-и-

Russian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ʲɪ]

Interfix

-и- • (-i-)

1. Interfix used to form compound nouns and adjectives, when the first part is a verb or number.

   ‎верте́ть (vertétʹ, “to turn, to twist”) + ‎-и- (-i-) + ‎ше́я (šéja, “neck”) + ‎-ка (-ka) → ‎вертише́йка (vertišéjka, “wryneck (type of bird)”)

   ‎владе́ть (vladétʹ, “to possess, to be master of”) + ‎-и- (-i-) + ‎восто́к (vostók, “the East”) → ‎Владивосто́к (Vladivostók, “Vladivostok”)

   ‎шесть (šestʹ, “six”) + ‎-и- (-i-) + ‎у́гол (úgol, “corner, angle”) + ‎-ник (-nik) → ‎шестиуго́льник (šestiugólʹnik, “hexagon”)

   ‎пяти́десяти (pjatídesjati, “fifty”, genitive) + ‎-и- (-i-) + ‎ле́то (léto, “summer”) ("years" in the plural) + ‎-ний (-nij) → ‎пятидесятиле́тний (pjatidesjatilétnij, “(relational) fifty-year; fifty-year-old”)

Usage notes

• The first part of the compound is normally a verb or cardinal number, and loses its ending, back to the final consonant of the stem. If a cardinal number, the number appears in its genitive form, if the stem is different from the nominative stem.
• The second part of the compound is normally a noun.

Derived terms

Russian terms interfixed with -и-

See also

• -о- (-o-), -е- (-e-) (more common compounding interfixes)