ѝ / и

The Pronoun Ѝ Versus the Word И

Level 2Sounds Like ì i i

ѝ with a mark means to her or her: Дадох ѝ книгата (I gave her the book). Plain и means and: мама и татко.

How It Works

1. When to write ѝ.

  • To her: Казах ѝ новината. (I told her the news.) This equals Казах новината на нея.
  • Her (possession): майка ѝ, колата ѝ, родителите ѝ. These equal нейната майка, нейната кола, нейните родители.

2. When to write и. The word и (and, also) never has a mark: хляб и сирене, И аз искам!

3. Not й. The letter й is a different letter, the consonant sound in май or чай. Writing й for ѝ is a common typing shortcut, because many keyboards have no ѝ key, but it is a spelling mistake. On a computer you can type и followed by a combining grave accent, or use a keyboard layout that includes ѝ.

4. Her as a direct object is я. Ѝ means to her. When her is the direct object, use я: Видях я (I saw her), but Казах ѝ (I told her).

Tip: if you can replace the word with на нея or неин, write ѝ. If it means and, write и.

Examples (6)

  1. Дадох ѝ книгата.

    I gave her the book.

    Ѝ means "to her" here.

  2. Мама и татко са вкъщи.

    Mom and dad are at home.

    Plain и means "and".

  3. Майка ѝ е учителка.

    Her mother is a teacher.

    Ѝ after the noun means "her".

  4. Кажи ѝ, че ще закъснея.

    Tell her that I will be late.

  5. Колата ѝ е нова и бърза.

    Her car is new and fast.

    The same sentence has both words: ѝ (her) and и (and).

  6. Обадих ѝ се и ѝ честитих рождения ден.

    I called her and wished her a happy birthday.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing й instead of ѝ.

    Дадох й книгата.
    Дадох ѝ книгата.

    Й is a different letter with a different sound. The pronoun must be written ѝ.

  • Writing the pronoun without its mark.

    Дадох и книгата.
    Дадох ѝ книгата.

    Without the mark, и can mean "and" or "also": Дадох и книгата can mean "I gave the book too." For the intended "I gave her the book," write ѝ.

  • Using ѝ for "her" as a direct object.

    Видях ѝ вчера.
    Видях я вчера.

    Ѝ means "to her". The person you see is a direct object, so use я.

How It Connects

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ѝ / иLevel 2The Pronoun Ѝ Versus the Word И

Learn This First

The pronoun ѝ is contrasted with и.

Words in This Pattern

ѝ