Bulgarian

Pronoun

ний • ‎(nij) ‎(personal)

1. (regional, nonstandard or poetic) Alternative form of ние ‎(nie) (the first-person plural pronoun in the nominative case, used as the subject of a verb); we.

   Ний сме по-високи от теб.‎

   Nij sme po-visoki ot teb.

   We are taller than you.

Usage notes

Ний and вий are used in the Eastern Bulgarian dialects and are not considered standard. They can also be found in poetry (see quotations) where the number of syllables is important and these pronouns are one syllable shorter than their corresponding standard forms.

Quotations

• 1872-73, Hristo Botev, “In the Tavern”, Nezavisimost (newspaper):

  […] ний сме синца с чаши в ръка!

  nij sme sinca s čaši v rǎka!

  we all have drinks in our hands!

Related terms