yìí / yẹn

This and That

Level 1

Use noun + yìí for ‘this’ and noun + yẹn for ‘that’.

How It Works

The demonstrative follows the noun. Compare àpò yìí, ‘this bag’, with àpò yẹn, ‘that bag’. Changing the demonstrative changes which bag is selected while leaving the noun unchanged. Adding àwọn before the noun makes plural reference explicit: àwọn fìlà yìí means ‘these caps’.

Keep both vowels and the low–high tone sequence in yìí. The vowel in yẹn has unmarked mid tone, and its final n represents nasalization. Neither demonstrative receives a gender ending. These basic meanings do not establish rigid physical-distance thresholds for every use. Shared discourse can identify the intended referent. Náà supplies a separate identifiable-reference construction.

Examples (3)

  1. Mo fẹ́ àpò yìí.

    I want this bag.

    Yìí follows the noun and selects this referent.

  2. Mo fẹ́ àpò yẹn.

    I want that bag.

    Yẹn selects the contrasting referent.

  3. àwọn fìlà yìí

    These caps (noun-phrase fragment).

    Àwọn makes plurality explicit.