ai

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ai"

Languages (76)

English

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Abau • Akei • Albanian • Amblong • Angal Enen • Apalaí • Aragonese • Araki • Australian Kriol • Catalan • Chuukese • Corsican • Dadibi • Dubu • Dutch • Estonian • Finnish • French • Friulian • Galician • Galoli • Gilbertese • Gun • Hawaiian • Hiri Motu • Iban • Indonesian • Ingrian • Italian • Japanese • Kalasha • Kendayan • Kiowa • Kott • Kuna • Ladin • Ladino • Latin • Latvian • Leti • Lithuanian • Lombard • Manchu • Mandarin • Maori • Mbyá Guaraní • Middle English • Naga Pidgin • Norman • North Frisian • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Occitan • Pitjantjatjara • Pohnpeian • Portuguese • Rapa Nui • Rohingya • Romanian • Seri • Sranan Tongo • Sumbawa • Tày • Tetum • Tok Pisin • Tokelauan • Torres Strait Creole • Venetan • Vietnamese • Volapük • Welsh • West Makian • Yami • Ye'kwana • Zou

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Page categories

English

Etymology 1

Originated 1685–95, from Brazilian Portuguese aí, from Old Tupi a'y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑ.i/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

ai (plural ais or ai)

1. A type of three-toed sloth, Bradypus tridactylus, endemic to forests of southern Venezuela, the Guianas, and northern Brazil.

Synonyms

• (Bradypus tridactylus): maned sloth

See also

• unau (two-toed sloth)

References

• “ai”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
• “ai”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Further reading

• ai on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Bradypus tridactylus on Wikispecies.Wikispecies

Etymology 2

Contraction of aight (which itself is a contraction of all right).

Alternative forms

• aii

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ
• Homophones: ay, aye, I, eye

Contraction

ai

1. (slang, US) All right.

   Ai, let's go.

Anagrams

• -ia, IA, i.a.

Abau

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aj/

Noun

ai class II gender mf

1. fish (general term)
2. food, meat for consumption

Usage notes

Generally feminine for sense "fish", potentially masculine for sense "food".

References

• Lock, Arjen (2011), Abau Grammar (Data Papers on Papua New Guinea Languages)‎, 1st edition, volume 57, Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea: SIL-PNG Academic Publications
  • p.62 (feminine gender noted for all fish)
  • p.67, Table 21 (listed under Class 2, Feminine)
• SIL International (2020), “Abau Dictionary”, in Webonary.org‎

Akei

Noun

ai

1. water

References

• Sidney Herbert Ray, A comparative study of the Melanesian Island languages (1926), page 351

Albanian

Alternative forms

• ay — northern Tosk, Korçë

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *a-ei (compound of proclitic particle *a and an ancient demostrative *ei), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey combined with Proto-Indo-European *ís (“he, this (one)”). Compare Latin is, German er, Lithuanian ji̇̀s, Sanskrit अयम् (ayám)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈi/, (often, unstressed) [aj]

Pronoun

ai m (accusative atë, dative atij, ablative atij)

1. he

Declension

Forms of ai (3rd person masculine singular)

nominative	ai
ablative	atij / tij
	full form	clitic
accusative	atë	e
dative	atij	i
	possessive adjective	possessive pronoun
	i tij	i tiji

See also

Albanian personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person		unë	ne
2nd person		ti	ju
3rd person	m	ai	ata
	f	ajo	ato

Pronoun

ai

1. that

Declension

Declension of ai

	singular		plural
	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
nominative	ai	ajo	ata	ato
accusative	atë, të		ata, ta	ato, to
dative/ablative	atij, tij	asaj, saj	atyre, tyre

Amblong

Noun

ai

1. water

Further reading

• Darrell T. Tryon, New Hebrides languages: an internal classification (1976)

Angal Enen

Noun

ai

1. banana

References

• transnewguinea.org, citing Franklin KJ. 1975. Comments on Proto-Engan. In SA Wurm, Ed. New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study: Papuan languages and the New Guinea linguistic scene. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, pp. 263-275.'

Apalaí

Noun

ai

1. penis

Aragonese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈai̯/
• Syllabification: ai
• Rhymes: -ai̯

Interjection

ai

1. ah!, alas!
2. woe!
3. expresses pain, sorrow, or surprise

Araki

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Noun

ai

1. water (clear liquid H₂O)
2. river, lake

References

• François, Alexandre. 2008. An online lexicon of Araki (Santo, Vanuatu). Electronic files. Paris: CNRS. (Pdf version) ‒ entry ai.

Australian Kriol

Etymology 1

From English eye.

Noun

ai

1. eye
2. headlight of a car
3. seed

Etymology 2

From English I.

Pronoun

ai

1. I

Etymology 3

From English high.

Adjective

ai

1. high, tall

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈaj]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aj

Interjection

ai

1. ouch (pain), ooh (pain)

Noun

ai m (plural ais)

1. ooh (pain)

Chuukese

Determiner

ai

1. First person singular general possessive; my (used with general-class objects)

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

Corsican

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaj/
• Hyphenation: ai

Verb

ai

1. second-person singular indicative present of avè

References

• “avè” in Aiaccinu: Cunghjugatori corsu

Dadibi

Noun

ạị

1. water

Synonyms

• wẹ

References

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67
• Karl James Franklin, Pacific Linguistics (1973, →ISBN, page 130 (see we)

Dubu

Noun

ai

1. water

Further reading

• Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 114

Dutch

Alternative forms

• aï (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese ai, from Old Tupi ai.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑi̯/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ai

Noun

ai m (plural ais)

1. pale-throated sloth (Bradypus tridactylus)

   Synonym: drievingerige luiaard

Further reading

• drievingerige luiaard on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nl

Estonian

Interjection

ai

1. ow, ouch

Synonyms

• aia

Finnish

Etymology

Compare Estonian ai, Ingrian ai, Karelian ai, Ludian ai, Veps ai, Votic ai, and Swedish aj, Norwegian aj, Latvian aj. Perhaps natural; tracing an origin is practically impossible.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑi̯/, [ˈɑ̝i̯]
• Rhymes: -ɑi
• Syllabification^(key): ai
• Hyphenation^(key): ai

Interjection

ai

1. ouch!
2. oh!

   Ai, se olitkin sinä!

   Oh, it was you!

3. (colloquial, interrogative particle) oh...? as in...?

   "Käytkö kaupassa?" "Ai, ruokakaupassa?"

   "Will you go to the shop?" "Oh, the food shop?"

Synonyms

• (ouch): aih, au, auts.
• (interrogative): -ko, -kö

Derived terms

• ai niin

Further reading

• “ai”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

Anagrams

• -ia, ia

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /e/, /ɛ/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Brétigny-sur-Orge)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Homophones: et, aie, aies, aient, ait, es, est, hais, hait

Verb

ai

1. first-person singular present indicative of avoir

   J'ai un chien.

   I have a dog.

Anagrams

• IA

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin allium.

Noun

ai m (plural ais)

1. garlic

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese ay (attested since the 13^th century).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈaj]

Interjection

ai

1. ouch! expresses pain
2. ooh! expresses pain
3. oh! expresses concern
   • 1812, Antonio Benito Fandiño, A Casamenteira:

     Ai tontiño, porque iñoras
     o qu’he mantér casa e vida,
     que por ben que estea sortida,
     hai faltas a todas horas.
     O segundo, que teu pai
     pensa com’home de ben,
     e así por vergonza ten
     unha nora que non trai.
     Orasme, sobr’esto hai,
     que a dous parizós que teña,
     non tendes donde vos veña,
     cando ela non colla un mal.

     Oh, silly, because you don't know
     what it is to keep house and life,
     no matter how well stocked it is,
     there's lack at all hours.
     Second, your father
     thinks like a good man,
     and to his shame he has
     a daughter-in-law who doesn't bear.
     However, on this matter,
     with just two childbirths that she has,
     you'll be left resourceless,
     and that if she doesn't get sick.

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022), “ay”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “ai”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “ai”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “ai”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Galoli

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kahiw.

Noun

ai

1. tree
2. wood

Gilbertese

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *api, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *api, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *apuy, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *hapuy, from Proto-Austronesian *Sapuy.

Noun

ai

1. fire