वै

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

ৱৈ (Assamese script)
ᬯᬿ (Balinese script)
বৈ (Bengali script)
𑰪𑰹 (Bhaiksuki script)
𑀯𑁃 (Brahmi script)
ဝဲ (Burmese script)
વૈ (Gujarati script)
ਵੈ (Gurmukhi script)
𑌵𑍈 (Grantha script)
ꦮꦻ (Javanese script)
𑂫𑂶 (Kaithi script)
ವೈ (Kannada script)
វៃ (Khmer script)
ໄວ (Lao script)
വൈ (Malayalam script)
ᠸᠠᡳ (Manchu script)
𑘪𑘺 (Modi script)
ᠸᠧᠧ (Mongolian script)
𑧊𑧛 (Nandinagari script)
𑐰𑐿 (Newa script)
ଵୈ (Odia script)
ꢮꣀ (Saurashtra script)
𑆮𑆽 (Sharada script)
𑖪𑖹 (Siddham script)
වෛ (Sinhalese script)
𑩾𑩗 (Soyombo script)
𑚦𑚳 (Takri script)
வை (Tamil script)
వై (Telugu script)
ไว (Thai script)
ཝཻ (Tibetan script)
𑒫𑒻 (Tirhuta script)
𑨭𑨇 (Zanabazar Square script)

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *wáy (“truly”) and cognate with Old Avestan 𐬬𐬋𐬌 (vōi). The result in Sanskrit isn't वे (vé) because of the extra stress laid on it. Further origin unclear.

Pronunciation

(Vedic) IPA^(key): /ʋɑ́ːj/
(Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ʋɑj/

Particle

वै • (vái)

emphatic and affirmative particle: indeed, truly

Usage notes

Follows the word it emphasizes. Very common in the Brāhmaṇas.

Derived terms

-तवै (-tavái, Vedic infinitive ending) (haplology of -तवे वै (-tave vái))

References

Monier Williams (1899), “वै”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 1019, column 3.
Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996), “vái”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[1] (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 587
Mayrhofer, Manfred (1976), “vái”, in Kurzgefasstes Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen [A Concise Etymological Sanskrit Dictionary]‎^[2] (in German), volume 3, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 267
Hellwig, Oliver (2010–2025), “vai”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Root

वै • (vai)

alternative form of वा (vā, “to become extinguished, to vanish”)