Language/Multiple-languages/Vocabulary/Pronouns
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This chapter of Language comparisons focuses on the comparison of pronouns.
Note: every “word” is in nominative case.
How to indicate the speaker?
By the first-person singular pronoun.
Are there different first-person singular pronouns for different uses?
1. No.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Amharic | እኔ | |
Arabic | أَنَا | |
Basque | ni | |
Bengali | আমি | |
English | I | |
French | je | |
German | ich | |
Hausa | ni | |
Hebrew | אֲנִי | |
Hindi | मैं; हम | |
Italian | io | |
Javanese | aku | |
Kabyle | nekk | |
Kannada | ನಾನು | |
Malayalam | ഞാന് | |
Mandarin Chinese | 我 | |
Marathi | मी | |
Mon | အဲ | |
Portuguese | eu | |
Punjabi | ਮੈਂ | |
Russian | я | |
Spanish | yo | |
Swahili | mimi | |
Tamil | நான் | |
Telugu | నేను | |
Tigrinya | ኣነ | |
Turkish | ben | |
Urdu | ہم; میں |
2. Yes.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Burmese | ကျွန်တော်; ကျွန်မ; ငါ; ကျုပ် | formal, male; formal, female; informal; more polite |
Indonesian | saya; aku | formal; informal |
Japanese | 私(わたし); 私(わたくし); 僕; あたし; 俺 | common; formal; informal; female; male |
Khmer | ខ្ញុំ; ខ្ញុំបាទ; នាងខ្; ខ្ញុំព្រះករុណា; ខ្ញុំព្រះអង្គ; ខ្ញុំម្ចាស់ | common; formal, male; formal, female; royalty; royalty, male; royalty, female |
Korean | 나; 저 | common; formal |
Malay | saya; aku; daku; hamba; patik; beta | formal; informal; poetic; lowest social strata; facing royalties; royalties |
Thai | ผม; ดิฉัน; ฉัน; กระหม่อม; ข้าพเจ้า; หนู; กู | male; female; informal; more formal; more formal; child to adult; crude |
Tsafiki | la; čiʰké; če | adult male; adult female; immature |
Vietnamese | tôi; tớ; ta; mình | common; informal; informal; intimate |
How to indicate the listener?
By the second-person singular pronoun.
Are there different second-person singular pronouns for different use?
1. No.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
English | you | |
Esperanto | vi | |
Malayalam | നീ | |
Mon | ဗှ်ေ | |
Swahili | wewe | |
Tibetan | ཁྱེད་རང | |
Vietnamese | bạn |
2. Yes.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Amharic | አንተ; አንቺ; እርስዎ | to male; to female; formal |
Arabic | أَنْتَ ; أَنْتِ ; حَضْرَتَك ; حَضْرَتِك | to male; to female; to male, formal; to female, formal |
Bengali | তুই; তুমি; আপনি | informal; intimate; formal |
Burmese | နင်; မင်း; ခင်ဗျား; ရှင် | informal; informal; formal, by male; formal, by female |
French | tu; vous | informal; formal |
German | du; Sie | informal; formal |
Hebrew | אַתָּה; אַתְּ | to male; to female |
Hindi | तू; तुम; आप | informal; polite; more polite |
Italian | tu; lei | informal; formal |
Japanese | 貴方; 君; お前; あんた; てまえ; 貴様 | polite; familiar; intimate or rude; by female or by older male; vulgar, by male; insulting |
Khmer | លោក; លោកស្រី; នាងស្រី; អ្នក | to male or Buddhist monk; to older female; to younger female; common |
Korean | 당신; 너; 네; 자네 | common; informal; informal; to low social strata |
Malay | kamu; awak; anda; dikau; engkau | common; informal; formal; poetic; poetic, informal |
Mandarin Chinese | 你; 您 | informal; formal |
Portuguese | tu; você | familiar in Portugal, rarely used in Brazil; polite in Portugal, general in Brazil |
Russian | ты; Вы; вы | familiar; polite; polite |
Spanish | tú; usted; vos | familiar; polite; familiar |
Tamil | நீ; நீங்கள்; தாங்கள் | familiar; polite; more polite |
Telugu | నీవు; మీరు | familiar; polite |
Thai | คุณ; เธอ; มึง; เอ็ง; ท่าน; นาย; หล่อน; เรา; โยม; ประสก; สีกา | colloquial; polite; vulgar, familiar; less vulgar, familiar; colloquial; colloquial, to male; colloquial, to female; elder to younger; vulgar; priest to layperson; priest to layman; priest to laywoman |
Tigrinya | ንስኻ; ንስኺ; ንስኹም; ንስኽን | informal, to male; informal, to female; formal, to male; formal, to female |
Turkish | sen; siz | familiar; polite |
Urdu | آپ; تم; تو | formal; less informal; informal |
Yoruba | ìwọ; ệyin | informal; formal |
How to indicate a person being neither the speaker nor the listener?
By the third-person singular pronoun.
Are there different third-person singular pronouns for different use?
1. No.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Hindi | वह; यह | |
Persian | او | |
Turkish | o | |
Urdu | وہ; يہ | |
Yue Chinese | 佢 |
2. Yes.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Amharic | እሱ; እሷ; እሳቸው | male or non-human; female; polite |
Arabic | هُوَ; هِيَ | male or masculine non-human; female or feminine non-human |
Burmese | သူ; သူမ | male or colloquial female or non-human; formal female |
English | he; she; it | male; female; non-human |
French | il; elle; ce; ça | male or masculine non-human; female or feminine non-human; non-human; non-human |
German | er; sie; es | male or masculine non-human; female or feminine non-human; neuter non-human |
Hebrew | הוא; היא; זֶה; זֹאת | male; female; masculine non-human; feminine non-human |
Italian | lui; lei; esso; essa; egli; ella | male; female; masculine non-human; feminine non-human; male, literary; female, literary |
Japanese | 彼; 彼女 | male; female |
Kannada | ಇವನು; ಇವ; ಅವನು; ಅವ; ಇವಳು; ಅವಳು; ಇದು; ಅದು | this male; this male; that male; that male; this female; that female; this non-human; that non-human |
Khmer | គាត់; គេ; នាង; វា | polite; polite, male or female; referring to a younger woman; non-human or referring to young children or people of lower rank |
Korean | 그; 그이; 그녀 | male or female; polite, male; female |
Malay | dia; ia; baginda; beliau | male or female; male or female or non-human; for kings, queens and Muslim prophets; for notable people |
Mandarin Chinese | 他; 她; 它 | male; female; non-human |
Portuguese | ele; ela | male or masculine non-human; female or feminine non-human |
Russian | он; она́; оно́ | male of masculine non-human; female or feminine non-human; neuter non-human |
Spanish | él; ella; ello | male or masculine non-human; female or feminine non-human; neuter non-human |
Tigrinya | ንሱ; ንሳ | male or non-human; female |
Vietnamese | anh ấy; ông ấy; chị ấy; cô ấy; bà ấy; hắn; nó | young male; older or respected male; young female or older than the speaker; young female; older or respected female; informal or pejorative; child or non-human |
How to indicate things in languages without third-person non-human pronoun?
By demonstrative pronouns.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Japanese | それ | thing near the listener |
Korean | 그것 | thing near the listener |
How to indicate people including the speaker and excluding the listener?
By the first-person plural pronoun (exclusive “we”).
Are there different first-person plural pronouns (exclusive “we”) for different use?
1. No.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Amharic | እኛ | |
Arabic | نَحْنُ | |
Basque | gu | |
Bengali | আমরা | |
English | we | |
German | wir | |
Hausa | múu | |
Hindi | हम | |
Italian | noi | |
Kannada | ನಾವು | |
Khmer | យើង | |
Malay | kami | |
Mandarin Chinese | 我們/我们 | |
Mon | ပိုဲ | |
Russian | мы | |
Swahili | sisi | |
Tamil | நாங்கள் | |
Telugu | మేము | |
Tigrinya | ንሕና | |
Turkish | biz | |
Urdu | ہم | |
Vietnamese | chúng ta |
2. Yes.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Bislama | mitufala; mitrifala; mifala | dual; trial; plural* |
Burmese | ကျုပ်တို့; တို့; ကျွန်တော်တို့; ကျွန်မတို့; ငါတို့ | informal; informal; formal, by male; formal, by female; informal |
French | nous; on | formal; informal |
Hawaiian | māua; mākou | dual; plural* |
Hebrew | אֲנַחְנוּ; אָנוּ | formal; informal |
Japanese | 私達; 僕ら; 僕達; 我ら | common; informal, humble; informal; formal, rarely used |
Korean | 우리; 저희 | common; humble |
Maori | māua; mātou | dual; plural* |
Northern Sami | moai; mii | dual; plural* |
Old Church Slavonic | вѣ; мꙑ | dual; plural* |
Portuguese | nós; a gente | common; informal |
Rapa Nui | maua; matou | dual; plural* |
Spanish | nosotros; nosotras | masculine; feminine |
Tok Pisin | mitupela; mitripela; mipela | dual; trial; plural* |
*“plural” in these languages means more than two or more than three.
How to indicate people excluding the speaker and including the listener?
By the second-person plural pronoun.
Are there different second-person plural pronouns for different use?
1. No.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Amharic | እናንተ | |
English | you | |
French | vous | |
Icelandic | þið | |
Mandarin Chinese | 你們/你们 | |
Malay | kalian | |
Modern Greek | εσείς | |
Pashto | تاسې | |
Persian | شما | |
Russian | вы | |
Swahili | ninyi | |
Ukrainian | ви | |
Yue Chinese | 你哋 | |
Zulu | nina |
2. Yes.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Arabic | أَنْتُمَا; أَنْتُم; أَنْتُنَّ; حَضْرَتْكُم | common gender, dual; masculine, plural; feminine, plural; formal |
Aramaic | ܐܢܬܘܢ = אנתון; אנתין = ܐܢܬܝܢ | masculine; feminine |
Bengali | তোরা; তোমরা; আপনারা; তোমরা | familiar; very familiar; polite; polite |
Burmese | နင်တို့; နင်တို့; ရှင်တို့ | to younger people; polite, by male; polite, by female |
Danish | I; De | familiar; polite |
German | ihr; Sie | familiar; polite |
Hawaiian | ʻolua; ʻoukou | dual; plural |
Hebrew | אֲתֶּם; אֲתֶּן | masculine; feminine |
Hindi | तुम; आप | mid-polite; polite |
Hungarian | ti; önök | familiar; polite |
Japanese | 貴方達; 貴方方; お前達; 君達; 貴様等 | generic; honorific; slightly rude; intimate or toward subordinates; highly insulting |
Korean | 너희; 여러분; 너희; 당신들; 이놈들; 니네; 니들; 자네들 | generic, discourteous if used for a superior; honorific; slightly rude; slightly rude; highly insulting; very familiar; very familiar; intimate toward subordinates |
Kyrgyz | силер; сиздер | familiar; polite |
How to indicate people including the speaker and the listener?
By the first-person plural pronoun (inclusive “we”).
Are there different first-person plural pronouns (inclusive “we”) for different use?
1. No.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Arabic | نَحْنُ | |
French | nous | |
Malay | kita | |
Portuguese | nós | |
Telugu | మనము |
How to indicate people excluding the speaker and the listener?
By the third-person plural pronoun.
Are there different third-person plural pronouns for different use?
1. No.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Danish | de | |
English | they | |
German | sie | |
Hungarian | ők | |
Malay | mereka | |
Rapa Nui | raua | |
Russian | они́ | |
Swahili | wao | |
Tok Pisin | ol | |
Turkish | onlar | |
Vietnamese | họ |
2. Yes.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Dalmatian | jali; jale | masculine; feminine |
Faroese | teir; tær; tey | masculine; feminine; neuter |
Galician | elos; elas | masculine; feminine |
Hebrew | הֵם; הֵן | masculine; feminine |
Icelandic | þeir; þær; þau | masculine; feminine; neuter |
Korean | 그들; 그녀들 | common; female |
Modern Greek | αυτοί; αυτές; αυτά | masculine; feminine; neuter |
Scottish Gaelic | iad; iadsan | common; emphatic |
Slovak | oni; ony | masculine; feminine or neuter |
Slovene | ôni; ône; ôna | masculine; feminine; neuter |
Spanish | ellos; ellas | masculine; feminine |
Are “exclusive we” and “inclusive we” different words?
1. No.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
English | we | |
Finnish | me | |
German | wir | |
Mandarin Chinese | 我們/我们 |
2. Yes.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Bislama | yumitu; yumitri; yumi; mitufala; mitrifala; mifala | inclusive dual; inclusive trial; inclusive plural; exclusive dual; exclusive trial; exclusive plural |
Hawaiian | kāua; kākou; māua; mākou | inclusive dual; inclusive plural; exclusive dual; exclusive plural |
Vietnamese | chúng ta; chúng tôi | inclusive; exclusive |
Is there any plural form the same as or similar to the polite singular form?
1. No.
2. Yes.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Bashkir | һеҙ | second-person plural, second-person singular polite |
Estonian | teie, te | second-person plural, second-person singular polite |
French | vous | second-person plural, second-person (singular or plural) polite |
German | sie; Sie | third-person plural; second-person singular polite |
Hindi | वे | third-person plural, third-person singular polite |
Latvian | jūs | second-person plural, second-person (singular or plural) polite |
Lithuanian | jūs | second-person plural, second-person singular polite |
Mongolian | та | second-person plural, second-person singular polite |
Is there any pronoun the same as or similar to a determiner?
1. No.
2. Yes.
language | word | note |
---|---|---|
Danish | de | third-person plural nominative pronoun, plural demonstrative pronoun or plural definite article |
Kannada | ಅವರು; ಅವುಗಳು; ಅವು | masculine or feminine plural personal pronoun or demonstrative pronoun; neuter plural personal pronoun or demonstrative pronoun; neuter plural personal pronoun or demonstrative pronoun |
Modern Greek | αυτοί; αυτές; αυτά | third-person masculine plural personal pronoun or determiner; third-person feminine plural personal pronoun or determiner; third-person neuter plural personal pronoun or determiner |
Norwegian | de | third-person plural nominative pronoun, plural demonstrative pronoun or plural definite article |
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