this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2025
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Arabic doesn't have a word for "yes". I don't think most semitic languages do either [Classical Hebrew does not, but Modern Hebrew does, however, the word they use in modern Hebrew is the word for "Thusly", that is now a particle]. In fact you can see that proto-indo European didn't have a word for yes: Greek is ναι, but the romance languages are si (I am pretty sure French oui is actually derived from the same root as Spanish and Italian. Could be wrong) and if my memories is correct (and it may not be) classical Latin didn't have a word for yes. And the Germanic words yes/ja have a similar origin. I can't speak to the other IE languages unfortunately.
I know there are also language families that don't have a single word for no, but use a negation mood on the verb. I unfortunately can't give you an example of this. But it should be fun to look up!
(Yes) in Arabic is نعم pronounced as (Na'am) or ( Na ع m) & this is the word which most people use in all Arab countries . The Arabic dialect word for (Yes) is ايوة or ايوا pronounced as (Aywa)and also used by all Arabs.
Do you know the etymology of these words? My understanding is that they aren't exactly "Yes" but more "As you say" or something similar. But I am no arabicist.
Oui and si are derived from different roots. Oui is from Latin hoc ille, while si is from Latin sic.
There is actually a si in French that also means yes and comes from the same root as the Spanish and Italian si. However, its usage is much more limited. It's only used to express disagreement. For example, if I said "Potato chips don't taste good." and you wanted to say "Yes, they do!", then you could use si.
Huh, interesting. I learned a little hebrew (modern) and a few words of arabic. I know I learned "yes" in hebrew and thought I also did in arabic. However, as I understand it, arabic is more like many separate languages bound by some commonalities, so maybe that factor is what I am confused by.
As far as "oui" in french, that one I learned about and it's theorized (from memory, I may be a bit off) that it came from a contraction of two latin words meaning something like "it is so". The contraction originally started with a hard consonant but it fell off over time, leaving "oui". It is also an interesting read to look up!