شي

• IPA^(key): /ʃajj/

شَيّ • (šayy) m

1. verbal noun of شَوَى (šawā) (form I)

From Arabic شَيْء (šayʔ).

• IPA^(key): /ʃajj/, [ʃaj]

شي • (šayy) m (plural أشياء (ʔašyāʔ))

1. a thing

   Synonym: حاجة (ḥāja)

2. object

   Synonym: غَرَض (ḡaraḍ)

• كُل شي (kull šayy, “everything”)

شي • (šayy)

1. something, anything

• (Beqaa, noun and pronoun only) إشي (ʔiši)
• (coastal Syria, traditional) شَا (šā)

From Arabic شَيْء (šayʔ).

• IPA^(key): /ʃiː/
• (old Beiruti) IPA^(key): /ʃeː/

شي • (šī) m (plural إشيا (ʔišya) or أشيا (ʔašya))

1. thing

   هيدي اشيا كتير مهمة ― haydi ʔišya ktīr mhimme. ― These are very important things.

• شي (šī) usually instead means something (see below), and only securely means thing when plural or construed with the definite article. The predominant term for thing otherwise is شغلة (šaḡle).

شي • (šī) m

1. something, anything

   بدك شي تاني يا حبيبتي؟ ― baddik šī tāni ya ḥabībti? ― Do you want anything else, honey?

   بدي عطيك شي. ― baddi ʕaṭīk šī. ― I want to give you something.

شي • (šī)

1. some, any

   في شي مشكلة؟ ― fī šī miškle? ― Is there any [kind of] problem?

   رح يرجع شي يوم ― raḥ yirjaʕ šī yōm. ― He’ll come back some day.

شي • (šī)

1. circa, about

   لازم تنطرلك شي عشرين دقيقه

   lāzim tunṭurlak šī ʕišrīn dʔīʔa.

   You have to wait for about twenty minutes.

2. just, barely

   ما بدها هالقد شرح يعني شي إنك توصلهن الفكرة

   ma badd(h)a hal-ʔadd šarḥ yaʕni šī ʔinnak twaṣṣell(h)on l-fikra

   It doesn't need this much explaining. Like, it's enough just to get the idea across to them

   لسا شي طلعت من البيت (Syria) ― lissa šī ṭliʕt mn l-bēt ― I only just left the house.

شي • (šī)

1. Optionally marks a yes-or-no question

   عنا حليب شي؟ ― ʕinna ḥalīb šī? ― Do we have milk?

• Can appear in any position governed by a verb, but most often used after intransitive verbs or after the object(s) of a transitive verb.

شي • (šē) m

1. (old Beiruti) alternative form of شِي (šī, “thing”)
   • 2018 April 2, Beirut Arab University, 3:59 from the start, in بَيْرُوتِي أُحّ (bayrūti ʔ̣uḥḥ) [Beiruti Dyed in the Wool]‎^[1], archived from the original on 28 September 2025:

     لا والله، ولله بيروت أحسِن شي، أحسن مدينة هيي مدينة بيروت يا إخوان

     lā waḷḷā, waḷḷa bayrūt ʔaḥsin šē, ʔaḥsan madīne hiyye madīnit bayrūt yā ʔiḵwēn

     No, I swear to God, I swear Beirut is the best. The best city is the city of Beirut, oh brothers,

     (literally, “I swear Beirut is the best thing”)

     The interviewee speaks a traditional Old Beiruti dialect, which features an emphatic ق (/⁠ʔ̣⁠/), pausal raising of final ـَا (-a) to ـِي (-e), and raising of words on patterns like فَعَل (CaCaC) to فَعِل (CaCiC, with [i]) — notice أَحْسِن (ʔaḥsin) instead of أَحْسَن (ʔaḥsan).

   • 2016, 0:11 from the start, in تعلم اللهجة البيروتية (taʕallam al-lahja l-bayrūtiyya) [Learn the Beiruti Dialect] (عكيف وعفيف (ʕakīf wa ʕafīf, “Akeef and Afeef”))‎^[2], archived from the original on 20 March 2023:

     عكيف: حَكْيِك كِلُّو غَلَط فَهِّمْهي
     عفيف: أَوَّل شي بيقولوا السِّتّ الوَالْدِة بَعَتِتْنِي مُش مَامَا

     ʕakīf: ḥakyik kullo ḡalaṭ fahhimhe
     ʕafīf: ʔawwal šē biʔūlo s-sitt l-wēlde baʕatitne, muš māmā!

     Akeef: Your speech is completely wrong... straighten her out
     Afeef: First things first, they say, "السِّتّ الوَالْدِة (s-sitt l-wālde, “my mother”, literally “the lady the mother”) sent me", not "Mama"!

     Notice فَهِّمْهي (fahhimhe, “straighten her out”, literally “help her understand”) instead of فَهِّمْهَا (fahhimha).

• Also an alternative pronunciation of all other senses and parts of speech.

From Arabic شَيْء (šayʔ).

شي • (šī) m (plural أشيا (ʔašya) or إشيا (ʔišya))

1. alternative form of إشي (ʔiši): thing

• كل شي (kull ši, “everything”)
• ولا شي (wala ši, “nothing”)

شي • (šī or ši)

1. alternative form of إشي (ʔiši): something; anything

شي • (ši)

1. akin to an indefinite article: some, any, one

   يا ريت أشوفه إذا برجع شي يوم.

   yā rēt ʔašūfo ʔiza birjaʕ ši yōm

   I would love to see him if he comes back someday.