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Questions & Answers about یعنی او نمیآید؟
Is ya'ni a question word like "what" or "where"?
Not exactly! ya'ni literally translates to "it means" or "meaning". When put at the beginning of a sentence, it acts like saying "So...?" or "You mean...?" to ask for clarification.
There is no Wh- word here. How do we know it's a question?
In Farsi, you don't always need a question word. You can turn any normal statement like u ne-mi-ây-ad (he is not coming) into a yes/no question just by raising the pitch of your voice at the end of the sentence. Adding ya'ni at the start emphasizes that you are asking to confirm something you just heard.
Why does the verb ne-mi-ây-ad have two prefixes?
The ne- prefix makes the verb negative (not), and the mi- prefix shows that the action is happening now or in the near future. Together with the root ây (from the verb to come) and the ending -ad (which means he, she, or it), it builds the meaning "he/she is not coming".
How do we know u means "he" and not "she"?
We don't! Farsi pronouns are gender-neutral. u means both "he" and "she". The English translation uses "he" just as an example, but this sentence could perfectly mean "You mean she is not coming?" depending on who you were just talking about.