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Stressed and Unstressed Final -i
(Substantives vs. Indefinites) |
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| Listen to the pairs of words below all ending with the letter Ye, pronounced /-i/. In each pair, the sequence of sounds are spelled identically. At first, they seem to sound identical. Listen again! There is one small difference in the two: one has stressed final /-i/ and the other has unstressed final /-i/. The two words have different meanings, too. The one with the stressed /-i/, is a noun or adjective, usually with an abstract meaning. The other, with the unstressed /-i/ is a so-called "indefinite" and that /-i/ is the "indefinite suffix" often translated into English as "a", "a certain", "a specific one which". | ||
| 1 | /mard-i/ | مردی |
| 1a | Abstract substantive: manliness | |
| 1b | Indefinite: a (certain) man | |
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| 2 | /kudak-i/ | کودکی |
| 2a | Abstract substantive: child-ness, childhood | |
| 2b | Indefinite: a (certain) a child | |
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| 3 | /javān-i/ | جوانی |
| 3a | Abstract substantive: young-ness, youth | |
| 3b | Indefinite: a (certain) a young person | |
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| 4 | /pir-i/ | پیری |
| 4a | Abstract substantive: elderly-ness, old age | |
| 4b | Indefinite: a (certain) old person, old man | |
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| 5 | /āb-i/ | آبی |
| 5a | Abstract substantive: water-ness, blue | |
| 5b | Indefinite: a (certain) [kind of] water | |
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| 6 | /tanbal-i/ (nb is pronounced mb) | تنبلی |
| 6a | Abstract substantive: lazy-ness, laziness | |
| 6b | Indefinite: a (certain) [one who is] lazy | |
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| 7 | /bozorg-i/ | بزرگی |
| 7a | Abstract substantive: big-ness, greatness | |
| 7b | Indefinite: a (certain) [one who is] big | |
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| 8 | /ketāb-forush-i/ | کتابفروشی |
| 8a | Abstract substantive: book-selling-ness, bookstore | |
| 8b | Indefinite: a (certain) person selling books, bookseller | |
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| 9 | /zard-i/ | زردی |
| 9a | Abstract substantive: yellow-ness, eggyolk | |
| 9b | Indefinite: a (certain) yellow one | |
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| 10 | /sefid-i/ | سفیدی |
| 10a | Abstract substantive: white-ness, blank space | |
| 10b | Indefinite: a (certain) white one | |
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| 11 | /siāh-i/ | سیاهی |
| 11a | Abstract substantive: blackness, darkness | |
| 11b | Indefinite: a (certain) black one | |
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| 12 | /sabz-i/ | سبزی |
| 12a | Abstract substantive: green-ness, herbs, greens | |
| 12b | Indefinite: a (certain) green one | |
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| 13 | /bad-i/ | بدی |
| 13a | Abstract substantive: bad-ness, bad, evil | |
| 13b | Indefinite: a (certain) bad one | |
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| 14 | /khub-i/ | خوبی |
| 14a | Abstract substantive: good-ness, good, kindness | |
| 14b | Indefinite: a (certain) good one | |
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| 15 | /khoshk-i/ | خشکی |
| 15a | Abstract substantive: dry-ness, land, dry land | |
| 15b | Indefinite: a (certain) dry one | |
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| 16 | /kutāh-i/ | کوتاهی |
| 16a | Abstract substantive: short-ness, brevity, shortcoming | |
| 16b | Indefinite: a (certain) small one | |
| This list is also available as a drag and drop exercise (easier on slow connections!) | ||
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