ဘယ်

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Burmese

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • IPA(key): /bɛ̀/
  • Romanization: MLCTS: bhai • ALA-LC: bhayʻ • BGN/PCGN: bè • Okell: be

Etymology 1

[edit]

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b(w)ay (left), widely attested in Tibeto-Burman languages; compare Naxi wai (id). Said root is co-allofamic with Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(p/b)aːy (lame, limp, askew); more distant cognates from this latter root include perhaps Old Chinese (OC *prals, *paːlʔ, “to walk lame”), (OC *pʰaːl, *pʰaːlʔ, *pʰaːls, “slanting, oblique, perverse”), (OC *pʰaːl), (OC *pral, *prals, “riverbank, dike”), (OC *pral, *prals, “biased, insincere”) (STEDT).

Noun

[edit]

ဘယ် (bhai)

  1. left (the left side)
    Antonym: ညာ (nya)
Derived terms
[edit]

Etymology 2

[edit]
This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Not given an etymology by STEDT (bɛ²² "which"), and neither does Luce 1981 adduce any cognates.[1] Could it be an extension of Etymology 2 to a generic grammatical or question-type sense? Others have suggested a connection to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ma (no, not).”

Adverb

[edit]

ဘယ် (bhai)

  1. (interrogative) where?
  2. (interrogative) which?
Derived terms
[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Luce, G. H. (1981) “-Ay Finals (> 32. What?)”, in A Comparative Word-List of Old Burmese, Chinese and Tibetan, London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, →ISBN, page 20

Further reading

[edit]