vi

Forms

vi (unstressed, ve before lo, la, li, le and ne)^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin ibī (“there”), which also gave ivi.^[4][5][6][7] The pronoun “you, to you” is the same word: Rohlfs, quoted by DELI, explains that ⟨vi scrivo⟩ originally meant “I write there”, to the place where the people addressed are, and Nocentini describes the adverb of place taking on the value of the second person plural in place of Old Italian vo, from Latin vōs (“you”).^[4][5][8] Sabatini–Coletti derives it from Vulgar Latin phrases of the type “ibī” with “vōs” or vōbīs, “there (to you)”.^[3] An older explanation by Parodi (1889), in which a dative from “ibī” merged with an accusative from “vōs”, was judged “metaphysical” by Parodi himself and has given way to this view.^[4] DEI also derives both uses from “ibī”.^[9]

The form ⟨ve⟩ before other clitics with a different vowel arose by assimilation, according to Nocentini, who compares Sardinian bi.^[5] Latin “ibī” goes back to Proto-Italic *ifei or *iþei, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁i-dʰei or *h₁i-bʰei; it is built on the stem of the pronoun Latin is (“that, he”), and related forms are Umbrian ife (“there”) and Sanskrit इह (ihá, “here”).^[10][1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's earliest record is the pronoun “to you” in Dante, 1293–1294;^[4][6] “you” as a direct object follows in 1300–1313, and the adverb “there” before 1321, also in Dante.^[4][6] Nocentini dates the pronoun to about 1300, and Sabatini–Coletti to the 11th century.^[5][3] In Inferno 20 Dante writes “e visse, e vi lasciò suo corpo vano” (and lived, and left there his empty body).^[8]

Semantic evolution

Boccaccio uses vi for “to it, in it” in the Decameron, 1348–1353.^[4] In 1525 Pietro Bembo described ci and vi as shortened forms of qui and ivi, “here” and “there”, and allowed both vi and ve in verse;^[4] Salviati reproached Tasso for using vi for ci, calling it a “privilege of foreigners”.^[4] In the 17th century the distinction between ci “here” and vi “there” was lost.^[4]

In modern Italian the adverb is a more formal equivalent of ci, as in vi sono “there are”, and the pronoun, often capitalized as Vi, serves as a polite form for one person in letters.^[6][2][3]

Timeline

• 1293–1294 – Dante uses vi “to you”.^[4]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses it as a direct object “you”.^[4]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses the adverb “there”.^[4]
• 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for “to it, in it”.^[4]
• 1525 – Bembo describes ci and vi as forms of qui and ivi.^[4]
• 17th century – The difference between ci and vi as adverbs of place is lost.^[4]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. you, plural, as a direct object: vi aspettiamo all'ingresso.^[6][2][11]
2. To you, plural, as an indirect object: vi mando l'indirizzo stasera.^[6][2][11]
3. In reflexive and pronominal verbs of the second person plural: vi siete divertiti?^[6][7][12]
4. (formal, often written Vi) You, to you, addressing one person politely: Vi ringraziamo per la cortese attenzione.^[6][1]
5. (formal) To it, in it, about it, like ci: non vi vedo alcun problema.^[6][11][3]

Adverb

1. (formal) there, here, in the place mentioned: vi abitò per vent'anni.^[6][2][3]
2. (formal) With essere, there is, there are: vi sono diverse ragioni.^[3][2]

Related words

• voi
• ci
• ivi
• ne
• Latin ibī

Usage notes

Before lo, la, li, le and ne it takes the form ve and comes first (ve lo spiego dopo); it comes before ci and si.^[11][3][7] It can be elided before a vowel: v'è.^[11]

Vi is also a name of the letter v, more often called vu.^[6][13][12]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 834
9. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 4044
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 835