kə̆.nɛ̠̃³⁵

Pela

Etymology

From kə̆- (a prefix with unknown meaning) + -nɛ̠̃³⁵. The second morpheme also appears in a few terms related with time, as in a³¹ nɛ̠̃³⁵ (“ancient times”). Possible cognates include Burmese ဘယ်နံ့ခါ (bhainam.hka) ~ ဘယ်ခါနံ (bhaihkanam) ~ ဘယ်နံအခါ (bhainama.hka, “(obsolete) when, what time”), Mangshi Achang xai³¹ nam⁵¹ kʰau³⁵ (“ancient times”) and Nuosu ꀋꑑ (ap nyiep, “past, these days”). Compare Lhao Vo ganhae꞉ (“ancient times”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kə̆.nɛ̠̃³⁵ ~ kə̆.nɛ̃³⁵/

Adverb

kə̆.nɛ̠̃³⁵

1. ancient times, long ago

Usage notes

There are 3 terms mainly used for “ago, before ”: kə̆.nɛ̠̃³⁵, xəi⁵⁵ pʰjɔ̃³¹ and a³¹ tɔ̠̃⁵⁵. kə̆.nɛ̠̃³⁵ usually refers to further past or ancient times, while xəi⁵⁵ pʰjɔ̃³¹ is used for more recent past, similar to recently in English. a³¹ tɔ̠̃⁵⁵ is used in both situations.

Derived terms

• kə̆.nɛ̠̃³⁵ kə̆.tʃʰaʔ⁵⁵ (“ancient times”)

See also

• xəi⁵⁵ pʰjɔ̃³¹ (“recently, before”)
• a³¹ tɔ̠̃⁵⁵ (“long ago; before”)

References

• Burmese-Chinese Dictionary (缅汉词典) (1990; Commercial Press, Beijing)
• Mangshi Jinghpo ethnicity Association of Development and Progress Studies(芒市景颇族发展进步研究学会)(ed.), Han-Zaiwa-Pela Dictionary (汉文载瓦文波拉语对译词典) (2018; Dehong Nationalities Publishing House, Mangshi)