Learn Arabic › A2 › نِيّ
نِيّ
raw /ˈnijj/
adjectiveA2#732 most common
Also: uncooked, underdone
Example sentences
اللَّحْمُ نِيٌّ.
The meat is raw.
هَذَا السَّمَكُ نِيٌّ.
This fish is raw.
لا آكُلُ اللَّحْمَ النِّيَّ أَبَداً.
I never eat raw meat.
ما زالَ الطَّعامُ نِيّاً، فانْتَظِرْ قَليلاً.
The food is still raw, so wait a little.
تَجَنَّبْ أَكْلَ الدَّجاجِ النِّيِّ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ يُسَبِّبُ المَرَضَ.
Avoid eating raw chicken because it may cause illness.
تُعَدُّ الكُبَّةُ النِّيَّةُ مِنَ الأَطْباقِ الشَّهيرَةِ الَّتي تُحَضَّرُ مِنَ اللَّحْمِ النِّيِّ في بِلادِ الشّام.
Kibbeh nayyeh is one of the famous dishes made from raw meat in the Levant.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | نِيٌّ | نِيّون |
| Genitive | نِيٍّ | نِيّين |
| Accusative | نِيّاً | نِيّين |
| Vocative | يا نِيُّ | يا نِيّون |
Word family
نِيءraw (standard MSA spelling)
نَيِّئraw, underdone
نِيّةraw (feminine), as in كبة نيّة
نُيُوءrawness, the uncooked state
Etymology
نِيّ means raw or uncooked, said of meat and other food. It comes from a Semitic root for food that has not been touched by fire. The Arabic word is cognate with Hebrew נָא (nā), which the Hebrew Bible uses for meat eaten raw rather than roasted. The standard written form in formal Arabic carries a final hamza, نِيء.
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