hij

Afrikaans

Pronoun

hij

  1. obsolete spelling of hy

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch hi, from Old Dutch hie, hē, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz. Doublet of ie.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɦɛi̯/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: hij
  • Rhymes: -ɛi̯
  • Homophone: hei

Pronoun

hij

  1. he; third-person singular masculine subjective personal pronoun
    Hij loopt. ― He walks.
    De stoel is duur omdat hij van glas is gemaakt.
    The stool is deer for it is made of glass.

Usage notes

  • When the word occurs other than as the first word of a clause and is not emphatically stressed, it is usually pronounced as /i/. This is a completely accepted pronunciation in standard speech.
  • The word can also be used to refer to inanimate nouns of the feminine gender.

Declension

Dutch personal pronouns
subject object possessive reflexive genitive5
singular full unstr. full unstr. full unstr. pred.
1st person ik 'k1 mij me mijn m'n1 mijne me mijner, mijns
2nd person jij je jou je jouw je jouwe je jouwer, jouws
2nd person archaic or regiolectal gij ge u – uw – uwe u uwer, uws
2nd person formal u – u – uw – uwe u, zich7 uwer, uws
3rd person masculine hij ie1 hem 'm1 zijn z'n1 zijne zich zijner, zijns
3rd person feminine zij ze haar h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 haar h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 hare zich harer, haars
3rd person neuter het 't1 het 't1 zijn z'n1 zijne zich zijner, zijns
3rd person gender-neutral8 hen – hen – hun – hunne zich hunner, huns
plural
1st person wij we ons – ons, onze2 – onze ons onzer, onzes
2nd person jullie je jullie je jullie je – je –
2nd person archaic or regiolectal6 gij ge u – uw – uwe u uwer, uws
2nd person formal u – u – uw – uwe u, zich7 uwer, uws
3rd person zij ze hen3, hun4 ze hun – hunne zich hunner, huns
1) Not as common in written language.
2) Inflected as an adjective.
3) In prescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative).
4) In prescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative).
5) Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions.
6) To differentiate from the singular gij, gelle (object form elle) and variants are commonly used colloquially in Belgium. Archaic forms are gijlieden and gijlui ("you people"). 		7) Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronoun u, e.g. Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronoun u is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g. U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Only u can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g. Meld u aan! 'Log in!', where u is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, both u and zich are equally possible, e.g. U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.'
8) Not officially recognized in standard Dutch. It has gained popularity, especially in mainstream media and queer circles, as a respectful term for non-binary individuals.

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Afrikaans: hy
  • Javindo: hij, gij
  • Jersey Dutch: hai, he
  • Petjo: hij

Middle Dutch

Pronoun

hij

  1. alternative spelling of hi

Middle English

Etymology 1

Pronoun

hij

  1. alternative form of I (“I”)

Etymology 2

Pronoun

hij

  1. alternative form of he (“they”)
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