Îmi

Îmi is a Romanian clitic pronoun that marks the indirect object in the first person singular. It translates roughly as “to me” or “for me” and is used to indicate the beneficiary, recipient, or experiencer of an action. The form îmi is the dative/genitive clitic form derived from the pronoun eu and is common in a wide range of everyday expressions.

In Romanian syntax, îmi is a proclitic that attaches to verbs or infinitives and participates in many standard constructions. Examples include îmi place (I like), îmi pare rău (I am sorry), îmi este foame (I am hungry), and îmi trebuie (I need). It can appear in affirmative, negative, and conditional clauses, and its position can vary for emphasis or with embedded phrases. In imperative constructions, the clitic often follows the verb, as in spune-mi adevărul (tell me the truth). As a clitic, îmi cannot stand alone and must attach to the verb or accompany a dependent phrase.

Pronunciation and orthography: îmi is written with a circumflex on the first letter i and is pronounced roughly as [ˈɨmi]. The form reflects Romanian phonology and the historical development of clitic pronouns in the language.

Etymology: The form îmi is historically related to the dative/genitive forms of eu and is commonly traced back to Latin mihi, reflecting a shared feature of Romance languages in marking indirect objects.

See also: Romanian pronouns, Romanian grammar, clitic pronouns.