Where does “ни” come from?

ни (Russian) comes from Old East Slavic ни, from Proto-Slavic ni, from Proto-Indo-European nēy, from Proto-Slavic kogъda, from Proto-Slavic gъda.

ни (Russian): neither, nor; not a; whatever, however

Definitions

  1. neither, nor; not a; whatever, however

Ancestry of “ни”, step by step

ни traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old East Slavic ни

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old East Slavicниnor, neither
2Proto-Slavicnineither, nor; not even
3Proto-Indo-Europeannēy—
4Proto-Slavickogъdawhen
5Proto-Slavicgъda—

via Greek νι

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Greekνιnu, the 13th letter of the modern Greek alphabet;...
2Ancient Greekνῦnu, the name for the thirteenth letter Ν, ν of...
3Phoenician𐤍‬—

Words derived from “ни”

Every word from Proto-Slavic gъda →Every word from Proto-Slavic kogъda →Every word from Proto-Indo-European nēy →