Wiktionary

oni

See also: Appendix:Variations of "oni"
Languages (19)
Translingual • English
Czech • Dupaningan Agta • Esperanto • Guinau • Isoko • Japanese • Lindu • Māori • Old Czech • Polish • Serbo-Croatian • Slovak • Slovene • Sranan Tongo • Volapük • Welsh • Yoruba
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Translingual

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Symbol

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oni

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Onin.

See also

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English

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Etymology

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From Japanese 鬼 (oni).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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oni (plural onis or oni)

  1. A Japanese evil spirit or demon.
    • 1908, Henri L. Joly, Legend in Japanese Art: A Description of Historical Episodes, Legendary Characters, Folk-lore, Myths, Religious Symbolism, Illustrated in the Arts of Old Japan, pages 263–264:
      ONI 鬼. Generic name for devils, the representation of which in art is quite a common feature. Onis have claws, a square head with two horns, sharp teeth, and malignant eyes surmounted by big eyebrows; occasionally they wear trousers of tiger skin.
    • 1918, William Elliot Griffis, Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks‎[2]:
      Across the ocean, in Japan, there once lived curious creatures called Onis. Every Japanese boy and girl has heard of them, though one has not often been caught.
    • 1979, Marian Ury, Tales of Times Now Past: Sixty-Two Stories from a Medieval Japanese Collection, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 147:
      "That's no human being playing the instrument," he thought in amazement. "It can only be an oni or some such being."
    • 1992, Karl M. Schwarz, Netsuke Subjects: A Study on the Netsuke Themes with Reference to Their Interpretation and Symbolism, Böhlau Verlag Wien, →ISBN, page 46:
      The standing Shoki holds with his left hand an oni on his leg.
    • 2005, Christopher Hart, Manga Mania Shoujo: How to Draw the Charming and Romantic Characters of Japanese Comics, →ISBN, page 69:
      This is actually a boy bishie in the form of an ogre. It's called an oni in Japanese. Onis have supernatural powers that can command the forces of nature such as wind (to create hurricanes) and lightning (to create thunderbolts).
    • 2011, Mike Shel, “Ecology of the Oni”, in Jade Regent: The Brinewall Legacy, Paizo Publishing, →ISBN, page 69:
      The oni are a diverse group of evil spirits who take on the form of humanoid creatures so that they can enjoy the pleasures and vices of the flesh.

Anagrams

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Czech

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old Czech oni, from Proto-Slavic *oni, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énos.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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oni m anim pl

  1. they (third person personal masculine animate plural)

Declension

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Declension of oni (pl-only masculine animate pronoun)
plural
nominative oni
genitive jich, nich1
dative jim, nim1
accusative je, ně1
vocative —
locative nich1
instrumental jimi, nimi1, jima2, nima2

1After a preposition.
2When referring to dual nouns, e.g. oči, ruce.

Derived terms

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Czech personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person já my
2nd person familiar ty vy
polite vy
3rd person m on oni1
f ona ony
n ono ona
reflexive sebe, se (clitic)

1 animate referents only, for inanimate ones ony is used.

Pronoun

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oni

  1. nominative animate masculine plural of onen

Dupaningan Agta

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Interjection

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oni

  1. yes

Esperanto

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French on and Occitan òm,[1][2] ultimately from Latin homō (“human being; man”). English one is not etymologically related to on, but its use as an indefinite personal pronoun was influenced by French. Doublet of homo.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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oni (accusative onin, possessive onia)

  1. (indefinite personal pronoun) one
    Oni povas vidi ĝin. ― One can see it.
  2. (indefinite pronoun, vague meaning) they (some people, people in general)
    Oni diras, ke Norvegio estas bonega loko por loĝi. ― They say Norway is a great place to live.
    • 2025 September 29, Jorge Nogueras, “La plej mallonga tago”, in uea.facila‎[3], archived from the original on 12 December 2025:
      Nu, unu tagon oni vokis min por ke mi iru tuj al la malsanulejo, ĉar mia sesjara filino trafiĝis je terura trafik-akcidento.
      Well, one day they called me so that I go immediately to the hospital, because my six-year old daughter got caught in a terrible traffic accident.

Usage notes

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  • Comparable to the use of generic "you" in English (e.g. In America, you can do what you want).
  • A sentence whose subject is "oni" can often be translated as an English sentence in the passive voice, for example: "Oni ofte referencas al Kimrio kiel la 'lando de la kanto.'" can be translated as "Wales is often referred to as the 'land of song.'"
  • Although the accusative onin and the possessive onia are possible, they are far less frequent than oni itself. Correlatives such as iun (“someone (accusative)”) or ies (“someone's”) are often more natural in contexts where onin or onia might make sense: "one's mother tongue" will usually be rendered ies gepatra lingvo rather than onia gepatra lingvo, though the latter would still be correct. Note that where the subject of a clause is oni, anything that oni possesses in that clause will take the reflexive possessive sia, not onia: Oni plej nature pensas en sia gepatra lingvo (one thinks most naturally in one's mother tongue).

Descendants

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  • → Ido: onu

See also

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Esperanto personal pronouns
  singular plural
nominative accusative possessive nominative accusative possessive
first person  mi  min  mia  ni  nin  nia
second
person 		formal  vi  vin  via  vi  vin  via
familiar1  ci  cin  cia
third
person 		masculine  li  lin  lia
feminine  ŝi  ŝin  ŝia
neuter  ĝi  ĝin  ĝia
gender-neutral2  ri
ŝli 		 rin
ŝlin 		 ria
ŝlia
reflexive  si  sin  sia  si  sin  sia
indefinite  oni  onin  onia  oni  onin  onia

1 Rare.

2 Not widely used.


References

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  1. ^ André Cherpillod, “oni”, in Konciza Etimologia Vortaro [Concise Etymological Dictionary], →ISBN
  2. ^ Ebbe Vilborg, “oni”, in Etimologia Vortaro de Esperanto [Etymological Dictionary of Esperanto], volume 4, →ISBN, page 34

Further reading

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Guinau

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Noun

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oni

  1. water

References

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  • Alfred Russel Wallace, A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro
  • Proceedings [of the] Philological Society, London, Volume 3

Isoko

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Noun

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oni (plural ini)

  1. mother

Japanese

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Romanization

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oni

  1. Rōmaji transcription of おに

Lindu

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Noun

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oni

  1. noise

Māori

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Etymology

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From ori “to sway, to agitate, to copulate” from Proto-Polynesian *ori (compare with Tahitian oni “male [of animals]”, Tuamotuan oni “to copulate”);[1][2] with possible influence of koni “to move” and konikoni “to rub” from Proto-Polynesian *koni (“to move, to copulate” – compare with Tahitian ʻoni, Tuamotuan oni “to grind” and onioni “to rub two things together [i.e. of sticks for fire]”). (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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Verb

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oni

  1. to wriggle
  2. to move, shift or slip from a previous position
    Synonym: koni
  3. to jerk
    Synonyms: koni, tukutuku
  4. to thrust forward
    1. to thrust one's hips in a sexually suggestive way
  5. to make love, to copulate, to bed someone
    Synonyms: ai, ori, tauonioni

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Tregear, Edward (1891), “oni”, in Maori–Polynesian Comparative Dictionary‎[1], Wellington, New Zealand: Lyon and Blair, page 291
  2. ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “oni”, in “POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 50, number 2, pages 551–9

Further reading

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  • Williams, Herbert William (1917), “oni, onioni”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, page 279
  • John C. Moorfield (2011), “oni”, in Te Aka: Māori–English, English–Māori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, →ISBN

Old Czech

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *oni.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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oni m pl (third person)

  1. they (masculine plural)

Declension

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Old Czech personal pronouns
Singular 1st person 2nd person 3rd person Reflexive
m f n
Nominative já(z) ty on ona ono —
Genitive mne, mě tebe, tě j(e)ho, ň(e)ho jie, nie j(e)ho, ň(e)ho sebe, sě
Dative mně, mi tobě, ti j(e)mu, ňemu jí, ní, jiej, niej j(e)mu, ňemu sobě, si
Accusative mě, mne tě, tebe jej, jen, ji, j(e)ho,
-ň, ňej, ňen, ni, ň(e)ho 		ju, ňu je, ňe sě, sebe
Locative mně tobě ňem ní, niej ňem sobě
Instrumental mnú tobú, tebú jím, ním jú, ňú jím, ním sobú, sebú
Possessive mój tvój jeho (je)jie jeho svój
Dual 1st person 2nd person 3rd person Reflexive
m f n
Nominative vě, va (ma) vy ona oně —
Genitive najú vajú jú, ňú sebe, sě
Dative náma váma jima, nima sobě, si
Accusative ny, najú vy, vajú jě, ně ji, ni sě, sebe
Locative najú vajú ňú sobě
Instrumental náma váma jima, nima sobú, sebú
Possessive náš, najú váš, vajú (je)jú svój
Plural 1st person 2nd person 3rd person Reflexive
m f n
Nominative my vy oni ony ona —
Genitive nás vás jich, nich sebe, sě
Dative nám, nem vám, vem jim, nim sobě, si
Accusative ny, nás vy, vás jě, ně sě, sebe
Locative nás vás nich sobě
Instrumental námi vámi jimi, nimi sobú, sebú
Possessive náš váš (je)jich svój

Descendants

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Pronoun

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oni

  1. nominative masculine plural of onen

Polish

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old Polish oni. The oblique case forms come from Proto-Slavic *ji.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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oni vir

  1. they (third-person masculine personal nominative)

Declension

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Declension of oni
plural
nominative oni
genitive ich/nich
dative im/nim
accusative ich/nich
instrumental nimi
locative nich
vocative —

See also

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Further reading

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  • “oni”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎[8] (in Polish)

Serbo-Croatian

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *oni, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énos.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ǒni/
  • Hyphenation: o‧ni

Pronoun

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òni ? (Cyrillic spelling о̀ни)

  1. they (nominative plural of ȏn (“he”))

Declension

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Inflection of 3rd-person pronouns
singular plural
masculine feminine neuter masculine feminine neuter
nominative ȏn òna òno òni òne òna
genitive njȅga, ga njȇ, je njȅga, ga njȋh, ih njȋh, ih njȋh, ih
dative njȅmu, mu njȏj, joj njȅmu, mu njȉma, im njȉma, im njȉma, im
accusative njȅga, ga, nj njȗ, ju, je njȅga, ga, nj njȋh, ih njȋh, ih njȋh, ih
vocative — — — — — —
locative njȅm, njȅmu njȏj njȅm, njȅmu njȉma njȉma njȉma
instrumental njȋm, njíme njȏm, njóme njȋm, njíme njȉma njȉma njȉma

See also

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Serbo-Croatian personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person ja mi
2nd person familiar ti vi
polite Vi
3rd person m on oni
f ona one
n ono ona

Slovak

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *oni, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énos.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ɔɲi/, [ˈɔɲi]
  • Rhymes: -ɔɲi
  • Hyphenation: o‧ni

Pronoun

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oni

  1. masculine animate nominative plural of on (“they”)

Declension

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Declension of oni
plurale tantum
nominative oni
genitive ich / nich
dative im / nim
accusative ich / nich
locative nich
instrumental nimi
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Slovak personal pronouns
substantive possessive
singular plural singular plural
1st person ja my môj náš
2nd person familiar ty vy tvoj váš
polite vy váš
3rd person m on oni* / ony jeho ich
f ona jej
n ono jeho
reflexive seba, sa (clitic) svoj

* masculine animate only, ony otherwise

Further reading

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  • “oni”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Slovene

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Etymology

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From Proto-Slavic *oni.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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óni

  1. they (masculine plural, more than two)

Declension

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Forms between parentheses indicate clitic forms; the main forms are used for emphasis.

Declension of oni (irregular, suppletive)
singular
masculine feminine neuter
nominative òn ôna ôno
accusative njêga (ga, -nj) njó (jo, -njo) njêga (ga, -nj)
genitive njêga (ga) njé (je) njêga (ga)
dative njêmu (mu) njéj, njèj, njì (ji) njêmu (mu)
locative njêm njéj, njèj, njì njêm
instrumental njím njó njím
possessive njegôv, njegòv njén njegôv, njegòv
dual
masculine feminine neuter
nominative ônadva ônidve, onédve ônidve, onédve
accusative njíju (ju, -nju) or plural njíju (ju, -nju) or plural njíju (ju, -nju) or plural
genitive njíju (ju) or plural njíju (ju) or plural njíju (ju) or plural
dative njíma (jima) njíma (jima) njíma (jima)
locative njíju or plural njíju or plural njíju or plural
instrumental njíma njíma njíma
possessive njún njún njún
plural
masculine feminine neuter
nominative ôni ône ôna
accusative njìh (jih, -nje) njìh (jih, -nje) njìh (jih, -nje)
genitive njìh (jih) njìh (jih) njìh (jih)
dative njìm (jim) njìm (jim) njìm (jim)
locative njìh njìh njìh
instrumental njími njími njími
possessive njíhov njíhov njíhov

See also

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Slovene personal pronouns
singular dual plural
1st person m jaz midva mi
f or n medve, midve me
2nd person
familiar (tikanje) 		m ti vidva vi
f or n vedve, vidve ve
3rd person m on onadva oni
f ona onedve, onidve one
n ono onedve, onidve ona
Polite forms singular (not differentiated in dual and plural)
polite (vikanje) vi, Vi + 2nd person plural masculine
very polite (onikanje) oni + 3rd person plural masculine (archaic)
hyper polite (onokanje) ono + 3rd person singular neuter (obsolete)
patriarchal (onkanje) on + 3rd person singular masculine (obsolete)

Sranan Tongo

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Etymology

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From English honey.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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oni

  1. honey
  2. honey bee, Apis mellifera
    Synonym: onifrei
  3. stingless bee
    Synonym: onifrei

Volapük

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Pronoun

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oni

  1. accusative singular of on
    • 1937, “Nuns”, in Volapükagased pro Nedänapükans, page 47:
      Utans, kels vilons kopiedön lisedi at, kanons loenön oni de redakan balid Vpagaseda at.
      Those who wish to make a copy of this list may borrow it from the first editor of this journal.

Welsh

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Alternative forms

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  • onid (used before a vowel)
  • on' (colloquial, before a consonant), on'd (colloquial, before a vowel)

Etymology

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o (“if”) +‎ ni (“not”)

Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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oni (triggers mixed mutation except of forms of bod)

  1. unless
    oni lwydda ― unless he succeeds
    Oni bai fe yma, bydden ni wedi gwybod.
    Unless he were here, we would have known.
  2. until
    oni ddaw fe ― until he comes

Synonyms

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Particle

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oni (triggers mixed mutation)

  1. used to introduce a negative question
    • 1988, “Mathew 7:22”, in Y Beibl Cymraeg Newydd [The New Welsh Bible]‎[9], Tal-y-Bont: The Bible Society, →ISBN, archived from the original on 1 October 2025:
      Bydd llawer yn dweud wrthyf yn y dydd hwnnw, ‘Arglwydd, Arglwydd, oni fuom yn proffwydo yn dy enw di, ac yn dy enw di yn bwrw allan gythreuliaid, ac yn dy enw di yn cyflawni gwyrthiau lawer?’
      Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’
  2. (colloquial) used to form a tag question
    Byddwch chi yma, oni fyddwch chi?
    You'll be there, won't you?

Yoruba

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Cognate with Olukumi òní, Ifè òní, and likely cognate with Igala èñíni.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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òní

  1. today
    Òní ni ọjọ́-ìbí mi.
    Today is my birthday.
    • 2008 December 19, Yiwola Awoyale, Global Yoruba Lexical Database v. 1.0‎[10], number LDC2008L03, Philadelphia: Linguistic Data Consortium, →DOI, →ISBN:
      Òní l'a rí, ọba òkè l'ó rọ́la.
      It is [only] today that we see, [only] the Most High sees tomorrow (proverb on divine supremacy)

Synonyms

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Yoruba varieties and languages: òní (“today”)
view map; edit data
Language familyVariety groupVariety/languageSubdialectLocationWords
Proto-Itsekiri-SEYSoutheast YorubaEastern ÀkókóỌ̀bàỌ̀bà Àkókóòní
Ìdànrè (Ùdànè, Ùdànrè)èní
Ìdànrè (Ùdànè, Ùdànrè)èní
Ìjẹ̀búèní
Ìjẹ̀búÌjẹ̀bú Òdeèní
Rẹ́mọẸ̀pẹ́èní
Ìkòròdúèní
Ṣágámùèní
Ìkálẹ̀ (Ùkálẹ̀)èní
Òkìtìpupaèní
Ìlàjẹ (Ùlàjẹ)èní
Mahinèní
Oǹdóèní
Oǹdóèní
Ìtsẹkírìònùwé
Ìwẹrẹònùwé
Olùkùmiòní
Ugbódùòní
Proto-YorubaCentral YorubaÈkìtìÈkìtìÀdó Èkìtìòní
Òdè Èkìtìòní
Ìfàkì Èkìtìòní
Àkúrẹ́Àkúrẹ́òní
Mọ̀bàỌ̀tùn Èkìtìòní
Òkè Igbóòní
Òkè Igbóòní
Northwest YorubaÀwórìèní
Èbúté Mẹ́tàèní
Èkóèní
Èkóèní
Ìbàdànòní
Ìbàdànòní
Ìbàràpáòní
Igbó Òràòní
Ìbọ̀lọ́òní
Òṣogbo (Òsogbo)òní
Ìlọrinòní
Ìlọrinòní
OǹkóÒtùòní
Ìwéré Iléòní
Òkèhòòní
Ìsẹ́yìnòní
Ṣakíòní
Tedéòní
Ìgbẹ́tìòní
Ọ̀yọ́òní
Ọ̀yọ́òní
Standard YorùbáNàìjíríàòní
Bɛ̀nɛ̀òní
Northeast Yoruba/OkunOwéònì
Kabbaònì
Ede languages/Southwest YorubaCábɛ̀ɛ́Cábɛ̀ɛ́ (Ìdàdú)òní
Tchaourouòní
Ìdàácàòní
BeninIgbó Ìdàácà (Dasa Zunmɛ̀)òní
Ifɛ̀Akpáréòní, nɔ́mbɛ́
Atakpamɛòní, nɔ́mbɛ́
Tchetti (Tsɛti, Cɛti)òní, nɔ́mbɛ́
Note: This amalgamation of terms comes from a number of different academic papers focused on the unique varieties and languages spoken in the Yoruboid dialectal continuum which extends from eastern Togo to southern Nigeria. The terms for spoken varieties, now deemed dialects of Yorùbá in Nigeria (i.e. Southeast Yorùbá, Northwest Yorùbá, Central Yorùbá, and Northeast Yorùbá), have converged with those of Standard Yorùbá leading to the creation of what can be labeled Common Yorùbá (Funṣọ Akere, 1977). It can be assumed that the Standard Yorùbá term can also be used in most Nigerian varieties alongside native terms, especially amongst younger speakers. This does not apply to the other Nigerian Yoruboid languages of Ìṣẹkírì and Olùkùmi, nor the Èdè Languages of Benin and Togo.

Coordinate terms

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Dates relative to today in Yoruba (layout · text)
–3 –2 –1 0 +1 +2 +3
direct speech three days ago two days ago yesterday today tomorrow in two days in three days
ìjẹrin ìjẹta àná òní, èní ọ̀la ọ̀túnla ọjọ́ mẹ́rin òní
reported speech three days before, three days earlier two days before, two days earlier the day before on that day the next day two days later three days later
ọjọ́ mẹ́ta sẹ́yìn ọjọ́ méjì sẹ́yìn ọjọ́ kan sẹ́yìn ọjọ́ yìí ọjọ́ tó ń bọ̀, ọjọ́ kejì ọjọ́ méjì lẹ́yìn, ọjọ́ kẹta ọjọ́ mẹ́ta lẹ́yìn, ọjọ́ kẹrin

Derived terms

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References

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  • Awoyale, Yiwola (19 December 2008), Global Yoruba Lexical Database v. 1.0‎[11] (in Yoruba), volume LDC2008L03, Philadelphia: Linguistic Data Consortium, →DOI, →ISBN
  • Salem Ǒchála È̩jè̩bá (2016), A Grammar of Ígálâ, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria: The Linguistic Association of Nigeria (LAN), M & J Grand Orbit Communications Ltd., →ISBN
  • SIL International (2016), Dictionnaire Ifè‎[12] (in French)
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