य

See also: यूँ, ये, यों, यी, यो, या, and ਧ

य U+092F, य DEVANAGARI LETTER YA ← म [U+092E] Devanagari र → [U+0930]

Translingual

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jə/ (may vary by language)

Letter

य (ya)

1. the first semivowel of the Devanagari script

Usage notes

• Linguistically, it is considered the palatal approximant.

See also

Ligatures:

• द्य (dya): द + य
• ह्य (hya): ह + य

Dhivehi

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [jə] (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this pronunciation?)

Letter

य • (ya)

1. The twenty-first consonant in Dhivehi, written in Devanagari

Hindi

Pronunciation

• (Delhi) IPA^(key): /jə/, [jɐ]

Letter

य • (ya)

1. the twenty-sixth consonant in Hindi

See also

• Devanagari script letters: अ, आ, इ, ई, उ, ऊ, ऋ, ए, ऐ, ओ, औ, अं, अः, अँ, क, ख, ग, घ, ङ, च, छ, ज, झ, ञ, ट, ठ, ड, ढ, ण, त, थ, द, ध, न, प, फ, ब, भ, म, य, र, ल, व, श, ष, स, ह, त्र, ज्ञ, क्ष, क़, ख़, ग़, ज़, झ़, ड़, ढ़, फ़ ^[edit]

Marathi

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jə/

• Audio:

  (file)

Letter

य • (ya)

1. The twenty-fifth consonant in Marathi.

Nepali

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jʌ/, /e/

Letter

य • (ya)

1. The twenty-sixth consonant in Nepali.

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative scripts

• ya (Latin script)
• 𑀬 (Brahmi script)
• য (Bengali script)
• ය (Sinhalese script)
• ယ (Burmese script)
• ย or ยะ (Thai script)
• ᨿ (Tai Tham script)
• ຍ or ຍະ or ຢະ (Lao script)
• យ (Khmer script)
• 𑄠 (Chakma script)

Pronoun

य m

1. Devanagari script form of ya (“who (relative)”)

Declension

Declension table of "य" (masculine)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	यो (yo)	ये (ye)
Accusative (second)	यं (yaṃ)	ये (ye)
Instrumental (third)	येन (yena)	येहि (yehi) or येभि (yebhi)
Dative (fourth)	यस्स (yassa)	येसं (yesaṃ) or येसानं (yesānaṃ)
Ablative (fifth)	यस्मा (yasmā) or यम्हा (yamhā)	येहि (yehi) or येभि (yebhi)
Genitive (sixth)	यस्स (yassa)	येसं (yesaṃ) or येसानं (yesānaṃ)
Locative (seventh)	यस्मिं (yasmiṃ) or यम्हि (yamhi)	येसु (yesu)

Pronoun

य n

1. Devanagari script form of ya (“which (relative)”)
   • c. 500 AD, Kaccāyana, Pālivyākaraṇaṃ [Pali Grammar]‎ (overall work in Pali), page 250; republished as Satish Chandra Acharyya Vidyabhusana, editor, Kaccayana's Pali Grammar (edited in Devanagari character and translated into English), Calcutta, Bengal: Mahabodhi Society, 1901:

     अथ सब्बासं विभत्तीनं यानि यानि पुब्बानि छ पदानि तानि तानि परस्सपदसञ्ञानि होन्ति।

     Atha sabbāsaṃ vibhattīnaṃ yāni yāni pubbāni cha padāni, tāni tāni parassapadasaññāni honti.

     Then whatever are the first six endings of all the endings, they are called the active endings.

Usage notes

The case form यद् (yad) is only used before vowels and as the prefixed combining form. Before vowels, the halant and independent vowel coalesce to the corresponding dependent vowel.

Declension

Declension table of "य" (neuter)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	यं (yaṃ) or यद् (yad)	यानि (yāni)
Accusative (second)	यं (yaṃ) or यद् (yad)	यानि (yāni)
Instrumental (third)	येन (yena)	येहि (yehi) or येभि (yebhi)
Dative (fourth)	यस्स (yassa)	येसं (yesaṃ) or येसानं (yesānaṃ)
Ablative (fifth)	यस्मा (yasmā) or यम्हा (yamhā)	येहि (yehi) or येभि (yebhi)
Genitive (sixth)	यस्स (yassa)	येसं (yesaṃ) or येसानं (yesānaṃ)
Locative (seventh)	यस्मिं (yasmiṃ) or यम्हि (yamhi)	येसु (yesu)

Noun

य m

1. the Pali letter 'y'
   • c. 500 AD, Kaccāyana, Pālivyākaraṇaṃ [Pali Grammar]‎ (overall work in Pali), page 12; republished as Satish Chandra Acharyya Vidyabhusana, editor, Kaccayana's Pali Grammar (edited in Devanagari character and translated into English), Calcutta, Bengal: Mahabodhi Society, 1901:

     को यस्स यथा-सको।

     Ko yassa yathā-sako.

     'K' from 'y' as in 'sako'.

Declension

Declension table of "य" (masculine)

Case \ Number	Singular
Nominative (first)	यो (yo)
Accusative (second)	यं (yaṃ)
Instrumental (third)	येन (yena)
Dative (fourth)	यस्स (yassa) or याय (yāya) or यत्थं (yatthaṃ)
Ablative (fifth)	यस्मा (yasmā) or यम्हा (yamhā) or या (yā)
Genitive (sixth)	यस्स (yassa)
Locative (seventh)	यस्मिं (yasmiṃ) or यम्हि (yamhi) or ये (ye)
Vocative (calling)	य (ya)

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Alternative scripts

• য (Assamese script)
• ᬬ (Balinese script)
• য (Bengali script)
• 𑰧 (Bhaiksuki script)
• 𑀬 (Brahmi script)
• ယ (Burmese script)
• ય (Gujarati script)
• ਯ (Gurmukhi script)
• 𑌯 (Grantha script)
• ꦪ (Javanese script)
• 𑂨 (Kaithi script)
• ಯ (Kannada script)
• យ (Khmer script)
• ຍ (Lao script)
• യ (Malayalam script)
• ᠶᠠ (Manchu script)
• 𑘧 (Modi script)
• ᠶ᠋ᠠ᠋ (Mongolian script)
• 𑧇 (Nandinagari script)
• 𑐫 (Newa script)
• ଯ (Odia script)
• ꢫ (Saurashtra script)
• 𑆪 (Sharada script)
• 𑖧 (Siddham script)
• ය (Sinhalese script)
• 𑩻 (Soyombo script)
• 𑚣 (Takri script)
• ய (Tamil script)
• య (Telugu script)
• ย (Thai script)
• ཡ (Tibetan script)
• 𑒨 (Tirhuta script)
• 𑨪 (Zanabazar Square script)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /jɐ/

Etymology 1

Letter

य • (ya)

1. the twenty-fourth consonant in Sanskrit

Etymology 2

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

Noun

य • (ya) stem, m

1. (prosody) bacchius
2. fame
3. carriage
4. light
5. an act of restraining
6. an act of joining

Declension

Masculine a-stem declension of य

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	यः (yaḥ)	यौ (yau)	याः (yāḥ)
accusative	यम् (yam)	यौ (yau)	यान् (yān)
instrumental	येन (yena)	याभ्याम् (yābhyām)	यैः (yaiḥ)
dative	याय (yāya)	याभ्याम् (yābhyām)	येभ्यः (yebhyaḥ)
ablative	यात् (yāt)	याभ्याम् (yābhyām)	येभ्यः (yebhyaḥ)
genitive	यस्य (yasya)	ययोः (yayoḥ)	यानाम् (yānām)
locative	ये (ye)	ययोः (yayoḥ)	येषु (yeṣu)
vocative	य (ya)	यौ (yau)	याः (yāḥ)

References

• Monier Williams (1899), “य”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 838, columns 1-2.

Further reading

• Hellwig, Oliver (2010–2025), “ya”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.