Gloss “nai” by Eldamo Import

nai

adverb. maybe; be it that, may it be that; perhaps, it may be, there is a chance or possibility, maybe; be it that, may it be that; perhaps, it may be, there is a chance or possibility; [ᴱQ.] remoter possibility

Variations

  • Nai ✧ LotR/0378; LotR/0378; RGEO/58; RGEO/58; RGEO/59; RGEO/59; UT/305; UT/317
  • nái ✧ VT49/28

Derivations

  • nay- “it may be, there is a chance or possibility, maybe” ✧ PE22/151
    • NAY “have opportunity, chance or permission; be allowed by circumstance [or] way of the world” ✧ PE22/151

Cognates

  • S. aen “*should, could”

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
ná-“to be, to be, [ᴱQ.] exist”
i“who, what, which, that”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
nayi > nai[naji] > [nai]✧ PE22/151
Quenya [LotR/0378; Minor-Doc/1963-12-18; PE17/075; PE22/151; RGEO/58; RGEO/59; RGEO/60; UT/305; UT/317; VT49/19; VT49/28; VT49/38; VT49/39; VT49/41; VT49/44; VT49/47] Group: Eldamo. Published by
Tom Bombadil #643
Tom Bombadil has redacted their comment.
Dírheron #644

may it be good would be nai mára or nai mára nauva IMHO.

Tom Bombadil #646

You are quick. Actually I wanted to delete my question, and I did so, but I still have a copy. So, for other readers, this was my question:

"Does that just mean "may" and has always to be combined with another verb? What about the phrase may be (not the word maybe (which is like perhaps), but the phrase, for instance in "may it be good")? Is the one word "nai" also that phrase?

At least the phrase "nai (...) nauva" sounds pretty unusual to me. By the way, I would rather prefer "nai (...) ná", for that is "may (...) be", while the other one is basically "may (...) become".

Anywhay, "nai (...) ná" sounds even more weird.

I'm asking because a sentence from the novel "The Swarm", by Frank Schätzing. Quoted from memory, Jack Greywolf sayed: "Leon, my live may be ridiculous, but you ... you are already dead."

I tried to translate this, and of course I could just use maybe or perhaps, as if he sayed "perhaps my live is (...)", but he did not, so I would like to have words which express may be."

Tom Bombadil #647

I deleted it because at last I understood that "may (...) be" can have two meanings.

Firstly: "(...) shall become/happen",

Secondly: "maybe (...) is".

In the second case, maybe is a synonym of perhaps, and we have enough Quenya words for that.

The may-be-phrase of the Swarm has the second meaning and not a unique third one. I thought so, when I asked this first.