Ngai

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See also: ngai, ngáí, ngài, ngãi, and ngại

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology 1

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The Cantonese romanization of any of three different surnames: (ngai6), (ngai4), and (ngai4).

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Ngai

  1. Any of three Chinese surnames of Cantonese origin, used primarily in Hong Kong.
Derived terms
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Statistics
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  • According to the 2010 United States Census, Ngai is the 17,392nd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1623 individuals. Ngai is most common among Asian/Pacific Islander (94.58%) individuals.

Etymology 2

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Proper noun

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Ngai

  1. The monolithic creator god of the Kikuyu and related groups of Kenya, and the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania.

Anagrams

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Kikuyu

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Cf. Maasai Enkai (God).[1]

Pronunciation

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As for Tonal Class, Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 2.
(Kiambu)
(Limuru) As for Tonal Class, Yukawa (1981) classifies this term into a group including gĩkwa (pl. ikwa), ithangũ (pl. mathangũ), kiugũ, kĩboko, kĩgunyũ, kĩnya, kĩroboto, kĩrũũmi, mbogo, mũcinga, mũgate, mũhaka, mũrangi, mũrũthi, ndaraca, ndirica, njohi, nyũmba, thĩ, and so on.[2]

Noun

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Ngai class 1

  1. God
    Synonym: Mũrungu

Usage notes

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Formerly referred to a native deity dwelling in evergreen trees possessing milky red sap,[1] but later associated with Christianity.[3]

Derived terms

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(Nouns)

(Proverbs)

See also

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References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 “ngai” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 304. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  2. ^ Yukawa, Yasutoshi (1981). "A Tentative Tonal Analysis of Kikuyu Nouns: A Study of Limuru Dialect." In Journal of Asian and African Studies, No. 22, 75–123.
  3. ^ Kinyua, Johnson Kiriaku (2017). "A Postcolonial Analysis of Bible Translation and Its Effectiveness in Shaping and Enhancing the Discourse of Colonialism and the Discourse of Resistance: The Gikuyu New Testament—A Case Study". In Musa W. Dube and R. S. Wafula (eds.), Postcoloniality, Translation, and the Bible in Africa, p. 79. Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications. DOI 10.1179/17431670X13A.0000000004