-сь

See also: сь and съ

Belarusian

Alternative forms

• -ś — Łacinka (Belarusian Latin alphabet)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Ruthenian сь (sʹ), from Old East Slavic сь (sĭ), from Proto-Slavic *sь. Compare Polish -ś, Russian and Ukrainian -сь (-sʹ). The Old East Slavic сей (sej) (whence Ukrainian цей (cej), Russian сейчас (sejčas)) does not appear to have survived in modern standard Belarusian, with the possible exception of the fixed phrase сёй-той (sjoj-toj, “this and that”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sʲ]

Suffix

-сь • (-sʹ)

1. appended to relative/interrogative pronouns to form indefinite pronouns; some-

   Synonyms: -сьці (-sʹci), -не́будзь (-njébudzʹ)

Usage notes

• Unlike in Russian, -сь (-sʹ) does not act as a shorthand of the reflexive suffix -ся (-sja) when following a vowel. For instance, Russian учу́сь (učúsʹ, “I am studying”) would correspond to вучу́ся (vučúsja) in Belarusian, rather than *вучу́сь (*vučúsʹ).
• Generally less common than its derived counterpart -сьці (-sʹci), and may now be considered only a colloquial variant.

Derived terms

Belarusian terms suffixed with -сь

летась

хтось

штось

• -сьці (-sʹci)

Russian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sʲ]

Etymology 1

Suffix

-сь • (-sʹ)

1. contraction of -ся (-sja) (reflexive suffix appended to finite verbs and infinitives to make a reflexive, reciprocal, or intransitive verb)

Usage notes

• After a vowel, -ся is usually contracted to -сь, except when attached to an adverbial participle:
  • мы́ться (mýtʹsja, “to wash oneself”), мо́ется (mójetsja, “[she] washes herself”)
  • мо́юсь (mójusʹ, “[I] wash myself”)
  • мы́вшаяся (mývšajasja, “having been washing herself”).

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *sь (“this”). Doublet of сий (sij), a borrowing from Old Church Slavonic. See also сей (sej), the inherited independent form.

Suffix

-сь • (-sʹ)

1. this, last (found in a few, mostly obsolete or dialectal, terms referring to time)

   ‎лони́ (loní, “year”) (dialectal) + ‎-сь (-sʹ) → ‎лони́сь (lonísʹ, “last year”) (dialectal)

   ‎вчера́ (včerá, “yesterday”) + ‎-сь (-sʹ) → ‎вчера́сь (včerásʹ, “yesterday”) (colloquial)

   ‎дне- (dne-, “day”) + ‎-сь (-sʹ) → ‎днесь (dnesʹ, “now”) (obsolete)

   ‎ле́то (léto, “year, summer”) + ‎-сь (-sʹ) → ‎ле́тось (létosʹ, “last year, last summer”) (low colloquial)

Ukrainian

Etymology

Inherited from Old East Slavic си (si), from Proto-Slavic *si.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sʲ]

• Audio:

  (file)

Particle

-сь • (-sʹ)

1. Appended to relative/interrogative pronouns to form indefinite pronouns

Derived terms

• щось (ščosʹ), хтось (xtosʹ)