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puccheyyāhaṁ

pucchati

1st person singular optative of pucchati (ask, question)

1. I would ask
2. I should ask
3. I might ask

Built from

• pucch — root · ask, question
  The verb denotes inquiry or questioning, without clear external cognates.
• eyya — ending · optative
  The optative suffix -eyya marks the potential or conditional mood in 1st person singular, indicating hypothetical action or wish.
• ahaṁ — ending · 1st singular nominative
  Pronoun nominative, emphasizing the subject; often pleonastic with verb conjugation.

Analysis. puccheyya (optative stem) + ahaṁ (1st person singular pronoun, nominative)

Etymology. √pucch- (ask, inquire) has no secure Indo-European cognate; the optative mood expresses potential or conditional action.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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