and he went, 'I don't do that.' Then a bit later someone else walked in and offered to sell him some a ta stupid price and he went, 'Hang about, I've got a buyer for that.'

   • 2006, Graham Johnson, Druglord: Guns, Powder and Pay-Offs, Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing, published 2007, →ISBN, page 93:

     But the buzz wasn't enough, though. It's nothing like the feeling you get with a hundred kis of heroin in the boot of your car.

   • 2012, Kim K., Rise of an American Gangstress, Bellport, N.Y.: Melodrama Publishing, →ISBN, page 108:

     Hopefully, she would be able to save up just enough to buy her own half a ki of coke. And from there, the sky would be the limit.

Etymology 3

Noun

ki (uncountable)

1. (UK, naval slang) Alternative form of kye (“cocoa”).
   • 1917, The Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, volumes 34-35, page 217:

     At sea a special cauldron of 'ki,' prepared by the ship's cook, is sent round action stations in 'fannies' or large pitchers.

Etymology 4

From dated romanizations of Mandarin 氣 / 气 (qì) without the k-q merger, or from Japanese 気 (ki), both ultimately from the same Middle Chinese origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kiː/

Noun

ki (uncountable)

1. (philosophy) Alternative form of chi.
   • 1983, George A. Kirby, Jujitsu: Basic Techniques of the Gentle Art, page 19:

     If you are calm and relaxed it will be easier for you to accept and use his ki, helping him to reach his goal. In other words, you will redirect his ki or enhance it with your own to bring your attacker down in the direction he was directing his ki.

Related terms

• reiki

Anagrams

• ik, Ik, IK

Abenaki

Noun

ki

1. alternative form of aki

References

• Joseph Laurent (1884), New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues, Quebec: Leger Brousseau, page 40

Aimele

Noun

ki

1. bone

Further reading

• R. D. Shaw, The Bosavi Language Family (1986), in Papers in New Guinea Linguistics (D. C. Laycock et al., eds.), number 24

Albanian

Verb

ki

1. second-person singular imperative of kam

Azerbaijani

Etymology

From Classical Persian کِه (ki).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ci]
• (Karabakh) IPA^(key): [cin]

• Audio (Baku):

  (file)

Conjunction

ki

1. that

   Mən bilirəm ki, bu düzdür.

   I know that this is right.

   O mənə demişdir ki, hər şey yaxşı olacaq. Amma olmadı.

   He told me that everything would be fine. But it wasn't.

2. to, in order to, so that

   Mən oraya getmişdim ki, lazım olanları alım.

   I went there to buy whatever was needed.

   Onlar onu evə göndərdilər ki, heç kim onu görməsin.

   They sent him home so that nobody would see him.

Breton

Etymology

From Middle Breton ci, from Proto-Brythonic *ki, from Proto-Celtic *kū, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ.

Noun

ki m (plural chas or kon)

1. dog

   Ar c'hi zo o kousket amañ.

   The dog is sleeping here.

Derived terms

• aourgi
• kiez

Mutation

Mutation of ki

	unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard
singular	ki	gi	c'hi	unchanged
plural	kon	gon	c'hon	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Breton.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Central Bikol

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ki, from Proto-Austronesian *ki.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈki/ [ˈki]

Preposition

ki (Basahan spelling ᜃᜒ)

1. (formal, Naga) Used to mark oblique cases of personal nouns

   An kantang ini, para ki papa.

   This song's for (my) father.

   Yaon ki ate an selpon mo.

   Your sister has your cellphone.

2. (Tabaco–Legazpi–Sorsogon) indirect or object marker for nouns or phrases other than personal names

   Nagkaon sana kami ki pamahawan.

   We just ate breakfast.

3. (Tabaco–Legazpi–Sorsogon) of (expressing possession)

   Harong ki ayam.

   House of dog.

Synonyms

• (used to mark oblique cases): kay
• (indirect or object marker): nin, -ng

Derived terms

• ki isay
• ki sa
• ki siisay

See also

• kan

Chungli Ao

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki˩/, [ki˩]

Noun

ki

1. house

Derived terms

• kibong
• kibur
• kibutsü
• kidong
• kinunger
• kinungpu
• kinungtsü
• kiyonger
• süki

Further reading

• Bruhn, Daniel Wayne (2014), A Phonological Reconstruction of Proto-Central Naga‎^[1], Berkeley: University of California, page 53
• Clark, Mary M. (1893), Ao Naga grammar with illustrative phrases and vocabulary, Molung: Assam Secretariat Printing Office, page 129
• Gowda, K. S. Gurubasave (1985), Ao-English-Hindi Dictionary, Mysore: Central Institute of Indian Languages, page 24

Cornish

Alternative forms

• kei (Revived Late Cornish)

Etymology

From Old Cornish ci, from Proto-Brythonic *ki, from Proto-Celtic *kū, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ. Cognate with Breton ki, Irish cú, Manx coo, Scottish Gaelic cù, and Welsh ci.

Pronunciation

• (Revived Middle Cornish) IPA^(key): [kiː]

Noun

ki m (plural keun)

1. dog

Derived terms

• broghki (“dachshund”)
• dowrgi (“otter”)
• golgi (“watchdog”)
• gorgi (“male dog”)
• helgi (“hound (for hunting)”)
• keunji, keunva (“kennel”)
• kilgi (“coward”)
• morgi (“dogfish”)
• owrgi (“jackal”)
• reski (“hound (for racing)”)
• stoffki (“junkie”)

Mutation

Mutation of ki

radical	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed
ki	gi	hi	unchanged	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Cornish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Danish

Noun

ki c

1. initialism of kunstig intelligens

Synonyms

• KI
• AI (anglicism)

References

• “ki” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dena'ina

Adverb

ki

1. again, too, more
2. furthermore, moreover

Dutch

Alternative forms

• KI

Noun

ki f (uncountable, no diminutive)

1. initialism of kunstmatige inseminatie
2. initialism of kunstmatige intelligentie

   Synonym: AI

Noun

ki n (plural ki's, no diminutive)

1. initialism of kadastraal inkomen

Eastern Ojibwa

Etymology

cf. Ojibwe aki

Noun

ki inan

1. earth

References

Jerry Randolph Valentine (2001), Nishnaabemwin Reference Grammar, University of Toronto, page 177

Fijian

Preposition

ki

1. to, for, towards (used for common nouns and names of places)
2. at (used for locations)

Finnish

Etymology

Internationalism (compare English chi), ultimately from Mandarin 氣／气 (qì).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈki(ː)/, [ˈk̟i(ː)]
• Rhymes: -i
• Syllabification^(key): ki
• Hyphenation^(key): ki

Noun

ki

1. chi, qi (life force in Chinese medicine)

Declension

When pronounced /kiː/:

Inflection of ki (Kotus type 18/maa, no gradation)
nominative		ki	kit
genitive		kin	kiden kitten
partitive		kitä	kitä
illative		kiin	kihin
		singular	plural
nominative		ki	kit
accusative	nom.	ki	kit
	gen.	kin
genitive		kin	kiden kitten
partitive		kitä	kitä
inessive		kissä	kissä
elative		kistä	kistä
illative		kiin	kihin
adessive		killä	killä
ablative		kiltä	kiltä
allative		kille	kille
essive		kinä	kinä
translative		kiksi	kiksi
abessive		kittä	kittä
instructive		—	kin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of ki (Kotus type 18/maa, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative kini kini accusative nom. kini kini gen. kini genitive kini kideni kitteni partitive kitäni kitäni inessive kissäni kissäni elative kistäni kistäni illative kiini kihini adessive killäni killäni ablative kiltäni kiltäni allative killeni killeni essive kinäni kinäni translative kikseni kikseni abessive kittäni kittäni instructive — — comitative — kineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative kisi kisi accusative nom. kisi kisi gen. kisi genitive kisi kidesi kittesi partitive kitäsi kitäsi inessive kissäsi kissäsi elative kistäsi kistäsi illative kiisi kihisi adessive killäsi killäsi ablative kiltäsi kiltäsi allative killesi killesi essive kinäsi kinäsi translative kiksesi kiksesi abessive kittäsi kittäsi instructive — — comitative — kinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative kimme kimme accusative nom. kimme kimme gen. kimme genitive kimme kidemme kittemme partitive kitämme kitämme inessive kissämme kissämme elative kistämme kistämme illative kiimme kihimme adessive killämme killämme ablative kiltämme kiltämme allative killemme killemme essive kinämme kinämme translative kiksemme kiksemme abessive kittämme kittämme instructive — — comitative — kinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative kinne kinne accusative nom. kinne kinne gen. kinne genitive kinne kidenne kittenne partitive kitänne kitänne inessive kissänne kissänne elative kistänne kistänne illative kiinne kihinne adessive killänne killänne ablative kiltänne kiltänne allative killenne killenne essive kinänne kinänne translative kiksenne kiksenne abessive kittänne kittänne instructive — — comitative — kinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative kinsä kinsä accusative nom. kinsä kinsä gen. kinsä genitive kinsä kidensä kittensä partitive kitään kitänsä kitään kitänsä inessive kissään kissänsä kissään kissänsä elative kistään kistänsä kistään kistänsä illative kiinsä kihinsä adessive killään killänsä killään killänsä ablative kiltään kiltänsä kiltään kiltänsä allative killeen killensä killeen killensä essive kinään kinänsä kinään kinänsä translative kikseen kiksensä kikseen kiksensä abessive kittään kittänsä kittään kittänsä instructive — — comitative — kineen kinensä

Fula

Suffix

ki

1. Noun class indicator for nouns (singular) including trees and some objects such as knives

Usage notes

• Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).

Article

ki

1. (definite) the (when it follows the noun)

   Lekki ki ― the tree

Usage notes

• Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).

Determiner

ki

1. (used in indicating something)

   Ki lekki ― this/that tree

Usage notes

• Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Pronoun

ki

1. who

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French qui.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki/

Determiner

ki

1. what

Derived terms

• kibò
• kikote
• kilè
• kimoun

Pronoun

ki

1. (relative) who, which

Usage notes

• This word as a pronoun is always the subject of the relative clause.

References

• Targète, Jean; Urciolo, Raphael (1993), Haitian Creole-English Dictionary‎^[2], Dunwoody Press, →ISBN, page 92

Hokkien

For pronunciation and definitions of ki – see 枝 (“branch; twig; etc.”). (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 枝).

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈki]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ki

Etymology 1

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

Adverb

ki (comparative kijjebb, superlative legkijjebb)

1. out, not inside, from the inside, in an outward direction

   Antonym: be

Usage notes

This term may also be part of the split form of a verb prefixed with ki-, occurring when the main verb does not follow the prefix directly. It can be interpreted only with the related verb form, irrespective of its position in the sentence, e.g. meg tudták volna nézni (“they could have seen it”, from megnéz). For verbs with this prefix, see ki-; for an overview, Appendix:Hungarian verbal prefixes.

Derived terms

Compound words

• ki-be
• kifelé

See also

Hungarian table of correlatives (see also Hungarian demonstrative adverbs)

question	question word	this	that	same	every-/all	no-	relative	some-	any-	other-/else-	a few
		e/i-	a/o-	ugyan-	mind- minden-	se(m/n)-	a-	vala-	akár-, bár-	más-	né-
who	ki	ő		ugyanő	mindenki	senki	aki	valaki	akárki, bárki	másvalaki	–
what	mi	ez	az	ugyanez ugyanaz	minden mindez, mindaz	semmi	ami, amely	valami	akármi, bármi	más másvalami	–
which	melyik				mindegyik mind	semelyik egyik sem	amelyik	valamelyik egyik	akármelyik, bármelyik	másik	némelyik
how	hogy(an) miként, mint miképp(en)	így ekként ekképp(en)	úgy akként akképp(en)	ugyanígy ugyanúgy	mindenhogy(an) mindenképp(en) mindenféleképpen	sehogy(an)1 semmiképp(en) semmiféleképpen	ahogy(an) (a)mint (a)miképpen	valahogy(an)2 valamiképp(en)	akárhogy(an), bárhogy(an) akár-/bármiképpen	máshogy(an) másként másképp(en)	némiképpen
what…like what kind	milyen miféle	ilyen efféle	olyan afféle	ugyanilyen ugyanolyan	mindenféle	semmilyen semmiféle	amilyen	valamilyen valamiféle	akármilyen, bármilyen akármiféle, bármiféle	másmilyen, másfajta másféle	néhányféle
where	hol	itt	ott	ugyanitt ugyanott	mindenhol mindenütt	sehol	ahol	valahol	akárhol, bárhol	máshol másutt	néhol
from where	honnan	innen	onnan	ugyaninnen ugyanonnan	mindenhonnan	sehonnan	ahonnan	valahonnan	akárhonnan, bárhonnan	máshonnan	–
to where	hova hová	ide	oda	ugyanide ugyanoda	mindenhova mindenhová	sehova sehová	ahova ahová	valahova valahová	akárhova, bárhova akárhová, bárhová	máshova máshová	–
from which way	merről	erről	arról	ugyanerről ugyanarról	mindenfelől	semerről	amerről	valamerről	akármerről, bármerről	másfelől	–
which way	merre merrefelé	erre errefelé	arra arrafelé	ugyanerre ugyanarra	mindenfelé	semerre	amerre	valamerre	akármerre, bármerre	másfelé	–
why	miért	ezért	azért	ugyanezért ugyanazért	mindenért	semmiért	amiért	valamiért	akármiért, bármiért	másért	–
how many	hány	ennyi	annyi	ugyanennyi ugyanannyi	mind az összes	sehány	ahány	valahány	akárhány, bárhány	–	néhány
how much	mennyi					semennyi	amennyi	valamennyi	akármennyi, bármennyi		némi
what extent	mennyire	ennyire	annyira	ugyanennyire ugyanannyira	(teljesen)	semennyire	amennyire	valamennyire	akármennyire, bármennyire	–	–
what size	mekkora	ekkora	akkora	ugyanekkora ugyanakkora	(az egész)	semekkora	amekkora	valamekkora	akármekkora, bármekkora	–	–
what time	mikor	ekkor	akkor	ugyanekkor ugyanakkor	mindig	soha/sose(m) sohase(m) semmikor	amikor	valamikor	akármikor, bármikor	máskor	néha
how long how far	meddig	eddig	addig	ugyaneddig ugyanaddig	(végig)3	semeddig	amíg ameddig	valameddig	akármeddig, bármeddig	–	–

¹ Semhogy and semmint are conjunctions meaning “(rather) than”, “before” (as in inkább meghal, semhogy… ― he'll rather die than…).
² Valamint is now only used in the sense of “as well as” in enumerations.
³ Mindeddig/-addig mean “up until this/that point” (= egészen eddig/addig).
Csak following relative pronouns expresses “-ever”, e.g. aki csak (“whoever”); is after “any” pronouns emphasizes “no matter”: akármit is (“no matter what”).

Etymology 2

From Proto-Uralic *ke, the same root from which the Finnish ken and Ter Sami kie are derived.

Pronoun

ki

2. (interrogative) who (what person or people; which person or people)
3. (relative, archaic) synonym of aki (“who”, the person or people that)
   • 1916, Mihály Babits, “Új könyvekre”‎^[3], stanza 2:

     Gondoljatok arra, kit messze rejtek ¶ rejt tőletek, ki ha kóstolja bortok ¶ nem érzi már ízét sem; és ha szóltok ¶ nem érti, s más összhang mit vágya kerget.

     Think of him whom a distant hiding place hides from you, who, if he tastes your wine, no longer feels its taste; and if you speak, he does not understand, and what harmony his desire pursues.

     (literally, “Think of the one who is hidden from you by a distant hideout, who when tasting your wine will not sense its savor anymore, [who] will not understand when you speak to him, and it’s a different harmony [that] his desire pursues.”)

4. (relative, archaic) synonym of az, aki (“who”, whoever, he/she who, they who)

   ki korán kel, aranyat lel ― the early bird gets the worm (literally, “whoever gets up early finds gold”)

5. (paired) some (referring to people)

   Ki erre, ki arra szaladt. ― Some ran this way; some, the other way.

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, front unrounded harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	ki	kik
accusative	kit	kiket
dative	kinek	kiknek
instrumental	kivel	kikkel
causal-final	kiért	kikért
translative	kivé	kikké
terminative	kiig	kikig
essive-formal	kiként	kikként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	kiben	kikben
superessive	kin	kiken
adessive	kinél	kiknél
illative	kibe	kikbe
sublative	kire	kikre
allative	kihez	kikhez
elative	kiből	kikből
delative	kiről	kikről
ablative	kitől	kiktől
non-attributive possessive – singular	kié	kiké
non-attributive possessive – plural	kiéi	kikéi

Possessive forms of ki

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	kim	kijeim (or kiim)
2nd person sing.	kid	kijeid (or kiid)
3rd person sing.	kije	kijei (or kii)
1st person plural	kink	kijeink (or kiink)
2nd person plural	kitek	kijeitek (or kiitek)
3rd person plural	kijük	kijeik (or kiik)

Derived terms

Compound words

• akárki
• aki
• bárki
• ki-ki
• kicsoda
• kiféle
• kilét
• mindenki
• senki
• valaki

Expressions

• kétszer ad, ki gyorsan ad
• ki korán kel, aranyat lel
• ki mint vet, úgy arat

See also

Hungarian pronominal adverbs from case suffixes (see also postpositions)

case	suffix	who?	what?	this	that	he/she (it)1	verbal prefix	category
nominative	–	ki	mi	ez	az	ő* / ∅ az / ∅	–	–
accusative	-t / -ot / -at / -et / -öt	kit	mit	ezt	azt	őt* / ∅ azt / ∅	–	c1 c2
dative	-nak / -nek	kinek	minek	ennek	annak	neki	neki-	category
instrumental	-val / -vel	kivel	mivel	ezzel/ evvel	azzal/ avval	vele		category
causal-final	-ért	kiért	miért	ezért	azért	érte	–	category
translative	-vá / -vé	kivé	mivé	ezzé	azzá	–	–	category
terminative	-ig	–	meddig	eddig	addig	–	–	category
essive-formal	-ként	(kiként)	(miként)	ekként	akként	–	–	category
essive-modal	-ul / -ül	–	–	–	–	–	–	category
inessive	-ban / -ben	kiben	miben	ebben	abban	benne	–	category
superessive	-n/-on/-en/-ön	kin	min	ezen	azon	rajta	(rajta-)	category
adessive	-nál / -nél	kinél	minél	ennél	annál	nála	–	category
illative	-ba / -be	kibe	mibe	ebbe	abba	bele	bele-	category
sublative	-ra / -re	kire	mire	erre	arra	rá	rá-	category
allative	-hoz/-hez/-höz	kihez	mihez	ehhez	ahhoz	hozzá	hozzá-	category
elative	-ból / -ből	kiből	miből	ebből	abból	belőle	–	category
delative	-ról / -ről	kiről	miről	erről	arról	róla	–	category
ablative	-tól / -től	kitől	mitől	ettől	attól	tőle	–	category

¹Ő and őt refer to human beings; the forms below them might be construed likewise.
Forms in parentheses are uncommon. All Hungarian pronouns / edit this template

Further reading

• (who): ki in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• (out): ki in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch quu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki/, [ki]

Noun

ki (plural ki-ki)

1. The name of the Latin script letter Q/q.

Synonyms

• kiu (Standard Malay)

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) huruf; a, be, ce, de, e, ef, ge, ha, i, je, ka, el, em, en, o, pe, ki, er, es, te, u, ve, we, eks, ye, zet

Further reading

• “ki”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Japanese

Romanization

ki

1. The hiragana syllable き (ki) or the katakana syllable キ (ki) in Hepburn romanization.

Javanese

Etymology

Clipping of iki.

Determiner

ki

1. (colloquial) this, these

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese que.

Pronoun

ki

1. that
2. which

Conjunction

ki

1. than

Kristang

Etymology

From Portuguese que.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki/

Pronoun

ki

1. (interrogative) what (what thing)
2. (relative) that; which

Laz

Conjunction

ki

1. Latin spelling of ქი (ki)

Māori

Particle

ki

1. to, toward.

Derived terms

• ki waho - out, outside

Further reading

• John C. Moorfield (2011), “ki”, in Te Aka: Māori–English, English–Māori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, →ISBN

Mauritian Creole

Etymology 1

From French qui.

Pronoun

ki

1. (relative) who
2. (relative) what

Derived terms

• kifer

See also

• kisann-la

Etymology 2

From French que.

Particle

ki

1. than
2. that

Middle Welsh

ki

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *ki, from Proto-Celtic *kū, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki/

Noun

ki m (plural cwn)

1. dog, hound

   For quotations using this term, see Citations:ki.

Derived terms

• helgi
• milgi

Descendants

• Welsh: ci

Mutation

Mutated forms of ki

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
ki	gi	ki / chi pronounced with /ŋ̊-/	chi

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Middle Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Mizo

Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *kii.

Noun

ki

1. horn
2. antler

Further reading

• Lorrain, J. Herbert (1940), “ki”, in Dictionary of the Lushai language, Calcutta: Asiatic Society

Mohawk

Pronoun

ki

1. this

Nǀuu

Alternative forms

• kyi

Pronoun

ki

1. it

Verb

ki

1. have

   Na ki maari

   I have a money

References

• Shah, S. & Brenzinger, M. (2016). Ouma Geelmeid ke kx’u ǁxaǁxa Nǀuu. Cape Town: CALDi, University of Cape Town.
• Sands, Bonny & Jones, Kerry & Esau, Katrina & Collins, Chris & Witzlack-Makarevich, Alena & Job, Sylvanus & Miller, Amanda & Steyn, Betta & Zaanen, Menno & Namaseb, Levi & Berg, Dietloff & Mantzel, Dotty & Damarah, Willem & Snyman, Claudia & Wyk, David & Brugman, Johanna & Exter, Mats & Vaalbooi, Antjie & Westhuizen, Mietjie. (2022). Nǀuuki Namagowab Afrikaans English ǂXoakiǂxanisi/Mîdi di ǂKhanis/Woordeboek/Dictionary.

Old French

Pronoun

ki

1. alternative spelling of qui
   • 13th century, Unknown, La Vie de Saint Laurent, page 1, column 2, line 16:

     ki trop i prent son tens i pert

     He who spends too much of his time on it suffers as a result

   • c. 1250, Marie de France, Equitan:

     m'est une anguisse el quer ferue, ki tut le cors me fet trembler

     Such a pain has pierced my heart, that makes my whole body quiver

   • 10th century, Turold, La Chanson de Roland, page CCLVIII [4]:

     Cil sunt vassal ki les oz ajusterent.

     Great was the courage of the ones who joined these two armies in battle

Pacoh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kiː]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Katuic *kii (“that”). Cognate with Eastern Bru ki (“that, then, there”), Semelai ke ("that"), Besisi ke ("that"), and possibly Vietnamese cái (general classifier, focus marker).

Determiner

ki 

1. (Pahi Tamprin) that/those

   Synonym: cốh

   ingay ki ― that day

Particle

ki 

1. (Pahi Tamprin) used as link in topic-comment constructions, "topicalizer".

   Synonym: cốh

   Along ngcốh ki két.

   That tree is small.

   (literally, “As for that tree, [it's] small.”)

Adverb

ki 

1. (Pahi Tamprin) so; then

   Synonym: cốh

   Ki ngai pôq tốq vel.

   Then they went to village.

Derived terms

• aki
• iki
• ngki

Etymology 2

From Proto-Katuic *kii, *ʔakii (“horn”). Cognate with Proto-Bahnaric *ʔəkɛː (“horn”) (whence Bahnar ake, hơke) and Proto-Vietic *t-keː (whence Arem takeː ("horn"), Vietnamese gai (“thorn”)).

Noun

ki 

1. rhinoceros horn

Palula

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki/

Postposition

ki (کیۡ)

1. as
2. of
3. out of
4. with

References

• Henrik Liljegren; Naseem Haider (2011), “ki”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[5], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki/

Conjunction

ki (conjunction, Perso-Arabic spelling کیۡ)

1. or

References

• Henrik Liljegren; Naseem Haider (2011), “ki”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[6], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 3

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki/

Conjunction

ki (conjunction, Perso-Arabic spelling کیۡ)

1. Complementizer preceding extraposed complement clause

References

• Henrik Liljegren; Naseem Haider (2011), “ki”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[7], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Papiamentu

Alternative forms

• kiko (synonym)

Etymology

From Portuguese quê and Spanish qué and Kabuverdianu ki.

Pronoun

ki

1. what

Polish

Alternative forms

• kay (dialectal)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Slavic *kъjь

Old Polish ki

Polish ki

Inherited from Old Polish ki, from Proto-Slavic *kъjь.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈki/

• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈki/
• (Masovia):
  • (Far Masovian) IPA^(key): [ˈki]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -i
• Syllabification: ki
• Homophone: -ki

Pronoun

ki

1. (obsolete except in set phrases or dialectal, Far Masovian) what, which kind of (referring to an undetermined set of possible answers)

   Synonyms: jaki, który

Declension

Declension of ki (velar)

singular					plural
	masculine animate	masculine inanimate	feminine	neuter	virile (= masculine personal)	non-virile
nominative/vocative	ki		ka	kie	ki	kie
genitive	kiego		kiej	kiego	kich
dative	kiemu		kiej	kiemu	kim
accusative	kiego	ki	ką	kie	kich	kie
instrumental	kim		ką	kim	kimi
locative	kim		kiej	kim	kich

Derived terms

pronouns

• ki cholera
• ki czort
• ki diabeł
• ki grom
• kie licho

Related terms

pronouns

• jaki

Further reading

• “ki”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[8] (in Polish)
• Antoni Waga (1860), “ki”, in “Abecadłowy spis wyrazów ludowego języka w okolicach Łomży, Wizny i przyległych”, in Kazimierz Władysław Wóycicki, editor, Biblioteka Warszawska‎^[9] (in Polish), volume 2, Warsaw, page 752
• Maria Renata Mayenowa; Stanisław Rospond; Witold Taszycki; Stefan Hrabec; Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023), “ki”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• “KI”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], (Can we date this quote?)
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1808), “ki”, in Słownik języka polskiego, volume 1b, page 989
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861), “ki”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861, volume I, page 486
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1902), “ki”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 2, Warsaw, page 318
• Woliński, Marcin; Saloni, Zygmunt; Wołosz, Robert; Gruszczyński, Włodzimierz; Skowrońska, Danuta; Bronk, Zbigniew (2020), “ki”, in Słownik gramatyczny języka polskiego [Grammatical Dictionary of Polish]‎^[10], 4. online edition, Warszawa

Rapa Nui

Verb

ki

1. say
2. look

Rohingya

Pronoun

ki

1. what

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *kъjь, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos + relative particle *yos.

Pronoun

ki ? (Cyrillic spelling ки)

1. (Kajkavian, relative) which, that, who

   Synonym: koji

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *kъjь, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos + relative particle *yos. First attested in the 15th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki/

Pronoun

ki

1. who, which, that (relative)

Declension

This pronoun needs an inflection-table template.

Sumerian

Romanization

ki

1. romanization of 𒆠 (ki)

Sundanese

Contraction

ki

1. Shortened form of kai (“wood, tree”)

Usage notes

• Commonly used as prefix for names of trees and plants, esp. for those of large trees, e.g. ki ajag, ki beusi, kiara, etc.

Swahili

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Verb

ki

1. (dated or literary) positive degree present and gnomic ki class_(VII) of -wa (“it is”)
   • 1891, W.E. Taylor, African Aforisms (overall work in English), translation by Taylor, nr. 48:

     Kifo ki karibu: ki kishogoni mwako.

     Death is near: it is at the back of thy head.

Talysh

Etymology

Cognate with Persian کی (ki).

Pronoun

ki

1. who

Tat

Etymology

Cognate with Persian کی (ki).

Pronoun

ki

1. who

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English key.

Noun

ki

1. key

Tokelauan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *ki. Cognates include Hawaiian i and Samoan 'i. The sense of the direct object stems from the comparison of a thought's motion to a physical motion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ki]
• Hyphenation: ki

Preposition

ki

1. towards, to, into, on to
2. Marks the direct object of some verbs.

References

• R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎^[11], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 159

Tongan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *ki.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki/

Preposition

ki

1. to (in the dative sense)

Tooro

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *kɪ̀í (“what?”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki/, [ci]

Determiner

ki

1. (interrogative) what, what kind of

   Synonym: kiki

Usage notes

• This determiner causes the word before it to move its high tone to the ultimate syllable. Thus erangi /eɾáːnɡi/ (“color”) but rangi ki? /ɾaˑnɡí ki/ (“what color (is it)?”).
• Unlike kiki, ki is generally not used at the start of a sentence.

References

• Kaji, Shigeki (2007), A Rutooro Vocabulary‎^[12], Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), →ISBN, pages 427, 438
• Entry 6432 at Bantu Lexical Reconstructions 3

Turkish

Etymology 1

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish كه (ki), from Classical Persian که.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ci/

Conjunction

ki

1. (+ optative or imperative) so that, so

   Yaptım ki gidesin.

   I did it so that you would (be able to) go.

   Yaptım ki gitsin.

   I did it so that they would (be able to) go.

2. that

   Seni öpersem biliyorum ki, sana âşık olacağım.

   If I kiss you, I know that I'll fall in love with you.

   1. Used after a nominal phrase as an emphatic, acting as if there is an implied consequence of the phrase, equivalent to English so ... that

      O kadar güzelsin ki! (gözlerinin içine sonsuza dek bakabilirim).

      You are so beautiful! (that I can look into your eyes forever).

      O kadar uykum var ki (her an bayılabilirim gibi hissediyorum).

      I'm so tired (that I feel like I'm going to pass out any moment).

3. anyways

   Neden ondan korkuyorsun? O bir halt yapmaz ki.

   Why are you even afraid of them? They won’t do shit anyways.

Usage notes

• With sense 1, the optative is used for all persons with the exception of the third person singular, which takes the imperative form instead.
• With sense 2, it also possible to use this sentence structure

  • Seni öpersem, sana âşık olacağımı biliyorum.

    If I kiss you, I know that I'll fall in love with you.

• With sense 2.1, the implied consequence is by definition not used (doing that would instead fall under the parent definiton), and in the usage examples are used to make the English translations clearer. Using a sentence with ki and no finite verb is grammatically correct.

Etymology 2

Reduced form of iki.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈci/

Numeral

ki

1. two (short form of iki)

   bir-ki-üç-dört

   one-two-three-four

Unami

Alternative forms

• k- (with verb inflections)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Algonquian *ki·ra.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ki]

Pronoun

ki

1. you (second person singular)

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ki˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kɪj˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [kɪj˧˧]

Etymology 1

From French quille.

Noun

(classifier con) ki

1. (bowling) a pin

Etymology 2

From English Henry Kissinger.

Noun

(classifier con) ki

1. (colloquial, euphemistic) dog (animal)

   ngu như ki ― stupid like a dog

2. common Vietnamese name for dogs

Etymology 3

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

Noun

(classifier cái) ki

1. a dustpan

   Synonym: đồ hốt rác

Woiwurrung

Interjection

ki

1. ha

Yoruba

Pronunciation

• (high-tone): IPA^(key): /kí/
• (mid-tone): IPA^(key): /kī/
• (low-tone): IPA^(key): /kì/

Etymology 1

Noun

kí

1. The name of the Latin script letter K/k.

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

Etymology 2

Particle

kí

1. (subjunctive) Subjunctive clause particle expressing obligation, wish, or permission.

Usage notes

Similar to the negation particles kì and kò, the first-person singular pronoun mo changes to n after this particle.

Etymology 3

Verb

kí

1. (transitive) to greet, to say hello
2. (transitive) to visit

Etymology 4

Verb

kì

1. (transitive) to deliver a eulogy for someone
2. (transitive) to sing the praises of someone

Derived terms

• oríkì
• èkìkì

Etymology 5

Verb

ki

1. (transitive) to load
2. (transitive) to compress (powdered material) into a container

Etymology 6

Verb

ki

1. (intransitive) to be viscous
2. to be thick (relating to stew or soup)

Derived terms

• ìki, kíki, òṣùwọ̀n-ìki

Etymology 7

Particle

kì

1. alternative form of kò (“not”) (used before í)

Zou

Etymology 1

Ki (1) khat.

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *kii.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kí]
• Hyphenation: ki

Noun

kí

1. horn

Etymology 2

Ki (2) khat.

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kí]
• Hyphenation: ki

Noun

kí

1. parrot

References

• Philip Thangliènmâng (2010), Minimal dictionary and Self-tutor Functional Grammar in Zo-English-Hindi, New Delhi: Zoculsin, →ISBN, pages 34, 212
• Lukram Himmat Singh (2013), A Descriptive Grammar of Zou (PhD thesis), Canchipur: Manipur University, page 63