ءي

Root entry · 13 derived lemmas

This root primarily concerns the interrogative and conditional particle 'ay' (أي), exploring its various grammatical functions, inflections, and semantic nuances. It also touches upon related temporal adverbs like 'ayyan' (أيان).

Derived headwords

أَيparticle

1.
interrogative particleboth
Used to ask a question, often implying a choice or seeking clarification.
2.
exclamatory particleclassical
Used to express astonishment or admiration.
3.
conditional particleclassical
Used to introduce a conditional clause, similar to 'if'.

لنعلم أي الحزبين أحصى — that We may know which of the two parties is more accurate

سيعلم الذين ظلموا أي منقلب ينقلبون — And those who have wronged are going to know to what [kind of] return they will be returned.

أَيّاًparticle

1.
interrogative particle (accusative)classical
The accusative form of 'ay' when it functions as an interrogative, often influenced by the following verb.

أيا يافتى؟ — O young man?

أَيُّهُمَاpronoun

1.
which of the two (masculine)both
Interrogative pronoun referring to one of two masculine entities.

أَيَّتَهُمَاpronoun

1.
which of the two (feminine)both
Interrogative pronoun referring to one of two feminine entities.

أَيَةpronoun

1.
which (feminine singular)both
Feminine singular form of the interrogative pronoun.

أية سلكوا — which way they took

أَيَاتpronoun

1.
which (feminine plural)both
Feminine plural form of the interrogative pronoun.

أَيُّونpronoun

1.
which (masculine plural)both
Masculine plural form of the interrogative pronoun.

أيون — which ones

أَيِّينَpronoun

1.
which (masculine plural, accusative/genitive)both
Masculine plural form of the interrogative pronoun in the accusative or genitive case.

أَيَّانadverb

1.
when (temporal interrogative)classical
An adverb used to ask about time, similar to 'mata' (متى).
2.
when (temporal conditional)classical
Used in a conditional sense to refer to a future time.

أيان — when

أَيَّانَadverb

1.
when (temporal interrogative)classical
An adverb used to ask about time, similar to 'mata' (متى).

أَيُّparticle

1.
which (masculine singular)both
Masculine singular form of the interrogative pronoun.

أي رجل زيد — What a man Zayd is!

أي الرجلين — which of the two men

أَيُّهَاparticle

1.
vocative particle (masculine)both
Used to address a masculine noun, often with a definite article.

أيها الرجل — O man

أَيَّتُهَاparticle

1.
vocative particle (feminine)both
Used to address a feminine noun, often with a definite article.

أيتها الثلاثة — O the three (feminine)

Parallel reading

لنعلم أي الحزبين أحصى

that We may know which of the two parties is more accurate

سيعلم الذين ظلموا أي منقلب ينقلبون

And those who have wronged are going to know to what [kind of] return they will be returned.

لأضربن أيهم يقول ذلك

I will surely strike whoever says that.

أي رجل زيد

What a man Zayd is!

وأيان

and 'ayyan'

وأيون

and 'ayyun'

فقالوا أية وأيتان وأيات

so they said 'ayyah', 'ayyataan', and 'ayyat'

فقالوا أي الرجلين وأي المرأتين

so they said 'ayyu al-rajulayn' and 'ayyu al-mar'atayn'

وأي الرجال وأي النساء

and 'ayyu al-rijal' and 'ayyu al-nisa'

فقالوا أيهما وأيتهما للمرأتين

so they said 'ayyuhuma' and 'ayyatuhuma' for the two women

وزودوك اشتياقا أية سلكوا

and they provided you with longing, which way they took

ويستفهم بها

and it is used for interrogation

مر بي رجل، قلت: أي يافتى؟

A man passed by me, I said: O young man?

رأيت رجلا، قلت: أيا يافتى؟

I saw a man, I said: O young man?

مررت برجل قلت: أي يافتى؟

I passed by a man, I said: O young man?

جاءني رجال، قلت: أيون، ساكنة النون، وأيين في النصب والجر

Men came to me, I said: 'ayyun' (with a sakin nun), and 'ayyin' in the accusative and genitive

وأية للمؤنث

and 'ayyah' for the feminine

فإن وصلت وقلت: أية يا هذا، وآيات يا هذا نونت

If you connect and say: 'ayyah, O this one', and 'ayyat, O this one', you vocalize with nunnation

فإن كان الاستثبات عن معرفة رفعت أيا لا غير على كل حال

If the inquiry is about a definite noun, you raise 'ayyan' exclusively in all cases

فليس في أي مع المعرفة إلا الرفع

there is no case for 'ay' with a definite noun except the nominative

فإنه يوقف عليه في الرفع والجر بالسكون لا غير

it is paused upon in the nominative and genitive with sukun, nothing else

وإنما يتبعه في الوصل والوقف إذا ثناه وجمعه

and it follows in connection and pause only when it is dual or plural

صوابه أيون بفتح النون، وأيين بفتح النون أيضا

its correct form is 'ayyun' with a fatha on the nun, and 'ayyin' also with a fatha on the nun

ولا يجوز سكون النون إلا في الوقف خاصة

and the sakin nun is not permissible except specifically in pause

أيان هي بمنزلة متى

'ayyan' is equivalent to 'mata'

وينبغي أن يكون أيان من لفظ أي لا من لفظ أين لوجهين

and it should be that 'ayyan' is from the word 'ay' and not from the word 'ayn' for two reasons

إن أين مكان وأيان زمان

one is that 'ayn' is for place and 'ayyan' is for time

والناس راث عليهم أمر يومهم فكلهم قائل للدين أيانا

and the people's day's affair weighed heavily upon them, so all of them were saying about the religion: when?

أصل أيان أي أوان

the origin of 'ayyan' is 'ay awan'

ويقال لا يعرف أيا من أي إذا كان أحمق

and it is said: he does not know 'ayyan' from 'ay' if he is foolish

فتخلفنا أيتها الثلاثة

so we three lagged behind

هذه اللفظة تقال في الاختصاص وتختص بالمخبر عن نفسه وبالمخاطب

this word is used for specification and is specific to the one reporting about himself and the one being addressed

أما أنا فأفعل كذا أيها الرجل يعني نفسه

as for me, I do such-and-such, O man, meaning himself

فمعنى قول كعب أيتها الثلاثة، أي المخصوصين بالتخلف

so the meaning of Ka'b's saying 'ayyatuhā al-thalāthah' is: the ones specified for lagging behind