je
Bassa
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [dʒe]
References
- Bassa-English Dictionary
- 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.
Blagar
References
- Antoinette Schapper, The Papuan Languages of Timor, Alor and Pantar: Volume 1 (2014), p. 173
Bourguignon
Alternative forms
- i (normal form)
Etymology
The traditional form is i but je is found as early as in the first recorded texts in Bourguignon. However nowadays, it is rare to find it, most speakers saying i as it is a typical feature of Bourguignon.
Related terms

Number | Person | Gender | Nominative (subject) |
Inversion | Reflexive | Accusative (direct complement) |
Dative (indirect complement) |
Disjunctive (tonic) |
Locative (at) |
Genitive (of) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | First | — | i (rarely je) | -je | me, m’ | moi | — | — | ||
Second | — | tu, t' | -tu | te, t’ | toi | — | — | |||
Third | Masculine | ai, before vowels el | -ti | se, s’ | le, l’ | lu | lu | y | en | |
Feminine | ale | la, l’ | lei | |||||||
Neuter | çai | -ce | çai | çai, çan | — | — | ||||
— | an | -an | — | — | soi | — | — | |||
Plural | First | — | i (rarely je) | -je | nos | — | — | |||
Second | — | vos | -vos | vos | — | — | ||||
Third | Masculine | ai, before vowels el | -ti | se, s’ | les | lor | lor | y | en | |
Feminine | ales |
Czech
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈjɛ]
audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɛ
Etymology 1
From Proto-Slavic *jь, *ja, *je, originally from Proto-Indo-European *eno-, *ono-, *no-.[cs 1]
Pronoun
je (personal pronoun, accusative case)
See also
Etymology 2
Formerly jest, from Proto-Slavic *estь, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es-.[cs 1]
References
- Rejzek, Jiří (2007) Český etymologický slovník (in Czech), Version 1.0 edition, Prague: Leda
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jə/
Audio (file)
Pronoun
je
- subjective unstressed form of jij (“you (singular)”)
- Wat doe je daar? ― What are you doing there?
- objective unstressed form of jij (“you (singular)”)
- Ik doe dit wel voor je. ― I'll do this for you.
- subjective unstressed form of jullie (“you (plural), y'all”)
- Wat doe je daar? ― What are you doing there?
- objective unstressed form of jullie (“you (plural), y'all”)
- Ik doe dit wel voor je. ― I'll do this for you.
Usage notes
- When je is the unstressed subjective form of jullie, it is construed with a singular verb. Compare:
- Het is gevaarlijk, maar jullie moeten weten wat je doet.
- It’s dangerous, but you must decide what you’re doing.
Inflection
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 | zich | 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 |
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 | zich | 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, and in a similar vein to "you lot" or "you guys" in English, it is common to use gijlui ("you people") or gijlieden ("you people") or one of their contracted variants, and their corresponding objects, possessives and reflexives, in the plural. |
Descendants
- Jersey Dutch: je
Determiner
je (second person, possessive)
- possessive unstressed form of jij (“you (singular)”): your (singular)
- Neem je boek en maak die oefening. ― Take your book and do that exercise.
- possessive unstressed form of jullie (“you (plural), y'all”): your (plural), y'all's
- Neem je boeken en maak die oefening. ― Take your books and do that exercise.
Inflection
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 | zich | 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 |
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 | zich | 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, and in a similar vein to "you lot" or "you guys" in English, it is common to use gijlui ("you people") or gijlieden ("you people") or one of their contracted variants, and their corresponding objects, possessives and reflexives, in the plural. |
Pronoun
je (second person, reflexive)
Inflection
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 | zich | 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 |
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 | zich | 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, and in a similar vein to "you lot" or "you guys" in English, it is common to use gijlui ("you people") or gijlieden ("you people") or one of their contracted variants, and their corresponding objects, possessives and reflexives, in the plural. |
Esperanto
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [je]
- Audio:
(file) - Hyphenation: je
Preposition
je
- An all-purpose preposition.
Usage notes
The preposition je can replace any other preposition and remain grammatically correct, albeit more ambiguous. It is usually clear what meaning is intended based on context.
It is most useful for prepositional phrases not involving a literal physical connection, and instead, the correct preposition in the source language is mandated by convention only:
- "He bets on the horses." (He doesn't place his money on the physical body of the horse.)
- "I typed it on the computer." (It was actually typed using the computer.)
- "She'll be here in a minute." (She'll be here within or after a minute.)
Without context, Donu ĝin je mi could mean any of the following:
- Donu ĝin je [al] mi. — “Give it to me.”
- Donu ĝin je [el] mi. — “Give it from me.”
- Donu ĝin je [kun] mi. — “Give it with me.”
Without context, La kato saltis je la tablon could mean any of the following:
- La kato saltis je [sur] la tablon. — “The cat jumped onto the table.”
- La kato saltis je [malsuper] la tablon. — “The cat jumped under the table.”
- La kato saltis je [malantaŭ] la tablon. — “The cat jumped behind the table.”
Related terms
- je la tria
- je mia bedaŭro
Franco-Provençal
Etymology
Inherited from Vulgar Latin eo, from Latin ego.
References
- je in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
French
Etymology
Inherited from Old French je, jo, from Vulgar Latin eo, from Latin ego, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂. Near cognates include Spanish yo and Italian io. Further cognates include Ancient Greek ἐγώ (egṓ), Russian я (ja), English I, German ich, etc.
See cognates in regional languages in France: Angevin, Bourbonnais-Berrichon, Gallo, Lorrain, Norman, Orléanais, Tourangeau, and Franco-Provençal je; Bourguignon je or i; Champenois ju; Franc-Comtois i; Picard ej; Poitevin-Saintongeais jhe; Occitan ieu (Gascon jo); Catalan jo; Corsican eo.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʒə/
- (informal) IPA(key): (before a voiced segment) /ʒ/, (before an unvoiced segment) /ʃ/
audio (file) - Rhymes: -ə
Usage notes
Derived terms
Related terms
Number | Person | Gender | Nominative (subject) |
Accusative (direct complement) |
Dative (indirect complement) |
Locative (at) |
Genitive (of) |
Disjunctive (tonic) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | First | — | je, j’ | me, m’ | — | — | moi | |
Second | — | tu | te, t’ | — | — | toi | ||
Third | Masculine | il | le, l’ | lui | y | en | lui | |
Feminine | elle | la, l’ | elle | |||||
Indeterminate | on1 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Reflexive | — | se, s’4 | — | — | soi4 | |||
Plural | First | — | nous | nous | — | — | nous | |
Second | — | vous2 | vous2,3 | — | — | vous2 | ||
Third | Masculine | ils3 | les | leur | y | en | eux3 | |
Feminine | elles | elles |
- 1 Also used as the first person plural.
- 2 Also used as the polite singular form.
- 3 Also used when a group has both men and women.
- 4 Also used as third person plural reflexive.
Further reading
- “je”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Garo
Etymology
Likely borrowed from Bengali যেই (ĵei)
References
- Burling, R. (2003) The Language of the Modhupur Mandi (Garo) Vol. II: The Lexicon, Bangladesh: University of Michigan, page 56
German
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jeː/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -eː
- Homophone: jäh (regional)
Adverb
je
- ever
- 1930, Paul Joachimsen, Der Humanismus und die Entwicklung des deutschen Geistes, in: Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Geistesgeschichte, 8, page 467:
- Und nun kommt die Reformation selbst. Die größte geistige Umwälzung, die je ein Volk des Abendlandes erlebt hat.
- And now comes the Reformation itself. The largest spiritual upheaval that was ever experienced by a nation of the Occident.
-
- per
- (with “desto”, “umso” or (dated) “je”) the
- je mehr, desto besser ― the more the better
- je früher, umso besser ― the sooner the better
Derived terms
- je länger je lieber (“the longer it lasts, the more I like it”)
- je nach
- je nachdem
Further reading
- “je” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- Friedrich Kluge (1883), “je”, in , John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891
Haitian Creole
Etymology
From Saint Dominican Creole French z'yeu, from French les yeux (“the eyes”).
Icelandic
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jɛː/
- Rhymes: -ɛː
Etymology 1
Shortening of Jesús (“Jesus”).
Derived terms
Declension
Ido
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʒe/, /ʒɛ/
Lashi
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /d͡ʑe/
Marshallese
Etymology
From Proto-Micronesian *tia, from Proto-Oceanic *tian, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tian, from Proto-Austronesian *tiaN.
Mbyá Guaraní
Middle French
Middle Low German
Pronunciation
- Stem vowel: ê⁴
- (originally) IPA(key): /jeː/
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
Borrowed from Old East Norse jak.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jeː/, /jɛː/, /jæː/
See also
person | first person | second person | reflexive | third person | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | singular | singular masculine | singular feminine | singular neuter | ||
nominative | eg, je1 | du | han | ho | det, dat2 | |
accusative | meg | deg | seg | han, honom2 | ho, henne2 | det, dat2 |
dative2 | meg | deg | seg | honom | henne | di2 |
genitive | min | din | sin | hans | hennar, hennes1 | dess3 |
case | plural | |||||
nominative | me, vi | de, dokker | dei | |||
accusative | oss, okk | dykk, dokker | seg | dei, deim2 | ||
dative | oss, okk | dykk, dokker | seg | deim2 | ||
genitive | vår, okkar | dykkar, dokkar | sin | deira, deires1 |
Old French
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin eo, from Latin ego.
Pronoun
je
- I
- circa 1176, Chrétien de Troyes, Cligès:
- qant je vos voi de tel meniere
- when I see you in such a state
-
Polish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jɛ/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɛ
- Syllabification: je
See also
- Appendix:Polish pronouns
Saterland Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian jē, from Proto-West Germanic *jā. Cognates include West Frisian ja and German ja. Doublet of jee and jä.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jə/
- Hyphenation: je
- Rhymes: -ə
References
- Marron C. Fort (2015), “je”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN
Serbo-Croatian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /je/
Etymology 1
Shortened from jȅst (“is”).
Pronoun
je (Cyrillic spelling је)
Declension
Singular | Plural | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
nominative | ȏn | òna | òno | òni | òne | òna |
genitive | njȅga, ga | njȇ, je | njȅga, ga | njȋh, ih | njȋh, ih | njȋh, ih |
dative | njȅmu, mu | njȏj, joj | njȅmu, mu | njȉma, im | njȉma, im | njȉma, im |
accusative | njȅga, ga, nj | njȗ, ju, je | njȅga, ga, nj | njȋh, ih | njȋh, ih | njȋh, ih |
vocative | — | — | — | — | — | — |
locative | njȅm, njȅmu | njȏj | njȅm, njȅmu | njȉma | njȉma | njȉma |
instrumental | njȋm, njíme | njȏm, njóme | njȋm, njíme | njȉma | njȉma | njȉma |
Slovak
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [je]
Slovene
Pronunciation 1
- IPA(key): /jɛ́/
Pronunciation 2
- IPA(key): /jèː/
Swahili
Pronunciation
Audio (Kenya) (file)
Usage notes
Je precedes the question, and is more commonly used in writing (to supplement for what is usually conveyed by tone of voice in speech).
Ternate
Etymology
Clipping of waje.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /d͡ʒe/
Conjunction
je
- Alternative form of waje (“complementizer, that”)
- ana iwaje je kolano osone ― they say that the king is dead
References
- Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh
Turkish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʒe/
Turkmen
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /d͡ʒe/
Welsh
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dʒeː/
West Makian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒe/
Numeral
je
- attaches to pronouns to form the dual
- ini je ― you two
- eme je ― they two
Westrobothnian
Etymology
From Old Norse ér, from a variant of Proto-Germanic *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European *yū́.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ɟéː], [ʝéː], [ʝíː]
Pronoun
je c pl (accusative je, dative jerom, possessive masculine jeern, feminine jera, neuter jere)
Declension
number | first person | second person | reflexive | third person | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | singular | singular masculine | singular feminine | singular neuter | ||
nominative | jig, jeg, jög | du, döu | hɑnn, hånn | hu, ho, hon | he | |
accusative | meg | deg | seg | hana, na, a, hänner | he, ne, e | |
dative | meg (me) | deg (de) | seg (se) | hönöm, hano, håno | hannar, hänner, hennar, henar, nar | dy, dyij, di |
genitive | min, myin | din, dyin | sin, syin | hɑnʃ, hansches, hånsch | hannars, hännars, hennars, henars | diss |
case | plural | plural masculine | plural feminine | plural neuter | ||
nominative | ve | ge, je, ji | de, di, dȯm, dem, döm | |||
accusative | ass, åss | ge, je, ji | seg | |||
dative | ass, åss | gerom, irom | seg (se) | dȯm, dem, döm, do | ||
genitive | vor, wȯhn, våor, vånn, voden | jera, jänn, jern, iden, jedar, idar | sin, syin | dern, dera, däris, daires | dera, däris, daires | derä |