Originated 1685–95, fromBrazilian Portugueseaí, fromOld Tupi.

• IPA^(key):/ˈɑ.i/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

ai (pluralaisorai)

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

• (Bradypus tridactylus):maned sloth

• unau(two-toed sloth)

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

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

Contraction ofaight (which itself is a contraction ofall right).

• IPA^(key):/aɪ/

• Audio(US):

  (file)

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

ai

1. (slang,US)All right.

   Ai, let's go.

• -ia,IA,i.a.

ai

1. water

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

• ay —dialectal

FromProto-Albanian*a-ei (compound of proclitic particle*a and an ancient demostrative*ei), fromProto-Indo-European*h₁ey combined withProto-Indo-European*ís(“he, this (one)”). CompareLatinis,Germaner,Lithuanianji̇̀s,Sanskritअयम्(ayám)).

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

ai m (accusativeatë,dativeatij,ablativeatij)

1. he

ai

1. that

ai

1. water

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

ai

1. banana

• 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.'

ai

1. penis

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

ai

1. ah!,alas!
2. woe!
3. expressespain,sorrow, orsurprise

FromProto-Oceanic*waiʀ, fromProto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*waiʀ, fromProto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*waiʀ, fromProto-Malayo-Polynesian*wahiʀ.

ai

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

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

FromEnglisheye.

ai

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

FromEnglishI.

ai

1. I

FromEnglishhigh.

ai

1. high,tall

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

ai

1. ouch(pain),ooh(pain)

ai m (pluralais)

1. ooh(pain)

ai

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

• IPA^(key):/ˈaj/
• Hyphenation:ai

ai

1. second-personsingularindicativepresent ofavè

• “avè” inAiaccinu: Cunghjugatori corsu

ạị

1. water

• wẹ

• 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 (seewe)

ai

1. water

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

• aï(obsolete)

Borrowed fromPortugueseai, fromOld Tupiai.

• IPA^(key):/ɑi/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation:ai

ai m (pluralais)

1. pale-throated sloth(Bradypus tridactylus)

   Synonym:drievingerige luiaard

•  drievingerige luiaard on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia^nl

ai

1. ow,ouch

• aia

CompareEstonianai,Ingrianai,Karelianai,Ludianai,Vepsai,Voticai, andSwedishaj,Norwegianaj,Latvianaj. Perhaps natural; tracing an origin is practically impossible.

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

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?"

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

• ai niin

• “ai”, inKielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki:Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland),2004–, retrieved2023-07-02

• -ia,ia

• IPA^(key):/e/,/ɛ/

• Audio:

  (file)

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

ai

1. first-personsingularpresentindicative ofavoir

   J’ai un chien.

   Ihave a dog.

• IA

FromLatinallium.

ai m (pluralais)

1. garlic

FromOld Galician-Portugueseay (attested since the 13^th century).

• IPA^(key):[ˈaj]

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.

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

Inherited fromProto-Malayo-Polynesian*kahiw.

ai

1. tree
2. wood

FromProto-Oceanic*api, fromProto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*api, fromProto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*apuy, fromProto-Malayo-Polynesian*hapuy, fromProto-Austronesian*Sapuy.

ai

1. fire

• ayí(Benin)

FromProto-Gbe*a-yĩ́(“earth”). Cognates includeFonayǐ,Saxwe Gbenyixɔ́,Adjaanyi. Perhaps related toYorubaayé

• IPA^(key):/ā.jí/

aí (pluralaí lẹ́)(Nigeria)

1. ground

FromProto-Polynesian*qai, fromProto-Malayo-Polynesian*qasiq.

• IPA^(key):/ˈai̯/,[ˈɐj],[ˈɛj](rapid speech)

ai

1. tohavesexual intercourse; tocopulate

ai

1. 1st-person plural pronounexclusive:we,us(but not you)

FromProto-Malayic*air, fromProto-Malayo-Chamic*air, fromProto-Malayo-Polynesian*wahiʀ.

• IPA^(key):/aiʔ/,/aɛʔ/

ai

1. water

• Adelaar, K. A. (1992)Proto-Malayic: The reconstruction of its phonology and parts of its lexicon and morphology‎^[2], Canberra: The Australian National University
• Asmah Haji Omar (1977) “The Iban Language”, inThe Sarawak Museum Journal, volume XXV, number46, pages81-100
• Smith, A. (2017)The Languages of Borneo: A Comprehensive Classification, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

• (Standard Indonesian)IPA^(key):/ˈai̯/[ˈai̯]
• Rhymes:-ai̯
• Syllabification:ai

Inherited fromMalayai.

ai

1. (dialectal)exclamation to express surprise and so on

Borrowed fromAcehnese.

ai

1. (dialectal) reallymiss

Borrowed fromSentani.

ai (pluralai-ai)

1. (dialectal)breadfruitbark, which has sparse fibers, the surface is not smooth, has a lot of sap, is light brown in color

Borrowed fromMalay (Riau dialect).

ai (pluralai-ai)

1. (dialectal)dirt, that is usually found in well water, rivers, lakes, and so on

• “ai” inKamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta:Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Ultimately a natural sound. CompareFinnishai andEstonianai.

• (Ala-Laukaa)IPA^(key):/ˈɑi̯/,[ˈɑi̯]
• (Soikkola)IPA^(key):/ˈɑi̯/,[ˈɑi̯]
• Rhymes:-ɑi̯
• Hyphenation:ai

ai

1. Exclamation ofpain orfrustration:ouch!oh!

   ai voi ―oh-oh

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971)Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 5

• a'(truncation)

• IPA^(key):/ˈaj/
• Homophone:hai
• Rhymes:-aj
• Hyphenation:ài

ai

1. contraction ofai; to the, at the

• -ia,IA

ai

1. Rōmaji transcription ofあい
2. Rōmaji transcription ofアイ

ai

1. Alternative spelling ofábi (sense 1).

FromProto-Malayic*air,Proto-Malayo-Chamic*air, fromProto-Malayo-Polynesian*wahiʀ.

• IPA^(key):/aiʔ/

ai

1. water

• Smith, A. (2017)The Languages of Borneo: A Comprehensive Classification, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

• IPA^(key):/aj/

ai (upper caseAi)

1. A letter of theKiowa alphabet.

• (Latin-script letters)A a,Ai ai,Au au,Aui aui,B̶ b̶,B b,D̶ d̶,D d,E e,G̶ g̶,G g,H h,I i,K k,Kʼ kʼ,L l,M m,N n,n̶,O o,Oi oi,P p,Pʼ pʼ,S s,T t,Tʼ tʼ,Ts ts,Tsʼ tsʼ,U u,Ui ui,W w,Y y,Z z,꞉

Inherited fromProto-Yeniseian*axʷ(“I”). CompareAssanaj(“I”),Arinaj(“I”), andPumpokolad(“I”).

ai

1. I(first-person singular subjective)

• ajoŋ

ai

1. friend

a +‎i

ai

1. at ortothe (+ plural noun)

ai (Hebrew spellingאאי)

1. Alternative form ofaí

• (Classical Latin)IPA^(key):/ˈa.iː/,[ˈäiː] orIPA^(key):/ˈa.i/,[ˈäɪ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical)IPA^(key):/ˈa.i/,[ˈäːi]

ai

1. second-personsingularpresentactiveimperative ofaiō
   • c. 270BCE –c. 201BCE,Gnaeus Naevius,Fragments Palliatae.125:^[1]

     An nā́ta est spṓnsa praégnās? Vélaï vél negā!

     Was the fiancée born pregnant? Answer”yes” or ”no”!

This form was no longer in common use in Classical Latin and is attested only once, in a quotation in a grammatical treatise.

• “ai”, inCharlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879)A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ai”, inCharlton T. Lewis (1891)An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894)Latin Phrase-Book‎^[3], London:Macmillan and Co.
  • do you think so? are you in earnest:ain tu?
    

ai

1. ouch!
2. oh!

FromProto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*apuy, fromProto-Malayo-Polynesian*hapuy, fromProto-Austronesian*Sapuy.

ai

1. fire

CompareRussianой(oj,“ow!”).

ái:IPA^(key):/a͡ɪ/

aĩ:IPA^(key):/ɐ͡ɪ/

ái!orai̇̃!

1. ow!,ah!,(expressespain,fear orsurprise)
2. oi!,hey!(used to attract someone's attention)

• oi!,ui!
• oi!,a!

ai

1. Alternative form ofaj(“garlic”)

ai

1. Romanization ofᠠᡳ

ai

1. Nonstandard spelling ofāi.
2. Nonstandard spelling ofái.
3. Nonstandard spelling ofǎi.
4. Nonstandard spelling ofài.

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the criticaltonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

ai

1. (to be)bitter

ai

1. wound,injury

ai

1. Alternative form ofþei(“they”)

Inherited fromAssameseআই(ai).

ai

1. mother,mom

ai

1. (Guernsey)first-personsingularpresentindicative ofaver

• ei(Föhr-Amrum)
• ek(Sylt)

FromOld Norseeigi.

ai

1. (Mooring)not

ai

1. used to express surprise

• “ai” inThe Bokmål Dictionary.

ai

1. used to express surprise

• “ai” inThe Nynorsk Dictionary.

ai

1. first-personsingularpresentindicative ofaver

ai

1. huh
2. geez
3. what
4. hey

• "ai" inCliff Goddard (1992)Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara to English Dictionary, 2nd edition
• Ninti Ngapartji

• IPA^(key):/ɐi/

ai

1. no way!

Onomatopoeic.

• Rhymes:-aj
• Hyphenation:ai

ai

1. ouch(expression of physical pain)

   Ai! Pisei um prego! ―Ouch! I stepped on a nail!

2. oh(expression of concern)

FromProto-Polynesian*hai. Cognates includeTonganhai andMaoriwai.

• IPA^(key):/ˈa.i/
• Hyphenation:a‧i

ai

1. who?

• Paulus Kieviet (2017)A grammar of Rapa Nui‎^[4], Berlin: Language Science Press,→ISBN, page404

ai

1. come

• IPA^(key):/aj/
• Rhymes:-aj
• Hyphenation:ai

ai (masculine plural possessive)

1. of

   Niște prieteniai lui sunt interesanți.

   Some friendsof his are interesting.

• al(masculine/neuter singular)
• a(feminine singular)
• ale(feminine/neuter plural)

FromLatinallium /alium.

ai m (uncountable)

1. (regional)garlic

   Synonym:usturoi

• aior
• mujdei

• ceapă

Inflected form ofavea(“to have”).

ai

1. second-personsingularpresentindicative ofavea

   (you)have

   Ai vreun prieten în România?

   Do you have any friends in Romania?

2. inflection ofavea:
   1. second-personsingularpresentsubjunctive
   2. second-personsingularimperative

From an old or proto-Romanian formae, fromLatinhabēs.^[1]

ai

1. (tu) ai (modal auxiliary,second-personsingular form ofavea,used withpast participles to formperfect compus tenses)

   (you)have...

• am
• a
• ați
• au

Probably from aVulgar Latin*eas, fromLatinhabēbās.

(tu) ai (modal auxiliary,second-personsingular form ofavea,used withinfinitives to formconditional tenses)

1. (you)would

   Ai fi murit dacă ți-aș fi spus.

   You would have died if I'd told you.

• am
• ați
• ar
• aș

ai (pluralaaita)

1. hisfather

ai

1. (rare)still(used with nominalized third person verbs)

• Moser, Mary B., Marlett, Stephen A. (2010)Comcaac quih yaza quih hant ihiip hac: cmiique iitom - cocsar iitom - maricaana iitom [Seri-Spanish-English Dictionary], 2nd edition, Hermosillo: Plaza y Valdés Editores,→ISBN, page43.

• ay(unofficial)

• IPA^(key):/ˈai/,[ˈa̠i],[ˈɑ̟i]

FromEnglisheye.

ai

1. eye

FromEnglishaye,ay.

ai

1. yes

• Wilner, John, editor (2003-2007), “ai”, inLanguages of Suriname, 5th edition,SIL International, Sranan-English Dictionary

FromProto-Malayo-Polynesian*wahiʀ(“fresh water; steam, river”).

ai

1. water

• ABVD
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*wahiR”, in the CLDF dataset fromThe Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–),→DOI

• (Thạch An –Tràng Định)IPA^(key):[ʔaːj˧˧]
• (Trùng Khánh)IPA^(key):[ʔaːj˦˥]

ai

1. Synonym ofcò niêng

ai (埃)

1. tolean on

ai

1. blow (of wind);steam;
2. breath

   lẹoai ―out ofbreath

3. smell;odor

   đâmai ―to smell

   ai nắc ―strongsmell

   ai hom ―pleasantsmell

   ai mên ―rancidsmell

   lẹoai ―odorless

• Lương Bèn (2011)Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary]‎^[5][6] (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
• Lục Văn Pảo, Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003) Hoàng Triều Ân, editor,Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎^[7] (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học Xã hội
• Léopold Michel Cadière (1910)Dictionnaire Tày-Annamite-Français [Tày-Vietnamese-French Dictionary]‎^[8] (in French), Hanoi: Impressions d'Extrême-Orient

FromProto-Malayo-Polynesian*kahiw, compareTagalogkahoy.

ai

1. tree
2. wood

FromEnglisheye.

ai

1. (anatomy)eye
   • 1989,Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea,Jenesis3:5:

     Sapos yutupela i kaikai pikinini bilong dispela diwai, baiai bilong yutupela i op na yutupela i kisim save long wanem samting i gutpela, na wanem samting i nogut, na bai yutupela i kamap wankain olsem God. God i save long dispela, olsem na em i tambuim yutupela long kaikai pikinini bilong dispela diwai.”

     →New International Version translation

2. hole,opening,lid
3. tip

• ai i pas

• IPA^(key):[ˈa.i]
• Hyphenation:a‧i

FromProto-Polynesian*hai. Cognates includeHawaiianai andSamoanai.

ai

1. who?

FromProto-Polynesian*ai. Cognates includeHawaiianai andSamoanai.

ai

1. Anaphoric particle used to refer to an adverbial clause;there,then

• R. Simona, editor (1986),Tokelau Dictionary‎^[9], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 1

FromEnglishI.

ai

1. I (see alsomi)

FromEnglisheye.

ai

1. eye

ai

1. plural ofaio

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

• Audio(Saigon):

  (file)

FromProto-Vietic*ʔeː(“who”). Cognate withTho [Cuối Chăm]ʔeː¹.

ai• (埃)

1. who

   Ai vậy ạ?

   Who are you?

   Ai (mà) biết.

   Who knows? / How should I know?

2. whoever,anyone

   Ai cũng được. ―Anyone is fine.

3. someone,someoneelse
4. one, aperson
   • 2005, Nguyễn Ngọc Tư, "Cuối mùa nhan sắc" (inCánh đồng bất tận), Trẻ publishing house

     Người ở chùa, người bán vé số, người ngủ công viên, người hát rong, ítai có nhà để về.

     Some live at the temple, some sell lottery tickets, some sleep in parks, some play music in the streets; few have a home to go back to.

5. (rhetorical)nobody

• The interrogative pronounai is used for a person. Whenai functions as the subject of the question, it is placed at the beginning of the question.

Ai có ô tô? ―Who has a car?

• When functioning as the predicate, it can either follow or predate the linking verblà.

Hải làai? ―Who is Hải?

Ai là Hải? ―Who is Hải?

• When functioning as the object, it is placed after the verb.

Nga vẽai? ―Whom is Nga drawing?

ai

1. Sino-Vietnamese reading of哀

ai

1. always
2. at all times
3. constantly (habitually)
4. ever (always)
5. habitually

• neai

• ai laidio (forever)

May derive froma(interrogative particle) +‎yw(“is, are”) or from or via the synonymousae.

• IPA^(key):/ai̯/
• Rhymes:-ai̯

ai

1. interrogative particle(used when a non-verbal element is fronted for emphasis)

   Synonym:ife

   Ai ef yw dy dad?

   Is he your father?

2. whether,if(used when the subordinate clause has a non-verbal element fronted for emphasis)

   Ni wnai ef yw dy dad.

   I do not knowwhether he is your father.

• Used before a non-verbal element fronted for emphasis. Unemphatic initial verbs, on the other hand, employ the interrogative particlea.
• This word is found in formal language. As an initial interrogative particle, it is often dropped altogether in colloquial language or replaced withife in some southern dialects.
• Likewise, with the meaning "whether", this may be dropped colloquially. An alternative construction influenced by English is to replaced theai withos(“if”) followed by the appropriate dialect-specific indicating an emphatic subordinate clause, namelytaw in south Wales andmai orna in the north.

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “ai”, inGeiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

• IPA^(key):/ˈa.i/

ai

1. (intransitive) tocome back,return
2. (intransitive) todepart

   naai sito? ―where did youdepart from?

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982)The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[10], Pacific linguistics (asay)

ai

1. (anatomy)foot

FromProto-Cariban[Term?]. CompareApalaíae,Hixkaryanayaye,Macushiyapai, andWaiwaiyay.

• IPA^(key):[aj]

ai

1. through,by;indicates motion by way of a non-aquatic object of class 1

A possessed noun that is the object of this postposition does not take the possessed suffix-dü. The postposition can thus combine with nouns referring to body parts and parts of objects to form more complex postpositions/relational nouns.

• Cáceres, Natalia (2011)Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎^[11], Lyon, pages267–272

• IPA^(key):/ai̯˧˥/

ái

1. crab

• Lukram Himmat Singh (2013)A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page40