nei

See also: Appendix:Variations of "nei"

Languages (29)

Translingual

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Bavarian • Central Franconian • Chuukese • East Central German • Esperanto • Faroese • Gothic • Hunsrik • Icelandic • Italian • Latin • Lithuanian • Livonian • Low German • Luxembourgish • Mandarin • Māori • Mizo • North Frisian • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old Frisian • Old Norse • Pennsylvania German • Rapa Nui • Tokelauan • Welsh • West Frisian

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Abbreviation of English Neo-Hittite.

Symbol

nei

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Neo-Hittite.

Bavarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnai̯/

Etymology 1

From Middle High German niuwe, from Old High German niuwi. Cognate with German neu.

Adjective

nei

1. new

Etymology 2

Cognate with German 'nein, clippping of hinein.

Alternative forms

• (West Central, Northern) eini
• (East Central) eine

Adverb

nei (West Central Bavarian)

1. into

See also

Bavarian adverbs of place and direction

	adverbs
	from	to	here	there
place	her	hi	då/dou	dort/duart
inside	eina	eini/-e, nei	herin	drin
outside	aussa/assa	aussi/-e, assi, naus	heraust	draussn
up	auffa/affa	auffi/-e, affi, nauf	herobn	drobn
down	åwa	åwi/-e, nå, åi	herunt	druntn
forth	fiara	fiari/-e	vorn	davor
behind	hinta, hintra	hinti/-e, hintri/-e	hintn	dahinta
over here	umma	ummi/-e	herent	drent, entn
over there	dåna	dåni/-e	herdånt	hidånt
closer	zuara	zuari/-e

Central Franconian

Alternative forms

• neu (Ripuarian)

Etymology

From Middle High German niuwe, from Old High German niuwi.

Adjective

nei

1. (Moselle Franconian) new

Chuukese

Determiner

nei

1. First-person singular possessive; my (used with a special class of objects including living things)

Related terms

Chuukese possessive determiners

		small objects, concepts	large objects, living things	suffix
singular	first person	ai	nei	-ei
	second person	omw, om	noum	-om
	third person	an	noun	-an
plural	first person	äm (exclusive) ach (inclusive)	nöu̇m (exclusive) nöüch (inclusive)	-em (exclusive) -ach (inclusive)
	second person	ämi, ami	noumi	-emi
	third person	ar	nour	-er

East Central German

Etymology 1

A parallel development to standard German hinein.

Adverb

nei

1. (Erzgebirgisch) in (away from the speaker)

Derived terms

• neibeißn
• neibuttrn
• neifahrn

Etymology 2

From Middle High German niuwe, from Old High German niuwi, from Proto-West Germanic *niwi, from Proto-Germanic *niwjaz, from Proto-Indo-European *néwos.

Adjective

nei

1. (Erzgebirgisch) new

Related terms

• neibackn
• Neibauwuhning
• neideitsch
• Neigrosch
• neilich
• neimodsch

Further reading

• Hendrik Heidler (11 June 2020), Hendrik Heidler's 400 Seiten: Echtes Erzgebirgisch: Wuu de Hasen Hoosn haaßn un de Hosen Huusn do sei mir drhamm: Das Original Wörterbuch: Ratgeber und Fundgrube der erzgebirgischen Mund- und Lebensart: Erzgebirgisch – Deutsch / Deutsch – Erzgebirgisch‎^[1] (in German), 3. geänderte Auflage edition, Norderstedt: BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 89

Esperanto

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin nōn

Old French ne

Middle French ne

French nebor.

Proto-Indo-European *né

Proto-Balto-Slavic *ne

Proto-Slavic *ne

Old Polish nie

Polish niebor.

▲

Proto-Slavic *ne

Russian не (ne)bor.

Esperanto ne

Esperanto -i

Esperanto nei

From ne (“no”) + -i (infinitive verb suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnei/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ei
• Syllabification: ne‧i

Verb

nei (present neas, past neis, future neos, conditional neus, volitive neu)

1. to say no, to reply in negation or disagreement

   Antonym: jesi

   nei demandon / nei al demando ― to say no to a question

   Ŝi neis per kapskuo. ― She replied no with a shake of the head.

2. to deny (assert that something is not true)

   Synonym: negi

   nei la ekziston de Dio ― to deny the existence of God

   Oni simple ne povas nei faktojn. ― You simply can't deny facts.

Conjugation

Conjugation of nei

		present		past		future
		singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
tense		neas		neis		neos
active participle		neanta	neantaj	neinta	neintaj	neonta	neontaj
	acc.	neantan	neantajn	neintan	neintajn	neontan	neontajn
passive participle		neata	neataj	neita	neitaj	neota	neotaj
	acc.	neatan	neatajn	neitan	neitajn	neotan	neotajn
nominal active participle		neanto	neantoj	neinto	neintoj	neonto	neontoj
	acc.	neanton	neantojn	neinton	neintojn	neonton	neontojn
nominal passive participle		neato	neatoj	neito	neitoj	neoto	neotoj
	acc.	neaton	neatojn	neiton	neitojn	neoton	neotojn
adverbial active participle		neante		neinte		neonte
adverbial passive participle		neate		neite		neote
		infinitive	nei	imperative	neu	conditional	neus

Derived terms

• neado

Further reading

• “nei”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN
• “nei”, in Reta Vortaro [Online Dictionary] (in Esperanto), 1997-2026

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse nei, from Proto-Germanic *nai (“never”), *nē (“not”), from Proto-Indo-European *né, *nē, *nēy (negative particle).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naiː/
• Rhymes: -aiː
• Homophone: neig

Adverb

nei

1. no

   Synonym: neiggj

   Antonyms: ja, jú, júgv

Gothic

Romanization

nei

1. romanization of 𐌽𐌴𐌹

Hunsrik

Etymology

From Middle High German niuwe, from Old High German niuwi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naɪ̯/

Adjective

nei (comparative neier, superlative neiest)

1. new

Declension

Declension of nei (see also Appendix:Hunsrik adjectives)

		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
weak inflection	nominative	nei	nei	nei	neie
	accusative	neie	nei	nei	neie
	dative	neie	neie	neie	neie
strong inflection	nominative	neier	neie	neies	neie
	accusative	neie	neie	neies	neie
	dative	neiem	neier	neiem	neie

Derived terms

• Neichkeet

Further reading

• Boll, Piter Kehoma (2021), “nei”, in Dicionário Hunsriqueano Riograndense–Português, 3rd edition (overall work in Portuguese), Ivoti: Riograndenser Hunsrickisch

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse nei, from Proto-Germanic *nai (“never”), *nē (“not”), from Proto-Indo-European *né, *nē, *nēy (negative particle).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /neiː/
• Rhymes: -eiː

Interjection

nei

1. no

   Synonyms: (informal) neibb, nau, (children's slang) nauts

   Antonyms: já, (children's slang) júts, (implies a positive contradiction, used to contradict a negative) jú

2. exclamation indicating being pleasantly surprised

   Nei, en gaman! ― Oh how fun!

   Nei, hæ! ― What a surprise to see you here!

Noun

nei n (genitive singular neis, nominative plural nei)

1. a no

Declension

Declension of nei (neuter)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	nei	neiið	nei	neiin
accusative	nei	neiið	nei	neiin
dative	neii	neiinu	neium	neiunum
genitive	neis	neisins	neia	neianna

References

• Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2026), “nei”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies

Anagrams

• ein

Italian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): ^°°/nej/
• Rhymes: -ej
• Hyphenation: nei

Contraction

nei

1. contraction of in i; in the

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnɛ.i/
• Rhymes: -ɛi
• Hyphenation: nè‧i

Noun

nei m

1. plural of neo

Anagrams

• -ine

Latin

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈnɛj]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈnɛj]

Adverb

nei

1. Old Latin form of nē
   • c. 500 BCE, Garigliano bowl:

     𐌀𐌇𐌖𐌉𐌃𐌉𐌄𐌔
     𐌍𐌄𐌉[- - -]𐌐𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌌𐌄𐌃𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌𐌊𐌏𐌌𐌌𐌄𐌏𐌉𐌔𐌔𐌏𐌊𐌉𐌏𐌉𐌔𐌕𐌓𐌉𐌅𐌏𐌔𐌀𐌖𐌃𐌄𐌏𐌌𐌃𐌖𐌏[𐌌]

     [Ahuidies
     Nei pari mēd! Esom kom meois sokiois trifos, Audeō̆m duō̆[m].]

     AHVIDIES
     NEI[- - -]PARIMEDESOMKOMMEOISSOKIOISTRIFOSAVDEOMDVO[M]

     Ahuidies
     Do not take me! I am with my three companions, [the property] of the two Audii.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈne.iː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈnɛː.i]

Noun

neī

1. genitive singular of neon

Lithuanian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Balto-Slavic *nei. Cognate to Latvian nei, Proto-Slavic *ni.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [²ˈnʲɛɪˑ]
• Rhymes: -ɛɪˑ
• Syllabification: nei̇̃

Conjunction

nei̇̃

1. neither ... nor
2. than

   Synonym: už

Livonian

Etymology

From *nein, the instructive plural of Proto-Finnic *se. Compare Estonian nii. The broken tone appears 'not regular'.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈneˀi/, [ˈne̯ˀi]

Adverb

ne’i

1. so, like this
2. thus, like that

References

• Tiit-Rein Viitso; Valts Ernštreits (2012–2013), “ne’i”, in Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz [Livonian-Estonian-Latvian Dictionary]‎^[2] (in Estonian and Latvian), Tartu, Rīga: Tartu Ülikool, Latviešu valodas aģentūra

Low German

Adverb

nei

1. (Low Prussian) alternative form of nee (“no”)

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Middle High German niuwe, from Old High German niuwi. Cognate with German neu, Dutch nieuw, English new, West Frisian nij.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nai̯/, [nɑɪ̯]
• Rhymes: -ɑɪ

Adjective

nei (masculine neien, neuter neit, comparative méi nei, superlative am neisten)

1. new

Declension

Declension of nei

		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		hien ass nei	si ass nei	et ass nei	si si(nn) nei
nominative / accusative	attributive and/or after determiner	neien	nei	neit	nei
	independent without determiner			neies	neier
dative	after any declined word	neien	neier	neien	neien
	as first declined word	neiem		neiem

Related terms

• erneieren
• fonkelnei
• Neiegkeet
• Neiliicht

Mandarin

Romanization

nei (nei⁵ / nei⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄋㄟ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 哪

Romanization

nei

1. nonstandard spelling of néi
2. nonstandard spelling of něi
3. nonstandard spelling of nèi

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.

Māori

Particle

nei

1. (deixis); marks spatial or temporal nearness to event in discourse

Mizo

Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *nay.

Verb

nei (stem II neih)

1. to have, possess

North Frisian

Alternative forms

• nai (Mooring)
• nii (Sylt)

Etymology

From Old Frisian nī, from Proto-West Germanic *niwi, from Proto-Germanic *niwjaz. Cognates include West Frisian nij.

Adjective

nei

1. (Föhr-Amrum) new

   en neien waanj ― a new car

   nei eerdaapler ― new potatoes

Inflection

Inflection of nei (Föhr-Amrum dialect)

	masculine		feminine / neuter	plural
	indefinite	definite
positive
predicative / adverbial	nei
attributive	neien	nei		nei
independent				neien
partitive	neis			—
comparative
predicative / adverbial	neier
attributive	neieren	neier		neier
independent				neieren
partitive	neiers			—
superlative
predicative / adverbial	am neisten
attributive	—	neist		neist
independent				neisten

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse nei, from Proto-Germanic *nai (“never”), *nē (“not”), from Proto-Indo-European *né, *nē, *nēy (negative particle).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /næɪ/

Adverb

nei

1. no

   Antonyms: ja, jo

Related terms

• neida

Interjection

nei

1. no

Noun

nei n (definite singular neiet, indefinite plural nei, definite plural neia or neiene)

1. no

References

• “nei” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse nei, from Proto-Germanic *nai (“never”), *nē (“not”), from Proto-Indo-European *né, *nē, *nēy (negative particle).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɛɪː/

Interjection

nei

1. no (used to show disagreement or negation)

   Antonyms: jau, jo

2. no (used to express displeasure)

   Antonym: ja

Noun

nei n (definite singular neiet, indefinite plural nei, definite plural neia)

1. a no

   Antonyms: ja, jo

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɛɪː/

Verb

nei

1. imperative of neia

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈneːɪ/

Noun

nei n

1. (non-standard since 2012) definite plural of ne

References

• “nei” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• ein

Old Frisian

Alternative forms

• nā, nēy

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *nēhw (“near”). Cognates include Old English nēah and Old Saxon nāh.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈneːi̯/

Adjective

nēi (comparative niār, superlative nēst)

1. near

Preposition

nēi (+ dative)

1. after, according to

Descendants

• Saterland Frisian: nai
• West Frisian: nei

References

• Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009), An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *nai (“never”), *nē (“not”), from Proto-Indo-European *né, *nē, *nēy (negative particle). Compare Old English nā, Old Frisian nā.

Adverb

nei

1. no

Descendants

• Danish: nej
• Faroese: nei, neiggj
• Icelandic: nei
• Norwegian: nei
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nei
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nei
• Swedish: nej
• → Middle English: nai, naie, nei, næi
  • English: nay
  • Yola: naay, na

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “nei”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

From Middle High German niuwe, from Old High German niuwi. Compare German neu, Dutch nieuw, English new.

Adjective

nei

1. new

Rapa Nui

Etymology

From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *nei. Cognates include Hawaiian nei and Samoan nei.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnei/
• Rhymes: -ei
• Hyphenation: ne‧i

Adverb

nei

1. here

Pronoun

nei

1. this

References

• “nei”, in Diccionario etimológico Rapanui-Español, Valparaíso: Comisión para la Estructuración de la Lengua Rapanui, 2000, →ISBN

Tokelauan

Etymology

From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *nei. Cognates include Hawaiian nei and Samoan nei.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈne.i]
• Hyphenation: ne‧i

Determiner

nei

1. this, these

See also

Tokelauan demonstratives

	singular	plural
simple	tē	iē
proximal	tēnei, nei	iēnei, nei
medial	tēnā	iēnā
distal	tēia	iēia

Adverb

nei

1. now

Particle

nei

1. Emphasises a question; what do you say?

References

• R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎^[3], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 250

Welsh

Alternative forms

• gwnei, gnei

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nei̯/
• Rhymes: -ei̯

Verb

nei (not mutable)

1. second-person singular future colloquial of gwneud

West Frisian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Clay) IPA^(key): /nai̯/
• (Wood) IPA^(key): /nɛi̯/

Preposition

nei

1. towards
2. after (time)