nə

• IPA^(key): /næ/

• Audio (Baku)

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From Proto-Turkic *nē- (“what”),[1] the only Turkic root beginning with /n/. "The earliest [Proto-Turkic] form must have contained a unique initial nasal (generally nasals were not allowed word-initially), having yielded specific reflexes in modern languages."[1]

Cognate with Bashkir ни (ni, “what”), Chuvash мӗн (mĕn, “what”), Karakhanid [script needed] (nē, “what”), Kazakh не (ne, “what”), Khakas ниме (nime, “what”), Kyrgyz не (ne, “what”), Old Turkic 𐰤𐰀‎ (ne, “what, which”), Old Uyghur [script needed] (ne, “what”), Tatar ни (ni, “what”), Turkish ne (“what”), Turkmen nǟmä (“what”), Tuvan чүү (čüü, “what”), Uyghur نېمە‎ (nëme, “what”), Uzbek na (“what”), Yakut туох (tuox, “what”).[1]

nə

1. what
   • 2017, Vahid Çəmənli, 'Hər şey yaxşıya doğru':

     Babam durub oturdu, mən də qaça – qaça onların yanına gəldim ki, görüm, Əyyub dayı nə deyir, babam nə deyir.

     My grandfather sat back down, while I run towards them to see what uncle Əyyub and my grandfather have to say.

   Synonym: nəmənə (South Azerbaijani)

   Bu nə deməkdir?

   What does this mean?

2. whatever

   Nə olur olsun!

   Come whatever may!

• heç nə (“nothing”)
• nəyin ki (“than”)

nə

1. what, which

   Görəsən bunlar nə dildə danışırlar?

   I wonder what language they speak?

   Synonym: nəmənə (South Azerbaijani)

From Persian نه‎ (na). Cognate to Old English ne (“not”).

nə

1. neither; nor
   • 2000, Firidun Ağasıoğlu, 'Azər xalqı':

     özləri isə nə məğlub, nə də başqasının hakimiyətinə tabe olmuşlar

     while they were neither defeated nor subjugated to foreign rule themselves

• Not used alone but rather as nə...nə..., the way it is used is directly copied from Persian نه...نه...(“neither; nor”). Often used in form of nə + nə də.