English – “ni” (shortened form of kini / kani)
Part of speech & meaning
• Colloquial demonstrative – can serve as pronoun or determiner
• Core sense: “this / here (near the speaker)”; a clipped version of kini (“this, close object”) or kani (older spelling)
Contracted form
• ni (or apostrophized ’ni) is already the contraction; full forms are kini / kani.
Typical sentence position
• Determiner: ni nga + noun ni nga adlaw = “this day”
• Pronoun/adverb: after a verb or preposition Gikuha ko ni = “I took this”
• In very rapid speech, it can attach to preceding words (’ni).
Common collocations
- ni nga libro – this book
- ni lang – just this / only here
- Mao ni. – this is it
- unsa man ni? – what is this?
Detailed usage
• Dominant in very casual speech, texting, lyrics.
• Pragmatically identical to kini but lighter and faster.
• When clarity matters (radio news, formal writing) speakers switch back to kini.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting nga when ni modifies a noun (❌ ni balay → ✔ ni nga balay).
- Using ni for something far away (choose kana / kadto instead).
- Over-using ni in academic or official documents.
Example sentences
| Cebuano sentence | English meaning | Parts of speech |
|---|---|---|
| Kini nga sapatos bag-o pa. | These shoes are still new. | Kini (DEM) this • nga (LINK) • sapatos (N) shoes • bag-o (ADJ) new • pa (ADV) still |
| Ibutang ni sa lamesa. | Put this on the table. | ibutang (V) put • ni (DEM) this • sa (PREP) on • lamesa (N) table |
| Unsa man ni? | What is this? | unsa (WH) what • man (PART) emph • ni (DEM) this |
