my
Translingual
Etymology
Abbreviation of English Myanmar, formerly Burma, where Burmese is spoken.
Symbol
my
See also
- Wiktionary’s coverage of Burmese terms
English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- (stressed) enPR: mī IPA(key): /maɪ/
- (unstressed) IPA(key): /maɪ/, /mə/
- (UK, Ottawa Valley) IPA(key): /mɪ/, /mi/
- (Ireland, Liverpool, some speakers) IPA(key): /mi/
- Homophones: muh, me (some dialects)
- Rhymes: -aɪ
Etymology 1
From Middle English mi, my, apocopated form of min, myn, from Old English mīn (“my, mine”), from Proto-West Germanic *mīn, from Proto-Germanic *mīnaz (“my, mine”, pron.) (possessive of *ek (“I”)), from Proto-Indo-European *méynos (“my; mine”).
Cognate with West Frisian myn (“my”), Afrikaans my (“my”), Dutch mijn (“my”), German mein (“my”), Swedish min (“my”). More at me.
Determiner
my
- First-person singular possessive determiner. See Appendix:Possessive#English.
- Belonging to me.
- I can't find my book.
- Associated with me.
- My seat at the restaurant was uncomfortable.
- Don't you know my name?
- I recognised him because he had attended my school.
- Related to me.
- My parents won't let me go out tonight.
- 1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 10, lines 165-166:
- From what conſummate vertue I have choſe / This perfect Man, by merit call'd my Son,
- In the possession of me.
- I have to take my books back to the library soon.
- Belonging to me.
Derived terms
- ain't no shame in my game
- and I claim my five pounds
- cheers my dears
- did my back hurt your knife
- don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining
- don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining
- Draw My Life
- elementary, my dear Watson
- forgive my French
- get out of my sight
- hippity hoppity get off my property
- hold my milk
- I don't boil my cabbage twice
- I don't chew my cabbage twice
- I'll go to the foot of my stairs
- it's all over my screen
- kiss my balls
- my arse
- my aunt
- my b
- my bad
- my brother in Christ
- my culture is not your costume
- my eye
- my eyeball
- my fellow Americans
- my foot
- my friend
- my giddy aunt
- my God
- my goodness
- my gosh
- my guy
- my heavens
- my lady's washbowl
- my land
- my people yearn for freedom
- my pleasure
- my point exactly
- my rear
- my sainted aunt
- my sainted uncle
- my sides
- my sister in Christ
- my son
- my stars
- my teeth are floating
- my thigh
- my very educated mother just served us nine pizzas
- my very excellent mother just served us nine pizzas
- my watch has ended
- my way or the highway
- my word
- no shame in my game
- oh my fucking God
- shiver my sides
- shiver my soul
- smoke my pole
- so help my tater
- thank you for coming to my TED Talk
- the dog ate my homework
- there's no shame in my game
- upon my soul
- welcome to my life
- wet my lips
- whoops, there go my trousers
Related terms
Translations
|
See also
Dialectal and obsolete or archaic forms are in italics.
1 See Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns for attested neopronouns. |
Etymology 2
An abbreviation of an oath such as my word or my Lord
Interjection
my
Derived terms
Afrikaans
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /məi/
Etymology 1
Pronoun
my (subject ek)
- me (object)
Alternative forms
See also
subjective | objective | possessive determiner |
possessive pronoun | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular | 1st | ek | my | myne | ||
2nd | jy | jou | joune | |||
2nd, formal | u | u s’n | ||||
3rd | masc | hy | hom | sy | syne | |
fem | sy | haar | hare | |||
neut | dit | sy | syne | |||
plural | 1st | ons | ons s’n | |||
2nd | julle / jul1 | julle s’n | ||||
3rd | hulle / hul1 | hulle s’n |
Etymology 2
Determiner
my
- my; of me
Alternative forms
See also
subjective | objective | possessive determiner |
possessive pronoun | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular | 1st | ek | my | myne | ||
2nd | jy | jou | joune | |||
2nd, formal | u | u s’n | ||||
3rd | masc | hy | hom | sy | syne | |
fem | sy | haar | hare | |||
neut | dit | sy | syne | |||
plural | 1st | ons | ons s’n | |||
2nd | julle / jul1 | julle s’n | ||||
3rd | hulle / hul1 | hulle s’n |
Cameroon Pidgin
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ma/
Determiner
my
- 1st person singular possessive determiner
See also
singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|
1st person | my | we | |
2nd person | your | wuna | |
3rd person | yi | dia |
Chinese Pidgin English
Etymology
Pronoun
my
- I (subject pronoun)
- 1836 January, “Jargon spoken at Canton: how it originated and has grown into use; mode in which the Chinese learn English; examples of the language in common use between foreigners and Chinese”, in The Chinese Repository, volume IV, number 9, page 433:
- ‘My wanchee takee go away alla this cover, putee nother piece,’ replied I.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- me (object pronoun)
- Synonym: me
- my (possessive pronoun)
Cornish
Alternative forms
- (Revived Late Cornish) me
Etymology
From Proto-Brythonic *mi, from Proto-Celtic *mī. Cognate with Breton me, Irish mé, Manx mee, Scottish Gaelic mi, and Welsh mi.
Pronoun
my
See also
number | person | independent (subject) |
suffixed | infixed | possessive (dependent) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
enclitic | emphatic | reduced | ||||||
singular | first | my | vy | evy | ma, a | 'm | owA | |
second | ty | jy, sy1 | tejy | ta, a | 'thM | dhaS | ||
third2 | m | ev | ev | eev | va, a | 'n | yS | |
f | hi | hi | hyhi | N/A | 's | hyA | ||
plural | first | ni | ni | nyni | 'gan, 'n | agan, 'gan | ||
second3 | hwi | hwi | hwyhwi | 'gas, 's | agas, 'gas | |||
third | i | i | ynsi | 's | agaA, 'gaA |
1 Uncommon.
2 hun and ins have been suggested as non-binary 3rd person singular pronouns, though these have not yet officially adopted.
3 Infrequently used as a formal alternative to the singular.
S Triggers soft mutation A Triggers aspirate mutation M Triggers mixed mutation
Mutation
unmutated | soft | aspirate | hard | mixed | mixed after 'th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
my | vy | unchanged | unchanged | fy | vy |
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Cornish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
Czech
Etymology
Inherited from Old Czech my, from Proto-Slavic *my, from Proto-Indo-European *wéy.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈmɪ]
Audio: (file)
Pronoun
my
Declension
Related terms
singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|
1st person | já | my | |
2nd person | familiar | ty | vy |
polite | vy | ||
3rd person | m | on | oni1 |
f | ona | ony | |
n | ono | ona | |
reflexive | sebe, se (clitic) |
1 animate referents only, for inanimate ones ony is used.
Further reading
- “my”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
- “my”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
- “my”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025
Danish
Noun
my n (singular definite myet, plural indefinite myer)
Declension
neuter gender |
singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | my | myet | myer | myerne |
genitive | mys | myets | myers | myernes |
Noun
my c
Synonyms
References
- “my” in Den Danske Ordbog
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mɛi̯/
Audio: (file) - Rhymes: -ɛi̯
- Homophone: mei
Pronoun
my
- obsolete spelling of mij
Usage notes
- The spelling my was deprecated in a Dutch spelling reform.
Egyptian
Etymology
From mj (“like”) + -j (adverbializing suffix).
Pronunciation
- (modern Egyptological) IPA(key): /miː/
- Conventional anglicization: my
Adverb
|
References
- James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 86.
Lower Sorbian
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic *my, from Proto-Indo-European *nos.
Pronoun
my pl
Declension
Manx
Etymology 1
From Old Irish má, from Proto-Celtic *mā, *ma (compare Cornish and Breton mar), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂.
Pronunciation
Conjunction
my
Usage notes
Counterfactual conditional questions take dy.
Etymology 2
Inherited from Old Irish mo (“my”)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mə/
Determiner
my (triggers lenition)
References
- ^ Christopher Lewin (forthcoming) Sheean as Screeu, St John's: Culture Vannin, page 148
Middle English
Determiner
my (subjective pronoun I)
- alternative form of mi
Old Czech
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *my.
Pronunciation
Pronoun
my
- we (first person plural)
Declension
Singular | 1st person | 2nd person | Reflexive |
---|---|---|---|
Nominative | jáz, já | ty | — |
Genitive | mne, mě | tebe, tě | sebe, sě |
Dative | mně, mi | tobě, ti | sobě, si |
Accusative | mě, mne | tě, tebe | sě, sebe |
Locative | mně | tobě | sobě |
Instrumental | mnú | tobú, tebú | sobú, sebú |
Possessive | mój | tvój | svój |
Dual | 1st person | 2nd person | Reflexive |
Nominative | vě, va, ma | vy | — |
Genitive | najú | vajú | sebe, sě |
Dative | náma | váma | sobě, si |
Accusative | ny, najú | vy, vajú | sě, sebe |
Locative | najú | vajú | sobě |
Instrumental | náma | váma | sobú, sebú |
Possessive | náš, najú | váš, vajú | svój |
Plural | 1st person | 2nd person | Reflexive |
Nominative | my | vy | — |
Genitive | nás | vás | sebe, sě |
Dative | nám, nem | vám, vem | sobě, si |
Accusative | ny, nás | vy, vás | sě, sebe |
Locative | nás | vás | sobě |
Instrumental | námi | vámi | sobú, sebú |
Possessive | náš | váš | svój |
Descendants
- Czech: my
References
- Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “my”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění
Old Polish
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *my. First attested in the 14th century.
Pronunciation
Pronoun
my
Declension
Descendants
References
- B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “my, ny (?)”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
Polish
Pronunciation
Audio: (file) - Rhymes: -ɘ
- Syllabification: my
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old Polish my.
Pronoun
my
Declension
See also
- Appendix:Polish pronouns
Etymology 2
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek μῦ (mû), from Phoenician 𐤌 (m /mēm/).
Alternative forms
Noun
my n (indeclinable)
- mu (Greek letter Μ, μ)
Trivia
According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), my is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 88 times in scientific texts, 30 times in news, 138 times in essays, 200 times in fiction, and 419 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 875 times, making it the 49th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.[1]
References
Further reading
- my in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- my in Polish dictionaries at PWN
- Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “my”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
- “MY”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 22 June 2021
- Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “my”, in Słownik języka polskiego
- Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “my”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
- J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1902), “my”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 2, Warsaw, page 1081
Portuguese
Pronoun
my
- obsolete form of mim
Scots
Alternative forms
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English mi, my, apocopated form of min, myn, from Old English mīn (“my, mine”), from Proto-West Germanic *mīn, from Proto-Germanic *mīnaz (“my, mine”, pron.) (possessive of *ek (“I”)), from Proto-Indo-European *méynos (“my; mine”).
Determiner
my
See also
personal pronoun | possessive pronoun |
possessive determiner | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
subjective | objective | reflexive | |||||
first person | singular | A, I, Ik | me | mysel | mine, mines | mine, my | |
plural | we | us, we | oorsel, oorsels | oors | our | ||
second person | singular | standard (formal) | ye you, yow |
ye you, yow |
yersel yoursel |
yers yours |
yer your |
Insular (informal) | thoo | thee | thysel, theesel | thines | thy, thee, thees | ||
plural | ye, yese you, youse |
ye, yese you, youse theer |
yesels yoursels |
yers yours |
yer your | ||
third person | singular | masculine | he, e | him, im | himsel, hissel | his, is | his, is |
feminine | scho, she, shu | her, er | hersel | hers | her, er | ||
neuter | it hit |
it hit |
itsel hitsel |
its hits |
its hits | ||
genderless, nonspecific (formal) |
ane | ane | – | – | ane's | ||
plural | thay | thaim | thaimsel, thaimsels | thairs | thair |
References
- “my, possess. pron.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 23 May 2024, reproduced from William A[lexander] Craigie, A[dam] J[ack] Aitken [et al.], editors, A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue: […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1931–2002, →OCLC.
- “my, poss. adj.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 23 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.
Silesian
Etymology
Inherited from Old Polish my.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmɪ/
Audio: (file) - Rhymes: -ɪ
- Syllabification: my
Pronoun
my
Declension
plural | |
---|---|
nominative | my |
genitive | nŏs, nas |
dative | nōm, nam |
accusative | nŏs, nas |
instrumental | nami |
locative | nŏs, nas |
Further reading
- my in silling.org
Slovak
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *my, from Proto-Indo-European *nos.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [mi]
Audio: (file)
Pronoun
my
Declension
Related terms
substantive | possessive | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
1st person | ja | my | môj | náš | |
2nd person | familiar | ty | vy | tvoj | váš |
polite | vy | váš | |||
3rd person | m | on | oni* / ony | jeho | ich |
f | ona | jej | |||
n | ono | jeho | |||
reflexive | seba, sa (clitic) | svoj |
* masculine animate only, ony otherwise
Further reading
- “my”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025
Swedish
Noun
my n
Upper Sorbian
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic *my, from Proto-Indo-European *wéy.
Pronoun
my
Declension
First person pronouns | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular | dual | plural | |||||
nominative | ja | mój | my | ||||
genitive | mje (after preposition) mnje |
naju | nas | ||||
dative | mi (after preposition) mni |
namaj | nam | ||||
accusative | mje (after preposition) mnje |
naju | nas | ||||
instrumental | mnu | namaj | nami | ||||
locative | mni | nas | |||||
Second person pronouns | |||||||
singular | dual | plural | |||||
nominative | ty | wój | wy | ||||
genitive | će (after preposition) tebje |
waju | was | ||||
dative | ći (after preposition) tebi |
wamaj | wam | ||||
accusative | će (after preposition) tebje |
waju | was | ||||
instrumental | tobu | wamaj | wami | ||||
locative | tebi | was | |||||
Third person pronouns | |||||||
masculine singular | feminine singular | neuter singular | dual virile | dual nonvirile | plural virile | plural nonvirile | |
nominative | wón | wona | wono | wonaj | wonej | woni | wone |
genitive | jeho (after preposition) njeho |
jeje (after preposition) njeje |
jeho (after preposition) njeho |
jeju | jich (after preposition) nich | ||
dative | jemu (after preposition) njemu |
jej (after preposition) njej |
jemu (after preposition) njemu |
jimaj (after preposition) nimaj |
jim (after preposition) nim | ||
accusative | jón (after preposition) njón (animate) jeho (animate after preposition) njeho |
ju (after preposition) nju |
jo, je (after preposition) njo, nje |
jeju (after preposition) njeju |
jej (after preposition) njej |
jich (after preposition) nich |
je (after preposition) nje |
instrumental | nim | njej | nim | nimaj | nimi | ||
locative | nich |
Further reading
- “my” in Soblex
West Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian mī, from Proto-Germanic *miz.
Pronunciation
Pronoun
my
- object of ik