Dictionaries of natural languages come into being by a series of compromises. Natural vocabularies are so vast, so rich in nuance and variation, that no lexicographer in real time could capture all the available information in a finite amount of time. In order to achieve its goal of helping foreign readers in their attempts to understand Albanian documents—literary, historical, political, and linguistic—that may have been written in earlier as well as later parts of the twentieth century and may have employed varieties of the language that would not be acceptable as standard today, this dictionary has had to limit severely some of the functions that other dictionaries serve. Briefly, it is a dictionary designed for those who expect to use it to help them read and understand existing Albanian text; it is not designed for those who primarily expect to use the dictionary to tell them how to express themselves in speaking or writing Albanian.
When sample entries are given in this Guide, they are in the form they have in the Albanian-English Dictionary. For the English-Albanian user, simply reverse the order of the Albanian and English parts of the entry.
Leonard Newmark
Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus
University of California, San Diego
PREFACE
SUMMARY OF CONVENTIONS EMPLOYED
SUMMARY OF GRAMMATICAL TERMS EMPLOYED
ALBANIAN ALPHABET
STRESS (ACCENT)
PRONUNCIATION VALUES OF LETTERS IN THE ALPHABET
VARIABLE FORMS
Variable Letters
Use of Brackets and Parentheses
SAMPLE ENTRIES
OVERVIEW OF THE FORM AND CONTENT OF ENTRIES
MAIN ENTRIES
Citation Forms
Pronunciation
Grammatical Labels
Verb Entries
Transitive Verbs
Intransitive Verbs
Reflexive Verbs
Impersonal Verbs
Pronominal Entries
Noun Entries
Articulated Nouns
Gerund Entries
Adjective Entries
Definition
Sense Description and Differentiation
Usage Labels
Domain Labels
Technical Terms
Examples
PHRASAL ENTRIES
Variable Segments
Use of Brackets
Use of Superscript
Use of Slash Marks
CROSS‑REFERENCES
Cross‑reference with <
Cross‑reference with =
GRAMMATICAL SKETCH FOR READERS OF ALBANIAN
Introduction
Grammatical Categories in Albanian
Clitics
Verb Clitics
Pronominal Clitics
The Attributive Article
Full Words
Verbs
Tense
General Tenses
Special Tenses
Perfect Tenses
Voice
Verb Stems
Regular Stems
Thematic Verb Stems
Irregular Stems
Formation of Tenses
General Considerations
Formation Rules
Sound/Letter combination rules
Person‑number rules
Present tense
Non‑present tense
Subjunctive
Miscellaneous
Extension rules
Active
Passive
Optative
Admirative
Third person singular
Person‑Number Endings
Regular Verbs: Inflectional Endings
Irregular Verbs
Participles
Nouns
Noun Stems
Case Suffixes
Gerunds
Pronominals
Personal Pronouns
Relative Pronouns
Attributive and Predicative Modifiers
Adjectives
Adjective Stem Forms
Feminine Plurals of Masculine Singulars
Relation of Adjectives to other Parts of Speech
Formation from Participles
Relation to Adverbs
Relation to Nouns
Nominalized Adjectives
Genitive Case Modifiers
Predicatives
Adverbs
Determiners
Numbers
Prepositions
Interrogatives
Particles
DIALECTAL VARIATION & STANDARD ALBANIAN
Standard Literary Albanian
Dialect Variants
Variable
Symbol |
Indicates |
Example |
Interpretation |
' |
that
the preceding vowel is stressed[1] |
lu'le |
the
first syllable in this word is stressed |
| |
a
morpheme boundary in a head entry[2] |
liri|da'sh|s |
free|dom
lov|er |
|| |
a
morpheme boundary before an inflectional suffix |
apo'||i |
talon||s |
|
the
end of the stem of the citation form[3] of a verb |
fut |
stands
for any of the inflected forms of the verb with this stem[4] |
[] |
an
accusative object |
|
[]
indicates the position of a pronoun in the accusative case, which in turn may
stand for any accusative object. |
|
the
direct object of a verb |
[]
bn balt |
make
mud of [], demolish [] |
|
the
accusative object of a preposition |
sa
pr [] |
as
for [] |
<> |
any
pronoun in the ablative/dative case |
|
The
pronoun may in turn stand for an expressed or unexpressed referent. |
|
the
dative indirect object of a verb |
<>
ngre rehatin |
to
disturb <>'s peace and quiet |
|
the
ablative object of a preposition |
lidhur
pas <> |
devoted
to <> |
|
the
genitive object of the attributive article |
n
t mir t <> |
to
<>'s benefit |
{} |
the
nominative object of the preposition |
ndryshe
nga {} |
in
contrast to {} |
|
the
nominative subject of the variable verb in a definition |
E
di qyp! |
{}
knows it perfectly well! |
|
the
kind of filler (in italics) required in an Albanian phrase |
sa
m {adj/adv} |
as
{} as possible |
|
a
restriction (shown in superscript italics) on the preceding Albanian variable |
mban{2nd
imper/subj} vendin |
stick
to your own business |
|
non‑obvious
corresponding parts in the Albanian and English parts of a definition |
sht {} pr sevda |
to
be a really wonderful {} |
|
the
context in which a particular sense appears |
nj
vatr {} |
a
whole bunch of {people}; a houseful of {children} |
() |
an
optional part of the Albanian entry |
(pr)
s njzaj |
once
again; from the beginning pr may be omitted without affecting the sense. |
() |
a
clarification or explanation of a sense or use in the definition |
jard |
yard
(36 inches) |
= |
cross‑reference
to an equivalent entry |
kecelu'she nf
(Euph) = do'sz |
kecelu'she
is a euphemism whose literal sense may be found under the entry do'sz |
< |
cross‑reference
to the citation form to which this form is related |
vlle'zr np
< vlla' |
vlle'zr is the plural form of vlla'; the
latter entry contains the definitions that apply to this form. |
/ |
single‑word alternates |
mendsh/mendjes |
mendsh or mendjes |
// |
multiple‑word alternates; |
kuti' votimesh//e votimit |
kuti' votimesh or kuti' e votimit[5] |
|
the scope of alternation is indicated by
italicization |
merimanga me kryq//e kopshteve |
merimanga me kryq
or merimanga e kopshteve |
* |
forms
or senses not corroborated as standard |
*afr|e's |
not
validated by a standard source[6] |
|
|
*ash‑tray |
this
sense not validated by a standard source |
~ |
the
portion of an entry up to the italicized portion |
qark nm (pl ~qe) |
qarqe is the plural of qark |
|
a
nasal vowel[7] |
*shtje |
the
first syllable has the stressed nasal vowel |
__ |
a
slot to be filled |
a
__ apo __ |
__
or __ (fill in the blank appropriately) |
|
null |
the
suffix for nominative indefinite |
an
empty slot, the absence of anything |
a' |
variable
a' |
budalla' |
a is replaced by e in the corresponding plural stem budalle'nj |
|
=
a', e', or
i' |
shkas |
shkas, shket, shkiste (forms of
the same verb) |
e |
variable
e = e' or i' |
pret |
pret, prit (forms of the same verb) |
e |
evanescent
e = e or |
lu'let |
lule, lulja (forms of the same noun) |
et |
marker
of a reflexive verb (after a consonant stem) |
plaket |
plaket,
plakem, u plak, u plakm (forms of the same reflexive verb) |
|
evanescent
= or |
li'br |
libr (singular), libra (plural) (forms
of the same noun) |
g |
variable
g = g or gj |
zog |
zog (singular), zogj (plural) (forms
of the same noun) |
het |
marker
of a reflexive verb (after a vowel stem) |
bhet (citation
form) |
bhet, bhem, u b, u bm (forms
of the same reflexive verb) |
je |
variable
je = je, i' or
o' |
mbjell |
mbjell, mbill|, mboll| (stems
of the same verb) |
jerr |
variable
jerr = jerr, i'rr or
o'r |
nxjerr |
nxjerr, nxirret, nxore (forms
of the same verb) |
k |
variable
k = k or q |
mik |
mik (singular stem) miq (plural stem) |
ll |
variable
ll = ll or j |
i'shull |
i'shull (singular stem) icicle i'shuj (plural stem) icicles |
n |
marker
of the citation form of a thematic verb stem |
kupton |
kupton, kuptoj, kuptuam (forms
of the same verb) |
(n) |
evanescent
n |
bli(n) |
bli (nominative indefinite) blini (nominative definite) |
o |
variable
o = o' or u'a |
o n |
oj (1st
sg pres), onte (3rd sg impf) uam (1st
pl pdef) uar (participle) |
(r) |
evanescent
r |
bli(r) |
bli (nominative indefinite) bliri (nominative definite) |
t |
variable
t = t or s |
py'et |
pyet (2nd & 3rd sg pres) pyes (1st sg pres) |
u'a |
variable
u'a in noun stems = u'a or
o' |
apu'a |
apua (singular stem) apoi (oblique stem), aponj (plural stem) |
|
variable
u'a in verb stems = u'a or
o' or u' |
shkru'an |
shkruaj (1st
sg pres) shkrova (1st
pd pdef) shkruhet (3rd
sg pres passive) |
Abbreviation |
Term |
Grammatical Function & Example |
abl |
ablative case |
The ablative case
is used 1) for objects of all prepositions other than those listed under
nominative case and accusative case; and 2) for attributive nouns immediately
following nouns in the indefinite nominative/accusative case. |
abl/dat |
ablative/dative |
Ablative and dative case forms are distinct only for
plural indefinite nouns. |
acc |
accusative case |
The accusative case
is used 1) for direct objects of transitive verbs; 2) for objects of the
prepositions mbi, me, ndaj with temporal nominals, ndr, n,
nn, npr, pa,
pr in the senses for
and about, and prmbi;
and 3) for temporal nominals acting as temporal adverbials. |
|
active voice |
Verb forms that are not in a passive form are said to be
in the active voice. Active voice
verbs may be either transitive or intransitive; for both, the grammatical
subject of the verb is the agentive subject. |
adj |
adjective |
An adjective
conveys an attribute of a nominal referent. In a noun phrase, adjectives
follow their referent. |
adj
(i) |
articulated adjective |
An adjective is said to be articulated if it is always preceded by an attributive article. |
|
adjectival |
functioning as an adjective |
adm |
admirative mood |
Admirative mood forms are composed of a stressed verb stem plus an
unstressed, suffixed present or imperfect tense form of the verb ka. They convey surprise, exasperation, or amazement in what
is being said. |
adv |
adverb |
An adverb is a word
of invariable form that functions as a general modifier. |
|
adverbial |
functioning as a general modifier |
|
attributive |
ascribing a general property to a noun or pronoun |
(i) |
attributive article |
one of a set of unstressed proclitics (i, e,
t, s) that reflects the gender, case, and number of the
referent; used before certain adjectives and before a nominal phrase used
attributively; the nearest English equivalent is of |
|
bare stem |
stem without any inflectional endings |
|
base |
component of the word to which a suffix may be attached |
C |
consonant |
symbol that stands for any consonant |
|
citation form |
that form under which the senses of the word are defined
in a dictionary |
collec |
collective noun |
noun denoting a group of individuals considered as a unit |
conj |
conjunction |
word by which sentence components are connected |
dat |
dative case |
the form of nouns, pronouns, attributive articles, and
pronominal clitics that is used for 1) <indirect objects> of verbs
(including datives of reference, indirect objects, ethical datives,
possessive datives); 2) <objects of a preposition>, other than those
listed under nominative case and accusative case; and 3) <genitive
case> constructions that consist of a preposed attributive article
followed by a noun in the dative case |
|
declension |
the set of case suffixes taken by a noun stem or
nominalized adjective |
def |
definite |
form with a suffix indicating that the referent of the
noun is assumed to be identifiable; generally corresponds to the in English |
|
derivation |
process by which words or stems are created from existing
stems and/or affixes |
|
derivational affix |
affix that creates new words or stems |
det |
determiner |
A determiner serves
to specify or quantify the noun that follows it in a noun phrase. |
dimin |
diminutive |
form indicating smallness and/or affection |
dir.obj |
direct object |
direct object of a verb |
fem |
feminine gender |
most nf nouns have
feminine agreement, and most nouns denoting females have nf forms, but nf nouns that denote males have masculine agreement |
|
finite verb |
verb form that reflects the person and number of the
subject of the verb as well as its tense and mood |
|
gender |
category that governs agreement of forms of adjectives and
attributive articles with their nominal or pronominal referents |
|
general stem |
The general stem of the verb, which serves as its citation
form in this dictionary, is used to form the present and imperfect tenses of
both the active and passive voices. For most verbs it is also the stem used
to form the imperative mood. |
gen |
genitive case |
in Albanian a construction consisting of an attributive
article followed by an attributive noun in the dative case; this case is also
used for the possessor in a possessive relationship |
ger |
gerund |
From every verb stem a corresponding gerund can be
derived, a noun that denotes the content of the verb. Verb stems ending in a
consonant form the gerund with the suffix ‑je; thematic verb stems (ending in o'
or e') form the gerund with the
suffix ‑i'm; verb stems ending in the stressed vowel i' form the gerund with the suffix ‑i'm.
In addition to gerunds whose form and/or meaning would not be obvious, this
dictionary lists only those specifically targeted for inclusion by native
Albanian speakers. |
imper |
imperative mood |
2nd person verb forms used to give commands |
impf |
imperfect tense |
verb tense forms indicating occurrence over an indefinite
period not in the present |
impers |
impersonal |
verb with an impersonal 3rd sg subject |
indecl |
indeclinable |
word that functions syntactically as a noun but takes no
inflections |
indef |
indefinite |
without an identified referent; indefinite forms of nouns
have no suffix for definiteness |
ind.obj |
indirect object |
The indirect object is the person or thing involved with a
verb, generally as recipient or beneficiary, but not as its subject or direct
object. With transitive verbs, the indirect object may also be the possessor
of the direct object. With intransitive verbs, the indirect object may also
be the experiencer of the action of the verb or may be the possessor of the
subject of the verb. |
|
inflection |
alteration of form to reflect the grammatical function of
a word |
|
inflectional ending |
the final suffix that reflects the grammatical function of
a noun or verb |
interj |
interjection |
free‑standing, expressive and invariable part of
speech |
interrog |
interrogative |
question‑asking word |
invar |
invariable |
having no inflected form |
|
manner adverb |
adverb that conveys the manner of doing something |
masc |
masculine gender |
all nm nouns have
masculine agreement, and nf
nouns that denote males also have masculine agreement |
|
middle voice |
function of a vp
form in which the subject is depicted as passively engaging or becoming
engaged in the occurrence |
n |
noun stem |
in the form listed, it denotes a male and has nm declension; followed by a feminine derivational
suffix ‑e or ‑, it denotes a female and has nf declension; followed
by a plural derivational suffix ‑a,
‑e, or ‑, it denotes plural males or females and has np
declension |
neg |
negative |
|
nf |
feminine noun stem |
has feminine
declension |
nm |
masculine noun stem |
has masculine
declension |
nn |
neuter noun stem |
has neuter declension [8] |
nom |
nominative case |
the citation form of nouns, pronouns, and attributive
articles; used for subjects of verbs, subject complements, and for objects of
the prepositions nga, tek, *kah,
and *ne[9] |
np |
noun plural |
has plural declension:
‑t (definite), ‑ve (dative/ablative), ‑sh (ablative). np nouns denoting
groups that include males[10]
have masculine plural agreement; other np nouns derived from nf
nouns have feminine plural agreement; for many other np nouns the agreement is highly variable from
dialect to dialect and from speaker to speaker, even more variable than the
form of the np itself |
|
noun |
part of speech of words that denote entities |
num |
number |
|
obj |
object |
object (indirect or direct) of a verb |
opt |
optative mood |
optative mood forms
express a desire for a yet‑unrealized outcome; they are commonly used
for wishes, curses, felicitations, and (after the particle n)
for contrary‑to‑fact conditionals |
parenth |
parenthetical |
word used to insert a parenthetical remark |
part |
participle |
non‑finite (uninflected for person and tense) verb
derivative used predicatively or as a constituent of 1) compound tenses, 2)
verbal constructions, and 3) as adjectives |
|
following a form of ka |
forms perfect
aspect active forms of the verb with the auxiliary ka: kam shikuar I have seen, kishin shikuar they had seen |
|
following a form of sht |
forms perfect
aspect passive forms of the verb with the auxiliary sht: jam shikuar I have been seen, ishin shikuar they had been seen |
|
following duke |
forms a present participle: duke shikuar while/by
seeing |
|
following a form of sht + duke |
forms the progressive
aspect of a verb: isha duke shikuar I was seeing |
|
following me t or
nj t |
forms a participial absolute: me/nj t shikuar upon seeing |
|
following pa |
forms a privative particle: pa shikuar without seeing |
|
following pr t |
forms an infinitive: pr t shikuar 'to see |
|
following an attributive article |
adjective: i shikuar seen |
pcl |
particle |
invariable part of speech that affects the force of a
sentence or part of a sentence |
|
part of speech |
the grammatical class to which a word belongs according to
its contextual functions; this dictionary distinguishes the following parts
of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction,
quantifier, determiner, interjection, particle, and attributive article |
passive |
passive voice |
Transitive verb forms in a passive form are said to be in
the passive voice. The grammatical
subject of a verb in the passive voice is not the agentive subject. |
past |
past tense |
cover term for perfect, imperfect, and past definite tenses |
pdef |
past definite tense |
verb tense forms indicating an event in the past or
projected past |
perf |
perfect aspect |
category of verb constructions consisting of an auxiliary
verb plus a participle; the occurrence represented by the participle is
summarized as being complete by the time represented by the tense of the
auxiliary |
pers |
person |
category identifying participation in a communication
situation |
1st |
first person |
originator (speaker/writer) of the communication: I, we |
2nd |
second person |
recipient to whom the communication is addressed: you |
3rd |
third person |
non‑participant in a communication situation: he, she,
it, they |
pl |
plural |
category
reflected by forms of adjectives, attributive articles, some determiners, and
verbs[11] |
pred |
predicative |
invariable form serving as a predicate complement |
pref |
prefix |
affix put before a stem to produce a new derivative stem |
prep |
preposition |
part of speech followed by an object to form an adjectival
or adverbial phrase |
pres |
present tense |
verb tense forms used for events or relations in present,
general, or future time |
pron |
pronoun |
part of speech that categorizes referents by person,
number, case, and gender |
|
pronominal |
functioning as a pronoun |
quant |
quantifier |
determiner that expresses an amount or degree |
recip |
reciprocal |
a use of passive verb forms to express mutual or reflexive
action by plural subjects |
referent |
|
In respect to pronouns, the referent is the antecedent.
In respect to attributive articles and adjectives, the referent is the word
or entity that is modified or referred to. In respect to nouns, the referent
is the entity that is referred to. |
refl |
reflexive |
action directed at the subject by the subject itself |
sg |
singular |
grammatical category of referents conceived of as single
units |
|
special stem |
The special stem of the verb is used to form the past
definite tenses of both the active and passive voices, to form the optative
and admirative moods, and to form the participle. In this dictionary, it is
listed only when its formation from the general stem does not follow general
rules. |
|
stem |
component of the word to which suffixes may be attached |
|
subject |
the ostensible entity that determines the person‑number
form of a verb tense |
subj |
subjunctive mood |
present or imperfect tense verb forms preceded (normally)
by the proclitic t; subjunctive
verbs are used to express non‑assertive suppositions or suggestions, or
may complement a preceding verb, adjective, or particle |
v |
verb |
part of speech inflected for person, number, tense, voice
and mood; verbs typically express occurrences or relationships processed
through time |
vi |
intransitive verb stem |
stem with active inflection and without an accusative
object |
vp |
passive inflection |
indicates that the stem takes any of the person‑number
inflectional endings for the present and imperfect tenses |
vpr |
reflexive verb stem |
stem with passive inflection and middle voice functions
(see Reflexive
Verbs, p. xviii) |
vt |
transitive verb stem |
stem with active inflection and with an accusative object |
|
verbal ending |
one of a set of suffixes that end a verb |
|
voice |
category of verb inflection that distinguishes between
active and passive; also used for the functions subdivided into passive,
middle, reflexive, and reciprocal |
|
word formative |
an element (stem or affix) used to form new words |
The alphabetic order of the Albanian alphabet is:
A B C D Dh E F G Gj H I J
K L Ll M N Nj O P Q R Rr S Sh T Th U V X Xh Y Z Zh
a b c
d dh e
f g gj h i j
k l ll m n
nj o p q r rr s sh t
th u v x
xh y z zh
Many of the words that a reader will encounter in reading Albanian—henceforth called text words—can be found in this dictionary in exactly the form and in exactly the place that a reader used to ordinary dictionaries would expect to find them, so long as the reader remembers that 9 of the 36 letters in the Albanian alphabet are digraphs (two‑letter combinations that count as single letters):
Dh Gj Ll Nj Rr Sh Th Xh Zh
dh gj ll nj rr sh th xh zh
However, many words that the reader encounters in actual Albanian publications of the twentieth century will have a form that differs in some way from any of the forms cited in this dictionary, henceforth called "dictionary forms".
In this Users Guide, the nature of many of those differences is discussed, and suggestions are made for interpreting them.
In this dictionary, the placement of primary accent or stress is indicated in headword entries by an accent mark ' after the vowel of the most prominent syllable. Such stress is not marked in conventional Albanian orthography. Most Albanian stems are accented on their last syllable; since many words end in a suffix, this means that the stress is often on the next to last vowel of the word. In word groups and compound words, the last word of a sequence normally gets the major stress, and the other words are correspondingly reduced in the degree of stress they receive. The single vowel of a monosyllabic citation form is understood to be stressed in all polysyllabic forms based on that form, unless otherwise indicated.
For the infrequent entries that contain letter sequences that could be misread as digraphs, a respelling of the item is added, using plain letters in regular Albanian orthography, but with hyphens inserted for clarification. The same device is used for indicating the pronunciation of abbreviations and acronyms.
The table below provides a rough guide to Albanian pronunciation by showing rough correspondences between Albanian letters and English sounds. The Albanian alphabet has 36 representational units (letters). Unlike English, letters maintain consistent values in their representation of sound in all the words in which they appear, although there are minor variations in sound depending on context and on the variety of Albanian spoken by a given speaker.
Albanian
letter |
Technical Description |
Approximate English equivalent |
a |
low back vowel |
like a in father |
b |
voiced bilabial stop |
= b |
c |
voiceless apical
affricate |
like ts in oats |
|
voiceless palatal
affricate |
like ch in child |
d |
voiced apical stop |
= d |
dh |
voiced interdental
fricative |
like th in this |
e |
front unrounded mid
vowel |
like e in pest |
|
mid central lax vowel |
like u in bun; silent in many unstressed positions |
f |
voiceless interdental
fricative |
= f |
g |
voiced dorsal stop |
like g in go |
gj |
voiced palatal stop |
like g in argue |
h |
voiceless aspiration |
= h |
i |
high front unrounded
vowel |
like i in elite |
j |
palatal glide |
like y in yolk |
k |
voiceless dorsal stop |
= k |
l |
palatalized lateral
liquid |
(light l) like l in elite |
ll |
velarized lateral
liquid |
(dark l) like l in bull |
m |
voiced bilabial nasal |
= m |
n |
voiced apical nasal |
= n |
nj |
voiced palatal nasal |
like ny in canyon |
o |
back rounded mid vowel |
like o in more |
p |
voiceless bilabial stop |
= p |
q |
voiceless palatal stop |
like c in cute |
r |
apical flap |
like d in American pronunciation of modest |
rr |
apical trill |
like tter in fast American pronunciation of butter |
s |
voiceless apical
sibilant |
like s in soup |
sh |
voiceless palatal
sibilant |
like sh in shine |
t |
voiceless apical stop |
= t |
th |
voiceless interdental
fricative |
like th in thing |
u |
back rounded high vowel |
like oo in roof |
v |
voiced interdental
fricative |
= v |
x |
voiced apical affricate |
like dz in adz |
xh |
voiceless palatal
affricate |
like j in jar |
y
|
high front rounded
vowel |
like Southern American
pronunciation of uu in vacuum |
z |
voiceless apical
sibilant |
= z |
zh |
voiceless palatal
sibilant |
like z in azure (like French j in je) |
Albanian pronunciation is reflected rather directly by standard spelling, with a few notable exceptions:
Unstressed is pronounced very lightly or not at all. At the ends of morphemes and words, voiced obstruents (b, d, g, dh, v, xh, zh) are usually devoiced by Tosk speakers, so that they sound respectively like p, t, k, th, f, , sh in those positions.
Gheg speakers use nasalized vowels and long vowels. Nasalized vowels are marked by a circumflex ^ over the vowel: , , , , . Long vowels are distinctive in Gheg but are not represented in normal orthography.
Through the years, many printers have lacked fonts containing the special characters used in printing standard Albanian orthography, and there is a substantial amount of published material that fails to distinguish e from , c from , and nasalized vowels from their oral counterparts: a from , e from , etc. Albanians have little difficulty recognizing words in context even when these clues are missing, but the foreign reader will have to struggle with the problem until words and phrases become familiar enough to be recognized despite the reduced information in the printed word.
Many stems and affixes are variable in form. This dictionary does include irregularly formed stem alternants, but in general, it does not include regularly formed ones.
To help the reader recognize text forms related to, but
not identical to those listed in the dictionary, lightface and boldface italics
have special values in this dictionary not found in normal Albanian
orthography.
The evanescent letter at the end of a citation form disappears before any suffix beginning in a vowel, and evanescent at the beginning of a suffix disappears after any stem ending in a vowel. For example, the citation form rru'g reflects the inflected forms rruga, rruge, rrugat, rrugash, and rrugave,[12] which lack the final of the citation form, as well as the forms rrug, rrugn, and rrugs,[13] which have it.
In standard Albanian orthography, when two nouns differ
only in the presence or absence of at
the end, the one with is
feminine (nf), and the one without is nm.
lug nm trough
lug nf spoon
breshk nm tortoise (male)
breshk nf tortoise (female)
In other positions, is an evanescent letter, indicating that it may be absent in other forms of the word; in other varieties of the language, it may be totally absent or may appear as e or i. For example, trashgim is trashgim in some varieties of Albanian, in others, trashigim; mkon is mkon in some varieties of Albanian.
The evanescent letter e at the end of a noun citation form is replaced by j before the nf nominative definite suffix ‑a and optionally before the nf dative indefinite suffix ‑e: for example, the nf stem lu'le, has the nominative definite case form lulja and in the colloquial dative indefinite case form lulje.
There is considerable dialectal variation between e and as terminal vowels; one person or one dialect will have a final rather than e in a particular stem and vice versa. For example, while the standard form is lu'le, a common form in some varieties of Albanian in lu'l, and that form even finds its way into the standard language in the many compound words with the latter form, alongside other compounds with the former.
The evanescent letters het (or et, if the verb stem ends in a consonant) mark the end of a citation form for a verb in the passive voice (including all vpr stems). The letters he appear in all on the present and imperfect inflected forms of the verb, while the final letter t appears only in the present tense 3sg form. All other passive voice forms of the verb are identical to those of the active voice, except that the presence of the clitic reflexive marker u marks them as passive. For example, the vpr stem la'het, has the imperfect 1sg form la'hesha, but the past definite 1sg form u lava.
Letters in boldface italics generally indicate that other forms of that stem have other letters in place of the italicized ones. For example, a final t in a verb citation form represents a variable letter which may appears as either t or s in various forms of the same verb:
citation form |
2 & 3 sg pres |
1sg pdef |
2 & 3 sg pres |
1sg pres |
pl pres |
subj |
impf |
py'et |
py'et |
py'eta |
py'etni or
py'esni |
py'es |
py'esim |
py'es |
py'esnim |
The variable letter e designates a vowel which is e in the citation form, but may be absent altogether or may appear as a different vowel (e or i or o or a) in other forms of the word:
jep
is represented in various inflected forms as jep, jap, or jip
sheh
is represented in various inflected forms as sheh, shoh, or shih
The variable letter in the citation forms v' and z' is a reminder that the verb v' is not to be ruled out when one encounters such inflected forms as vija, vihet, vura, and vum, as well as in more transparent forms such as v, vn, vnt, and vnka.
For entries whose stem has alternate forms, the symbol ~ after a grammatical label stands for the part of the stem that precedes the italicized letters in the head entry, and the letters after the ~ indicate the addition or replacement of the italicized letters:
budalla' adj,
nm (pl ~e'nj) means that the plural stem for budalla is
budalle'nj
Variable diphthongs are regularly replaced in certain grammatical forms:
u'a is replaced by o' in oblique forms of nm stems potku'a potko'i
u'a is replaced by o' in sg pdef and opt of v stems blu'a blo'ft
u'a is replaced by u' in general passive forms of v stems blu'a blu'het
u'e is replaced by o' in oblique forms of nm stems llku'e llko'i
y'e is replaced by e' in pdef forms of v stems ngjy'en ngje'va
i'e is replaced by i' in general passive forms of v stems ndi'en ndi'het
In general, brackets in this dictionary stand for components essential to the sense being defined. Square brackets [] are used if the bracketed component is in the accusative case; angle brackets <> if it is in the ablative/dative case; curly brackets or braces {} if it is in the nominative case:
abon|o'n vt to subscribe to [a periodical]
lakm|o'het vpr to get a sudden craving for <>
te prep (nom) at/to the location of {}: at/to {}'s place, at {}
Boldface parentheses () enclose optional components of the Albanian part of an entry,
components that may or may not be present without affecting the sense.
Italicized parentheses () enclose special information in the
grammatical part of an entry, such as the case required for the object of a
preposition or the indicated proclitic article for an articulated entry; they
are also used to enclose usage labels (see drno'k nm [Bot] hedge hyssop Gratiola officinalis
krp nm
hemp (Cannabis sativa)
Usage Labels, p. xxi). In definitional parts of an entry, plain parentheses () enclose hints or additional information in English to help the reader understand the entry.
vra'p|thi(t) adv in haste, hastily
dgj|u'ar|it nn (t) (sense of) hearing
xix|r|i'm nf crackling sound (of wood giving off sparks)
Each sample entry below is composed of components—numbered below the example—distinguished by their format. The table following the examples lists the components, in the order in which they are most likely to appear in a given entry:
ABD a‑b‑d' abbreviation < artileria bregdetare [Mil] coastal artillery
1 2 3 4 6 8
afio'n I nm opium II adj (Fig) pale
1 3a 8 3a 5 8
aj I interj 1 hey! 2=
haj II pron * = ai'
1 3a 7 8 7 4b 3a 4b
tri'shull nm (np
~j) [Bot] bladdernut
(Staphylea)
1 12 3 3 13 5 8 9
bam onomat (Colloq) sound of a gunshot or loud collision: wham!, bam!, bang!
1 3 5 8
bam e bum attempt by any means, try by might and main
10 8
ia b bam 1 to shoot, fire a gun 2 to have the daring to fight 3 to strike
10 7 8 7 8 7 8
out of anger 4 to finish a project 5 to do something unusually dashing or brave
7 8 7 8
bar argjendi [Bot] "silvergrass" horsetail (Equisetum)
10 6 11 8 9
Component |
Format Form |
1. Headword of an entry |
hanging and in boldface |
2. Pronunciation aid |
roman characters before grammatical label |
3. Grammatical label |
italics |
a) if
multiple within an entry |
preceded by a roman numeral followed by |
4. Cross‑reference |
|
a) to the source entry[14] |
boldface characters after < |
b) to a synonymous entry |
boldface characters after = |
5. Usage label |
initially capitalized italics between parentheses |
a) if applicable to all definitions |
appears before number in definition |
b) if applicable to single definition |
appears after number in definition |
6. Domain label |
initially capitalized italics between square brackets |
a) if applicable to all definitions |
appears before number in definition |
b) if applicable to single definition |
appears after number in definition |
7. Sense number |
boldface number (only if there are more‑than‑one
senses) |
8. Definition |
roman characters |
9. Technical identification |
italics (scientific term: Genus species) italics in parenthesis (technical name for a common
term) |
10. Phrasal entry |
boldface characters after |
11. Literal translation |
between quotation marks |
12. Variable letters |
boldface italics |
13. Replacement letters |
followed
by the replacement of the variable
letters |
This dictionary contains three kinds of entries: main entries, phrasal entries, and cross‑references, each with a heading in boldface letters.
The dictionary assumes that its user has some knowledge of regular Albanian grammar, but can use help with unknown stems and compounds, as well as with the hundreds of irregular (unpredictable from general rules) stem forms in the language. The initial aim of this dictionary was to list in their own proper alphabetical position all Albanian stem forms whose citation form is not automatically recognizable by the general rules for generation of forms given in the grammatical sketch. That aim has been narrowed by exigencies of time: in order to make a useful dictionary available, I have limited the lexicon to words and phrases that have appeared in print since Albanian independence, and further, to such items as have been recognized in lexical sources available to me.
Albanian stems may be bare, thematic, or compound. A bare stem, or base, consists of a single morpheme, a sound/letter or sequence of sounds/letters that function as a single unit. A compound stem contains more than one base. A thematic stem, or theme, consists at least one base and at least one derivational suffix or extension. A derivational suffix contributes a grammatical function to the word; for example, it may indicate that the stem is a plural noun, that it is a gerund, that it is a passive verb, that it is a diminutive noun of feminine gender, that it is a participle, etc. An extension does not itself contribute a grammatical function to the word, but it may 1) reflect a historically earlier pronunciation; 2) help mark the tense of a verb; 3) suggest a semantic nuance that might be absent without the extension; 4) serve the euphonic purpose of breaking up sequences of sounds that speakers of a particular variety of Albanian find difficult to pronounce.
Most stems may appear as words in their own right. In texts, verbs and nouns appear in an inflected form from which their syntactic role in the clause may be inferred. This inflected form may end in an overt inflectional suffix. When that suffix is covert, that is, when it is not represented by any sound/letter, it is termed (zero). The imperative form of many verbs has such a , and all nominative and accusative indefinite nouns have it.
Where helpful for clarification, a pair of square brackets [] is used to stand for any pronoun in the accusative case, which in turn may stand for any accusative referent; a pair of angle brackets <> stands for any pronoun in the dative/ablative case, which in turn may stand for any dative or ablative referent. The brackets may be filled to indicate the scope or nature of the object.
hij|o'n vt to turn [] to ashes: incinerate
kalpt|o'n vt to plug [a leaky wooden container] up
pr|ngja'n vi to be very much like <>, resemble <> strongly
taks vt (Colloq) to promise [something] to <someone>
To indicate a stem that appears mainly as part of larger constructions rather than as an independent word, the morpheme‑division symbol | is placed at the end of that stem. For example:
mba|jt| stem for pd, opt, adm, part < mban
indicates that the form mba|jt| is part of such constructions as mbajta, mbajtm, mbajtka, and u mbajt, all of which are inflectional forms of mban.
Senses and collocations that apply only to a particular paradigmatic form are entered under the entry for that form and not under the main entry. This policy is unlike that of most other dictionaries, and the reader must be prepared for it. For example, if a phrasal entry requires the plural form duar hands rather than its singular form dor hand, the entry will be found under du'ar and not under do'r.
Main entries provide the principal information a reader needs to recognize and interpret the individual words encountered in texts. Each main entry is headed by a citation form. In order to clarify the structure of the form and help the reader relate it to other forms, morphemic divisions are indicated by a vertical mark |:
bashk|li'dh|ur joined together, united
which consists of the morphemes bashk together, lidh join, and ‑ur participial suffix.
Sequences of letters that are the same except for differences in morphemic division are treated as separate entries.
pish|i'n nf 1 pine grove 2 alburnum/sapwood of the pine tree
pishi'n nf swimming pool
The main entry for inflected words, whose form changes to mark grammatical function, is headed by a citation form, as indicated in the following table:
Abbreviation |
Grammatical
Category |
Citation
Form |
adj |
Adjective |
masculine singular stem |
adj (i) |
Articulated |
indicates
that an attributive article appropriate for the gender of the referent
precedes the adjective stem |
adv (s) |
Gerundial adverb |
indicates
that the proclitic s precedes the
adverb |
n |
Noun |
Nominative
indefinite (the traditional citation form) |
n (i) |
Articulated |
indicates
that an attributive article appropriate for the gender precedes the noun stem |
nf |
Feminine |
singular
if a singular form of the noun exists |
nf (e) |
Articulated |
indicates
that an attributive article appropriate for feminine gender precedes the noun
stem |
nm |
Masculine |
singular
if a singular form of the noun exists |
nn |
Neuter |
singular
if a singular form of the noun exists |
nn (t) |
Articulated |
indicates
that the attributive article t
precedes the noun stem |
np |
Plural |
plural |
np (t) |
Articulated |
indicates
that the attributive article t
precedes the plural noun stem |
part |
Participle |
Regularly
formed participles are not listed as entries unless they also have special
uses as adjectives. |
pron |
Pronoun |
Nominative
case |
v |
Verb |
The 3rd
person singular present tense form of the verb, with the symbol marking the end of the stem. In phrasal
entries, this identifying mark enables the reader to recognize that other
forms of the verb, in any tense, person, and number, share the same
collocational sense. |
vi |
Intransitive |
active form |
vpr |
Reflexive |
passive
form (ending in et or het) |
vt |
Transitive |
active form |
In general, single‑word Albanian proper nouns are cited in their nominative indefinite form; the English form may give them in their more usual definite form:
Tira'n nf Tirana (capital city of Albania)
Some common Albanian personal names have been included, particularly those that 1) have non‑obvious English equivalents: Gjon = John, Sknder = Alexander; 2) designate males, but are nouns with feminine declension, 3) are homonymous with common nouns that might present interpretation problems in an actual text—for example, it might confuse the reader not to know that Drit and Liri are popular names for females and not just capitalized versions of drit light and liri freedom, and that Yll is a popular name for males and not just capitalized yll star.
Entries for prefixes are followed by a hyphen: para‑. Suffixes are included in the Reverse List of Possible Word Terminations, beginning on p. xlix.
Since normal Albanian orthography is quite regular, the only special symbol needed to indicate pronunciation is the ' mark after the stressed vowel of a word.
kabo'qe nf hilltop; low hill
A reader can sometimes determine the grammatical category of a puzzling word, even though its meaning is not known. In such cases the dictionary can be helpful by providing information about which grammatical functions its main entries may serve: in this dictionary, these functions are indicated by abbreviated grammatical labels in italics.
When the citation form at the head of the entry has multiple grammatical functions for which a single definition suffices, these functions may follow one another, separated by a comma.
gjerma'n adj, n German
When the citation form at the head of the entry has multiple grammatical functions for which a single English definition does not suffice, the grammatical label is preceded by a Roman numeral followed by the symbol .
mnda'fsh I nm silk II adj silken
treg|t|u'e|s I adj. commercial II n merchant, dealer
The main entry for a verb is headed by its citation form: the stem for the 3rd person singular present tense form (3sg pres)[15]
. The symbol indicates the end of the verb stem and the attachment point for inflectional suffixes. The English infinitive marker "to" marks the beginning of the definition of each separate sense of the verb, but it is not repeated for each subsense .mat vt to measure
ngurr|o'n vi to hesitate
ngro'het vpr to get warm; warm up
Transitive verbs, whose stems are labeled vt in the dictionary, take objects in the accusative case and have both active and passive forms. In the English part of the definition, square brackets [] may be used to indicate the place of a pronominal direct object in the accusative case.
The entry:
llom|i't vt to make [] muddy
is understood to imply all inflected forms, including, for example, both active forms like m llomiti he made me muddy and passive forms like the past definite u llomita I was made muddy. Note that passive forms of transitive verbs are systematically ambiguous if a corresponding reflexive verb exists; thus u llomita can also mean I got muddy, since the reflexive verb exists:
llom|i'tet vpr to get muddy
Intransitive verb stems, labeled vi in the dictionary, do not take objects in the accusative case. In an active form, the grammatical subject of an intransitive verb is the agent of the action represented by the verb.
rrym|o'n vi to flow in a current/stream
dsht|o'n vi to abort, miscarry; go wrong; fail
Entries marked vpr are reflexive verbs with passive voice inflection but middle voice uses and senses (see Voice, p. xxx). The passive voice forms that the reader sees in texts may be forms of these vpr verbs, but they may also be passive forms of a vt stem, with passive, reciprocal, or reflexive senses. These straightforward passive, reciprocal, and reflexive senses are not separately enumerated in this dictionary, since the entry for every transitive verb would be needlessly tripled in size thereby.[16]
For many vpr verbs there is no corresponding active verb:[17]
str|qi'tet vpr to be a constant nuisance to <>, constantly annoy <>
ke'qet vpr 1 to get worse 2 to speak/answer harshly to <>; threaten <> 3 to have a falling out, be on bad terms
Verbs marked impers have a vague 3rd person singular grammatical subject, sometimes corresponding to a grammatical subject it (in its raining) or there (in theres no convincing some people) in English. In many expressions, the experiencer of an impersonal verb is expressed as a dative referent.
e'rret vpr impers it grows dark, night falls
te'ket vpr impers <> feels like having/doing something: <> has a whim/hankering, <> gets an urge
The labels pron and pronominal are generic terms for words and stems that function like nouns or noun phrases (e.g., they can be the objects of prepositions or verbs), but that indicate grammatical categories rather than substantive entities. Thus, un I is the nominative case form of the pronoun that refers to a 1st person singular, and is not the name of the person speaking; asnjeri no one, nobody denies the involvement of any entity in the category of persons. Some pronominal stems (e.g., cil) are declined for gender, case, and number, as if they were nominalized adjectives; some (e.g., kush) are declined only for case; some (e.g., gjkafsh) are invariable in form; some are clitics (e.g., '); some (e.g., 1st and 2nd person personal pronouns) reflect differences in person, number, and case; some (e.g., the 3rd person determiners that serve as the 3rd person pronouns for Albanian) reflect differences in gender, number, and case.
The citation form of a noun is its uninflected, nominative indefinite stem form.
Noun stem labels start with n, usually followed by a gender/number indicator m, f, n, p, (masculine, feminine, neuter, and plural, respectively).
A stem labeled simply n is an nm stem when it designates a male. When it designates a female, it adds a derivational suffix ‑e or ‑ and becomes an nf stem. When it designates males, it adds a derivational suffix ‑ or - and becomes an np stem. When it designates females, it adds a derivational suffix ‑a or - (if the derivational suffix is ‑e) and becomes an np stem.
In Early Albanian, a number of nm stems ended in n. When that n was immediately followed by a vowel in the same word, it became r in Tosk dialects but remained n in Gheg. If there was no immediately following vowel, the vowel preceding the n became nasalized, and then the n dropped. Such nasalized vowels continued to be spoken in Gheg dialects (and are often represented by in standard orthographies), but lost their nasalization in Tosk dialects.
As a result, in this dictionary a number of descendants of these stems have two forms: the bare stem form (which serves as the nominative/accusative indefinite case of the noun), and the oblique form, which appears when a suffix beginning in a vowel immediately follows. If the 20th century form is descended from a Tosk form, it will have the extension r in the oblique form and end in a plain vowel in the citation form; if it is a Gheg descendent, it may have the extension n in both stems or may have n only in the oblique stem. Such citation forms are listed in the alphabetical position of the bare stem form, followed by the extension italicized between parentheses (r) or (n). If the oblique form, with the ‑i suffix that invariably follows it, would not immediately follow the bare stem alphabetically in the list, it appears as a separate entry and cross‑refers to the citation form.
blet|o're
nf apiary
bli'| stem for 2nd pl pres, impf, imper, vp
ble'n
bli(n) nm sturgeon
bli(r) nm linden
bli|ba'rdh
nm Adriatic sturgeon Acipenser
naccarii
...
blin||i obl < bli(n)
...
blir||i obl < bli(r)
There are other noun stems whose bare stem and oblique stem differ in the way they end. For these, if part of the bare stem form is missing in the oblique form, that part is italicized. The extension or replacement of letters for the oblique stem is indicated between parentheses following the grammatical label. This same method is often used for nouns whose corresponding plural stem (np) is formed in some way other than by the usual suffixation of ‑a, ‑e, ‑, –ra, or -.
she'kull nm (np ~j) century
(that is, the plural of the masculine noun she'kull century is she'kuj centuries)
Again, if the two forms, stem and oblique, are not alphabetically contiguous, the oblique form (with its appropriate suffix) appears as a separate entry and cross‑refers to the citation form.
The label n (i) indicates a noun stem that must be used with a proclitic attributive article. In the words based on this stem, the proclitic form of the attributive article (i, e, t, or s), as well as the inflection of the stem itself, reflects the gender, number, and case of the referent of the noun:
rri'tur n (i) adult, grownup
i rrituri the adult (male)
e rritura the adult (female)
t rriturat the adults (females)
i s rriturs of the adult (female)
The label nf (e) indicates an nf noun stem that must be preceded by an attributive article form (e, t, or s):
shfry'r n (e) emotional outburst
e shfryra the emotional outburst
t shfryrat the emotional outbursts
The label np (t) and nn (t) indicate np and nn noun stems, respectively, that must be used with the proclitic attributive article form t. Noun stems labeled nn (t) are typically derived from participles and normally appear with the definite suffix ‑t; a vowel ‑i‑ appears before the ‑t suffix if the stem ends in ‑r at the end of an unstressed syllable.
vo'n|a np (t) fem late crops harvested in late autumn
t vonat the late fall crops
shiju'ar nn (t) sense of taste
t shijuarit the sense of taste
Entries labeled ger are verbal nouns, gerunds, that substantivize the verb stems to which they are cross‑referred and designate processes, actions, or acts implied by those verb stems. Corresponding English nouns end in ‑ing. The same noun may also designate results or states, usually corresponding to English nouns ending in ‑(a)tion, ‑ment, ‑ance, or ence.
pr|dredh|i'm nm ger [Music] trilling; trill
Basically, pr|dredh|i'm calls up the process, act, or action of trilling that the verb pr|dredh to trill represents, but it may also designate the result of the process, act or action. In this second sense, it would correspond more closely to the noun trill in English. In this second sense, it corresponds more closely to the noun trill in English. Similarly, shkurt|i'm calls up the process, act, or action of shortening that the verb shkurt|on to shorten represents, but it may also designate the result of the process, act or action, as reflected in its translation as abridgement in this dictionary. The appearance of the abbreviatiation ger as part of the identification of this word may distinguish its meaning from that of another word with the translation abridgement, e.g., shkurt|re. Formed from the adjective shkurt short rather than from the verb shkurt|on to shorten, shkurt|re suggests a short thing rather a shortened thing.
For many entries, it is assumed that the appropriate English translation can be easily deduced from the main definitions of the cross‑referred verb or verbs, and no other definition is added; for others, specific definitions may be supplied:
magje'ps|je nf ger 1 > magje'ps, magje'pset 2 enchantment, bewitchment
In its first sense, since both magje'ps and magje'pset are cross‑referred, magje'ps|je may designate either the active process, act, or action of enchanting or bewitching, or else the passive process, act, or action of being enchanted or bewitched. In its second sense, it designates the state of enchantment or bewitchment. In general, if the abbreviatiation ger is part of the identification of a noun, one should be open to both the process sense and the resultant-state sense, whether or not the particular English words in the definition reflect both senses.
A stem labeled adj (i) is always used with a proclitic attributive article; one labeled adj is used without such an article. By convention, the citation form of an adjective is the masculine singular form, but the stem is used with a full range of referents (masculine, feminine, plural, or neuter), and the attributive article (i) stands for any of the possible forms i, e, t, or s.
Adjective stems whose citation form ends in ‑ur, ‑uar, ‑un, ‑r, ‑l, ‑t, and ‑ are identical for masculine and feminine singular and masculine plural; for feminine plural a derivational suffix ‑a is added and the evanescent disappears.
Adjective stems whose citation form ends in ‑an, ‑al, ‑ar, ‑or, ‑m, ‑m, ‑, ‑q, and ‑s typically add the derivational suffix ‑e to form a feminine singular and feminine plural stem; the evanescent disappears.[18]
Adjective stems whose citation form ends in ‑e are invariable in form.
Feminine and plural adjectival stems that are not derived regularly from the citation form in the dictionary (usually by the addition of a derivational suffix ‑e for the feminine singular and plural, or ‑a for the masculine plural) are generally listed under their own heading.
How can a dictionary give the "MEANING" of an Albanian word to a reader? A moment's reflection suffices to show that the task is in fact impossible: the meaning of moll is no more giveable than its meaning "apple" is eatable: it is the apple that one can eat, not its meaning, and it is the apple that can be given, not its meaning. This dictionary must adopt a variety of strategies to help its user "get" a meaning that it cannot give.
Preceding the definition of a sense there may be an indication of the usage (in italics between round brackets) and/or semantic domain [in italics between square brackets], which may enrich or clarify the interpretation of the definition. In numbered definitions, bracketed information following the number applies only to the sense with that number; preceding the number, the bracketed information applies to all the senses for that grammatical function.
The main definition attempts to find English expressions corresponding to the Albanian ones, but quite often the correspondence can only hint at the sense conveyed by the Albanian entry. Especially for phrasal entries, a more literal definition, between parentheses and quotation marks, precedes the main definition, in order to provide greater insight into the underlying structure and sense of the Albanian entry.
For some senses, a set of possible English translations for the targeted Albanian item may be offered in the attempt to suggest the meaning of the Albanian item for the reader. Commas separate different suggested translations that are all aimed at conveying aspects of the same sense; semicolons separate closely related, but somewhat different sub‑senses. Boldface numbers (1, 2,) separate senses that are substantially or completely different from each other.
In order to offer the reader an appreciation of what is being conveyed in Albanian and thus free the reader to consider translation possibilities better suited to a given context than those suggested in a proposed list of general translation equivalents, more discursive paraphrases or explanations of senses are often given in addition to or instead of the translations. In such definitions, the translation is separated from the paraphrase/explanation by a colon (:).
In some cases, encyclopedic information may be provided to supply a context that may be missing in the passage being read.
For items whose standard scientific identification is known, that identification is given in italics. If a term is widely used, and not just by specialists, the scientific label may be placed between parentheses.
drno'k nm [Bot] hedge hyssop Gratiola officinalis
krp nm hemp (Cannabis sativa)
Usage labels indicate some connotations that an Albanian reader is likely to attach to a word or sense. A capitalized usage label is indicated in italics between parentheses (round brackets). If a usage label follows the number in a definition containing several senses, it applies only to that particular sense; otherwise, it applies to all senses of the term in that grammatical category.
The following labels appear, some in abbreviated form:
Label |
Meaning |
(Bookish) |
contrived and formal in tone |
(Child) |
children's language, baby talk |
(Collec) |
collective |
(Colloq) |
colloquial |
(Contempt) |
contemptuous, scornful |
(Crude) |
vulgar, rude, coarse |
(Curse) |
curse, imprecation |
(Derog) |
derogatory |
(Dimin) |
diminutive |
(Disparaging) |
disparaging, derogatory |
(Elevated) |
elevated style |
(Euph) |
euphemism |
(Familial) |
used among family members |
(Felic) |
felicitation, well‑wishing,
congratulation |
(Folk) |
folk customs, folklore |
(Hist) |
historical |
(HistPK) |
during the Communist period in
Albania (1946‑91) |
(Impolite) |
impolite, discourteous |
(Insult) |
insulting, offensive |
(Intens) |
intensive degree |
(Iron) |
ironic |
(Joc) |
jocular |
(Mocking) |
mocking, teasing |
(Npc) |
not politically condoned during
the period 1946‑91 |
(Oath) |
oath, swearing, prayer |
(Obscene) |
obscene |
(Old) |
archaic or obsolete or
obsolescent |
(Onomat) |
onomatopoetic |
(Pejorative) |
disparaging in tone, reflecting speaker's negative attitude |
(Pet) |
affectionate, endearing |
(Poet) |
poetic |
(Proverb) |
proverb, adage, saying |
(Pur) |
purist attempt to replace a
borrowing |
(Regional) |
regional in tone or use |
(Reg Arb) |
arbrisht (spoken in Italy or
Greece) |
(Reg Calab) |
spoken in Calabria |
(Reg Gheg) |
characteristic of Gheg
(northern) speech |
(Reg Gk) |
regional Greek borrowing |
(Reg Kos) |
spoken in Kosovo |
(Reg Mont) |
regional Montenegrin borrowing |
(Reg Tir) |
spoken in Tirana |
(Reg Tosk) |
characteristic of Tosk
(southern) speech |
(Scorn) |
scornful, contemptuous |
Domain (field) labels provide a frame of reference for interpreting the definition. A capitalized domain label is indicated by italics enclosed between square brackets. If a domain label follows the number in a definition containing several senses, it applies only to that particular sense; otherwise, it applies to all senses of the term in that grammatical category.
The following labels appear, some in abbreviated form:
Label |
Meaning |
[Agr] |
agriculture, farming |
[Anat] |
anatomy |
[Anth] |
anthropology |
[Archeology] |
archeology |
[Architecture] |
architecture |
[Art] |
the visual arts |
[Astron] |
astronomy |
[Aviation] |
aviation, aeronautics |
[Bacteriology] |
bacteriology |
[Biol] |
biology |
[Bot] |
botany |
[Broadcasting] |
radio/television |
[Chem] |
chemistry |
[Chess] |
chess |
[Choreography] |
choreography, dance |
[Cine] |
cinema, film, movies |
[Commerce] |
business, commerce |
[Constr] |
building construction |
[Dairy] |
dairy processes or products |
[Diplomacy] |
diplomacy |
[Econ] |
economics |
[Electr] |
electronics, electrical work |
[Entom] |
entomology |
[Famil] |
familial |
[Fin] |
finance |
[Fish] |
fishing |
[Folklore] |
folk stories and beliefs |
[Food] |
food, food preparation, cooking |
[Forestry] |
forestry |
[Geod] |
geodesy, cartography |
[Geog] |
geography |
[Geol] |
geology |
[Geom] |
geometry |
[Hist] |
history |
[Hort] |
horticulture, gardening |
[Hunting] |
hunting |
[Hydrol] |
hydrology and hydrotechnology |
[Ichth] |
ichthyology |
[Invert] |
invertebrate |
[Law] |
law |
[Ling] |
linguistics, grammar |
[Lit] |
literature |
[Logic] |
logic |
[Math] |
mathematics |
[Medic] |
medicine, medical |
[Meteor] |
meteorology |
[Milit] |
military |
[Min] |
mineralogy or mining |
[Music] |
music |
[Mythology] |
mythology |
[Naut] |
nautical |
[Offic] |
official, government |
[Optics] |
optics |
[Ornit] |
ornithology, birds |
[Paleo] |
paleontology |
[Pedag] |
pedagogy |
[Pharm] |
pharmaceutics, pharmacy,
pharmacology |
[Philosophy] |
philosophy |
[Photography] |
photography |
[Physics] |
physics |
[Physiol] |
physiology |
[Poet] |
poetry |
[Politics] |
politics |
[Post] |
postal, post‑telegraph |
[Psychol] |
psychology |
[Publ] |
publishing, printing, press |
[Relig] |
religion |
[Rr] |
railroad |
[Spec] |
term used in multiple
specialized fields |
[Sport] |
sports |
[Tech] |
engineering, technology |
[Textil] |
textile industry, textiles |
[Theat] |
theater |
[Veterinary] |
veterinary medicine |
[Zool] |
zoology, animal |
Technical terms are generally italicized in this dictionary. The italicized scientific labels provided for flora and fauna often identify the species and varieties with which Albanians are most likely to be familiar, even when the English name in the definition has a more general reference (e.g., eagle). To indicate that the Albanian term is the every-day one, the italicized technical label is put inside parentheses. In this way, useful information is given to both specialist and non‑specialist readers. It is even possible for a same term to have one sense to the specialists and another to the general public, as in the following example. Note that the non‑specialist sense is indicated by the parentheses around its technical label:
lop deti 1 [Zool] walrus 2 [Ichth] common eagle ray Myliobatis aquila = shqiponj deti 3 [Ichth] devil ray (Mobula mobular)
Illustrative examples are included in this dictionary only to help the user interpret schematic definitions. While illustrative examples would be indispensable for a dictionary aimed at writers or speakers, who need models to use the word properly, they are generally not needed in this dictionary, which is designed for readers who come to the dictionary with examples of their own, namely those encountered in the texts that sent them to the dictionary in the first place.
This dictionary includes more than 16,000 phrasal entries whose Albanian uses are unlikely to be inferred by an English reader from the defined senses of the component parts. These entries, preceded by a raised circle , generally appear under the entry for the first verb, if there is one, in the phrase; if there is no verb, the phrase appears under the main entry of the first salient component of the phrase. Phrasal entries include multi‑word entries called by various names: collocations, idioms and figurative idioms, idiomatic expressions, locutions, fixed phrases, phrasal expressions, phrased senses, phrasal terms, sayings, proverbs, curses, and felicitations. If the meaning is easily inferable by a reader who knows English, an expression is not listed:
aeroplani ulet the airplane lands
Instead, the dictionary includes enough information under each component to make the inferences possible.: e.g., the entry u'let, includes the sense set down, come to earth, from which the reader can infer the specific English word lands in the context of airplanes.
In order to extend the reader's understanding of a collocation and make it possible to recognize other instances of the collocation in a form somewhat different from that listed in the dictionary, several devices are used. First, a rather literal translation (between quotation marks) is often provided before the rest of the definition. Second, because it is often not obvious to a foreign reader what parts of a collocation may be different without affecting the integrity of the collocation, variable components are indicated in special ways:
To save space, a slash / (= or) separates alternatives that yield the same sense in the idiom.
fle'/prehet mbi dafi'na sleep/relax on laurels to rest on one's laurels
For entries with variable constituents, several devices are used to indicate the range of variation:
In phrases with a finite verb constituent, the Albanian constituent represented by the citation form of the verb—indicated by after the verb stem—represents any of the conjugated forms of the verb. For vt (transitive) verbs, the conjugation includes all vp forms; those forms are used to express passive, reflexive, and reciprocal corresponding meanings for each of the senses defined in the main entry. For vi (intransitive) verbs, the only vp forms that occur regularly are 3rd sg forms with impersonal senses corresponding to English expressions like peshkohet mir atje there is good fishing there, s'pihej duhan there was no smoking permitted. The citation form of a passive verb constituent ends in et or het.
The variability of the English constituent that corresponds to a variable Albanian verb constituent is indicated either by an infinitive (introduced by to or not) or by a verb in italics. If the variability is limited to certain tenses, persons, or numbers, that limitation may be indicated by an italicized superscript in Albanian with corresponding italicization in the English definition.
<> ha3sg pres/imperf gjuha <>'s tongue eats <> <> cannot keep from talking
As noted above, brackets stand for essential parts of an entry required for the sense being defined. Matching brackets, square [], angle <>, or curly {} in the Albanian phrase and its English definition indicate corresponding reference between them. Square brackets are used if the bracketed component in Albanian is in the accusative case, <> if it is in the ablative/dative case, {} if it is in the nominative case.
[] ka pr nder to consider [] an honor
<> jep pazar to propose a price to <>, enter into bargaining/haggling with <>
s'merr er nga {} to be completely ignorant about {}; not suspect a thing about {}
In the English definition, the form of the bracket matches that of the Albanian, although Albanian cases do not match English ones. If the English variable would be in the possessive (genitive) case, that is indicated by 's after the brackets.
<> shkon pas bishtit go behind <>'s tail to support and encourage <>
<> rrjedh3pl syt <>'s eyes flow with tears
The brackets may be filled to indicate the scope or nature of the indirect object:
<> v balluke to put a cuckold's horns on <one's husband>: make <> a cuckold
The corresponding parts often function differently in the two languages. In the Albanian expression, <> goes with the verb to indicate the dative indirect object of the verb, while in English the corresponding expression indicates the genitive possessor of the subject, a correspondence that occurs frequently between the two languages (<>'s indicates a genitive possessor). Filling in the variable represented by <> with some examples:
m rridhnin syt my eyes were flowing with tears (literally: to me were flowing the eyes)
na rrjedhin syt our eyes are flowing with tears
ju rridhnin syt your eyes were flowing with tears
i rrjedhin syt asaj her eyes are flowing with tears
i rrjedhin syt Agimit Agim's eyes are flowing with tears
u rridhnin syt atyre their eyes were flowing with tears
Before a verb, a pair of angle brackets <> indicates that a dative indirect object is essential for the sense being defined. The pronominal proclitics that may fill this slot are:
m 1st sg
t 2nd sg
i 3rd sg
na 1st pl
ju 2nd pl
u 3rd pl or specific passive [19]
Immediately following such a pair of angle brackets <>, the variable a stands for a 3rd sg direct object which has the form a when the <> slot is filled by m, t, ju, i, or u, but the form e when it is filled by na. For example, for
<>a humb dern lose <>'s door to stop visiting <>
the a will be realized as a if <> is filled by m:
ma humbi dern lost my door he stopped visiting me
but the a will be realized as e if <> is filled by na:
na e humbi dern lost my door he stopped visiting us
Similarly, immediately following a pair of angle brackets <>, the variable i stands for a 3rd pl object that has the form i when the <> slot is filled by m, t, or na, but stands for the form a when the <> slot is filled by any other pronominal clitic. For example, for
<>i di kryqet know <>s tail bones to know <someone> intimately
the i will be realized as i if <> is filled by m:
m'i dinte kryqet knew <>s tail bones he knew me intimately
but the i will be realized as a if <> is filled by i:
ia dinte kryqet he knew her intimately
In many idioms, a verb is constrained in person and number; that constraint is indicated in superscript after the . Frequently, the constraint is that the verb is found only in a 3rd sg form with an impersonal grammatical subject, while the dative indirect object matches the subject in the equivalent English expression:
<> shkon3sg/ikn3sg bizg (it goes diarrhea for <>) <> has diarrhea
[] ha3sg ana (the side eats []) [] leans badly
Single‑word alternates are simply separated by /, but multi‑word alternates are separated by // and are italicized to indicate the scope of the alternation.
e ka kokn e fort//shkmb. to be hard‑headed/obstinate
The italics in the Albanian expression show that the alternation extends to e, so that the alternation is between e fort and shkmb rather than between fort and shkmb, say, or between kokn e fort and shkmb. The single‑word alternation of hard‑headed with obstinate in the definition is marked simply by the single slash "/".
Cross‑reference serves as a shorthand device to obviate the necessity of repeating full definitions.
Some entries provide grammatical identification of a form, followed by the symbol < and the citation form for the main entry:[20]
lango'|nj
np < langu'a
The cross‑reference here indicates that lango'|nj is the plural (np) stem of langu'a. No further definition is supplied, implying that its definition can be inferred from that of the main entry to which it is cross‑referred.
Irregular stems are separately listed, especially if their own alphabetic position would not be immediately adjacent to the main entry:
vlle'zr np < vlla'
meh| stem for pdef, opt, adm, part < men
The form vlle'zr is the plural of vlla', and meh| is the stem that is used to form the past definite, optative, admirative, and participle forms of the verb men.
The symbol < is also used to cross‑refer verbal nouns (gerunds)—indicated by the label ger —to the main verb entry that provides the underlying definition. Unless otherwise indicated, a gerund in Albanian may function like a gerund in English with the ending ‑ing in designating the process embodied in the verb; for this function, the definition in English is usually not provided. For many verbs, the corresponding gerund also designates the action or result of the verb, often corresponding to a derived noun in English ending in ‑(at)ion or ‑ment; these correspondences are not always spelled out in the gerund entry, but the reader should be ready to give such an interpretation to any gerund.
Some cross‑references, in boldface characters after an equal sign =, identify a non‑standard form (marked by an asterisk *) with the more standard one cited after the equal sign:
*kmi'
= kumi'
Less often, a cross‑reference may indicate that another entry expresses a sense or set of senses in a less ambiguous or more favored way than does the cross‑referring item:
dobi|pru'r|s adj = dobi'shm
mardha' nf 1 hidden defect 2 hidden locus of a disease/illness 3= hile'
The reader who encounters forms such as ap, apim, apin, apsh will find the entry
ap| = jap|
which cross‑refers to the entry jap|, the stem for the corresponding forms jap, japim, japin, japsh. The dictionary entry
kundra|= kundr|
is expected to direct the reader puzzled by a text word like kundravajts, to the dictionary entry kundr|vajt|s. Similarly, if the text has manevrimit, manevruan, or manovrueshme,
manevr| = manovr|
is intended to send the reader to look at the entries manovr|im, manovr|on, and manovr|ue|shm.
Occasionally, cross‑reference is made even for items that are quite equivalent:
ha'p|t|azi adv = haptas
A reader needs a certain amount of grammatical knowledge of a language in order to understand texts in that language and in order to understand the entries in a dictionary. To understand Albanian, the reader must at least distinguish between the stem of a word—the part which is listed and defined in the dictionary—and its inflections—the part which indicates or reflects the grammatical function of the word, and which is normally described in a grammatical description of the language. In addition, in any extensive reading of the language, the reader will encounter new Albanian words not listed in the dictionary; some of these will be borrowed from other languages (the lucky reader may be able to guess their meaning), some will be compounds of stems that are listed in the dictionary, and some will be formed by derivation (most usually, by adding a derivational suffix) from listed stems. No dictionary of Albanian could be large enough to include every possible inflected and derived form of Albanian words.[21]
This sketch is intended to provide a minimum of grammatical information that a reader might find useful in arriving at a reasonable reading of a text in hand; it is not intended to be a general grammar of Albanian.
For a more detailed description of Albanian grammatical forms, particularly inflectional morphology and problematic syntactic constructions, see Leonard Newmark, Philip Hubbard, and Peter Prifti, Standard Albanian: A Reference Grammar for Students, Stanford University Press, 1982.
Person, the distinctive reference to participants in a communication, applies to certain verb, pronoun, and adjective forms: 1st person specifically includes the speaker (singular I, me, my; plural we, us, our); 2nd person specifically includes the addressee (you, your); 3rd person includes neither the speaker nor the addressee specifically (singular he, him, his; she, her; it, its; plural they, them, their). Nouns all act as 3rd person referents.
Number, the distinction between singular and plural, is a complex category with values that transcend various grammatical classes in Albanian.
1. A finite verb has an inflection that reflects the person and number of its subject: 1sg = I; 1pl = we; 2sg = you [individual or generic]; 2pl = you [individuals or polite individual]; 3sg = he, she, or it; 3pl = they.
2. A singular noun may function as a 3sg subject of a verb, and a plural noun may function as a 3pl subject.
3.
There are different pronouns for singular and plural
referents.
4. The form of an adjective depends on the gender and number of its referent.
5. The form of a proclitic attributive article depends on the case, gender and number of its referent.
6. The form of certain determiners and pronouns reflects the number of a referent.
gender, the distinction between masculine and feminine, is a category that is reflected in the form of adjectives, certain determiners, and pronouns. Nouns that denote males are masculine, and nouns that denote females are feminine; the gender of all other nouns is determined by their inflectional class: nouns with nm stems are masculine, and nouns with nf stems are feminine. Nouns with n stems are masculine and take nm inflection when they designate males, but add a feminine suffix ‑e or ‑ to become feminine and take nf inflection. Nouns with np stems are more variable in gender: those that designate males and those irregularly formed from other nm stems are masculine; all others are generally feminine, although great variation is apparent in spoken and written Albanian. The gender of nouns with nn stems not only varies from speaker to speaker, but may vary from time to time for the same speaker.
Clitics are unstressed particles that are usually written as separate words, but function as part of an adjacent word.
The most common proclitic (a clitic that precedes the word to which it is attached) in Albanian is the conjunctive t, which marks the following present or imperfect tense verb as subjunctive.
t shkoj that (he) go, that (he) be going, to go
t shkonte that (he)
went, that (he) were going, that (he) would go, to go
shpreson t shkoj he hopes to go
do t shkoj he will go
do t shkonte he
would go
Other common verb clitics are the negative proclitics s' (actually written as part of the following word), nuk, mos, and para (only after one of the other negative clitics):
s' do t shkoj he won't go
nuk do t shkoj he won't go
mos t shkoj he
shouldn't go, lest he go, if he doesn't go
mos shkoni don't go
s'para shkoni you hardly go
One or two pronominal clitics are attached to verbs to indicate the person and number of an identifiable indirect object and/or direct object of the verb, whether or not that object is otherwise present in the sentence. Preceding the verb, any of the following forms may occur.
Person |
Number |
English equivalent |
Direct Object |
Indirect Object |
1st |
|
|
|
|
|
Singular |
me |
m |
m |
|
Plural |
us |
na |
na |
2nd |
|
|
|
|
|
Singular |
you |
t |
t |
|
Plural |
you |
ju |
ju |
3rd |
|
|
|
|
|
Singular |
him, her,
it |
e |
i |
|
Plural |
them, 'em |
i |
u |
When the 3rd person object pronominal clitic e occurs in combination with any of the dative pronominal clitics (except na) or after the conjunctive proclitic t, its form is a; it is now non‑standard to include an apostrophe in those combinations, but one can still find combinations written m'a, t'a, i'a, instead of the standard forms written as one word, as illustrated below. The combination of pronominal clitics i + a is pronounced ja and is sometimes found that way in non‑standard spelling, instead of as standard ia. The pronominal clitic combination i + i sometimes appears as ia (non‑standardly ja) and sometimes as simply i. It should be pointed out also that Albanians are not consistent in forming pronominal clitic combinations with the plural indirect objects ju and u, especially in combinations with the plural 3rd person object pronominal clitic; in actual texts the forms jua, ja, and ua, and in some dialects jau, may not conform to the following formulas:
Indirect Object |
Direct Object |
Combination |
Example |
Meaning |
m |
e |
= ma |
ma dha Agimi |
Agim gave it to me |
m |
i |
= m'i |
m'i
dha Agimi |
Agim gave them to me |
t |
e |
= ta |
ta dha Agimi |
Agim gave it to you |
|
|
|
ta jap Agimi |
that Agim give it |
t |
i |
= t'i |
t'i
dha Agimi |
Agim gave them to you |
|
|
|
t'i
jap Agimi |
that Agim give them |
na |
e |
= na e |
na e dha Agimi |
Agim gave it to us |
na |
i |
= na i |
na i dha Agimi |
Agim gave them to us |
ju |
e |
= jua |
jua dha Agimi |
Agim gave it to you |
ju |
i |
= jua |
jua dha Agimi |
Agim gave them to you |
i |
e |
= ia |
ia dha Agimi |
Agim gave it to him/her |
i |
i |
= ia |
ia dha Agimi |
Agim gave them to him/her |
u |
e |
= ua |
ua dha Agimi |
Agim gave it to them |
u |
i |
= ua |
ua dha Agimi |
Agim gave them to them |
In positive imperative verb forms, the pronominal clitic forms, including reflexive clitic u, may be suffixed to the stem, coming before the inflectional 2nd pl suffix ‑ni if it is present: silli bring them! sillmani bring it to me! mblidhini gather them together! mblidhuni gather yourselves together!
The form of the proclitic attributive article (i, e, t, or s) reflects the gender, number, case, definiteness and position of the referent of the articulated word. The articulated word may be:
an attributive adjective
shtpi e madhe big house
rroba t reja new
clothes
a pronominal adjective
burri i saj her
husband
librat e
tij his books
nna e tyre their mother
a noun that indicates a close (inalienable) social relationship to a third person:
e ma his/her/their mother
i kunati his/her/their
brother‑in‑law
i zoti his/her/their master/lord
a nominalized adjective (see p.xlv) or articulated noun (see p. xix)
If the article is i: the referent is masculine and in the nominative case.
If the article is s: the referent is feminine and in the dative or ablative case.
If the article is e: the referent is either feminine and in the nominative case;
or the referent is definite, either nominative or accusative,
and immediately precedes the articulated word.
If the article is t: the referent is something other than these.
In summary:
|
masculine |
feminine |
plural |
nominative |
i |
e |
t or e[22] |
accusative |
t or e[23] |
t or e[24] |
t or e[25] |
dative/ablative |
t |
t or s[26] |
t |
Every verb has a paradigm of finite forms, also termed its "conjugation", consisting of three sets of tenses: General, Special, and Perfect. A tense is a set of finite verb forms identical in every way except for their marking of person and number of the subject of the verb.
Many verbs have slightly different stems for their General tense forms than for their Special tense forms. All verbs form their Perfect tenses with their participle, preceded by a form of an auxiliary verb: for active verb forms, the auxiliary verb is ka; for passive verb forms, the auxiliary verb is sht.
The General tenses have quite general uses, depicting events or situations in relation to time that is dependent on the linguistic and real world context in which the verb is embedded. The General tenses are present and imperfect. The Imperative mood of most verbs uses the same stem as the General tenses and is included here for that reason.
The present tense may be used to make generic statements of present validity, as well as to depict ongoing, continuing, or habitual events or situations in the present time. in a narrative context, it may vividly represent events or situations in the past. after the conjunctive clitic t, present tense forms become subjunctive. present tense subjunctive forms in turn may be used as suggestive (shall we go?), or may follow the particle do to form a volitional future (we will go), the particle le to form a jussive mood (lets go!), or the particle po to form a simple hypothetical (if we go).
The imperfect tense may be used to make generic statements of past validity, as well as to depict ongoing, continuing, or habitual events or situations in the past time. in a narrative context, it may represent events or situations continuing over a period in the past. after the conjunctive clitic t, present tense forms become past subjunctive. imperfect subjunctive forms in turn may be used as a contrary‑to‑fact hypothetical (if we went), or may follow the particle do to form the conditional (we would go [if ]!), or the particle po to form a contrary‑to‑expectation hypothetical (if we would go).
Imperative mood forms express orders and commands. For all verbs, the formal imperative—addressed to one or more individuals—is the same as the informal one, with the suffix ‑ni tacked on at the end. For most verbs, the informal imperative form—addressed to an individual—is identical with its citation form. for verbs with a variable stem vowel e in the citation form, the informal imperative has the stem vowel i. Some V‑stem verbs add a suffix ‑j after the vowel
The Special tenses are past definite, optative, and admirative, which have quite specific uses.
The past definite tense implies that the event or situation it depicts is anterior to a sharp boundary between present and past. While in its usual use is as a simple past tense, it may also be used in announcements of a projected past:
(Haven't you left yet?) Tani shkova. I'm leaving right now! I've already left. Largohu se t shtypa. Scram or I'll run you over!
Optative mood forms express wishes, whether for something good (as in felicitations) or something bad (as in curses); after the particle n for contrary‑to‑fact conditionals (if we were to go).
Admirative tenses (present and past) make contrary‑to‑expectation statements; they typically express surprise or amazement.
The Perfect tenses are present perfect (called perfect for short), past perfect, and pluperfect, which all depict events or situations previous to a reference point in time.
The present perfect implies that the event or situation it depicts is previous to a reference point in the present (we have gone). There is overlap between the scope of the past definite and present perfect, and speakers vary in whether they use the one or the other to express the same idea in the same situation.
The past perfect implies that the event or situation it depicts is previous to a reference point in the past (we had gone).
The Pluperfect implies that the event or situation it depicts is previous to a reference point prior to another reference point in the past (we had gone). This tense is quite rare in actual texts.
For each tense there are two subsets of voice forms: active and passive. A voice is a set of verb forms that reflect the role of the grammatical subject of a verb with respect to the agent and object (if any) of the verb. active forms indicate that the effect of the verb is external to the subject. passive forms indicate that the effect of the verb is on the subject itself. .In a passive form the verb may express passive, reciprocal, or reflexive senses.
passive senses are those for which the subject of a verb is the object of the action of the verb.
la'hen they are washed
Reciprocal senses are those for which the subjects of a verb indiscriminately serve as agents and objects of the action of the verb.
la'hen they wash each another
Reflexive senses are those for which the subject of a verb is simultaneously both the agent and the object of the action of the verb.
la'hen they wash
themselves
middle senses are those in which the subject of a verb is depicted as engaging or becoming engaged in the action without necessarily being its active agent or passive object
la'hen they bathe/wash;
they get exonerated; they clear up; they have diarrhea; they spawn
impersonal senses express the general possibility (permissibility or capability) of the action represented by a verb in a 3rd sg passive form with an unexpressed subject.
la'het washing is possible (permitted/feasible)
Every verb form in Albanian contains a stem and one or more suffixes. Many suffixes have different forms that depend on the form of the verb. In general, verb stems that end in a consonant are referred to as C‑stems, those ending in a vowel, as V‑stems.
Regularly formed variants of stems are generally not listed in this dictionary. For the vast majority of verbs, those variants are regularly determinable from the citation form alone.
Every V‑stem regularly has an extension ‑v‑ before the 1st and 2nd sg pdef suffixes ‑a and ‑e, respectively, and ‑f‑ before the optative extension ‑sh‑:
Citation form |
forc|o'n |
gnj|e'n |
la'n |
shkru'an |
zhy'en |
1st sg pdef |
forc|o'|v|a |
gnj|e'|v|a |
la'|v|a |
shkr|o'|v|a |
zh|e'|v|a |
2nd sg pdef |
forc|o'|v|e |
gnj|e'|v|e |
la'|v|e |
shkr|o'|v|e |
zh|e'|v|e |
1st sg opt |
forc|o'|f|sh|a |
gnj|e'|f|sha |
la'|f|sh|a |
shkr|o'|f|sh|a |
zh|e'|f|sh|a |
1st pl opt |
forc|o'|f|sh|im |
gnj|e'|f|sh|im |
la'|f|sh|im |
shkr|o'|f|sh|im |
zh|e'|f|sh|im |
Every verb whose citation form ends in t has an unlisted alternant stem with s rather than t in the 3rd sg active impf form:
Citation form |
strvi't |
diha't |
3rd sg active impf |
strvi'ste |
diha'ste |
instead in:
q
Large numbers of verb stems, including both those in this dictionary as well as freshly formed ones, are formed by adding a thematic suffix to a base or stem: ‑o' or ‑e' produces V‑stems; ‑e't, ‑i't, or ‑o's produces C‑stems.
In particular, every verb whose citation form stem ends in thematic o' (the largest class of verbs in Albanian) or thematic e', has an unlisted, but regular alternate stem with u'a or y'e, respectively, instead of the thematic vowel in the participle, the 1st pl pdef, 2nd pl pdef, 3rd pl pdef, 3rd sg passive pdef, 3rd sg passive pdef, and (optionally) any admirative form:
Citation form |
forc|o'n |
gnj|e'n |
participle |
forc|u'a|r |
gnj|y'e|r |
1st pl pdef |
forc|u'a|m |
gnj|y'e|m |
2nd pl pdef |
forc|u'a|t |
gnj|y'e|t |
3rd pl pdef |
forc|u'a|n |
gnj|y'e|n |
3rd sg passive pdef |
u forc|u'a |
u gnj|y'e |
3rd sg admirative |
forc|u'a|ka |
gnj|y'e|ka |
If the stem of the citation form of the verb ends in a two‑vowel sequence u'a or y'e, only the first vowel of the sequence remains before the passive voice marker ‑he‑; the stem vowel becomes o' or e', respectively, before the v and f extensions:
Citation form |
shkru'an |
zhy'en |
3rd sg pres |
shkr|u'|het |
zh|y'|het |
3rd pl impf |
shkr|u'|heshin |
zh|y'|heshin |
1st sg pdef |
shkr|o'|va |
zh|e'|va |
2nd sg pdef |
shkr|o'|ve |
zh|e'|ve |
1st sg opt |
shkr|o'|fsha |
zh|e'|fsha |
1st pl opt |
shkr|o'|fshim |
zh|e'|fshim |
Variants of verb stems that are not determinable from the citation form are listed in their own alphabetically placed entry and cross‑referred to the main entry for the verb:
vde'k| stem for part, opt, adm < vdes
vde'k|ur part < vdes
vdes vi
vdi'q| stem for pdef < vdes
vdi's| stem for 2nd pl pres, impf, imper, vp < vdes
IMPORTANT NOTE: Since the uses of passive forms for transitive and intransitive verbs are quite general and automatic, they are not generally listed as separate senses in the main entries of those verbs. In interpreting a particular passive form, the reader of Albanian must keep in mind the possibility that that form may represent a passive, reciprocal, reflexive, or impersonal sense of a transitive or intransitive verb not specifically listed in the dictionary, as well as one of the listed senses of a reflexive verb.
The particular combination of stem form with suffixes signals the cluster of grammatical categories expressed by the verb, in addition to the senses of the verb stem as described in the dictionary. Verbs are traditionally classified into conjugation classes according to the pattern exhibited by their stem and suffix alternants. The problem with this classification is that so many verbs exhibit parts of different patterns as to necessitate sub‑classes within subclasses, and exception upon exception. Instead, this dictionary simply lists most stem alternants in ordinary alphabetical order.
The form of a verb in a text reflects the Person and Number of its subject and simultaneously its Voice, Mood, Tense, and Aspect; in the imperative mood the verb form may also reflect the person and number of its direct and/or indirect object.
In the Reverse List of Possible Word Endings in Albanian, p. xlix, a list of possible terminations of Albanian words is given in reverse alphabetical order, to permit a reader to identify most of the possible interpretations of any final sequence of letters in a word found in an Albanian text.
A transitive verb (vt) potentially has 58 different inflected forms: 3 persons (1st, 2nd, 3rd) times 2 numbers (sg, pl) times 3 primary tenses (pres, impf, pdef) times 2 voices (active, reflexive); plus 2 present subjunctive forms (2nd sg, 3rd sg); plus 3 persons times 2 numbers times 2 tenses (present, past) times 1 mood (admirative); plus 3 persons times 2 numbers (optative); plus 2 imperative forms (2nd sg, 2nd pl). In addition, the participle derived from the verb may be used in perfect constructions with any of 48 forms of 2 auxiliary verbs (ka, sht) for a total of 154 forms, not even counting the syntactic constructions of the particle do + subjunctive forms that serve as future tense and conditional mood functions, constructions of the particle mund + subjunctive forms that serve as a possibilitive mood, constructions of the auxiliary verb sht + duke + participle that serve to form progressive tenses, constructions of particles s', nuk, or mos + any of the other forms to form negative expressions, use of the prepositions me or pr to form an infinitive‑like construction, the preposition pa + participle to form a privative construction, or the preposition para with negative present and imperfect constructions that parallel English expressions with hardly ever.
A verb labeled vi or vp has something more than half this number of forms.
While this rich array of forms looks very complicated at first sight, for most verbs only a few, quite consistent elements and rules determine each form, given the stem. Irregular verb forms that deviate from these rules are listed separately in the dictionary, identified, and cross‑referred to their main entry:
ha'|m 1st pl pres < ha
Sound/Letter combination rules
An initial evanescent in a suffix drops if a vowel precedes; a final evanescent in a suffix appears only if the vowel in the preceding syllable is stressed.
The unstressed vowel ‑i becomes ‑j between a vowel and a following consonant.
The combination tsh may be spelled or t or tsh.
sh may become when it follows n, r, rr, l, or ll.
The marker of 2pl forms (active, passive, and imperative) is the ending ‑ni
For most V‑stems, the person‑number ending ‑j (‑nj in Tosk) marks the 1sg pres, and the person‑number ending ‑n marks both the 2sg pres and 3sg pres forms.
The verbs pi, ha, di, do, bi'e, shpi'e, shti'e, ve'te, and for some speakers, blen have no person‑number ending for pres 1sg, 2sg, and 3sg, and have no plural extension ‑i before in their pres pl forms.
For most C‑stem verbs, the pres 1sg, 2sg, and 3sg forms have no person‑number ending.
C‑stem verbs that have the variable vowel e all have i instead in their pres 2pl form.
C‑stem verbs that end in the variable consonant t have s instead in their pres 1sg, pres 1pl, pres 3pl, pres subjunctive 2sg and pres subjunctive 3sg forms.
Some C‑stem verbs that have the variable vowel e have the vowel a or o instead in those forms as well. These stem forms are separately listed in the body of the dictionary.
The marker of 1sg forms is the ending ‑a.
The marker of 2sg forms is the ending ‑e.
The marker of 1pl forms is the ending ‑ m.
The marker of 2pl forms is the ending ‑ t.
The marker of 3pl forms is the ending ‑ n.
The marker of pres subjunctive 2sg is the ending ‑()sh.
The appears only after C‑stems.
The marker of pres subjunctive 3sg is the ending ‑(j).
The j appears only after V‑stems.
All other forms of the subjunctive following the subjunctive particle t (pres and impf only) are the same as the pres and impf forms of the verb.
The marker of 1pl forms for passive pres forms, as well as for the verbs thot, ka, sht, and for some speakers, vete, is the ending ‑mi.
Except in pdef forms, 2pl forms with ‑ni, and 1pl forms with ‑mi, an unstressed extension ‑i appears immediately before plural person‑number endings.
Following the passive extension, the marker for passive impf forms is the extension ‑sh‑, which was formerly the marker of all impf forms.
The marker of sg impf forms is the extension ‑j‑.
The marker of pl impf forms is the extension ‑n‑.
The marker of passive forms in General tenses, is the extension ‑( h)e‑.
The h appears only after V‑stems.
In all Special tenses, the passive is marked by the reflexive proclitic u preceding the active form.
The marker for most optative forms is the extension ‑(f)sh‑.
f appears only after V‑stems.
The marker of optative 3sg is the ending ‑(f)t.
f appears only after V‑stems.
The marker for admirative forms is the extension ‑k‑ and the endings are those of the auxiliary verb ka.
The greatest deviation from these generalizations is shown in the singular tense forms of the present tense, and in the markers of 3sg. As for present tense forms:
The markers of 3sg are different for each tense.
The marker of impf 3sg is the ending ‑(n)te.
The n appears only after V‑stems.
C‑stem verbs that
end in t or t have s instead before the ‑te.
The marker of passive pres 3sg is the ending ‑t.
The marker of passive impf 3sg is the ending ‑j.
The marker of pdef 3sg is the ending ‑i after o' or any consonant except g, k, or h.
The marker of pdef 3sg is the ending ‑u after a stem ending in one of the vowels a, e, i, or y, or a consonants g, k, or h
The marker of passive pdef 3sg is the proclitic u followed by the bare Special stem of the verb with no person‑number ending: mblodhi he gathered [] (active form) vs. u mblodh he huddled up (passive form)
The following tables show the interplay among stem types and tense
|
After thematic V |
After athematic V |
||||||
|
present |
past definite |
present |
past definite |
||||
person |
singular |
plural |
singular |
plural |
singular |
plural |
singular |
plural |
1st |
‑j |
‑jm |
‑va |
‑m |
- |
‑m |
‑a |
‑m |
2nd |
‑n |
‑ni |
‑ve |
‑t |
- |
‑ni |
‑e |
‑t |
3rd |
‑n |
‑jn |
‑u
or ‑i (after o') |
‑n |
- |
‑n |
‑u |
‑n |
Table showing the most common inflectional endings that mark the person/number of the subject of a verb:
|
present |
other |
||||
|
singular |
plural |
singular |
plural |
||
|
after most V‑stems |
after most C‑stems |
after most V‑stems |
after most C‑stems |
|
|
1st person |
‑j |
- |
‑jm |
‑im |
‑a |
‑()m() |
2nd person |
‑n |
- |
‑ni |
‑ni |
‑e |
‑()t() |
3rd person |
‑n |
- |
‑jn |
‑in |
‑i/‑u/- |
‑()n() |
Regular Verbs: Inflectional Endings
|
Regular V‑stems |
Regular C‑stems |
|||||||
ACTIVE |
o'‑stems |
u'a‑stems |
e'‑stems |
y'e ‑stems |
other
V‑stems |
most
C‑stems |
Vt‑ stems |
Vt‑ stems |
eC‑stems |
pres |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
o'j |
u'aj |
e'j |
y'ej |
V'j |
C |
Vt |
Vs |
eC |
2 |
o'n |
u'an |
e'n |
y'en |
V'n |
C |
Vt |
Vt |
eC |
3 |
o'n |
u'an |
e'n |
y'en |
V'n |
C |
Vt |
Vt |
eC |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
o'jm |
u'ajm |
e'jm |
y'ejm |
V'jm |
Cim |
Vtim |
Vsim |
eCim |
2 |
o'ni |
u'ani |
i'ni
or e'ni |
y'eni |
V'ni |
Cni |
Vtni |
Vtni |
iCni |
3 |
o'jn |
u'ajn |
e'jn |
y'ejn |
V'jn |
Cin |
Vtin |
Vsin |
eCin |
pres
subjunctive |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
o'sh |
u'ash |
e'sh |
y'esh |
V'sh |
Csh |
Vtsh |
Vssh |
eCsh |
3 |
o'j |
u'aj |
e'j |
y'ej |
V'j |
C |
Vt |
Vs |
eC |
impf |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
o'ja |
u'aja |
e'ja |
y'eja |
V'ja |
Cja |
Vtja |
Vtja |
iCja |
2 |
o'je |
u'aje |
e'je |
y'eje |
V'je |
Cje |
Vtje |
Vtje |
iCje |
3 |
o'nte |
u'ante |
e'nte |
y'ente |
V'nte |
Cte |
Vste |
Vste |
iCte |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
o'nim |
u'anim |
e'nim |
y'enim |
V'nim |
Cnim |
Vtnim |
Vtnim |
iCnim |
2 |
o'nit |
u'anit |
e'nit |
y'enit |
V'nit |
Cnit |
Vtnit |
Vtnit |
iCnit |
3 |
o'nin |
u'anin |
e'nin |
y'enin |
V'nin |
Cnin |
Vtnin |
Vtnin |
iCnin |
pdef |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
o'va |
o'va |
e'va |
e'va |
V'va |
Ca |
Vta |
Vta |
iCa |
2 |
o've |
o've |
e've |
e've |
V've |
Ce |
Vte |
Vte |
iCe |
3 |
o'i |
o'i |
e'u |
e'u |
V'u |
Ci[27] |
Vti |
Vti |
iCi |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
u'am |
u'am |
y'em |
y'em |
V'm |
Cm |
Vtm |
Vtm |
iCm |
2 |
u'at |
u'at |
y'et |
y'et |
V't |
Ct |
Vtt |
Vtt |
iCt |
3 |
u'an |
u'an |
y'en |
y'en |
V'n |
Cn |
Vtn |
Vtn |
iCn |
optative |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
o'fsha |
o'fsha |
e'fsha |
e'fsha |
V'fsha |
Csha |
Vtsha |
Vtsha |
iCsha |
2 |
o'fsh |
o'fsh |
e'fsh |
e'fsh |
V'fsh |
Csh |
Vtsh |
Vtsh |
iCsh |
3 |
o'ft |
o'ft |
e'ft |
e'ft |
V'ft |
Ct |
Vtt |
Vtt |
iCt |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
o'fshim |
o'fshim |
e'fshim |
e'fshim |
V'fshim |
Cshim |
Vtshim |
Vtshim |
iCshim |
2 |
o'fshit |
o'fshit |
e'fshit |
e'fshit |
V'fshit |
Cshit |
Vtshit |
Vtshit |
iCshit |
3 |
o'fshin |
o'fshin |
e'fshin |
e'fshin |
V'fshin |
Cshin |
Vtshin |
Vtshin |
iCshin |
imperative |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
o' |
u'aj |
e' |
y'ej |
V'j |
C |
Vt |
Vt |
iC |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
o'ni |
u'ani |
e'ni |
y'eni |
V'ni |
Cni |
Vtni |
Vtni |
iCni |
participle |
u'ar |
u'ar |
y'er |
y'er |
V'r |
Cur |
Vtur |
Vtur |
iCur |
|
Regular V‑stems |
Regular C‑stems |
||||||
PASSIVE[28] |
o'‑stems |
u'a‑stems |
e'‑stems |
y'e ‑stems |
other
V‑stems |
most
C‑stems |
Vt‑stems & Vt‑stems
|
eC‑stems |
pres |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
o'hem |
u'hem |
e'hem |
y'hem |
V'hem |
Cem |
V'tem |
iCem |
2 |
o'hesh |
u'hesh |
e'hesh |
y'hesh |
V'hesh |
Cesh |
V'tesh |
iCesh |
3 |
o'het |
u'het |
e'het |
y'het |
V'het |
Cet |
V'tet |
iCet |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
o'hemi |
u'hemi |
e'hemi |
y'hemi |
V'hemi |
Cemi |
V'temi |
iCemi |
2 |
o'heni |
u'heni |
e'heni |
y'heni |
V'heni |
Ceni |
V'teni |
iCeni |
3 |
o'hen |
u'hen |
e'hen |
y'hen |
V'hen |
Cen |
V'ten |
iCen |
impf |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
o'hesha |
u'hesha |
e'hesha |
y'hesha |
V'hesha |
Cesha |
V'tesha |
iCesha |
2 |
o'heshe |
u'heshe |
e'heshe |
y'heshe |
V'heshe |
Ceshe |
V'teshe |
iCeshe |
3 |
o'hej |
u'hej |
e'hej |
y'hej |
V'hej |
Cej |
V'tej |
iCej |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
o'heshim |
u'heshim |
e'heshim |
y'heshim |
V'heshim |
Ceshim |
V'teshim |
iCeshim |
2 |
o'heshit |
u'heshit |
e'heshit |
y'heshit |
V'heshit |
Ceshit |
V'teshit |
iCeshit |
3 |
o'heshin |
u'heshin |
e'heshin |
y'heshin |
V'heshin |
Ceshin |
V'teshin |
iCeshin |
imperative |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
o'hu |
u'hu |
e'hu |
y'hu |
V'hu |
Cu |
V'tu |
iCu |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
o'huni |
u'huni |
e'huni |
y'huni |
V'huni |
Cuni |
V'tuni |
iCuni |
|
di |
do |
flet |
ha |
ik |
jep |
pres |
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
di' |
du'a |
flas |
ha' |
i'ki |
jap |
2 |
di' |
do |
flet |
ha' |
i'kn |
jep |
3 |
di' |
do |
flet |
ha' |
i'kn |
jep |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
di'm |
du'am |
fla'sim |
ha'm |
i'kim |
ja'pim |
2 |
di'ni |
do'ni |
fli'tni or
fli'sni |
ha'ni |
i'kni |
je'pni
or ji'pni or i'pni |
3 |
di'n |
du'an |
fla'sin |
ha'n |
i'kin |
ja'pin |
pres subjunctive |
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
di'sh |
du'ash |
fla'ssh |
ha'sh |
i'ksh |
ja'psh |
3 |
di'j |
do'j |
fla's |
ha'j |
i'k |
ja'p |
impf |
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
di'ja |
doja |
fli'tja or
fli'sja |
ha'ja |
i'kja |
je'pja
or ji'pja or i'pja |
2 |
di'je |
doje |
fli'tje or
fli'sje |
ha'je |
i'kje |
je'pje
or ji'pje or i'pje |
3 |
di'nte |
donte |
fli'ste |
ha'nte |
i'kte |
je'pte
or ji'pte or i'pte |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
di'nim |
donim |
fli'tnim or
fli'snim |
ha'nim |
i'knim |
je'pnim
or ji'pnim or i'pnim |
2 |
di'nit |
donit |
fli'tnit or
fli'snit |
ha'nit |
i'knit |
je'pnit
or ji'pnit or i'pnit |
3 |
di'nin |
donin |
fli'tnin or
fli'snin |
ha'nin |
i'knin |
je'pnin
or ji'pnin or i'pnin |
pdef |
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
di'ta |
de'sha |
fo'la |
h'ngra |
i'ka |
dha'sh |
2 |
di''te |
de'she |
fo'le |
h'ngre |
i'ke |
dhe |
3 |
di'ti |
de'shi |
fo'li |
h'ngri |
i'ku |
dha |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
di'tm |
de'shm |
fo'lm |
h'ngrm |
i'km |
dha'm |
2 |
di'tt |
de'sht |
fo''lt |
h'ngrt |
i'kt |
dha't |
3 |
di'tn |
de'shn |
fo'ln |
h'ngrn |
i'kn |
dha'n |
optative |
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
di'tsha |
da'a |
fo'lsha |
ngr'nsha |
i'ksha |
dh'na |
2 |
ditsh |
da |
folsh |
ngrnsh |
iksh |
dh'n |
3 |
di'tt |
da'sht |
fo'lt |
ngr'nt |
i'kt |
dh'nt |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
di'tshim |
da'im |
fo'lshim |
ngr'nshim |
i'kshim |
dh'nim |
2 |
di'tshit |
da'i |
fo'lshit |
ngr'nshit |
i'kshit |
dh'nit |
3 |
di'tshin |
da'in |
fo'lshin |
ngr'nshin |
i'kshin |
dh'nin |
imperative |
|
|
|
|
|
|
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
di |
du'aj |
fol |
ha |
ik |
jep or jip or nm |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
di'ni |
do'ni |
fli'tni or
fli'sni |
ha'ni |
i'kni |
je'pni
or ji'pni or n'mni |
|
pi |
tho't |
ve'te |
vjen |
vjedh |
vret |
z' |
pres |
|||||||
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
pi |
them |
ve'te |
vij |
vjedh |
vras |
z' |
2 |
pi |
thu'a |
ve'te |
vjen |
vjedh |
vret |
z' |
3 |
pi |
tho't |
ve'te |
vjen |
vjedh |
vret |
z' |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
pi'm |
the'mi |
ve'm or
ve'mi |
vi'jm |
vje'dhim |
vra'sim |
z'm |
2 |
pi'ni |
tho'ni |
vi'ni |
|
vi'dhni |
vri'tni or
vri'sni |
zi'ni |
3 |
pi'n |
tho'n |
ve'n |
vi'jn |
vje'dhin |
vra'sin |
z'n |
pres subjunctive |
|||||||
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
pi'sh |
thu'ash |
ve'sh |
vi'sh |
vje'dhsh |
vra'ssh |
z'sh |
3 |
pi'j |
tho't |
ve'j |
vi'j |
vje'dh |
vra's |
z'r |
impf |
|||||||
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
pi'ja |
tho'sha
or tho'ja |
vi'ja |
vi'dhja |
vri'tja or
vri'sja |
zi'ja |
|
2 |
pi'je |
tho'she
or tho'je |
vi'je |
vi'dhje |
vri'tje or
vri'sje |
zi'je |
|
3 |
pi'nte |
tho'shte
or tho'nte |
vi'nte |
vi'dhte |
vri'ste |
zi'nte |
|
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
pi'nim |
tho'shnim
or tho'nim |
vi'nim |
vi'dhnim |
vri'tnim or
vri'snim |
zi'nim |
|
2 |
pi'nit |
tho'shnit
or tho'nit |
vi'nit |
vi'dhnit |
vri'tnit or
vri'snit |
zi'nit |
|
3 |
pi'nin |
tho'shnin
or tho'nin |
vi'nin |
vi'dhnin |
vri'tnin or
vri'snin |
zi'nin |
|
pdef |
|||||||
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
pi'va |
tha'sh |
va'jta |
e'rdha |
vo'dha |
vri'ta |
zu'ra |
2 |
pi've |
the |
va'jte |
e'rdhe |
vo'dhe |
vri'te |
zu're |
3 |
pi'u |
tha |
va'jti |
e'rdhi |
vo'dhi |
vri'ti |
zu'ri |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
pi'm |
tha'm |
va'jtm |
e'rdhm |
vo'dhm |
vri'tm |
zu'm |
2 |
pi't |
tha't |
va'jtt |
e'rdht |
vo'dht |
vri'tn |
zu't |
3 |
pi'n |
tha'n |
va'jtn |
e'rdhn |
vo'dhn |
vri'tn |
zu'n |
optative |
|||||||
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
pi'fsha |
th'na |
va'fsha |
a'rdhsha |
vo'dhsha |
vra'fsha |
z'na |
2 |
pifsh |
th'n |
vafsh |
a'rdhsh |
vo'dhsh |
vra'fsh |
zn |
3 |
pi'ft |
th'nt |
va'ft |
a'rdht |
vo'dht |
vra'ft |
z'nt |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
pi'fshim |
th'nim |
va'fshim |
a'rdhshim |
vo'dhshim |
vra'fshim |
z'nim |
2 |
pi'fshit |
th'nit |
va'fshit |
a'rdhshit |
vo'dhshit |
vra'fshit |
z'nit |
3 |
pi'fshin |
th'nin |
va'fshin |
a'rdhshin |
vo'dhshin |
vra'fshin |
z'nin |
imperative |
|||||||
sg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
pi |
thu'aj |
|
e'ja |
vidh |
vrit |
z'r |
pl |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
pi'ni |
tho'ni |
|
e'jani |
vi'dhni |
vri'tni |
zi'ni |
|
bi'e1 |
bi'e2 |
shpi'e |
shti'e |
pres |
||||
sg |
|
|
|
|
1 |
bi'e |
shpi'e |
shti'e |
|
2 |
bi'e |
shpi'e |
shti'e |
|
3 |
bi'e |
shpi'e |
shti'e |
|
pl |
|
|
|
|
1 |
bi'em |
shpi'em |
shti'em |
|
2 |
bi'ni |
shpi'ni |
shti'ni |
|
3 |
bi'en |
shpi'en |
shti'en |
|
pres subjunctive |
||||
sg |
|
|
|
|
2 |
bi'esh |
shpi'esh |
shti'esh |
|
3 |
bje'r |
shpje'r |
shtje'r |
|
impf |
||||
sg |
|
|
|
|
1 |
bi'ja |
shpi'ja |
shti'ja |
|
2 |
bi'je |
shpi'je |
shti'je |
|
3 |
bi'nte |
shpi'nte |
shti'nte |
|
pl |
|
|
|
|
1 |
bi'nim |
shpi'nim |
shti'nim |
|
2 |
bi'nit |
shpi'nit |
shti'nit |
|
3 |
bi'nin |
shpi'nin |
shti'nin |
|
pdef |
||||
sg |
|
|
|
|
1 |
ra'sh |
pru'ra |
shpu'ra |
shti'va |
2 |
re |
pru're |
shpu're |
shti've |
3 |
ra |
pru'ri |
shpu'ri |
shti'u |
pl |
|
|
|
|
1 |
ra'm |
pru'm |
shpu'm |
shti'm |
2 |
ra't |
pru't |
shpu't |
shti't |
3 |
ra'n |
pru'n |
shpu'n |
shti'n |
optative |
||||
sg |
|
|
|
|
1 |
r'na |
pru'fsha |
shp'na |
sht'nsha |
2 |
rn |
prufsh |
shpn |
shtnsh |
3 |
r'nt |
pru'ft |
shp'nt |
sht'nt |
pl |
|
|
|
|
1 |
r'nim |
pru'fshim |
shp'nim |
sht'nshim |
2 |
r'nit |
pru'fshit |
shp'nit |
sht'nshit |
3 |
r'nin |
pru'fshin |
shp'nin |
sht'nshin |
imperative |
||||
sg |
|
|
|
|
2 |
bje'r |
bje'r |
shpjer |
shtjer |
pl |
|
|
|
|
2 |
bi'ni |
bi'ni |
shpi'ni |
shti'ni |
The typical marker of a participle is ‑r (‑n or ‑m or - in Gheg). After a regular verb stem ending in a consonant, the participial ending is ‑ur (‑un in Gheg) ; after a regular verb stem ending in an unstressed vowel, the participial ending is ‑r (‑m, ‑m or - in Gheg); after a regular verb stem ending in a stressed vowel,[29] the participial ending is ‑r (- in Gheg); after a verb stem ending in a stressed variable , the participial ending is ‑n (no such verb stems in Gheg); after a verb stem ending in err (and for some verb stems, jell or edh) the participial ending in Gheg may be ‑.
Verb
stem ends in: |
Stem |
Participle |
(in
Gheg) |
a consonant |
var,
prit|, hekuro's |
va'rur,
pri'tur, hekuro'sur |
va'run,
pri'tun, hekuro'sun |
an unstressed
vowel |
kuptu'a,
ly'e |
kuptu'ar,
ly'er |
kuptu'em, ly'em or kuptu'e, ly'e or kuptu', ly' |
a stressed vowel |
b
(b in Gheg) a, lpi' |
b'r a'r,
lpi'r |
ba'm,
bam, b , lp |
stressed
variable |
v', parath' |
v'n,
parath'n |
v'n,
parath'n |
err jell edh |
jerr shqerr mbjell mbledh |
je'rrur shqe'rrur mbje'llur mble'dhur |
je'rr
or je'rrun,
shqe'rr or shqe'rrun mbje'll
or mbje'llun mble'dh
or mble'dhun |
A noun stem is labeled nm, nf, np, n, or nn, according to which set of case suffixes it takes, its declension.
For most nouns, the grammatical label following a noun stem (nm, nf, np, nn —masculine, feminine, plural, neuter, respectively) is sufficient to indicate its declension and its gender agreement—that is, the form of variable pronouns, adjectives, adjectival articles, and determiners that have that noun as referent. For exceptional words, its declension and its gender are both listed:
g'rxho nf with masculine agreement 1 old man suffering from senility 2 uncultivated person, boor
Nouns that have nm stems serve as masculine referents, and unless otherwise specified, nouns that have nf stems serve as feminine referents.
For an nm stem, there are four distinct case forms: the uninflected form, which serves as the nominative/accusative indefinite case of the noun; the oblique form with the inflectional suffix ‑i or ‑u (after stems that end in a stressed vowel, g, k, or h), which serves as both the nominative definite and the ablative/dative indefinite case of the noun; the oblique form plus the inflectional suffix ‑n, which serves as the accusative definite case of the noun;[30] and the oblique form plus the inflectional suffix ‑t, which serves as the ablative/dative indefinite case of the noun.
For an nf stem, there are five distinct case forms: the uninflected form, which serves as the nominative/accusative indefinite case of the noun; the nominative definite form with the inflectional suffix ‑a or ‑ja (after stems ending in any vowel other than ); the accusative definite form with the inflectional suffix ‑n or ‑n (after stems that end in a stressed vowel); the ablative/dative definite form with the inflectional suffix ‑s or ‑s (after stems that end in a stressed vowel); and the ablative/dative indefinite form with the inflectional suffix ‑e or ‑je (after stems ending in any vowel other than ). If the nf stem ends in the unstressed vowel e, that vowel drops when the ‑ja suffix is added, and it may or may not drop when the ‑je suffix is added:[31] nf lule flower, lulja (nominative definite), lulje or luleje (ablative/dative indefinite)
For an np stem, there are four distinct case forms: the uninflected form, which serves as the nominative/accusative indefinite case of the noun; the nominative definite form with the inflectional suffix ‑t, the ablative/dative—indefinite or definite— form with the inflectional suffix ‑ve;[32] and the ablative indefinite form with the inflectional suffix ‑sh.
For most nouns, the plural stem (np) is derived from a singular (nm, nf, n) stem by adding a suffix -,[33]‑a, ‑e, ‑, or ‑ra. Stems so formed are listed in this dictionary only when the np stem has different or more limited senses or uses than the singular form. Readers must be open to the possibility that a stem with any of these suffixes may have an interpretation as a plural, since there is in fact great variability in noun‑plural formation in both spoken and written Albanian. The senses of such plural nouns are just the plural of the senses of the underlying nm or nf stem. Nouns with np stems, plural determiners and pronouns, and compound phrases composed of nouns and/or pronouns may all serve as plural referents.
The plurals of nf stems are all feminine plural. The plurals of nm stems that designate males are all masculine plural; but the plurals of other nm stems may be masculine plural or feminine plural.
Nouns that have n stems are listed in the form that takes nm inflectional endings and serves as a masculine referent. For every such noun, an nf stem can, in principle,[34] be derived with the same senses except that it has a feminine referent rather than a masculine one. The nf stem is not listed in the dictionary, since it is regularly formed from the n stem—for most n stems, especially those ending in ‑a'r, ‑s, ‑a'n, or ‑as, simply by adding the feminine suffix ‑e.
Stems that serve both as nouns and adjectives (e.g. afrika'n) may be marked either n, adj or adj, n; the definition may provide a generic noun between parentheses to indicate the meaning when used as a noun:
labr|qa'r adj n (Pej) (person) wanting something for nothing, parasitic on others
Nouns with nn stems may take adjectives that are either masculine or feminine. Nominalized participles preceded by a proclitic attributive article t all have nn stems. Otherwise, there is considerable variation among Albanians as to which nouns are "neuter"—i.e., have nn stems.
If a proclitic attributive article is required for a particular noun or noun sense, the grammatical label is followed by the nominative form of the appropriate article between parentheses: nm (i) , nf (e), np (t ), nn (t) . The label n (i) indicates a nominalized adjective which will take either nm or nf (or np) inflectional endings depending on whether the referent is male, female, or plural.
The form of the suffixes which mark the case of a noun or nominalized adjectives (see p. xlv) depends on two factors: 1) the function of the suffix in marking case, gender, number, and definiteness; and 2) the terminal letters of the stem.
|
Singular |
|
|||||
|
Masculine |
Feminine |
Plural |
||||
|
Indef |
Def |
Indef |
Def |
Indef |
Def |
|
Nominative |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
‑i |
|
‑a |
|
‑t |
|
after r or s |
|
‑i |
|
‑a |
|
‑it |
|
after k, g, h |
|
‑u |
|
|
|
|
|
after V |
|
‑j
or ‑u |
|
‑ja |
|
‑t |
|
after o' |
|
|
|
‑ja |
|
‑t |
|
after o |
|
|
|
‑ua |
|
‑t |
|
Accusative |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
‑in
or ‑n |
|
‑n |
|
‑t |
|
after r or s |
|
‑in |
|
n |
|
‑it |
|
after k, g, h |
|
‑un |
|
|
|
|
|
after V |
|
‑jn
or ‑un |
|
‑n |
|
‑t |
|
after o |
|
‑n |
|
‑n |
|
‑t |
|
Dative |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
‑i |
‑it |
‑e |
‑s |
‑ve |
‑ve(t) |
|
after r or s |
‑i |
‑it |
‑e |
‑s |
‑ve |
‑ve(t) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
after k, g, h |
‑ut |
‑u |
|
|
|
|
|
after V |
‑j
or ‑u |
‑jt
or ‑ut |
‑je |
‑s |
‑ve |
‑ve(t) |
|
after unstressed V |
|
|
‑je |
‑s |
‑ve |
‑ve(t) |
|
Ablative |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
‑i |
|
‑e |
|
‑sh |
|
|
after r or s |
‑i |
|
‑e |
‑s |
‑sh |
|
|
after k, g, h |
‑u |
|
|
|
|
|
|
after V |
‑j
or ‑u |
|
‑je |
‑s |
‑sh |
|
|
after unstressed V |
|
|
‑je |
‑s |
‑sh |
|
|
Leaving out the details:
|
singular |
plural |
||||
|
indefinite |
definite |
indefinite |
definite |
||
|
nm |
nf |
nm |
nf |
np |
np |
nominative |
- |
- |
‑i/‑u[35] |
‑a/‑ja[36] |
- |
‑t/‑it |
accusative |
- |
- |
‑in/‑un |
‑n |
- |
‑t/‑it |
dative[37] |
‑i/‑u |
‑e |
‑it/‑ut |
‑s |
‑ve |
‑ve/‑vet |
ablative |
‑i/‑u |
‑e |
‑it/‑ut |
‑s |
‑sh |
‑ve/‑vet |
Gerunds are nouns that are formed regularly from verb stems:
1. by dropping a stressed thematic vowel o' or e' and suffixing ‑i'm to form an nm stem
2. by suffixing ‑m after the stem‑final stressed vowel i' to form an nf stem
3. by suffixing ‑je after the stem‑final consonant to form an nf stem
4. by suffixing ‑rje or ‑jtje after a stem‑final stressed vowel a' or e' to form an nf stem
5. by suffixing ‑jtje after a stem‑final stressed vowel u' to form an nf stem
In addition to these, a gerundial construction may always be formed by creating a nominalized adjective from the participle of the verb, designating the process conveyed by the verb. The nominalized adjective so created has nn‑stem characteristics, but restricted in use and forms. As a nominative or accusative noun it ends in the suffix ‑it and is preceded by the proclitic article t: t ngji'turit the ascension
Pronominals are words that may function as noun phrases.
Pronominal subjects of verbs are normally indicated by inflectional endings, while pronominal direct and indirect objects are indicated by pronominal clitics. A personal pronoun is used when the pronoun is isolated or emphasized, or when it serves as object of a preposition.
First
and second person personal pronouns distinguish four cases, though no pronoun
has distinct forms for the same four. To complicate matters, in practice some
Albanians use the form ne've
and ju've
throughout their respective declensions, a practice opposed but not altogether
eliminated by the proponents of standard Albanian. The ablative forms are used
exclusively as objects of prepositions.
|
English equivalent |
Nominative |
Accusative |
Dative |
Ablative |
1st person |
|
|
|
|
|
Singular |
I, me |
u'n |
mu'a |
mu'a |
me'je |
Plural |
we, us |
ne |
ne |
ne've |
nesh |
2nd person |
|
|
|
|
|
Singular |
you |
ti |
ty |
ty |
te'je |
Plural |
you |
ju |
ju |
ju've |
jush |
As stressed forms of 3rd person personal pronouns, Albanian uses deictic determiners whose form conveys the distance—actual or felt—of the referent.
|
English |
Nominative |
Accusative |
Dative |
Ablative |
||||
3rd person |
equivalent |
Far |
Near |
Far |
Near |
Far |
Near |
Far |
Near |
Singular |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Masculine |
that one: he, it, him |
ai' |
ky |
at' |
kt' |
ati'j |
ati'j |
ati'j |
ati'j |
Feminine |
that one: she, it, her |
ajo' |
kjo |
at' |
kt' |
asa'j |
ksa'j |
asa'j |
ksa'j |
Plural |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Masculine |
they, them |
ata' |
ky |
ata' |
kta' |
aty're |
kty're |
aso'sh |
kso'sh |
Feminine |
they, them |
ato' |
kjo' |
ato' |
kto' |
aty're |
kty're |
aso'sh |
kso'sh |
With definite noun suffixes, cil which is used as an interrogative pronoun, translated as which (one) or who in English, depending on whether the referent is considered human or not. Preceded by a proclitic attributive article (indicated between parentheses below), these same forms serve as relative pronouns.
|
English equivalent |
Nominative |
Accusative |
Dative |
Singular |
|
|
|
|
Masculine |
which (one), who; whom |
(i) ci'li |
(t) ci'lin |
(t) ci'lit |
Feminine |
which (one), who; whom |
(e) ci'la |
(t) ci'ln |
(s) ci'ls |
Plural |
|
|
|
|
Masculine |
which (one), who; whom |
(t) ci'lt |
(t) ci'lt |
(t) ci'lve |
Feminine |
which (one), who; whom |
(t) ci'lat |
(t) ci'lat |
(t) ci'lave |
Like cil which is seci'l, used as a determiner each or as a nominalized adjective each one.
Modifiers may be used attributively or predicatively. Used attributively, a modifier generally implies an inherent characteristic of the referent. In Albanian, attributive modifiers typically follow nouns; predicative modifiers typically follow verbs.
A referent may precede the modifier in the discourse, come after it, or merely be understood by the participants in the discourse.
ka trup t lidhur he [unexpressed overtly] has a strong build
sht i mir he is good
i ati his/her/their father
i ati i Agronit Agron's father
e fejuara his fiance
e fejuara e Agronit Agron's fiance
Used predicatively, a modifier implies a temporary characteristic of the referent:
e uan lidhur they conducted him bound
sht mir he is well
Articulated adjectives consist of the proclitic attributive article, followed by the base, or adjective proper. In i mir good, the base is mir and the article is i and the form of both parts may reflect the gender and number of the referent of the adjective. Like articulated adjectives, unarticulated adjectives may have different endings for feminine and/or plural forms.
In addition to the masculine singular base form listed in the dictionary, adjectives have feminine and/or plural forms that are used for feminine and/or plural referents. A few common adjectives have special feminine or plural forms, which are listed in their proper alphabetical order in this dictionary and cross‑referred after the symbol < to the main entry for the adjective.
mdha' fem pl < madh
mdhe'nj masc pl < madh
Adjective stems that end in ‑ or formerly ended in ‑, such as participles (whose stems now end in ‑ur, ‑uar, ‑yer, or ‑un) and stems ending in ‑r, ‑rr, ‑l, ‑ll, ‑ull, have the same form for the feminine singular.
Many other adjective stems whose base form ends in a consonant have an easily recognizable feminine form derived from that base. In particular, many feminine adjectives are regularly derived by adding unstressed ‑e to the dictionary base form, including all articulated adjectives whose base form ends in m or m. The of the base form disappears, of course, before the ending ‑e. The derived form also serves as the feminine plural form of the adjective.
goj|u'sh adj (i) garrulous
gru'a e goju'shme garrulous woman
gra t goju'shme garrulous women
i a'frm (masc), e a'frme (fem), t a'frm (masc pl), t a'frm (fem pl)
i vle'fshm (masc), e vle'fshme (fem), t vle'fshm (masc pl), t vle'fshme (fem pl)
i so'tm (masc), e so'tme (fem), t so'tm (masc pl), t so'tme (fem pl)
Similarly, unarticulated adjectives whose base form ends in ‑a'k, ‑a'n, ‑a'r, ‑e'z, ‑i'st, ‑sh, ‑ta'r, ‑to'r, ‑as, ‑s, or ‑u'es all add a suffix ‑e to form a feminine singular and plural. Of these, ‑a'k, ‑a'n, ‑a'r, ‑e'z, ‑i'st, sh, ‑ta'r, ‑to'r also form a masculine plural form by adding the suffix ‑:
shqipta'r (masc), shqipta're (fem), shqipta'r (masc pl) shqipta're (fem pl)
tira'nas (masc), tira'nase (fem), tira'nas (masc pl), tira'nase (fem pl)
Most adjectives whose feminine singular form does not end in a stressed vowel or ‑e have a derived feminine plural form ending in ‑a.
ngro'h|t adj (i) warm
duar t ngrohta warm hands
The following table summarizes the relationships among various adjective forms:
|
Ending of stem |
Examples |
|||
|
masculine |
feminine |
masculine |
feminine |
Main Sense |
singular |
‑ |
‑ |
i mi'r |
e mi'r |
good |
plural |
‑ |
‑a |
t mi'r |
t mi'ra |
|
singular |
‑C |
‑e |
amfi'b |
amfi'be |
amphibian |
plural |
‑C |
‑e |
amfi'b |
amfi'be |
|
singular |
‑m |
‑me |
i e'pshm |
e e'pshme |
flexible |
plural |
‑m |
‑me |
t e'pshm |
t e'pshme |
|
singular |
‑r |
‑r |
i va'rfr |
e va'rfr |
poor |
plural |
‑r |
‑ra |
t va'rfr |
t va'rfra |
|
singular |
‑C |
‑C |
i pa'fund |
e pa'fund |
endless |
plural |
‑C |
‑C |
t pa'fund |
t pa'fund |
|
singular |
‑ur |
‑ur |
i di'tur |
e di'tur |
knowledgeable |
plural |
‑ur |
‑ura |
t di'tur |
t di'tura |
|
singular |
‑uar |
‑uar |
i shku'ar |
e shku'ar |
past |
plural |
‑uar |
‑uara |
t shku'ar |
t shku'ara |
|
singular |
‑t |
‑t |
i la'gt |
e la'gt |
wet |
plural |
‑t |
‑ta |
t la'gt |
t la'gta |
|
singular |
‑l |
‑l |
i vo'gl |
e vo'gl |
small |
plural |
‑l |
‑la |
t ve'gjl |
t vo'gla |
|
singular |
|
|
i zi' |
e ze'z |
black |
plural |
|
|
t zi'nj |
t ze'za |
|
singular |
|
|
i ri' |
e re' |
new |
plural |
|
|
t ri'nj |
t re'ja |
|
singular |
|
|
i ma'dh |
e ma'dhe |
big |
plural |
|
|
t mdhe'nj |
t mdha' |
|
singular |
|
|
i ke'q |
e ke'qe |
bad |
plural |
|
|
t kqi'(n)j |
t ke'qe |
|
Feminine Plurals of Masculine Singulars
When the referent of an adjective is a plural noun whose singular form is grammatically masculine but semantically inanimate, the adjective typically has its feminine plural form. For example, all gerunds ending in ‑im are masculine nouns in the singular and have corresponding plurals ending in ‑ime; an adjective with such a plural as referent will have its feminine plural form: msime t mdha great teachings
Relation of Adjectives to other Parts of Speech
Adjectives are regularly formed from participles, adverbs, and certain classes of nouns, and vice versa. Knowing a few simple correspondences will greatly enhance the readers vocabulary.
A participle preceded by an attributive article serves as an adjective: shkruar written—fjala e shkruar the written word.
The difference between an adjective and an adverb may be simply the presence or absence of an attributive article: i mir good—mir well, i keq bad—keq badly.
As in English, a number of forms, especially those ending in‑a'k, ‑a'n, ‑a'r, ‑e'z, ‑i'st, ‑sh, ‑ta'r, ‑to'r, ‑as, ‑s, or ‑u'es may be used either as nouns or as unarticulated adjectives: amerika'n American (person)—gaze't amerika'ne American newspaper.
An adjective in Albanian is nominalized when it either precedes the noun it modifies, or is used in place of the noun altogether (as in English "The big must protect the small."). In either case, the adjective takes the endings for case, gender, number and definiteness that a noun would take in the same place. A nominalized adjective is articulated if its underlying adjective is articulated.
i pasho'qi the peerless one (from the adjective i pasho'q peerless)
i bu'kuri the handsome one (masc)
e bu'kura the beautiful one (fem)
nj i bu'kur a good one (masc)
nj e bu'kur a good one (fem)
ca t bu'kurave to some beautiful ones
Adjectives generally follow their referent noun in Albanian, but that order may be inverted to put emphasis on the adjective. If the adjective precedes the noun, the adjective takes its nominalized form, while the noun has its bare stem (singular or plural, masculine or feminine) form.
i bu'kuri dja'l the handsome boy
afr t bu'kurave va'jza near the beautiful girls
i bu'kuri gjerma'n the handsome German (male)
e bu'kura gjerma'ne the beautiful German (female)
In principle, any stem labeled adj (including articulated adjectives) may be nominalized and used as a noun stem with the meaning one with the characteristic of the adjective. Such a noun stem will be masculine, feminine, or plural to reflect the gender of the intended referent and will take nm, nf, or np case suffixes, respectively. An attributive article stays with an articulated adjective if that adjective is nominalized, the form of the article reflecting the gender and case of the nominalized adjective. For example, i fejuar is an adjective (itself derived from the participle fejuar engaged to be married) that means engaged to be married, affianced, from which the nominalized nominative definite nouns meaning literally one engaged to be married, i fejuari the fianc and e fejuara, the fiance are derived.
Since such a nominalized adjective can function as a noun, in genitive constructions, a second article whose form reflects the gender and case of the referent would be preposed:
kunati i s fejuars the fiances brother‑in law
me vllan e s fejuars with the fiances brother
kunati i t fejuarit the fiancs brother‑in law
Note that the form of the article in all these examples reflects the gender and grammatical function of the word to which the article is attached, rather than the properties of the referent.
For some adjectives, the adjective and its nominalization have the same English correspondent. For example, many ethnic adjectives have this characteristic: e.g., amerika'n as adjective or noun both correspond to English American. To eliminate unnecessary repetition, this fact is indicated by simply putting both grammatical labels after the form:
amerik|a'n adj, n American
For other nominalized adjectives, English syntax requires a noun after the adjective to express the nominalized sense. In such cases, an English noun is put between parentheses to indicate the scope of the nominalization:
dy|grre'm adj, nm (pitchfork) with two prongs
This entry means that there is an adjective dygrre'm conveying the quality of being two‑pronged, and that its nominalization dygrre'm takes nm inflectional endings and has the specific sense: pitchfork with two prongs.
The nominalization of adjectives is a living, productive process in Albanian, and a reader must be open to words listed as adjectives in the dictionary being used as nouns, as just described. In addition, there are many fossilized nominalizations: earlier adjectives (many themselves formed from participles, sometimes from varieties of Albanian that are no longer in regular use) that have lost their adjectival function, but still are used in their nominalized form. Such nominalizations are listed in this dictionary as articulated nouns (see p. xix).
Attributive modifiers may consist of a proclitic attributive article (i, e, t, or s) followed by a noun in the dative case. In traditional Albanian grammars such a modifier is called the genitive case of the noun, since in other languages the same function may be served by a separate genitive case form of the noun. The functions served by genitive case modifiers in Albanian are very similar to those served by of phrases, nouns used as modifiers, and s words in English:
pr shkak t zhurms because
of the noise
e dini emrin e fshatit you know the name of the town
shtpia e Zotit the house of the Lord
turigjati i luleve flower weevil
shtpia e Agimit Agim's house
In contrast with adverbs, predicatives modify nouns. In contrast with attributive adjectives, they convey states into which the noun is brought, rather than characteristic attributes of the noun. As an attributive adjective li'r|shm, preceded by a proclitic attributive article means loose‑fitting, loose. As an adverb, li'r|shm it means in a loose/easygoing manner. Contrast the predicative he attached the rope loosely with the adverb he attached the rope quickly. The predicative, defined as loosely, characterizes not the verb action itself, but its effect on the noun rope.
Many adjectives in Albanian are preceded by a proclitic attributive article when they are used attributively or are nominalized. In this dictionary, such adjectives are indicated by the label adj (i):
i'mt adj (I) fine, thin
When used predicatively, adjectives do not have this article. Absence of the article leads many scholars to label them "adverb" in this use:
e bluan grurin t imt he is grinding the fine grain
e bluan grurin imt he is grinding the grain fine
The label adv is used in this dictionary, as in most others, to designate a wide variety of uninflected words with adverbial functions. Most of the subtypes are not specifically identified by label; the English definition usually makes their specific function evident.
A determiner characterizes the scope of the noun that follows it in a noun phrase.
With definite noun suffixes, secil each (one) is used as both determiner
and pronoun.
|
English
equivalent |
Nominative |
Accusative |
Dative |
Singular |
|
|
|
|
Masculine |
each (one) |
secili |
secilin |
secilit |
Feminine |
each (one) |
secila |
seciln |
secils |
Plural |
|
|
|
|
Masculine |
each (one) |
secilt |
secilt |
secilve |
Feminine |
each (one) |
secilat |
secilat |
secilave |
With definite noun suffixes added before the final suffix ‑do',
secil‑do every (one) is
used as both determiner and pronoun.
|
English equivalent |
Nominative |
Accusative |
Dative |
Singular |
|
|
|
|
Masculine |
each (one) |
secilido |
secilindo |
secilitdo |
Feminine |
each (one) |
secilado |
secilndo |
secilsdo |
Plural |
|
|
|
|
Masculine |
each (one) |
seciltdo |
seciltdo |
secilvedo |
Feminine |
each (one) |
secilatdo |
secilatdo |
secilavedo |
0 zero 10 dhjet
1 nj 11 njmbdhjet 100 njqind 1000 nj
mij
2 dy 12 dymbdhjet 20 njzet 200 dyqind 2000 dy
mij
3 tre/tri 13 trembdhjet 30 tridhjet 300 treqind 3000 tre
mij
4 katr 14 katermbdhjet 40 dyzet 400 katrqind 4000 katr
mij
5 pes 15 pesmbdhjet 50 pesdhjet 500 pesqind 5000 pes
mij
6 gjasht 16 gjashtmbdhjet 60 gjashtdhjet 600 gjashtqind 6000 gjasht mij
7 shtat 17 shtatmbdhjet 70 shtatdhjet 700 shtatqind 7000 shtat
mij
8 tet 18 tetmbdhjet 80 tetdhjet 800 tetqind 8000 tet
mij
9 nnt 19 nntmbdhjet 90 nntdhjet 900 nntqind 9000 nnt mij
Joining these numbers with the conjunction e creates the rest of the numbers. For example:
21 njzet e nj 101 njqind e nj
22 njzet e dy 220 dyqind e njzet
142 njeqind e dyzet e dy
Contrary to English practice, written out large
numbers in Albanian use periods, rather than commas, to separate groups of three digits, whereas decimal numbers
are written with a comma (presje)
rather than a period as the decimal point.
1,000,000 nj milion
2,000,000 dy milion
3,000,000 tri milion
10,000,000 dhjet milion
1,000,001 1.000.001 nj milion e nj
12.027 12,027 dymbdhjet presje zero njzet e shtat
.04 ,04 presje zero katr
23.516.798 njzet e tri milion e pesqind e gjashtmbdhjet mij e shtat qind e nntdhjet e tet
Dictionary entries for prepositions are marked prep followed by an indication between parentheses of the case of the object of the preposition. The majority of prepositions in Albanian have ablative case objects, but a few very frequent prepositions me, pa, n, m, pr, mbi, nn, ndr, npr, as well as phrasal prepositions ending in one of these (e.g., pr n. brenda n, tok me, bashk me), have objects in the accusative case. The prepositions nga and tek (or te) and their dialectal variants (ka and ne, respectively) have objects in the nominative case.
Interrogatives are uninflected words used to introduce direct and indirect questions. Their further classification as adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, or conjunctions depends on their further grammatical role in the clause.
Particles are uninflected words with some of the functions in language that gestures have in face‑to‑face communication. The expression on your face can tell someone you are talking to directly whether you really mean what you are saying; head, hand, and arm gestures can emphasize particular parts of what you are saying, can express different kinds of negativity, and in various ways can help express speaker attitudes in ways that are difficult to define. Many of those gestural functions can be performed in Albanian by particles; the definitions of particles in this dictionary attempt to characterize these particles to help the reader understand them, but as with gesture, the differences between one particle and another can sometimes only be hinted at.
Since foreign readers of Albanian cannot be expected to know all the intricate details of Albanian grammar thoroughly, this dictionary presents extensive aids for recognizing forms encountered in texts which are not identical to the citation forms in the dictionary.
Most text words in Albanian differ from a dictionary form only in their last part; that is, the first part of the text word matches the first part of some dictionary form, but the last part does not match. The usual source of this mismatch is in the ending of the word, since suffixes are so frequently added to indicate the grammatical and syntactic functions of words, as described in the section Grammatical Sketch for Readers of Albanian.
Depending on the date and provenance of its author and/or editor, a text word may also differ from a corresponding dictionary form in other parts of the word, Dialectal Variation & Standard Albanian.
and a frequent source for such differences is the dialectal variation so common in spoken and written Albanian. Many of these differences are tabulated in the sectionThe following list provides information that the reader can use to interpret the structure of a puzzling text form not listed as such in the body of the dictionary. The list makes use of the fact that a word can end in only very limited ways, and that particular terminal sequences of letters have limited possible analyses.
Column 1, Terminations, lists possible ways words in Albanian texts may end; the terminal sequences are listed in alphabetical order, working from the end of the word towards the beginning. For most terminal sequences in the list, more than one interpretation is available.
Column 2, Analysis, indicates the composition of these sequences in terms of morpheme divisions: a single | precedes a derivational suffix, a double || precedes an inflectional suffix. This enables the user to see where the stem, which may be listed in the dictionary, breaks off and the suffix begins.
If the word ends in a derivational suffix, Column 3, Derivational Category, identifies the category of the word created by that suffix. If the word ends in an inflectional suffix, that column is blank.
Column 4, Grammatical Function, indicates the grammatical function that may be served by a word with this termination.
Column 5, End of Dictionary Entry, indicates the likely termination of the dictionary entry under which the definition may be found that matches the puzzling form.
Column 6, Stem Label, indicates the grammatical label that would precede that definition; the abbreviations are those used in the body of the dictionary to label the grammatical functions of stems.
Column 7, Examples, provides examples of forms with the termination in question.
For some entries, Column 8, Clarification, may make the example clearer by presenting a standard Albanian equivalent—for a termination marked *—or by giving a short English gloss of the example.
|
Analysis |
Derivational Category |
Grammatical Function |
End of Dictionary Entry |
Stem Label of Dictionary Entry |
Examples |
Clarification |
ba |
b||a |
|
nom def |
b |
nf |
vorba |
|
ba |
b|a |
pl fem |
nom/acc |
b |
nf |
kmba |
|
ba |
b|a |
pl masc |
nom/acc |
b |
nm |
krimba |
|
ba |
b|a |
pl fem |
|
b or b |
adj |
kokshkmba kokzhgaba |
|
ba |
b||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
b |
v |
gjerba |
|
ca |
c||a |
|
nom def |
c |
nf |
hardhuca |
|
ca |
c|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
c |
nf |
hardhuca |
|
ca |
c|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
c |
nm |
beca |
|
ca |
c|a |
|
pl fem |
c |
adj |
sygaca |
|
ca |
c||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
c |
v |
bltuca |
|
a |
||a |
|
nom def |
|
nf |
bruma |
|
a |
|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
|
nf |
bruma |
|
a |
|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
|
nm |
via |
|
a |
||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
|
v |
shkya |
|
da |
d||a |
|
nom def |
d |
nf |
parmenda |
|
da |
d|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
d |
nf |
parmenda |
|
da |
d|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
d |
nm |
kinda |
|
da |
d|a |
|
pl fem |
d or d |
adj |
t
rnda |
|
da |
d||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
d |
v |
shkunda |
|
dha |
dh||a |
|
nom def |
dh |
nf |
udha |
|
dha |
dh|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
dh |
nf |
udha |
|
dha |
dh|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
dh |
nm |
kudha |
|
dha |
dh|a |
|
pl fem |
dh or dh |
adj |
t
verdha |
|
dha |
dh||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
dh |
v |
zbardha |
|
fa |
f||a |
|
nom def |
f |
nf |
gufa |
|
fa |
f|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
f |
nf |
gufa |
|
fa |
f|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
f |
nm |
pefa |
|
fa |
f|a |
|
pl fem |
f |
adj |
t
paqejfa |
|
fa |
f||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
f |
v |
brofa |
|
ga |
g||a |
|
nom def |
g |
nf |
paga |
|
ga |
g|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
g |
nf |
paga |
|
ga |
g|a |
|
pl fem |
g or g |
adj |
zhunga |
|
ga |
g||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
g |
v |
croga |
|
gja |
gj||a |
|
nom def |
gj |
nf |
vegja |
|
gja |
gj|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
gj |
nf |
vegja |
|
gja |
gj|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
gj |
nm |
qengja |
|
gja |
gj||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
gj |
v |
gjegja |
|
ha |
h||a |
|
nom def |
h |
nf |
koha |
|
ha |
h|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
h |
nf |
koha |
|
ha |
h|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
h |
nm |
*mteha |
|
ha |
h|a |
|
pl fem |
h |
adj |
t
pagjuha |
|
ha |
h||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
h |
v |
njoha |
|
ia |
i||a |
|
nom def |
i |
nf |
shtpia |
|
ia |
|i|a |
|
imper sg | 3rd
ind.obj | 3rd dir.obj |
C |
v |
sillia |
|
gia |
g||ia |
|
1st sg impf |
g |
v |
crogia |
|
ja |
e||a |
|
nom def |
e |
nf |
lulja |
|
ja |
j|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
j |
nf |
akullnaja |
|
ja |
i||e |
|
imper sg ||
3rd ind.obj | 3rd dir.obj |
V |
v |
drejtoja |
|
ja |
j|a |
|
pl fem |
j or j |
adj |
t
huaja |
|
ja |
j||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
j |
v |
uja |
|
ja |
||ja |
|
1st sg impf |
Any (except g) |
v |
gudulisja |
|
ka |
k||a |
|
nom def |
k |
nf |
pika |
|
ka |
k|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
k |
nf |
pika |
|
ka |
k|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
k |
nm |
petka |
|
ka |
k|a |
|
pl fem |
k |
adj |
mendjelaraska |
|
ka |
k||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
k |
v |
fika |
|
ka |
||ka |
|
3rd sg pres adm |
Any |
v |
paska |
|
*krka |
|kr|ka |
|
3rd sg pres adm |
Any |
v |
*qnkrka |
|
uaka |
o'||ka|| |
|
3rd sg pres adm |
o' |
v |
mbaruaka |
|
yeka |
e'||ka|| |
|
3rd sg pres adm |
e' |
v |
krcyeka |
|
la |
l||a |
|
nom def |
l |
nf |
pula |
|
la |
l|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
l |
nf |
pula |
|
la |
l|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
l |
nm |
tela |
|
la |
l|a |
|
pl fem |
l |
adj |
lela |
|
la |
l||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
l |
v |
ngula |
|
lla |
ll||a |
|
nom def |
ll |
nf |
njolla |
|
lla |
ll|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
ll |
nf |
njolla |
|
lla |
ll|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
ll |
nm |
kshilla |
|
lla |
ll|a |
|
pl fem |
ll |
adj |
t
gjalla |
|
lla |
ll||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
ll |
v |
kalla |
|
ma |
m||a |
|
nom def |
m |
nf |
dhoma |
|
ma |
m|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
m |
nf |
dhoma |
|
ma |
m|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
m |
nm |
qilima |
|
ma |
m||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
m |
v |
njoma |
|
ma |
|m|a |
|
imper sg | 1st sg ind.obj | 3rd sg dir.obj |
Any |
v |
sillma |
bring it to me |
na |
n||a |
|
nom def |
n |
nf |
pishina |
|
na |
n|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
n |
nf |
pishina |
|
na |
n|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
n |
nm |
una |
|
na |
n|a |
|
pl fem |
n |
adj |
t
vona |
|
na |
||na |
|
imper sg || 1st pl ind.obj/dir.obj |
Any |
v |
sillna |
|
nja |
nj||a |
|
nom def |
nj |
nf |
rrfenja |
|
nja |
nj||a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
nj |
nf |
rrfenja |
|
nja |
nj|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
nj |
nm |
kunja |
|
nja |
nj|a |
|
pl fem |
nj |
adj |
t
denja |
|
*nja |
nj||a |
|
1st sg impf |
Any |
v |
*shkonja |
|
pa |
p||a |
|
nom def |
p |
nf |
gropa |
|
pa |
p|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
p |
nf |
gropa |
|
pa |
p|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
p |
nm |
xhepa |
|
pa |
p||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
p |
v |
hapa |
|
pa |
p|a |
|
pl fem |
p |
adj |
t
prapa |
|
qa |
q||a |
|
nom def |
q |
nf |
heqa |
|
qa |
q||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
q |
v |
shfaqa |
|
ra |
r||a |
|
nom def |
r |
nf |
ara |
|
ra |
r|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
r |
nf |
ara |
|
ra |
r|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
r |
nm |
hekura |
|
ra |
r|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
r |
nm |
emra |
|
ra |
r|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
r |
nf |
qendra |
|
ra |
|ra |
pl fem |
nom acc |
Any |
nm |
shira,
fshatra |
|
ra |
|ra |
pl fem |
nom acc |
Any |
nf |
ujra |
|
ra |
r|a |
|
pl fem |
r |
adj |
t
prejardhura |
|
ra |
r|a |
|
pl fem |
r |
adj |
t
mira |
|
ra |
r||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
r |
v |
prdora |
|
rra |
rr||a |
|
nom def |
rr |
nf |
arra |
|
rra |
rr|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
rr |
nf |
arra |
|
rra |
rr|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
rr |
nm |
burra |
|
rra |
rr|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
rr |
nm |
derra |
|
rra |
rr|a |
|
pl fem |
rr or rr |
adj |
t
marra |
|
rra |
rr|a |
|
pl fem |
rr or rr |
adj |
feckderra |
|
rra |
rr||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
rr |
v |
shporra |
|
sa |
s||a |
|
nom def |
s |
nf |
banesa |
|
sa |
s|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
s |
nf |
banesa |
|
sa |
s|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
s |
nm |
lisa |
|
sa |
s|a |
|
pl fem |
s |
adj |
gresa |
|
sa |
s||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
s |
v |
zmbrapsa |
|
sha |
sh||a |
|
nom def |
sh |
nf |
kisha |
|
sha |
sh|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
sh |
nf |
kisha |
|
sha |
sh|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
sh |
nm |
tetfaqsha |
|
sha |
sh||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
sh |
v |
prisha |
|
sha |
||sh||a |
|
1st sg impf |
ish kish thosh |
v |
isha kisha thosha |
|
esha |
|e||sh||a |
|
1st sg impf |
C |
vp |
trhiqesha |
|
hesha |
|he||sh||a |
|
1st sg impf |
V |
vp |
lahesha |
|
fsha |
fsh||a |
|
nom def |
fsh |
nf |
kafsha |
|
fsha |
fsh|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
fsh |
nf |
kafsha |
|
fsha |
||fsh||a |
|
1st sg opt |
V |
v |
mbarofsha |
|
ta |
t||a |
|
nom def |
t |
nf |
drita |
|
ta |
t|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
t |
nf |
drita |
|
ta |
t|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
t |
nm |
pleshta |
|
ta |
t|a |
|
pl fem |
t or t |
adj |
t
gjata |
|
ta |
t||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
t |
v |
mata |
|
tha |
th||a |
|
nom def |
th |
nf |
vatha |
|
tha |
th|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
th |
nf |
vatha |
|
tha |
th|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
th |
nm |
katha |
|
tha |
th|a |
|
pl fem |
th |
adj |
t
gjitha |
|
tha |
th||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
th |
v |
mbatha |
|
*ua |
o||a |
|
nom def |
o |
nm |
vito |
|
ua |
ua |
|
3rd sg pdef non‑active (and the verb is preceded by the reflexive pronominal
clitic u) |
o'het |
vp |
u
kuptua |
|
va |
v||a |
|
nom def |
v |
nf |
brava |
|
va |
v|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
v |
nf |
brava |
|
va |
v|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
v |
nm |
nerva |
|
va |
||v||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
o'/e' |
v |
mbarova mbrtheva |
|
va |
v||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
v |
v |
hova |
|
xa |
x||a |
|
nom def |
x |
nf |
xixa |
|
xa |
x|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
x |
nf |
xixa |
|
xha |
xh||a |
|
nom def |
xh |
nf |
kanxha |
|
xha |
xh|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
xh |
nf |
kanxha |
|
za |
z||a |
|
nom def |
z |
nf |
driza |
|
za |
z|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
z |
nf |
driza |
|
za |
z|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
z |
nm |
breza |
|
za |
z|a |
|
pl fem |
z |
adj |
symiza |
|
za |
z||a |
|
1st sg pdef |
z |
v |
lviza |
|
zha |
zh||a |
|
nom def |
zh |
nf |
grezha |
|
zha |
zh|a |
pl fem |
nom acc |
zh |
nf |
grezha |
|
zha |
zh|a |
|
pl fem |
zh |
adj |
mazha |
|
b |
|
|
|
b |
|
*shtalb |
|
b |
|
|
|
p |
|
*shtalp |
|
alec |
|alec |
(pejorative) noun
or adjective |
nom/acc |
C |
n/adj |
bardhalec |
|
avec |
|avec |
(pejorative) noun
or adjective |
nom/acc |
C |
n/adj |
jargavec |
|
aluc |
|aluc |
(pejorative) noun
or adjective |
nom/acc |
C |
n/adj |
ngrehaluc |
|
*c |
|
|
|
|
|
|
c |
*d |
|
|
|
|
|
*mnd |
d; t |
*Vdh |
|
|
|
|
|
|
dh; th |
be |
b||e |
|
abl indef |
b |
nf |
kmbe |
|
be |
b|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
b |
nm |
umbe |
|
be |
b|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
b |
adj |
arabe |
|
be |
b||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
b |
v |
gjerbe;
hurbe |
|
be |
b||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
b |
v |
gjerbe;
hurbe |
|
ce |
c||e |
|
abl indef |
c |
nf |
hardhuce |
|
ce |
c|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
c |
nm |
kotece |
|
ce |
c|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
c |
adj |
kurnace |
|
ce |
c||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
c |
v |
kice |
|
ce |
c||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
c |
v |
kice |
|
e |
||e |
|
abl indef |
|
nf |
brume |
|
e |
|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
|
nm |
tae |
|
e |
|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
|
adj |
trazovae |
|
e |
||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
|
v |
shkye |
|
e |
||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
|
v |
shkye |
|
de |
d||e |
|
abl indef |
d |
nf |
parmende |
|
de |
d|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
d |
nm |
okside |
|
de |
d|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
d |
adj |
bojargjende |
|
de |
d||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
d |
v |
shkunde |
|
de |
d||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
d |
v |
shkunde |
|
dhe |
dh||e |
|
abl indef |
dh |
nf |
udhe |
|
dhe |
dh|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
dh |
nm |
gardhe |
|
dhe |
dh|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
dh |
adj |
e
madhe |
|
dhe |
dh||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
dh |
v |
zbardhe |
|
dhe |
dh||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
dh |
v |
zbardhe |
|
fe |
f||e |
|
abl indef |
f |
nf |
gufe |
|
fe |
f|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
f |
nm |
zarfe |
|
fe |
f|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
f |
adj |
tuhafe |
|
fe |
f||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
f |
v |
brofe;
qafe |
|
fe |
f||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
f |
v |
brofe;
qafe |
|
ge |
g||e |
|
abl indef |
g |
nf |
page |
|
ge |
g|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
g |
nm |
zigzage |
|
ge |
g|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
g |
adj |
bishtcunge |
|
ge |
g||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
g |
v |
croge |
|
ge |
g||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
g |
v |
croge |
|
gje |
gj||e |
|
abl indef |
gj |
nf |
vegje |
|
gje |
gj|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
gj |
nm |
ligje |
|
gje |
gj|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
gj |
adj |
*karravagje |
|
gje |
gj||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
gj |
v |
gjegje |
|
gje |
gj||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
gj |
v |
gjegje |
|
he |
h||e |
|
abl indef |
h |
nf |
kohe |
|
he |
h|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
h |
nm |
tehe |
|
he |
h||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
h |
v |
njohe |
|
he |
h||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
h |
v |
krihe |
|
ie |
i||e |
|
abl indef |
i |
nf |
shtpie |
|
*ie |
|
|
bare stem |
je |
any |
|
|
je |
|je |
gerund |
nom/acc indef |
C |
nf |
trheqje |
|
je |
j||e |
|
abl indef |
j |
nf |
akullnaje |
|
je |
j|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
j |
nm |
faje |
|
je |
j||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
j |
v |
uje |
|
je |
j||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
j |
v |
uje |
|
ke |
k||e |
|
abl indef |
k |
nf |
pike |
|
ke |
k|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
k |
nm |
bronke |
|
ke |
k|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
k |
adj |
petullake |
|
ke |
k||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
k |
v |
fike |
|
ke |
k||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
k |
v |
fike |
|
ke |
||ke |
|
2nd sg pres adm |
Any |
v |
paske |
|
*krke |
|kr||ke |
|
2nd sg pres adm |
Any |
v |
*qnkrke |
|
uake |
o'||ke |
|
2nd sg pres adm |
o' |
v |
mbaruake |
|
yeke |
e'||ke |
|
2nd sg pres adm |
e' |
v |
krcyeke |
|
le |
l||e |
|
abl indef |
l |
nf |
pule |
|
le |
l|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
l |
nm |
male |
|
le |
l|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
l |
adj |
jeshile |
|
le |
l||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
l |
v |
ngule |
|
le |
l||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
l |
v |
ngule |
|
lle |
ll||e |
|
abl indef |
ll |
nf |
njolle |
|
lle |
ll|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
l |
nm |
kavalle |
|
lle |
ll|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
ll |
adj |
katrasyll |
|
lle |
ll||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
ll |
v |
kalle |
|
lle |
ll||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
ll |
v |
kalle |
|
me |
m||e |
|
abl indef |
m |
nf |
dhome |
|
me |
m|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
m |
nm |
gabime |
|
me |
m|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
m |
adj |
e
siprme |
|
me |
m|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
m, m |
adj |
e
vetme |
|
shme |
shm|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
shm |
adj |
e
vajshme |
|
me |
m||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
m |
v |
njome |
|
me |
m||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
m |
v |
njome |
|
ne |
n||e |
|
abl indef |
n |
nf |
pishine |
|
ne |
n|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
n |
nm |
zakone |
|
ne |
n|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
n |
adj |
arushane |
|
nje |
nj||e |
|
abl indef |
nj |
nf |
rrfenje |
|
nje |
nj||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
nj |
v |
thinje |
|
nje |
nj||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
nj |
v |
thinje |
|
*nje |
nj||e |
|
2nd sg impf |
Any |
v |
*shkonje |
|
pe |
p||e |
|
abl indef |
p |
nf |
grope |
|
pe |
p|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
p |
nm |
djepe |
|
pe |
p|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
p |
adj |
shterpe |
|
pe |
p||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
p |
v |
hape |
|
pe |
p||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
p |
v |
hape |
|
qe |
q||e |
|
abl indef |
q |
nf |
heqe |
|
qe |
q|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
q |
nm |
kryqe |
|
qe |
q|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
k |
nm |
caqe gomarllqe |
|
qe |
q|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
q |
adj |
e
kuqe |
|
qe |
q||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
q |
v |
shfaqe |
|
qe |
q||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
q |
v |
shfaqe |
|
re |
r||e |
|
abl indef |
r |
nf |
are |
|
re |
r|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
r |
nm |
pazare |
|
re |
r|e |
fem |
nf nom/acc indef |
r |
n |
tregtare |
|
re |
r|e |
fem |
fem sg/pl |
r |
adj |
tregtare |
|
re |
r||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
r |
v |
prdore |
|
re |
r||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
r |
v |
prdore |
|
rre |
rr||e |
|
abl indef |
rr |
nf |
arre |
|
rre |
rr|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
rr |
nm |
zjarre |
|
rre |
rr|e |
fem |
fem sg/pl |
rr |
adj |
qorre |
|
rre |
rr||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
rr |
v |
shporre |
|
rre |
rr||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
rr |
v |
shporre |
|
se |
s||e |
|
abl indef |
s |
nf |
banese |
|
se |
s|e |
fem |
nf nom/acc indef |
s |
n |
nxnse |
|
se |
s|e |
fem |
pl fem nom/acc indef |
s |
n |
nxnse |
|
se |
s|e |
fem |
fem sg/pl |
s |
adj |
shklqyese |
|
se |
s||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
s |
v |
zmbrapse |
|
se |
s||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
s |
v |
zmbrapse |
|
she |
sh||e |
|
abl indef |
sh |
nf |
kishe |
|
she |
sh|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
s |
nm |
tallashe |
|
she |
sh|e |
fem |
fem sg/pl |
sh |
adj |
thartoshe |
|
she |
sh||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
sh |
v |
prishe |
|
she |
sh||e |
|
imper sg | 3rd dir.obj |
sh |
v |
prishe |
|
eshe |
|e||she |
|
2nd sg impf |
C |
vp |
trhiqeshe |
|
heshe |
|he||she |
|
2nd sg impf |
V |
vp |
laheshe |
|
she |
||sh||e |
|
2nd sg impf |
ish kish thosh |
v |
ishe
kishe thoshe |
|
*she |
||sh||e |
|
1st or 2nd sg
impf |
C |
v |
*falshe |
|
*she |
||sh||e |
|
1st or 2nd sg
impf |
blen di do ha pi |
v |
*bleshe *dishe *doshe *hashe *pishe |
|
*jshe |
||jsh||e |
|
1st or 2nd sg
impf |
o' |
v |
*punojshe |
|
*jshe |
||jsh||e |
|
1st or 2nd sg
impf |
e' |
v |
*krcejshe |
|
fshe |
||fsh||e |
|
1st sg opt |
V |
v |
mbarofshe |
|
fshe |
fsh|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
fsh |
nm |
afshe |
|
fshe |
fsh||e |
|
abl indef |
fsh |
nf |
kafshe |
|
te |
t||e |
|
abl indef |
t |
nf |
drite |
|
te |
t|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
t |
nm |
grushte |
|
te |
t|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
t |
adj |
delikate |
|
te |
t||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
t |
v |
mate |
|
te |
t||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
t |
v |
mate |
|
te |
||te |
|
3rd sg impf |
Any |
v |
hapte |
|
nte |
||n||te |
|
3rd sg impf |
V |
v |
shkonte |
|
ste |
||te |
|
3rd sg impf |
t |
v |
kulloste preste |
|
the |
th||e |
|
abl indef |
th |
nf |
vathe |
|
the |
th|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
t |
nm |
gypthe |
|
the |
th||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
th |
v |
mbathe |
|
the |
th||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
th |
v |
mbathe |
|
*ue |
|ue |
|
participle |
uar |
v |
shikuar |
|
*ue |
ue |
|
nom/acc sg indef |
ua |
nm |
*thue |
|
*ue |
ue |
|
nom/acc sg indef |
ua |
nf |
*grue |
|
*ue |
|ue |
|
participle |
o' |
v |
*me
shkue |
|
ve |
v||e |
|
abl indef |
v |
nf |
brave |
|
ve |
v|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
v |
nm |
hove |
|
ve |
v|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
v |
adj |
pozitive |
|
ve |
||v||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
o' |
v |
mbarove |
|
ve |
||v||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
e' |
v |
mbrtheve |
|
ve |
v||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
v |
v |
hove |
|
ve |
||()ve |
|
abl/dat |
Any |
np |
grave nxnsve netve |
|
xe |
x||e |
|
abl indef |
x |
nf |
xixe |
|
xhe |
xh||e |
|
abl indef |
xh |
nf |
kanxhe |
|
xhe |
xh|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
xh |
nm |
borxhe |
|
ze |
z||e |
|
abl indef |
z |
nf |
drize |
|
ze |
z||e |
|
abl indef |
z |
nf |
arze |
|
ze |
z|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
z |
nm |
buzagaze |
|
ze |
z|e |
|
fem sg/pl |
z |
adj |
angleze |
|
ze |
z||e |
|
2nd sg pdef |
z |
v |
lvize |
|
ze |
z||e |
|
imper sg || 3rd dir.obj |
z |
v |
lvize |
|
zhe |
zh||e |
|
abl indef |
zh |
nf |
grezhe |
|
zhe |
zh|e |
pl fem |
nom acc |
zh |
nm |
drenazhe |
|
b |
b|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
b |
v |
t
dhemb |
|
b |
b| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
b |
nm |
humb |
|
b |
b| |
|
pl masc |
b |
adj |
amfib |
|
c |
c|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
c |
v |
t
nguc |
|
c |
c| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
c |
nm |
memec |
|
c |
c| |
|
pl masc |
c |
adj |
prtac |
|
|
|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
|
v |
t
ky |
|
|
| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
|
nm |
gaga |
|
|
| |
|
pl masc |
|
adj |
gunga |
|
d |
d|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
d |
v |
t
bind |
|
d |
d| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
d |
nm |
invalid |
|
d |
d| |
|
pl masc |
d |
adj |
solid |
|
dh |
dh|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
dh |
v |
t
lidh |
|
dh |
dh| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
dh |
nm |
gjedh |
|
dh |
dh| |
|
pl masc |
dh |
adj |
aguridh |
|
f |
f|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
f |
v |
t
qaf |
|
f |
f| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
f |
nm |
fotograf |
|
f |
f| |
|
pl masc |
f |
adj |
tuhaf |
|
g |
g|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
g |
v |
t
shmang |
|
gj |
gj|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
gj |
v |
t
gjegj |
|
*gj |
gj| |
|
pl masc |
gj |
adj |
*karravagj |
|
h |
h|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
h |
v |
t
njoh |
|
h |
h| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
h |
nm |
krah |
|
j |
j|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
j |
v |
t
uj |
|
j |
j| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
j |
nm |
samuraj |
|
j |
j| |
|
pl masc |
j |
adj |
t
pafaj |
|
ej |
e||j |
|
3rd sg subj |
e'n |
v |
t
plcej |
|
yej |
ye||j |
|
3rd sg subj |
y'en |
v |
t
lyej |
|
oj |
o||j |
|
3rd sg subj |
o'n |
v |
t
shkoj |
|
uaj |
ua||j |
|
3rd sg subj |
u'an |
v |
t
luaj |
|
yj |
y||j |
|
3rd sg subj |
yn |
v |
t
hyj |
|
k |
k|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
k |
v |
t
zhduk |
|
k |
k| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
k |
nm |
abak |
|
k |
k| |
|
pl masc |
k |
adj |
besnik |
|
l |
l|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
l |
v |
t
ngul |
|
l |
l| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
l |
nm |
gjeneral |
|
l |
l| |
|
pl masc |
l |
adj |
aktual |
|
ll |
ll|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
ll |
v |
t
kall |
|
ll |
ll| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
ll |
nm |
kaptell |
|
ll |
ll| |
|
pl masc |
ll |
adj |
fodull |
|
m |
m|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
m |
v |
t
njom |
|
m |
m| |
|
pl masc |
m |
adj |
legjitim |
|
m |
|m |
|
1st pl pd |
V' |
v |
lam |
|
m |
|m |
|
1st pl pres |
di fle ha l pi rri v z |
v |
dim flem ham lm pim rrim vm zm |
|
jm |
|jm |
|
1st pl pres |
ble'n mbaro'n ru'an |
v |
blejm mbarojm ruajm |
|
n |
n| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
n |
nm |
timon |
|
n |
n| |
|
pl masc |
n |
adj |
amerikan |
|
n |
|n |
|
3rd pl pd |
V' |
v |
lan |
|
n |
|n |
|
3rd pl pres |
di fle ha l pi rri v z |
v |
din flen han ln pin rrin vn zn |
|
in |
|in |
noun denoting an area |
nom/acc indef |
C |
nf |
gurin |
|
jn |
|jn |
|
3rd pl pres |
V |
v |
blejn mbarojn ruajn |
|
nj |
nj|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
nj |
v |
t
thinj |
|
p |
p|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
p |
v |
t
hap |
|
p |
p| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
p() |
nm |
dollap |
|
p |
p| |
|
pl masc |
p() |
adj |
kallp |
|
q |
q|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
q |
v |
t
heq |
|
q |
q| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
q |
nm |
hutaq |
|
q |
q| |
|
pl masc |
q |
adj |
lakuriq |
|
r |
r|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
r |
v |
t
prdor |
|
r |
r| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
r |
nm |
berber |
|
r |
r| |
|
pl masc |
r |
adj |
fillestar |
|
rr |
rr| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
rr |
nm |
picorr |
|
rr |
rr| |
|
pl masc |
rr |
adj |
qorr |
|
s |
s|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
s |
v |
t
zmbraps |
|
s |
s| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
s |
nm |
qeros |
|
s |
s| |
|
pl masc |
s |
adj |
jetos |
|
sh |
sh|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
sh |
v |
t
prish |
|
sh |
sh| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
sh |
nm |
katarosh |
|
sh |
sh| |
|
pl masc |
sh |
adj |
murrmash |
|
sh |
||sh |
|
1st sg pdef |
jep l sht bie1 thot |
v |
dha||sh la||sh qe||sh ra||sh tha||sh |
|
t |
|t |
|
2nd pl pd |
V' |
v |
lat |
|
t |
t|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
t |
v |
t
mat |
|
t |
||t |
|
pl nom/acc def |
V' |
nf |
shtpit |
|
t |
t| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
t |
nm |
aspirant |
|
t |
t| |
|
pl masc |
t |
adj |
delikat |
|
t |
||t |
|
3rd sg opt |
C |
v |
lidht |
|
ft |
||ft |
|
3rd sg opt |
V' |
v |
mbaroft |
|
isht |
|isht |
noun denoting an area |
nf |
Any |
v |
kurpnisht |
|
th |
th|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
th |
v |
t
mbath |
|
th |
th| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
th |
nm |
urith |
|
th |
th| |
|
pl masc |
th |
adj |
skith |
|
v |
v|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
v |
v |
t
hov |
|
v |
v| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
v |
nm |
detektiv |
|
v |
v| |
|
pl masc |
v |
adj |
sportiv |
|
xh |
xh| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
xh |
nm |
xhuxh |
|
z |
z|| |
|
3rd sg subj |
z |
v |
t
lviz |
|
z |
z| |
pl fem |
nom acc |
z |
nm |
marangoz |
|
z |
z| |
|
pl masc |
z |
adj |
kanadez |
|
z |
|z |
diminutive |
nf |
V'(C) |
|
rrufez |
|
*f |
|
|
|
|
|
|
f; v |
*g |
|
|
|
|
|
|
g; k |
*Vh |
|
|
|
|
|
ngreh |
Vh; V |
ai |
a||i |
|
nom def |
a |
nm |
babai |
|
bi |
b||i |
|
nom def |
b |
nm |
elbi |
|
bi |
b||i |
|
indef abl |
b |
nm |
elbi |
|
bi |
b||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
b |
v |
humbi |
|
bi |
b||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
b |
v |
humbi |
|
bi |
b||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
b |
v |
humbi |
|
ci |
c||i |
|
nom def |
c |
nm |
keci |
|
ci |
c||i |
|
indef abl |
c |
nm |
keci |
|
ci |
c||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
c |
v |
nguci |
|
ci |
c||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
c |
v |
nguci |
|
ci |
c||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
c |
v |
nguci |
|
i |
||i |
|
nom def |
|
nm |
kyi |
|
i |
||i |
|
indef abl |
|
nm |
kyi |
|
i |
||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
|
v |
kyi |
|
i |
||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
|
v |
kyi |
|
i |
||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
|
v |
kyi |
|
di |
d||i |
|
nom def |
d |
nm |
vendi |
|
di |
d||i |
|
indef abl |
d |
nm |
vendi |
|
di |
d||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
d |
v |
bindi |
|
di |
d||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
d |
v |
bindi |
|
di |
d||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
d |
v |
bindi |
|
dhi |
dh||i |
|
nom def |
dh |
nm |
gardhi |
|
dhi |
dh||i |
|
indef abl |
dh |
nm |
gardhi |
|
dhi |
dh||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
dh |
v |
lidhi |
|
dhi |
dh||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
dh |
v |
lidhi |
|
dhi |
dh||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
dh |
v |
lidhi |
|
fi |
f||i |
|
nom def |
f |
nm |
qejfi |
|
fi |
f||i |
|
indef abl |
f |
nm |
qejfi |
|
fi |
f||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
f |
v |
qafi |
|
fi |
f||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
f |
v |
qafi |
|
fi |
f||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
f |
v |
qafi |
|
gi |
g||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
g |
v |
shmangi |
|
gi |
g||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
g |
v |
shmangi |
|
gji |
gj||i |
|
nom def |
gj |
nm |
ligji |
|
gji |
gj||i |
|
indef abl |
gj |
nm |
ligji |
|
gji |
gj||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
gj |
v |
gjegji |
|
gji |
gj||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
gj |
v |
gjegji |
|
gji |
gj||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
gj |
v |
gjegji |
|
hi |
h||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
h |
v |
krihi |
|
hi |
h||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
h |
v |
krihi |
|
ji |
j||i |
|
nom def |
j |
nm |
faji |
|
ji |
j||i |
|
indef abl |
j |
nm |
faji |
|
ji |
j||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
j |
v |
uji |
|
ji |
|j|i |
|
imper sg | 3rd ind.obj |
j |
v |
laji |
|
ji |
|j|i |
|
imper sg | 3rd pl dir.obj |
j |
v |
laji |
|
ki |
k||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
k |
v |
zhduki |
|
ki |
k||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
k |
v |
zhduki |
|
li |
l||i |
|
nom def |
l |
nm |
mali |
|
li |
l||i |
|
indef abl |
l |
nm |
mali |
|
li |
l||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
l |
v |
nguli |
|
li |
l||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
l |
v |
nguli |
|
li |
l||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
l |
v |
nguli |
|
lli |
ll||i |
|
nom def |
ll |
nm |
kavalli |
|
lli |
ll||i |
|
indef abl |
ll |
nm |
kavalli |
|
lli |
ll||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
ll |
v |
kalli |
|
lli |
ll||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
ll |
v |
kalli |
|
lli |
ll||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
ll |
v |
kalli |
|
mi |
m||i |
|
nom def |
m |
nm |
gabimi |
|
mi |
m||i |
|
indef abl |
m |
nm |
gabimi |
|
mi |
m||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
m |
v |
njomi |
he wet them |
mi |
m||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
m |
v |
blldumi |
splash down in it! |
mi |
m||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
m |
v |
njomi |
wet them! |
mi |
|m|i |
|
imper sg | 1st sg ind.obj | 3rd pl dir.obj |
Any |
v |
sillmi
tregomi |
bring me them! show them to me! |
emi |
|e||mi |
|
1st pl pres |
C |
vp |
trhiqemi |
|
hemi |
|he||mi |
|
1st pl pres |
V |
vp |
lahemi |
|
kemi |
||ke||mi |
|
1st pl pres adm |
V |
vp |
lakemi |
|
uakemi |
o'||ke||mi |
|
1st pl pres adm |
o' |
v |
mbaruakemi |
|
yekemi |
e'||ke||mi |
|
1st pl pres adm |
e' |
v |
krcyekemi |
|
ni |
n||i |
|
nom def |
n |
nm |
zakoni |
|
ni |
n||i |
|
indef abl |
n |
nm |
zakoni |
|
ni |
ni |
|
2nd pl pres |
Any |
v |
shkoni |
|
ni |
ni |
|
imper pl |
Any |
v |
shkoni |
|
eni |
|e||ni |
|
1st pl pres |
C |
vp |
trhiqeni |
|
heni |
|he||ni |
|
1st pl pres |
V |
vp |
laheni |
|
keni |
||ke||ni |
|
2nd pl pres adm |
V |
vp |
lakeni |
|
uakeni |
o'||ke||ni |
|
2nd pl pres adm |
o' |
v |
mbaruakeni |
|
yekeni |
e'||ke||ni |
|
2nd pl pres adm |
e' |
v |
krcyekeni |
|
nji |
nj||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
nj |
v |
thinji |
|
nji |
nj||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
nj |
v |
thinji |
|
nji |
nj||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
nj |
v |
thinji |
|
oi |
o||i |
|
nom def |
ua |
nm |
thoi |
|
oi |
o||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
o'n |
v |
shkoi shkroi |
|
oi |
o||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
u'an |
v |
shkoi shkroi |
|
pi |
p||i |
|
nom def |
p |
nm |
djepi |
|
pi |
p||i |
|
indef abl |
p |
nm |
djepi |
|
pi |
p||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
p |
v |
hapi |
|
pi |
p||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
p |
v |
hapi |
|
pi |
p||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
p |
v |
hapi |
|
qi |
q||i |
|
nom def |
q |
nm |
kryqi |
|
qi |
q||i |
|
indef abl |
q |
nm |
kryqi |
|
qi |
q||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
q |
v |
heqi |
|
qi |
q||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
q |
v |
heqi |
|
qi |
q||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
q |
v |
heqi |
|
ri |
r||i |
|
nom def |
r |
nm |
pazari |
|
ri |
r||i |
|
indef abl |
r |
nm |
pazari |
|
ri |
r||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
r |
v |
prdori |
|
ri |
r||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
r |
v |
prdori |
|
ri |
r||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
r |
v |
prdori |
|
rri |
rr||i |
|
nom def |
rr |
nm |
zjarri |
|
rri |
rr||i |
|
indef abl |
rr |
nm |
zjarri |
|
rri |
rr||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
rr |
v |
shporri |
|
rri |
rr||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
rr |
v |
shporri |
|
rri |
rr||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
rr |
v |
shporri |
|
si |
s||i |
|
nom def |
s |
nm |
nxnsi |
|
si |
s||i |
|
indef abl |
s |
nm |
nxnsi |
|
si |
s||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
s |
v |
zmbrapsi |
|
si |
s||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
s |
v |
zmbrapsi |
|
si |
s||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
s |
v |
zmbrapsi |
|
shi |
sh||i |
|
nom def |
sh |
nm |
gjyshi |
|
shi |
sh||i |
|
indef abl |
sh |
nm |
gjyshi |
|
shi |
sh||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
sh |
v |
prishi |
|
shi |
sh||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
sh |
v |
prishi |
|
shi |
sh||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
sh |
v |
prishi |
|
shi |
||sh||i |
|
2nd pl opt |
C |
v |
gjetshi |
|
fshi |
||fsh||i |
|
2nd pl opt |
V |
v |
mbarofshi |
|
ti |
t||i |
|
nom def |
t |
nm |
grushti |
|
ti |
t||i |
|
indef abl |
t |
nm |
grushti |
|
ti |
t||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
t |
v |
mati |
|
ti |
t||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
t |
v |
mati |
|
ti |
t||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
t |
v |
mati |
|
thi |
th||i |
|
nom def |
th |
nm |
gypthi |
|
thi |
th||i |
|
indef abl |
th |
nm |
gypthi |
|
thi |
th||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
th |
v |
mbathi |
|
thi |
th||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
th |
v |
mbathi |
|
thi |
th||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
th |
v |
mbathi |
|
thi |
|thi |
adv |
|
Any |
|
mbrapthi |
|
vi |
v||i |
|
nom def |
v |
nm |
hovi |
|
vi |
v||i |
|
indef abl |
v |
nm |
hovi |
|
vi |
v||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
v |
v |
hovi |
|
vi |
v||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
v |
v |
hovi |
|
vi |
v||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
v |
v |
hovi |
|
xi |
x||i |
|
nom def |
x |
nm |
*thinxi |
|
xi |
x||i |
|
indef abl |
x |
nm |
*thinxi |
|
xhi |
xh||i |
|
nom def |
xh |
nm |
borxhi |
|
xhi |
xh||i |
|
indef abl |
xh |
nm |
borxhi |
|
zi |
z||i |
|
nom def |
z |
nm |
breza |
|
zi |
z||i |
|
indef abl |
z |
nm |
breza |
|
zi |
z||i |
|
3rd sg pdef |
z |
v |
lvizi |
|
zi |
z||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd ind.obj |
z |
v |
lvizi |
|
zi |
z||i |
|
imper sg || 3rd pl dir.obj |
z |
v |
lvizi |
|
azi |
|azi |
adv |
adverb |
C() |
|
mbarkazi |
|
zhi |
zh||i |
|
nom def |
zh |
nm |
drenazhi |
|
zhi |
zh||i |
|
indef abl |
zh |
nm |
drenazhi |
|
*j |
|
|
|
j |
|
|
|
aj |
a|j |
|
imper sg |
a'n |
v |
mbaj |
|
aj |
a||j |
|
1st sg pres |
a'n |
v |
mbaj |
|
ej |
e|j |
|
imper sg |
e'n |
v |
brej |
|
ej |
e||j |
|
1st sg pres |
e'n |
v |
plqej |
|
ej |
|e||j |
|
3rd sg impf |
C |
vp |
trhiqej |
|
hej |
|he||j |
|
3rd sg impf |
V |
vp |
lahej |
|
j |
|j |
|
imper sg |
'n |
v |
bj |
|
j |
||j |
|
1st sg pres |
n |
v |
bj |
|
ij |
i||j |
|
1st sg pres |
in |
v |
prij |
|
*kj |
|
|
|
q |
|
|
|
oj |
o||j |
|
1st sg pres |
o' |
v |
mbaroj |
|
uj |
u|j |
|
imper sg |
u'n |
v |
mbruj |
|
uj |
u||j |
|
1st sg pres |
u'n |
v |
mbruj |
|
yj |
y||j |
|
1st sg pres |
yn |
v |
shtyj |
|
*k |
|
|
|
|
nm |
*brek |
k |
*k |
|
|
|
|
nm |
*brek |
g |
*k |
k |
diminutive |
|
|
|
*brethk,
*bushk |
k |
ak |
|ak |
diminutive; augmentative |
|
C() |
nm |
qafak |
|
ak |
|ak |
diminutive; augmentative |
|
C() |
adj |
qafak |
|
*ak |
|ak |
ethnonym: ‑ese, ‑an, ‑ian, ‑man |
|
C() |
nm |
*bosnjak |
an |
*ak |
|ak |
ethnonym: ‑ese, ‑an, ‑ian, ‑man |
|
C() |
adj |
*bosnjak |
an |
ek |
|ek |
diminutive; augmentative |
|
C() |
nm |
tymek |
|
ek |
|ek |
diminutive; augmentative |
|
C() |
adj |
tymek |
|
ik |
|ik |
‑ic |
masc sg indef |
C() |
adj |
barbarik |
|
ok |
|ok |
diminutive; augmentative |
|
C() |
n |
capok |
|
ok |
|ok |
diminutive; augmentative |
|
C() |
adj |
capok |
|
uk |
|uk |
diminutive; augmentative |
|
C() |
nm |
bishtuk |
|
uk |
|uk |
diminutive; augmentative |
|
C() |
adj |
bishtuk |
|
*l |
|
|
|
l |
|
*djal |
|
*l |
|
|
|
ll |
|
|
|
al |
|al |
|
|
|
|
|
|
el |
|el |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ol |
|ol |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ul |
|ul |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ll |
|
|
|
ll |
|
|
|
ll |
|
|
|
l |
|
|
|
ll |
|
|
|
dh |
|
|
|
ll |
|
|
|
dh |
|
|
|
ell |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ll |
|ull |
|
|
ull |
|
|
|
ill |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ull |
|ull |
|
|
ll |
|
|
|
oll |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*m |
|
|
|
m |
|
|
|
*m |
|
|
|
mb |
|
|
|
kam |
||ka||m |
|
1st sg pres adm |
Any |
v |
qnkam |
|
uakam |
o'||ka||m |
|
1st sg pres adm |
o' |
v |
mbaruakam |
|
yekam |
e'||ka||m |
|
1st sg pres adm |
e' |
v |
krcyekam |
|
uam |
o'||m |
|
1st pl pd |
o' |
v |
mbaruam |
|
hem |
|he||m |
|
1st sg pres |
V |
vp |
lahem |
|
yem |
e'||m |
|
1st pl pd |
e' |
v |
krcyem |
|
*m |
|
|
|
m |
|
dasm |
|
shm |
|shm |
derivational suffix |
masc sg |
Any |
adj (i) |
i
vajshm |
|
im |
||im |
|
1st pl pres |
C |
v |
ngulim |
|
im |
|im |
gerund |
nom/acc indef |
o' or e' |
|
shtizim |
|
nim |
||n||im |
|
1st pl impf |
Any |
v |
mbaronim |
|
shim |
||sh||im |
|
1st pl impf |
ish kish thosh |
v |
ishim kishim thoshim |
|
eshim |
|e||sh||im |
|
1st pl impf |
C |
vp |
trhiqeshim |
|
heshim |
|he||sh||im |
|
1st pl impf |
V |
vp |
laheshim |
|
kshim |
||k||sh||im |
|
1st pl impf adm |
Any |
v |
qnkshim |
|
fshim |
||fsh||im |
|
1st pl opt |
V |
v |
mbarofshim |
|
sm |
|
|
|
sm |
|
|
|
sm |
|
|
|
sm |
|
|
|
shm |
|
|
|
shm |
|
|
|
shm |
|
|
|
shm |
|
|
|
zm |
|
|
|
zm |
|
|
|
zm |
|
|
|
zm |
|
|
|
zhm |
|
|
|
zhm |
|
|
|
zhm |
|
|
|
zhm |
|
|
|
*n |
|
|
|
n |
|
|
|
*n |
|
|
|
nd |
|
|
|
kan |
||ka||n |
|
3rd pl pres adm |
Any |
v |
qnkan |
|
uakan |
o'||ka||n |
|
3rd pl pres adm |
o' |
v |
mbaruakan |
|
uan |
o'||n |
|
3rd pl pd |
o' |
v |
mbaruan |
|
hen |
|he||n |
|
3rd sg pres |
V |
vp |
lahen |
|
yen |
e'||n |
|
3rd pl pd |
e' |
v |
krcyen |
|
yekan |
e'||ka||n |
|
3rd pl pres adm |
e' |
v |
krcyekan |
|
en |
|e||n |
|
3rd pl pres |
C |
vp |
trhiqen |
|
hen |
|he||n |
|
3rd pl pres |
V |
vp |
lahen |
|
*n |
|
|
|
n |
|
cikn |
|
*n |
|
|
|
r |
|
*shkurtn |
|
in |
||i||n |
|
def acc |
C except g, h, k |
nm |
malin |
|
nin |
||n||in |
|
3rd pl impf |
Any |
v |
mbaronin |
|
shin |
||sh||in |
|
3rd pl impf |
ish kish thosh |
v |
ishin kishin thoshin |
|
eshin |
|e||sh||in |
|
3rd pl impf |
C |
vp |
trhiqeshin |
|
heshin |
|he||sh||in |
|
3rd pl impf |
V |
vp |
laheshin |
|
kshin |
||k||sh||in |
|
3rd pl impf adm |
Any |
v |
qnkshin |
|
fshin |
||fsh||in |
|
3rd pl opt |
V |
v |
mbarofshin |
|
sn |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
shn |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*un |
|
|
participle |
ur |
|
*ditun |
|
zn |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
zhn |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*anj |
a||nj |
|
1st sg pres |
an |
v |
*lanj |
|
*enj |
e||nj |
|
1st sg pres |
e'n |
v |
*plqenj |
|
*inj |
i||nj |
|
1st sg pres |
in |
v |
*prinj |
|
*onj |
o||nj |
|
1st sg pres |
on |
v |
*kuptonj |
|
*unj |
u||nj |
|
1st sg pres |
un |
v |
*zbrunj |
|
*ynj |
y||nj |
|
1st sg pres |
yn |
v |
*ndrhynj |
|
o |
|o' |
thematic suffix |
imper sg |
C() |
v |
*retifiko |
|
*o |
|o' |
|
imper sg |
e',
i' |
v |
*fishkllo |
|
*o |
o |
|
nom/acc indef |
ua |
nm |
*drago |
|
*o |
|
|
imper sg |
u'an |
v |
*shkro |
|
uo |
|
|
|
ua, o |
|
|
|
p |
|
|
|
p |
|
*prap |
|
p |
|
|
|
b |
|
*tharp |
|
aq |
|aq |
diminutive augmentative |
|
C() |
nm |
ngordhaq |
|
aq |
|aq |
diminutive augmentative |
|
C() |
adj |
ngordhaq |
|
alaq |
|alaq |
diminutive augmentative |
|
C() |
nm |
ngordhalaq |
|
alaq |
|alaq |
diminutive augmentative |
|
C() |
adj |
ngordhalaq |
|
iq |
|iq |
diminutive augmentative |
|
C() |
nm |
bubuliq |
|
iq |
|iq |
diminutive augmentative |
|
C() |
adj |
bubuliq |
|
uq |
|uq |
diminutive augmentative |
|
C() |
nm |
nanuq |
|
uq |
|uq |
diminutive augmentative |
|
C() |
adj |
nanuq |
|
*r |
|
|
|
|
|
|
r; rr; n |
ar |
|ar |
agent |
|
C() |
nm |
shular |
|
ar |
|ar |
agent |
|
C() |
adj |
shular |
|
()tar |
t|ar |
agent |
|
Any |
nm |
treg()tar |
|
()tar |
t|ar |
agent |
|
Any |
adj |
treg()tar |
|
uar |
ua|r |
participle |
|
o' |
v |
|
|
uar |
ua|r |
adj (i) |
|
o' |
v |
|
|
r |
|r |
adj (i) |
|
C |
v |
|
|
or |
|or |
agent |
|
C() |
nm |
koreanojugor |
|
or |
|or |
agent |
|
C() |
adj |
koreanojugor |
|
ator |
|ator |
agent |
|
C() |
nm |
racator |
|
ator |
|ator |
agent |
|
C() |
adj |
racator |
|
ur |
|ur |
participle |
|
C |
v |
|
|
ur |
|ur |
adj (i) |
|
C |
v |
|
|
yer |
ye|r |
participle |
|
e'n |
v |
|
|
yer |
ye|r |
adj (i) |
|
e'n |
v |
|
|
*rr |
|
|
|
rr |
|
|
|
*rr |
|
|
|
r |
|
|
|
*s |
|
|
|
|
|
*oris |
s;
z |
as |
|as |
adv |
adverb |
C() |
|
lehtas |
|
s |
|s |
agent |
adj |
C |
v |
|
|
s |
|s |
agent |
n |
C |
v |
|
|
is |
|is |
v |
1st sg pres |
C |
|
|
|
os |
|is |
v |
1st/2nd/3rd sg pres |
C |
|
hekuros |
|
ps |
|
borrowing from Greek |
|
|
|
|
|
ts |
|
|
|
|
|
|
c |
ues |
ue|s |
agent |
adj |
o' |
v |
|
|
ues |
ue|s |
agent |
n |
o' |
v |
|
|
yes |
ye|s |
agent |
adj |
e' |
v |
|
|
yes |
ye|s |
agent |
n |
e' |
v |
|
|
*us |
u|s |
agent |
adj |
o' |
v |
|
ues |
*us |
u|s |
agent |
n |
o' |
v |
|
ues |
*ys |
|
|
|
|
|
|
yes |
sh |
||sh |
|
2nd sg subj |
V |
v |
mbarosh |
|
sh |
||sh |
|
2nd sg opt |
C |
v |
lidhsh |
|
*sh |
|
|
|
|
|
|
sh; |
esh |
|e||sh |
|
2nd sg impf |
C |
vp |
trhiqesh |
|
hesh |
|he||sh |
|
2nd sg impf |
V |
vp |
lahesh |
|
sh |
||sh |
|
2nd sg subj |
C |
v |
lidhsh |
|
fsh |
||fsh |
|
2nd sg opt |
V |
nf |
mbarofsh |
|
osh |
|osh |
diminutive augmentative |
|
C() |
nm |
mjekrrosh |
|
osh |
|osh |
diminutive augmentative |
|
C() |
adj |
mjekrrosh |
|
*mpsh |
|
|
|
|
|
|
msh |
*tsh |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ush |
|ush |
diminutive augmentative |
|
C() |
nm |
gjatush |
|
ush |
|ush |
diminutive augmentative |
|
C() |
adj |
gjatush |
|
*t |
|
|
|
|
|
|
t; d |
at |
|a||t |
|
pl nom/acc def |
|
nf |
kmbat |
|
at |
|a||t |
|
pl nom/acc def |
C |
nm |
krimbat |
|
uat |
o'||t |
|
2nd pl pd |
o' |
v |
mbaruat |
|
et |
|e||t |
|
pl nom/acc def |
C |
nm |
gardhet |
|
et |
|e||t |
|
1st sg pres |
C |
vp |
trhiqet |
|
Vhet |
|he||t |
|
1st sg pres |
V |
vp |
lahet |
|
yet |
e'||t |
|
2nd pl pd |
e' |
v |
krcyet |
|
Ct |
C||t |
|
pl nom/acc def |
C() |
np |
amerikant kafsht |
|
*Ct |
|
|
|
t |
|
*i
imt |
|
sht |
sh||t |
|
2nd pl pdef |
sh |
v |
prisht |
|
it |
||i||t |
|
def abl |
C except g, h,
k |
nm |
malit |
|
it |
||i||t |
|
def abl |
V' |
nm |
babait |
|
nit |
||n||it |
|
2nd pl impf |
Any |
v |
mbaronit |
|
rit |
r||i||t |
|
nom/acc def |
r |
np |
prindrit |
|
sit |
s||i||t |
|
pl nom/acc def |
s |
nm |
nxnsit |
|
shit |
||sh||it |
|
2nd pl impf |
ish kish thosh |
v |
ishit kishit thoshit |
|
shit |
||sh||it |
|
2nd pl opt |
C |
v |
gjetshit |
|
eshit |
|e||sh||it |
|
2nd pl impf |
C |
vp |
trhiqeshit |
|
heshit |
|he||sh||it |
|
2nd pl impf |
V' |
vp |
laheshit |
|
kshit |
||k||sh||it |
|
2nd pl impf adm |
Any |
v |
qnkshit |
|
fshit |
||fsh||it |
|
2nd pl opt |
V' |
v |
mbarofshit |
|
*ft |
||ft |
|
3rd sg opt |
V' |
v |
*mbroft |
ft |
*ht |
|
|
|
|
|
*ftoht |
ht |
*jt |
|jt |
extension |
3rd sg pdef |
V' |
vp |
|
|
*njt |
|
|
|
|
adj (i) |
*i
shtrnjt |
njt |
ot |
o||t |
|
pl nom/acc def |
o |
nf |
balot |
|
*rt |
|
|
|
|
adj (i) |
*i
lart |
rt |
*sht |
|
|
|
|
adj (i) |
*i
gjasht |
sht |
ut |
||u||t |
|
def abl |
g, h, k |
nm |
bregut |
|
*th |
|
|
|
|
|
*gjith |
th |
*th |
|th |
diminutive |
|
|
|
*birth |
|
u |
C||u |
|
imper sg |
Cet |
vp |
krimbu |
|
au |
a||u |
|
3rd sg pdef |
a' |
v |
lau |
|
*au |
a||u |
|
nom def |
a' |
nm |
*vllau |
|
bu |
b||u |
|
imper sg |
bet |
vp |
krimbu |
|
bu |
b||u |
|
imper sg | 3rd pl ind.obj |
b |
v |
krimbu |
|
cu |
c||u |
|
imper sg |
cet |
vp |
ngucu |
|
cu |
c||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
c |
v |
ngeci |
|
u |
||u |
|
imper sg |
et |
vp |
prllou |
|
du |
d||u |
|
imper sg |
det |
vp |
bindu |
|
du |
d||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
d |
v |
rendu |
|
dhu |
dh||u |
|
imper sg |
dhet |
vp |
hidhu |
|
dhu |
dh||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
dh |
v |
bridhu |
|
eu |
e||u |
|
nom def |
e' |
nm |
atdheu |
|
eu |
e||u |
|
3rd sg pdef |
e' |
v |
bleu |
|
fu |
f||u |
|
imper sg |
fet |
vp |
plafu |
|
fu |
f||u |
|
imper sg |3rd pl ind.obj |
f |
v |
brofu |
|
gu |
g||u |
|
nom def |
g |
nm |
bregu |
|
gu |
g||u |
|
3rd sg pdef |
g |
v |
shtangu |
|
gju |
gj||u |
|
imper sg |
gjet |
vp |
prligju |
|
gju |
gj||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
gj |
v |
gjegju |
|
hu |
h||u |
|
imper sg |
het |
vp |
mbahu |
|
hu |
h||u |
|
3rd sg pdef |
h |
v |
fshehu |
|
hu |
h||u |
|
nom def |
h |
nm |
krahu |
|
iu |
a||i |
|
nom def |
i' |
nm |
bariu |
|
ju |
j||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
V' |
v |
mbaju |
|
ku |
k||u |
|
imper sg |
ket |
vp |
duku |
|
ku |
k||u |
|
nom def |
k |
nm |
miku |
|
ku |
k||u |
|
3rd sg pdef |
k |
v |
iku |
|
lu |
l||u |
|
imper sg |
let |
vp |
ulu |
|
lu |
l||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
l |
v |
falu |
|
llu |
ll||u |
|
imper sg |
llet |
vp |
mallu |
|
llu |
ll||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
ll |
v |
mbyllu |
|
mu |
m||u |
|
imper sg |
met |
vp |
shprgjumu |
|
mu |
m||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
m |
v |
grymu |
|
nju |
nj||u |
|
imper sg |
njet |
vp |
prgjunju |
|
nju |
nj||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
nj |
v |
kakinju |
|
nu |
n||u |
|
imper sg |
net |
vp |
mnjanu |
|
pu |
p||u |
|
imper sg |
pet |
vp |
zhdpu |
|
pu |
p||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
p |
v |
hapu |
|
qu |
q||u |
|
imper sg |
qet |
vp |
ndrequ |
|
qu |
q||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
q |
v |
flliqu |
|
ru |
r||u |
|
imper sg |
ret |
vp |
dliru |
|
ru |
r||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
r |
v |
lbyru |
|
rru |
rr||u |
|
imper sg |
rret |
vp |
pirru |
|
rru |
rr||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
rr |
v |
shperru |
|
su |
s||u |
|
imper sg |
set |
vp |
kujdesu |
|
su |
s||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
s |
v |
kujdesu |
|
shu |
sh||u |
|
imper sg |
shet |
vp |
vishu |
|
shu |
sh||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
sh |
v |
buzqeshu |
|
tu |
t||u |
|
imper sg |
tet |
vp |
morritu |
|
tu |
t||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
t |
v |
brtitu |
|
thu |
th||u |
|
imper sg |
thet |
vp |
mbathu |
|
thu |
th||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
th |
v |
zbathu |
|
vu |
v||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
v |
v |
hovu |
|
zu |
z||u |
|
imper sg |
zet |
vp |
zbrazu |
|
zu |
z||u |
|
imper sg ||3rd pl ind.obj |
z |
v |
lvizu |
|
iv |
|iv |
adjectival |
‑ive |
|
adj |
alternativ |
|
*z |
z |
diminutive |
|
|
|
*thuprz |
|
Cez |
|ez |
ethnonym |
‑ese, ‑an, ‑ian, ‑man |
C() |
n |
eskimez anglez |
Eskimo Englishman |
Cez |
e|z |
diminutive |
|
Ce |
nf |
fijez |
|
Cz |
|z |
diminutive |
|
C() |
nf |
gurz gushz |
|
oz |
|oz |
adjectival |
‑ous |
|
adj |
melodioz |
|
Albanians are used to considerable variability in form of words, both in terms of inflection and in terms of dialectal variation; foreign readers whose own language shows greater standardization of forms must be prepared to be quite flexible in reading Albanian texts. There have been several attempts to establish a standard set of forms for Albanian that would be the same for all writers, irrespective of their regional provenance. The most effective of these attempts, promulgated as a set of orthographic rules in the 1968 publication of Rregullat e drejtshkrimit t shqipes (The Rules of Albanian Orthography) in Tirana and supported in Kosovo by the Linguistic Conference of Prishtin in 1968 (at the expense of their own regional standard Gheg), was enforced by the full power of the government in Albania and embodied in the two large dictionaries Fjalor i shqipes s sotme (Dictionary of present‑day Albanian) and Fjalor i gjuhs s sotme shqipe (Dictionary of the present‑day Albanian language) published in 1980 and 1984, respectively, in Tirana by the Instituti i Gjuhsis dhe i Letrsis of the Akademia e Shkencave (Institute of Linguistics and Literature of the Academy of Sciences of the People's Republic of Albania). It would be impossible to discuss the way in which decisions were made as to the principles on which this Standard Literary Albanian was based without a lengthy discussion of Albanian politics and political personalities, discussion which would lead us far afield of the use of this dictionary. Suffice it to say here that for a period of over 40 years, Albanian children were taught this standard in schools, publications in Albania were strictly forced to conform to this standard, radio and television broadcasts, plays and films shown in Albanian were required to adhere to this standard, so that by the end of the period of official enforcement of the standard, it had become natural for large numbers of people all over the Albanian‑speaking world to understand and use the forms promulgated to fit that standard.
More than half of the entries in this dictionary are based on forms and senses sanctioned by inclusion in those 1980 and 1984 Tirana dictionaries. The spellings and senses without an asterisk in this dictionary reflect these attempts over a half century to standardize the spelling of Albanian words, attempts that have succeeded in some respects and failed in others. Dialectal, stylistic, and personal variation continue to characterize Albanian speech and continue to be reflected in different degrees in print. However, readers of Albanian need to be aware that in actual documents, particularly those published before and after the great normalization efforts from 1968 to 1989, many words appear in forms different from the present‑day standard ones. In this dictionary, words and senses that have not been judged to conform to that standard are preceded by an asterisk: *. Such marking does not imply any kind of value judgement wrong vs. right, bad vs. good, unacceptable vs. acceptable. The asterisk is provided only to inform the reader that the word or sense that follows is likely to be viewed by many present‑day educated Albanians as aberrant in some way from the standard. Such knowledge may be useful, for example, in understanding intended nuances in modern literary works, or in judging the provenance or age of older non‑literary publications. But the sensitive reader must be aware that linguistic variation is rampant in Albanian texts and must be flexible in dealing with word forms and senses that are not matched by those chosen for inclusion here.
Readers must be especially aware that unstressed and e are particularly unstable in Albanian: is often not pronounced and is often omitted in writing, even when the official orthography would require its presence. In modern standard literary Albanian, there have been valiant attempts to control spellings in regard to , but dialectal, stylistic, and personal variation continues to resist standardization. For nouns, presence of or e in final position in writing the nominative singular indefinite form (the usual citation form) reflects the treatment of the noun as feminine (with inflectional endings ‑a (or ‑ja), ‑e (or ‑je), ‑s, ‑n, while their absence indicates that the noun is treated as masculine (with inflectional endings ‑i (or ‑u), ‑it (or ‑un), ‑in (or ‑un). For example, some Albanians (and some dictionaries) would insist that the correct form of the word for millipede is dyzetkmbshe, a feminine noun in declension and agreement, while others insist that it is dyzetkmbsh, a masculine noun in declension and agreement (still others think that the word is shumkmbsh).
Because unstressed is pronounced very lightly, if at all, in most spoken varieties of Albanian, the appearance of the letter is highly variable in print, even when the official orthography would require its presence. Readers must be especially flexible in recognizing that a form found in a text with may be found in the dictionary without that letter, and vice versa; a text form that ends in a consonant plus plus l—which can be represented schematically as Cl—may be found in the dictionary with the at the end rather than in the middle of the sequence—represented schematically as Cl. The same is true for the letters ll, r, rr, m, n, k, t, s, z around . The same word may end in C in one dialect of Albanian, Ce in another, and just C in a third.
At the end of a stem, unstressed always drops out before a suffix that begins in a vowel. In other positions, the appearance of in print continues to reflect dialectal, stylistic, and personal variation. For example, between two consonants, an unstressed may drop out before a vowel, but only if the sequence of consonants left by its disappearance is pronounceable in the variety of Albanian in which the text is written; but that implies that speakers of different varieties of Albanian will differ in whether they say (and write) that in a particular word. The implication for the Albanian dictionary user is that the possibility must be kept open that a form found in a text with an may be found in the dictionary without that letter, and vice versa. Since there would be room for little else if every possible variant with and without were separately listed, for the most part this dictionary follows the choice of the 1980 Fjalor i gjuhs s sotme shqipe for its primary entries, but for certain sub‑entries—e.g., the feminine forms of adjectives that drop the stem when the suffix ‑e is added—including those forms would needlessly pad the dictionary with easily interpretable forms.
In modern standard Albanian, suffixes with an underlying form consisting of a single consonant followed by —schematically ‑C—typically lose the if the vowel in the preceding syllable is unstressed:
qen + ‑t = qent
shtpi' + ‑t
= shtpi't
lume'nj + ‑t = lume'njt
armi'q + ‑t = armi'qt
but
lu'le + ‑t = lu'let
bu'rra + ‑t = bu'rrat
du'ar + ‑t = duart
nje'rz + ‑t = nje'rzit
shtpi' + ‑s = shtpi's
but
lu'le + ‑s = lu'les
It is common to lengthen (in pronunciation) a stressed vowel in a syllable preceding a final . In varieties of Albanian that have dropped the final (e.g., most northern dialects), that lengthening may have been preserved. Just as an English speaker used a different vowel to distinguish bit from bite, even though the final written e is no longer pronounced, so an Albanian who does not pronounce the final unstressed may still distinguish between bishtu'k and bishtu'k, on the basis of the length of the u'. However, for many speakers of Albanian, the unstressed seems quite arbitrary in the orthography, and many variations appear in print.
The following Table of Dialectal Variants includes many of the possible ways in which text forms differ from dictionary forms. For words found in work published outside of Albania or before 1969 inside Albania, the reader may find it necessary to try out several possibilities listed in the table in order to find the proper match—proper meaning that the match enables the reader to make sense of the passage in which the troublesome word is found. Because this dictionary is so large, and because it is not the usual case that a single word will be crucial for the needs of a reader, this cryptoanalytic technique should not be required often; the tools here are provided for those rare cases when it is so required.
In Text[38] |
Standard Form |
Pre‑standard |
Function |
Example |
Standard |
|
|
|
spelling difference |
djal |
djal |
|
e |
|
grammatical difference |
angjinar |
angjinare |
CC |
CC |
Northern |
spelling difference |
fajsi ancak |
fajsi ancak |
CCV' |
CCV' |
Older |
spelling difference |
shndrit |
shndrit |
CC# |
CC# |
Older |
spelling difference |
laps |
laps |
Cs |
Cs |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
hiths |
hiths |
CRV |
CRV |
Older |
spelling difference |
ndrron |
ndrron |
VV |
VjV |
Older |
spelling difference |
bia |
bija |
VV |
VhV |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
tuaf |
tuhaf |
|
' |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
sht b hngra |
sht b hngra |
|
Vn |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
dum |
duman |
j |
nj |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
jtun |
njtur |
am |
m |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
bam |
bm |
n |
Vn |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
dng |
dang |
an |
n |
Northern |
2nd sg pres of
verbs |
ban |
bn |
anV |
rV |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
ban |
bre |
‑ar |
‑or |
Older |
derivational suffix |
cikalar ndrqytetar |
cikalor ndrqytetor |
ardh| |
erdh| |
Northern |
verb stem |
ardha |
erdha |
c |
|
Older |
pronunciation difference |
kacamill |
kaamill |
c |
s |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
cfurk frakcion |
sfurk fraksion |
c |
x |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
gucim kaprcej |
guxim kaprxej |
cb |
zb |
Older |
spelling difference |
cbardh cbath |
zbardh zbath |
cd |
zd |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
cdrukth |
zdrukth |
cf |
sf |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
cfurk |
sfurk |
cg |
zg |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
cfurk |
sfurk |
‑ci |
‑si |
Northern |
derivational suffix |
egrci |
egrsi |
ck |
sk |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
ckallua |
skallua |
cm |
sm |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
cmag |
smag |
‑co |
‑so |
Northern |
derivational suffix |
egrcoj |
egrsoj |
cp |
sp |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
cprkas |
sprkas |
cq |
sq |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
cqufur |
squfur |
crr |
cr |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
crrule |
crule |
cv |
zv |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
cverk |
zverk |
|
q |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
arkim |
qarkim |
|
c |
|
pronunciation difference |
ikl |
cikl |
# |
xh |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
bor |
borxh |
b |
zhb |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
balancim |
zhbalancim |
d |
zhd |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
dfrim duk |
zhdfrim zhduk |
f |
sf |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
filit |
sfilit |
f |
shf |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
faq |
shfaq |
g |
zhg |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
gnjim |
zhgnjim |
gj |
zhgj |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
gjaksim |
zhgjaksim |
k |
shk |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
kput kishroj |
shkput shkishroj |
p |
shp |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
porr |
shporr |
q |
shq |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
shqis |
qis |
t |
shth |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
thur |
shthur |
th |
sht |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
tillem |
shtillem |
v |
zhv |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
varros |
zhvarros |
d |
nd |
Mountain |
pronunciation difference |
dal |
ndal |
dh |
ll |
Mountain |
pronunciation difference |
modh |
moll |
dh |
gdh |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
drudhnds |
drugdhends |
e |
|
Variable |
pronunciation difference |
athere |
ather |
e |
ej |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
artaqefas |
artaqejfas |
|
e |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
fr p |
fre pe |
|
|
Older |
pronunciation difference |
mng |
mng |
n |
n |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
krnd |
krnd |
‑esha# |
‑ej# |
Southern |
1st sg impf vpr |
nderohesh |
nderohej |
|
|
Older or Regional |
gender difference |
fren |
fren |
|
|
Older |
older spelling |
mollz |
mollz |
ll |
ull |
Older |
spelling difference |
gargll rrotll |
gargull rrotull |
m |
m |
Older |
spelling difference |
dogm murrm |
dogm murrm |
n |
en |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
dndur mndje |
dendur mendje |
ni |
ri |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
dndur |
dendur |
r |
ur |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
frtun bukr |
furtun bukur |
rV |
rV |
Variable |
spelling difference |
afrisht |
afrisht |
‑t |
‑t |
Older |
spelling difference |
cemt |
cemt |
‑z |
‑z |
Older |
spelling difference |
fejz |
fejz |
f |
th |
Regional |
pronunciation difference |
fell |
thell |
f# |
v# |
Southern |
spelling difference |
dif administratif |
div administrativ |
f# |
h# |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
shof |
shoh |
g |
gj |
Regional |
pronunciation difference |
legend |
legjend |
g |
ng |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
gastr |
ngastr |
g# |
k# |
Older |
spelling difference |
dyfeg |
dyfek |
V |
hV |
Older |
pronunciation difference[39] |
al duet |
hal duhet |
i |
e |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
il |
cel |
i |
|
Older |
pronunciation difference |
diftes |
dftes |
i |
y |
Dialectal |
pronunciation difference |
diqan kacafit lip |
dyqan kacafyt lyp |
|
i' |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
br ull |
bri ulli |
|
i'n |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
kof |
kofin |
iV |
jV |
Older |
spelling difference |
diamant |
djamant |
ie |
je |
Older |
spelling difference |
ierr viell |
jerr vjell |
ie |
ije |
Older |
spelling difference |
dietar |
dijetar |
j |
inj |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
krthjt |
krthinjt |
‑im |
‑im |
Older |
derivational suffix |
bulurim |
bulurim |
‑in |
‑im |
|
derivational suffix |
bubullin |
bubullim |
‑in |
‑ir |
|
derivational suffix |
butsin |
butsir |
‑ism |
‑izm |
Older |
derivational suffix |
komunism |
komunizm |
Vj |
Vi |
Older |
spelling difference |
hajr |
hair |
Vj |
Vnj |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
kuj lumej |
kunj lumenj |
jV |
iV |
Older |
spelling difference |
dhjat |
dhiat |
je |
ie |
Older |
spelling difference |
kantjer |
kantier |
je |
ie |
Southern |
spelling difference |
djell |
diell |
je |
e |
Regional |
pronunciation difference |
aguridhje |
aguridhe |
k |
g |
Southern |
spelling difference |
akzot |
agzot |
k# |
g# |
|
spelling difference |
prak ahenk |
prag aheng |
kc |
ks |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
injekcion |
injeksion |
kt |
gt |
Southern |
spelling difference |
dhokt |
dhogt |
l |
ll |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
portokal abdhel |
portokall abdhell |
ll |
dh |
Mountain |
pronunciation difference |
brell |
bredh |
ll |
l |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
billanc formulloj |
bilanc formuloj |
llz |
llz |
Older |
spelling difference |
mollz |
mollz |
m |
mb |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
pamuk mes plum |
pambuk mbes plumb |
m |
m |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
mpar |
mpar |
mb |
m |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
damblla |
damlla |
m |
r |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
buzqam |
buzqar |
m |
r |
Northern |
participle |
lam |
lar |
ml |
mbl |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
mlodha |
mblodha |
mll |
mbll |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
mllais |
mbllais |
mr |
mbr |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
mres |
mbres |
msh |
fsh |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
msheh |
fsheh |
msh |
fsh |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
msheh |
fsheh |
msh |
mbsh |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
mshtjell |
mbshtjell |
mpsh |
msh |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
lmpsh |
lmsh |
mv |
v |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
mvjedh |
vjedh |
n |
nd |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
kanil nr askun |
kandil ndr askund |
VnV |
VrV |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
atyne dreni pruni |
atyre dreri pruri |
Cn |
n |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
dnes |
dnes |
Cn |
r |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
kafshnore |
kafshrore |
Cn # |
r# |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
dimn emn |
dimr emr |
CnV |
CrV |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
emni |
emri |
‑na |
‑ra |
Northern |
noun plural suffix |
shina |
shira |
nd |
n |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
ndofull |
nofull |
ndr |
dr |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
ndrejt |
drejt |
ni |
ri |
Northern |
derivational suffix |
pleqni |
pleqri |
ns |
nc |
Older |
spelling difference |
agjensi |
agjenci |
nsh |
n |
|
pronunciation difference (especially for optative) |
vnshin |
vnin |
nj |
j |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
kuptonj bnj |
kuptoj bj |
nj |
ngj |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
njall njyr |
ngjall ngjyr |
‑njs |
‑ues |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
pushtonjs msonjs |
pushtues msues |
o' |
u'a |
Non‑standard |
theme vowel |
loj pagoj |
luaj paguaj |
vo |
va |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
votr |
vatr |
p |
b |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
kupl |
kupl |
p# |
b# |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
thelp korp |
thelb korb |
p# |
b# |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
lap elp komp korp |
lab elb komb korb |
pr |
pr |
Older |
spelling difference |
prart |
prart |
psh |
fsh |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
pshat |
fshat |
psh |
mbsh |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
pshtjellje |
mbshtjellje |
psht |
shpt |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
pshtoj |
shptoj |
pt |
bt |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
dopta |
dobta |
pth |
bth |
Older |
spelling difference |
elpth |
elbth |
q |
gj |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
qenq |
qengj |
q |
k |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
kanisq |
kanisk |
r |
rr |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
mar rot tmer |
marr rrot tmerr |
ri |
si |
Arbitrary |
abstract noun formative |
miqri |
miqsi |
rr |
r |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
bythkrrom rradh |
bythkrom radh |
s# |
z# |
Southern |
spelling difference |
apras oris |
apraz oriz |
‑s |
‑s |
Older |
spelling difference |
gryks |
gryks |
sg |
zg |
Older |
spelling difference |
sgafullon |
zgafullon |
sgj |
zgj |
Older |
spelling difference |
sgjebe |
zgjebe |
sj |
sq |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
sjoll |
sqoll |
skj |
sq |
Older |
spelling difference |
skjep |
sqep |
sh |
|
Older |
pronunciation difference |
dishka shradhit |
dika radhit |
sh |
zh |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
proshm |
prozhm |
sh# |
zh# |
Southern |
pronunciation difference |
garash |
garazh |
‑sh‑ |
‑n‑ |
Northern |
pl impf |
hapshim |
hapnim |
‑shm |
‑ja |
Northern |
1st sg impf |
hapshm |
hapja |
shm |
m |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
prshmoj |
prmoj |
t |
d |
Older |
spelling difference |
tefter |
defter |
t# |
d# |
Southern |
spelling difference |
murtat ment |
murtad mend |
‑tm‑ |
‑tshm‑ |
Older |
spelling difference |
barabitm |
barabitshm |
ts |
c |
Older |
spelling difference |
tsar |
car |
ts |
t |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
fajtsoj |
fajtoj |
th# |
dh# |
Older |
spelling difference |
i math kukuth |
i madh kukudh |
u |
y |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
burek musafir |
byrek mysafir |
u' |
u'a |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
rruj |
rruaj |
|
u |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
dr krc |
dru krcu |
u'a |
o |
Older Southern |
theme vowel |
rruaj |
rroj |
u'ame |
u'ar |
Northern |
feminine adjective |
e kaluame |
e kaluar |
u'ar |
o'r |
Southern |
adjectival suffix |
lakruar |
lakror |
u'arshm |
u'eshm |
Southern |
adjectival suffix |
afru'arshm |
afru'eshm |
u'e |
u'a |
Northern |
theme vowel |
apue |
apua |
u'e |
u'a |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
grue |
grua |
u'e |
u'ar |
Northern |
participles, adjectives |
takue |
takuar |
‑u'em |
‑o'r |
Northern |
adjectives |
botuem |
botor |
‑u'em |
‑u'ar |
Northern |
participles, adjectives |
buem punuem |
buar punuar |
‑u'eme |
‑u'ar |
Northern |
feminine adjective |
e kalueme |
e kaluar |
‑u'er |
‑o'r |
Northern |
qualitative nouns, adjectives |
balluer aeruer |
ballor aeror |
‑u'es |
‑u's |
Northern |
agentive nouns, adjectives |
shkues |
shkus |
‑un |
‑ur |
Northern |
participles, adjectives |
pjekun pritun |
pjekur pritur |
ull |
ll |
Northern |
spelling difference |
esull |
esll |
x |
z |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
horixont xbavit xylyfe |
horizont zbavit zylyfe |
xh |
zh |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
grixhl kuxhin xhvesh |
grizhl kuzhin zhvesh |
xh |
gj |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
xherdek |
gjerdek |
y |
i |
Northern |
pronunciation difference |
bylbyl krymb |
bilbil krimb |
y |
u |
Regional |
pronunciation difference |
dyke |
duke |
y' |
y'e |
Older |
theme vowel |
rryshm pys |
rryeshm pyes |
ye |
e |
Older |
theme vowel |
kaptyell |
kaptell |
ye |
e |
Older |
theme vowel |
brdyell |
brdil |
‑yem |
‑yer |
Northern |
participles, adjectives |
pashlyem |
pashlyer |
z |
x |
Older |
pronunciation difference |
zamare |
xamare |
z |
z |
Older |
diminutive suffix |
gjuhz |
gjuhz |
[1]Stress is not indicated in normal Albanian orthography. In this dictionary the placement of stress is marked for words and stems with more than one vowel, as a convenience for foreign readers; stems containing a single vowel can be assumed to be stressed, even when they are not so marked. Inflected forms all have the stress on the stem.
[2] Morphemes can be thought of as the smallest functional parts of words.
[3]A citation form is that form of a word which contains the definitions common to all forms that the word may take. If a particular definition applies only to a particular form of a word (e.g., the plural of a noun or the participle of a verb) that form generally has its own listing as a separate entry in its own position in the alphabetical order.
[4]The form chosen for citation of verbs in this dictionary is the stem of the 3rd sg active present tense form of the verb. See p. xvii.
[5] When at least one of the alternates consists of more than one word, they are all italicized.
[6] * at the head of an entry means that the entry does not come from a
standard source.
* before a grammatical label means that the grammatical function is not given in a standard source.
* preceding a definition means that the sense is not found in standard sources.
[7]Nasal vowels are represented in Albanian orthography by the carat symbol above the vowel: , , , . They are the most striking characteristic of northern (Gheg) speech. The nasal vowel in a word is always stressed, unless another vowel is marked with the stress mark, as in bi'ste.
[8] The definite nominative/accusative suffix ‑t is identical with that used for np stems, but the resultant neuter form has singular agreement (masculine or feminine) rather than plural. The neuter referential suffixes are identical to those of nm stems. Most nn stems are abstract nouns derived from adjectives, especially participial adjectives, and preceded by the attributive article t (or s for the ablative case). The number of other noun stems with neuter declension has steadily decreased during the history of Albanian; most formerly nn stems have become nm, nf, or np; the notable exceptions are krye and uj, and in some varieties of Albanian even the latter gets treated as nm or nf, going the way of mish and lesh, which may now be either nn or nm.
[9] Or prepositional clusters ending in one of these.
[10] Also included in this category are np nouns derived irregularly from nm nouns
[11] This dictionary does not list the plural forms of countable nouns (with nm and nf stems) that derive np stems (with plural sense and agreement) regularly with one of the derivational suffixes ‑e, ‑a, ‑ra, or - (the latter indicating that the singular and plural stems are identical). The main reason for this omission is that there is so much dialectal and individual variation as to which of these is used that a reader would be in peril of rejecting a plural interpretation of a legitimate form that did not match the one chosen arbitrarily for dictionary listing.
[12]rruga and rruge are the nominative definite and ablative/dative indefinite case forms of the noun; rrugat, rrugash and rrugave are case forms of its plural derivative rruga.
[13]rrug serves as the nominative and accusative indefinite, rrugn as the accusative definite, and rrugs as the ablative/dative definite.
[14]That is, the entry which provides the sense(s) of the stem from which this form is derived.
[15] So‑called Albanian infinitives—pr t + participle, e.g., pr t shkuar (in order) to go, do not serve most of the functions of English infinitives.
[16] For the same reason, for many verbs, the gerund formed regularly by suffixing ‑i'm (for verb stems ending in o', u'a, y', or y'e) or by suffixing ‑je (for verb stems ending in a consonant) are not provided, if a reader can be expected to arrive at their identity and meaning easily.
[17] For a linguistically sophisticated account of syntax and semantics of passive voice forms, see Philip Hubbard, The Syntax of the Albanian Verb Complex, New York, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1985.
[18]The ‑ of ‑s is retained in spelling the feminine stem, although in normal speech it is usually not pronounced.
[19] The specific tenses of the passive voice are formed by preceding the active tense form by the proclitic u.
[20]That is, the entry which provides the sense(s) of the stem from which this form is derived.
[21]Existing dictionaries differ in the degree to which they include stem variants. One common practice is to list a single citation form for any inflected stem and to list few dialectal variants, if any. For the foreign reader, this practices presents grave difficulties: in order to be able to use the dictionary—something necessary especially in early stages of study—he must already know the language well, a peculiarity that seems either to escape the notice of the guilty lexicographers or to be answered by, "If words are too easy to find, the reader will never gain the discipline necessary to learn more." I reject such arguments as a dodge of the lexicographer's responsibility to produce the maximally usefully tool for the intended users of the particular dictionary, and have tried here to make the dictionary as easy for the foreign reader to use as I can, recognizing that the task of reading a foreign language is difficult enough without putting artificial roadblocks in the way.
[22]e appears only after an immediately preceding noun referent ending in the definite accusative suffix t.
[23]e appears only after an immediately preceding noun referent ending in the definite accusative suffix n.
[24]e appears only after an immediately preceding noun referent ending in the definite accusative suffix n.
[25]e appears only after an immediately preceding noun referent ending in the definite accusative suffix t.
[26]s appears after an immediately preceding noun referent ending in the definite ablative/dative suffix s and before nominalized adjectives in the definite ablative/dative case
[27] If C = g, k, or h, then the 3sg pdef suffix is u, rather than i.
[28] With the exception of the 3 rd sg pdef noted above, all passive forms in Special tenses are identical to their corresponding active forms, except that the reflexive dative clitic u precedes the verb.
[29]Throughout this dictionary, the term stressed vowel includes both the single vowel in monosyllabic stems with a single syllable, as well as the vowels marked with a stress mark ' in stems with more than one vowel.
[30]The reader may encounter alternate accusative definite case forms with the inflectional suffix ‑n directly added to bare nm stems ending in a stressed vowel: the accusative definite form of the nm noun dhe earth may be either dheun or dhen.
[31]There is considerable vacillation as to which variant is chosen; the choice is not entirely determined by regional variation.
[32]According to the prescriptive standard. There are varieties of Albanian that distinguish the dative indefinite ‑ve from the dative definite ‑vet for the plural.
[33]Thus the singular and plural stems for many nouns are identical in form, distinguishable formally only by the inflectional suffixes they take and syntactically by their grammatical agreement with other forms. Nouns that typically have identical singular and plural stems are nf stems that end in any vowel except . Without exception, nf stems formed with the agentive derivational suffix ‑s or with a derivational suffix that ends in r (in particular, the participial suffix) are identical their singular forms, except that they add i before the single‑consonant plural suffixes ‑t and ‑sh.
[34]Albanian society traditionally divided male and female roles sharply, so that for many such nouns only the nm stem was used and used exclusively for masculine referents. As the role of women shifts in Albania society, a number of new nf stems (derived with the suffix ‑e) serving as feminine referents have come into use, and the potential for new ones is, in principle, unlimited.
[35]In all endings in which i and u alternate, u is the alternant that appears immediately after g, k or h.
[36]If the target word has ja after a vowel, the citation form of the stem ends in that vowel; if ja appears after a consonant, the citation form of the stem ends in the unstressed vowel e.
[37]The so‑called genitive form is just the dative form preceded by a proclitic attributive article.
[38]In this chart:
V stands for any vowel.
V' stands for any stressed vowel.
V stands for any
unstressed vowel.
C stands for any consonant.
Co stands for any voiceless consonant.
Cv stands for any voiceless consonant.
N stands for any nasal consonant—n, m, or nj
R stands for any liquid consonant—r, rr, l, or ll
# stands for the end of a word
stands for nothing, that is, null, the absence of anything
[39] Most present‑day speakers of Albanian pronounce h very weakly, if at all, in ordinary speech, especially if the vowel following the h is unstressed. However, for many educated speakers, failure to write the letter in words that have a standard spelling would be evidence of poor education.