تو

See also: پو, بو, بۄ, بۇ, and Appendix:Variations of "tu"

Arabic

Etymology

In the sense of a knot from Persian تو (tô, “twist”). In the sense of having been just a borrowing from Egyptian Arabic تَوّ (taww) in its meaning, also Hassaniya Arabic تو (tow, “instant”), Marazīq Tunisian Arabic تاو (tâu, “moment”), in view of Sabaean 𐩻𐩥 (ṯw, “until”) borrowed from Old South Arabian, in its more original meaning present in Andalusian Arabic ثَو ذَا (ṯaw ḏā) or تَو ذَا (taw ḏā, “until now”) and Yemeni Arabic تَو (taw, “in front of”), and following this prepositional character still most notorious with personal suffixes. Possibly corresponding to سَوْفَ (sawfa) and Ge'ez ሶበ (sobä), ሶቤ (sobe, “when”).

Noun

تَوّ • (taww) m (plural أَتْوَاء (ʔatwāʔ))

1. (obsolete) a knot, a twist or contortion in a rope; a rope that is twisted of a single strand
2. instantaneousness, immediacy, onlyness, the condition of having been present just i.e. recently and/or alone

Usage notes

Though parsing as a noun, the sense of an “instance” is of restricted use, often in the adverbial accusative تَوًّا (tawwan, “just; in a bit”), and in prepositional phrases فِي التَوِّ (fī t-tawwi) and لِلتَّوِّ (li-t-tawwi) which latter in particular also takes personal suffixes instead of the article, for the findability of which constructions this dictionary entry renders the following table:

Inflection

Inflected forms

base form					لِتَوِّ (litawwi)
Personal-pronoun including forms
	singular		dual	plural
	m	f		m	f
1st person	لِتَوِّي (litawwī)		لِتَوِّنَا (litawwinā)
2nd person	لِتَوِّكَ (litawwika)	لِتَوِّكِ (litawwiki)	لِتَوِّكُمَا (litawwikumā)	لِتَوِّكُمْ (litawwikum)	لِتَوِّكُنَّ (litawwikunna)
3rd person	لِتَوِّهِ (litawwihi)	لِتَوِّهَا (litawwihā)	لِتَوِّهِمَا (litawwihimā)	لِتَوِّهِمْ (litawwihim)	لِتَوِّهِنَّ (litawwihinna)

Declension

Declension of noun تَوّ (taww)

singular	basic singular triptote
	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	تَوّ taww	التَّوّ at-taww	تَوّ taww
nominative	تَوٌّ tawwun	التَّوُّ at-tawwu	تَوُّ tawwu
accusative	تَوًّا tawwan	التَّوَّ at-tawwa	تَوَّ tawwa
genitive	تَوٍّ tawwin	التَّوِّ at-tawwi	تَوِّ tawwi
dual	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	تَوَّيْن tawwayn	التَّوَّيْن at-tawwayn	تَوَّيْ tawway
nominative	تَوَّانِ tawwāni	التَّوَّانِ at-tawwāni	تَوَّا tawwā
accusative	تَوَّيْنِ tawwayni	التَّوَّيْنِ at-tawwayni	تَوَّيْ tawway
genitive	تَوَّيْنِ tawwayni	التَّوَّيْنِ at-tawwayni	تَوَّيْ tawway
plural	basic broken plural triptote
	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	أَتْوَاء ʔatwāʔ	الْأَتْوَاء al-ʔatwāʔ	أَتْوَاء ʔatwāʔ
nominative	أَتْوَاءٌ ʔatwāʔun	الْأَتْوَاءُ al-ʔatwāʔu	أَتْوَاءُ ʔatwāʔu
accusative	أَتْوَاءً ʔatwāʔan	الْأَتْوَاءَ al-ʔatwāʔa	أَتْوَاءَ ʔatwāʔa
genitive	أَتْوَاءٍ ʔatwāʔin	الْأَتْوَاءِ al-ʔatwāʔi	أَتْوَاءِ ʔatwāʔi

Derived terms

• تَوَّة (tawwa, “a short period”)

References

• Corriente, F. (1997), A Dictionary of Andalusi Arabic (Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1 The Near and Middle East; 29)‎^[1], Leiden, New York, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 81b
• Corriente, Federico (2008), “Additions and corrections to A Dictionary of Andalusi Arabic”, in Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes‎^[2], volume 98, page 41
• Freytag, Georg (1830), “تو”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[3] (in Latin), volume 1, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 203a
• Lane, Edward William (1863-1893), “تو”, in Arabic-English Lexicon, London: Williams & Norgate, pages 320–321.
• Wehr, Hans with Kropfitsch, Lorenz (1985), “تو”, in Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart‎^[4] (in German), 5th edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, published 2011, →ISBN, page 146a

Karakhanid

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *tǖk

Noun

تُو (tǖ)

1. hair, body hair

   بِرْ تُو سَجْ ― bir tǖ sač ― a single hair

2. color
3. kind

Derived terms

• تُودَشْ (tǖdeš, “of the same kind”)
• تُولُكْ (tǖlüg, “hairy”)

Descendants

• Chagatai:
  • Uzbek: tuk
  • Uyghur: تۈك (tük)

Further reading

• Mahmud al-Kashgari (1072–1074), Besim Atalay, transl., Divanü Lûgat-it-Türk Tercümesi [Translation of the Compendium of the Languages of the Turks] (Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları; 521) (in Turkish), 1985 edition, volume III, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, published 1939–1943, page 207.
• Clauson, Gerard (1972), “tü:”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 433

Etymology 2

According to Clauson, likely borrowed from Middle Chinese 湯 (*tʰɑŋ), which he suggests was pronounced as something like "*to" in the unspecific Northwestern dialect the word was probably borrowed from.

Noun

تُو (tō)

1. (hapax legomenon) a sort of flour prepared like a porridge

Further reading

• Mahmud al-Kashgari (1072–1074), Besim Atalay, transl., Divanü Lûgat-it-Türk Tercümesi [Translation of the Compendium of the Languages of the Turks] (Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları; 521) (in Turkish), 1985 edition, volume III, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, published 1939–1943, page 207.
• Clauson, Gerard (1972), “to:”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 433

Kohistani Shina

Noun

توٗ (tó)

1. boiled egg

Malay

Determiner

تو

1. Jawi spelling of tu.‎

Pronoun

تو

1. Jawi spelling of tu.‎

Old Anatolian Turkish

تو

Alternative forms

• توك (tük), توی (tüy), دو (dü)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *tǖk. Compare Karakhanid تُو (tǖ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ty(ː)/

Noun

تو • (tü) (definite accusative تویی (tüyi), plural تولر (tüler))

1. hair, a pigmented filament of keratin which grows from a follicle on the skin of humans and other mammals.

   Synonym: صاچ (saç)

2. (strictly) body hair, the hair of the body as opposed to facial hair and headhair
3. feather, a branching, hair-like structure that grows on the bodies of birds, used for flight, swimming, protection and display.

   Synonym: یوك (yüg)

Derived terms

• تولك (tülek, “hairless”)
• تولنمك (tülenmek, “to grow hair”)
• توله‌مك (tülemek, “to moult”)
• تولو (tülü, “hairy”)

Descendants

• Azerbaijani: tük
• Gagauz: tüü
• Ottoman Turkish: توی (tüy), توك (tüğ)
  • Turkish: tüy
  • → Armenian: թո̈ւյ (tʻüy)

Further reading

• Kanar, Mehmet (2018), “tüg”, in Eski Anadolu Türkçesi Sözlüğü [Old Anatolian Turkish Dictionary] (in Turkish), 2nd edition, Istanbul: Say Yayınları, page 671
• “tü”, in XIII. Yüzyılından Beri Türkiye Türkçesiyle Yazılmış Kitaplarından Toplanan Tanıklarıyle Tarama Sözlüğü (Türk Dil Kurumu yayınları; 212)‎^[5] (in Turkish), Ankara: Türk Dil Kurumu, 1963–1977
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “tüy”, in Nişanyan Sözlük

Persian

Etymology 1

From Middle Persian 𐭫𐭪 (LK /⁠tō⁠/, “you, thou”), from Old Persian (compare 𐎬𐎺𐎶 (tuvam)), from Proto-Iranian *tuHám (compare Northern Kurdish tu, Pashto ته (tə), Avestan 𐬙𐬏𐬨 (tūm)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *tuHám, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ˈtu/

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰʊ]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰʊ]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰʊ]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰu]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰo]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰu]

• Rhymes: -u

Readings
Classical reading?	tu
Dari reading?	tu
Iranian reading?	to
Tajik reading?	tu

• Audio (Iran):

  (file)

• Reconstructed as a short vowel in Classical Persian, despite its written form indicating a long vowel.

Pronoun

Dari	تو
Iranian Persian
Tajik	ту

تو • (to)

1. you, thou (informal, singular)
2. (generally with following را) you, thee
3. (at the end of an ezafe) your, thy

Usage notes

• The form تو را (to râ) may be contracted into ترا (torâ). Both forms are pronounced the same regardless.

Descendants

• Judeo-Tat: ty

See also

Persian personal pronouns (Iranian Persian)

		singular	plural
1st person		مَن (man)	ما (mâ)
2nd person	familiar	تو (to)	شُما (šomâ)
	polite	شُما (šomâ)
3rd person	general	او (u) اون (on)*	آن‌ها (ân-hâ), آنان (ânân) اونا (onâ)*
	formal	وِی (vey)	ایشان (išân)
	polite	ایشان (išân)

* colloquial pronunciations

Persian personal pronouns (Classical and Dari)

			singular		plural
			nominative	accusative5	nominative	accusative5
1st person	general		من (man)	مرا (marā)	ما (mā)	—
	informal1		مه (ma)	مره (mara)		ماره (māra)
2nd person	familiar		تو (tū, tō)2	ترا (turā)	شما (šumā)	—
	formal		شما (šumā)	—
	informal1		—	تره (tura)	شمایا (šumāyā)	شمایاره (šumāyāra)
3rd person, proximal	general		او (ō) آن (ān)	—	آنان (ānān)4 آن‌ها (ān‑hā)4	—
	formal		وی (way)3 ایشان (ēšān)		ایشان (ēšān)
	informal	normal1	او (ū)	اوره (ūra)	اونا (ūnā)	ایناره (ūnāra)
		emphatic I1	اونو (ūnū)	اونوره (ūnūra)	وا (wā)	واره (wāra)
		emphatic II1	اونمو (ūnamū)	اونموره (ūnamūra)	اونموا (ūnamwā)	اونمواره (ūnamwāra)
3rd person, distal	general		این (īn)	—	اینان (īnān) این‌ها (īn‑hā)	—
	informal	normal1	ای (ī)	ایره (īra)	اینا (īnā)	ایناره (īnāra)
		emphatic I1	اینی (īnī)	اینیره (īnīra)	یا (yā)	یاره (yāra)
		emphatic II1	اینمی (īnamī)	اینمیره (īnamīra)	اینمیا (īnamyā)	اینمیاره (īnamyāra)

¹ Only applies to Dari.
² Only applies to Classical Persian.
³ Not formal in Tajik.
⁴ The plural forms آن‌ها and آنان are typically interchangeable.
⁵ All accusative pronouns can be created with the nominative + را; only unique forms are included.

See also

• شما (formal, polite, and grammatically plural)

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

تو • (tav, tow) (archaic)

1. pool, puddle

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

تو • (tô) (archaic)

1. fold, twist, turn

Etymology 4

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tuː/

Noun

تو • (tu)

1. (Iran or rare) inside; interior
2. (In some Regional Languages such as Luri) room, especially an outdoor room (Synonymous with اتاق (otâq, otâq) which is of Turkic origin)

Preposition

تو • (tu)

1. (Iran or rare) in; inside

   Synonym: در (dar)

   • 2023, “پاقدم [Footstep]” (pop music), performed by علیرضا طلیسچی:

     تو رفتی ولی فکر تو، تو سر من موند / همیشه نبودت من و قلبمو ترسوند

     to rafti vali fekr-e to tu sar-e man mund / hamiše nabudet man o qalbamo tarsund

     you left but the thought of you remained in my head / your absence always scared me and my heart

Usage notes

• May be construed with or without ezafe.

Adverb

تو • (tu)

1. (Iran or rare) inside

Adjective

تو • (tu)

1. (Iran or rare) within; interior; inner

   Synonym: در (dar)

References

• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892), “تو”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary (overall work in English), London: Routledge & K. Paul, page 332

Sindhi

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /to/

Pronoun

تو • (to) (Devanagari तो)

1. oblique of تون (tū̃)

Related terms

Sindhi personal pronouns

					direct	oblique	genitive	dative
1st person	Singular				آئُون (āū̃), مان (mā̃) • आउं, मां	مُون (mū̃) • मूं	مُنهِنجو (mũhĩjo) • मुंहिंजो	مُون کي (mū̃ khe) • मूं खे
	Plural				اَسِين (asī̃) • असीं	اَسان (asā̃) • असां	اَسان جو (asā̃ jo) • असां जो	اَسان کي (asā̃ khe) • असां खे
2nd person	Singular				تُون (tū̃) • तूं	تو (to) • तो	تُنهِنجو (tũhĩjo) • तुंहिंजो	تو کي (to khe) • तो खे
	Plural				تَوهِين (tavhī̃), اَوهِين (avhī̃) • तव्हीं, अव्हीं	تَوهان (tavhā̃), اَوهان (avhā̃) • तव्हां, अव्हां	تَوهان جو (tavhā̃ jo) • तव्हां जो	تَوهان کي (tavhā̃ khe) • तव्हां खे
3rd person	Nonspecific	Proximal	Singular	Masculine	هِي (hī) • ही	هِنَ (hina) • हिन	هِنَ جو (hina jo) • हिन जो	هِنَ کي (hina khe) • हिन खे
				Feminine	هِيءَ (hīa) • हीअ
			Plural		هِي (hī) • ही	هِنَنِ (hinani) • हिननि	هِنَنِ جو (hinani jo) • हिननि जो	هِنَنِ کي (hinani khe) • हिननि खे
		Distal	Singular	Masculine	هُو (hū) • हू	هُنَ (huna) • हुन	هُنَ جو (huna jo) • हुन जो	هُنَ کي (huna khe) • हुन खे
				Feminine	هُوءَ (hūa) • हूअ
			Plural		هُو (hū) • हू	هُنَنِ (hunani) • हुननि	هُنَنِ جو (hunani jo) • हुननि जो	هُنَنِ کي (hunani khe) • हुननि खे
	Specific	Proximal	Singular	Masculine	اِهو (iho) • इहो	اِنْهين (inẽ) • इन्हें	اِنْهين جو (inẽ jo) • इन्हें जो	اِنْهين کي (inẽ khe) • इन्हें खे
				Feminine	اِها (ihā) • इहा
			Plural		اِهي (ihe) • इहे	اِنْهَنِ (inhani) • इन्हनि	اِنْهَنِ جو (inhani jo) • इन्हनि जो	اِنْهَنِ کي (inhani khe) • इन्हनि खे
		Distal	Singular	Masculine	اُهو (uho) • उहो	اُنْهين (unẽ) • उन्हें	اُنْهين جو (unẽ jo) • उन्हें जो	اُنْهين کي (unẽ khe) • उन्हें खे
				Feminine	اُها (uhā) • उहा
			Plural		اُهي (uhe) • उहे	اُنْهَنِ (unhani) • उन्हनि	اُنْهَنِ جو (unhani jo) • उन्हनि जो	اُنْهَنِ کي (unhani khe) • उन्हनि खे
	Present	Proximal	Singular	Masculine	اِجهو (ijho) • इझो	—	—	—
				Feminine	اِجها (ijhā) • इझा
			Plural		اِجهي (ijhe) • इझे	—	—	—
		Distal	Singular	Masculine	اوجهو (ojho) • ओझो	—	—	—
				Feminine	اوجها (ojhā) • ओझा
			Plural		اوجهي (ojhe) • ओझे	—	—	–

References

• Parmanand, Mewaram (1910), “تو”, in Sindhi-English Dictionary, Hyderabad, Sindh: The Sind Juvenile Co-operative Society

Southwestern Fars

Noun

تو (tow)

1. (Masarm, Deh Sarv) fever

Tunisian Arabic

Alternative forms

• تَوَّة, تَوَّا (tawwə)
• تُوَّة, تُوَّا (towwə)
• تَوِّيكَة, تَوِّيكَا (tawwīkə)

Etymology

Inherited from Arabic تَوّ (taww).

Pronunciation 1

• IPA^(key): [tɐw]

Particle

تو (taw)

1. added to an imperfect ("present") verb form to express near future tense: will

   تَو نْقُولُّو ― taw nqūllu ― I will soon tell him

   Coordinate term: بَاشْ (bēš)

Pronunciation 2

• IPA^(key): [tɐwː]

Adverb

تو (taww)

1. now

   هَاني تَوّْ مَاشِيلْهَا ― hāni taww mēšīlhə ― I'm going to meet her now

2. (with repitition) immediately

   Synonym: تَوِّيكَة (tawwīkə)

   نْحِبِّكْ تِبْدَالِي تَوّْ تَوّْ

   nḥebbek tebdēli taww taww

   I want you to launch immediately

3. just now, a little earlier, for the first time

   واِنْتِي رِيتْهَا تَوّْ؟ ― w-enti rīthə taww? ― Did you just see her?

   واِنْتِي تَوّْ رِيتْهَا؟

   w-enti taww rīthə?

   You've only seen her just now?

4. (preceded by ل) not yet, still

   لتَوّ لِا مشِيت اِنتِي؟

   ltaww le mšīt enti?

   You still didn't go?

   (literally, “until now you didn't go?”)

5. (intensifies a question)

   Synonyms: تِي (ti), يِاخِي (yēḵi)

6. used to introduce a point: now

Urdu

Etymology 1

Inherited from Sauraseni Apabhramsa तुहुं (tuhũ), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀢𑀼𑀫𑀁 (tumaṃ), 𑀢𑀼𑀁 (tuṃ), from Sanskrit त्वम् (tvam).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /t̪uː/
• Rhymes: -uː

Pronoun

تُو • (tū) (Hindi spelling तू)

1. second-person singular subjective personal pronoun: you, thou; Early Modern English thou

Usage notes

• تُو (tū) is the least formal way of expressing "you" in Urdu and is usually used when the subject is of lower social status (generally in terms of a relationship, not class or caste) or when the relationship between the speaker and subject is intimate enough to justify informality. This is because of the T-V distinction. Usage of this term varies from region to region. In regions such as Maharashtra, this term is very common and normally used inoffensively by adults for children, as well as among social equals such as siblings, friends, and spouses. However, in the Hindi–Urdu Belt, as well as in Pakistan, تُم (tum) is heavily preferred for the aforementioned uses, with تُو (tū) chiefly used insultingly. In all regions, تُو (tū) is generally the most common pronoun used in abusive or vulgar contexts. When inoffensively addressing an elder or a holy person, آپ (āp) is almost universally used, however تُو (tū) may also very rarely (chiefly in India) be used for an elder relative to show intimacy. Note that poetically, تُو (tū) is frequently used for any person regardless of status.
• Like cognates of this term in various languages, the abstract monotheistic God is addressed as تُو (tū). This is used to signify intimacy with Him, as well as to emphasise His theological oneness (as تُو (tū) is exclusively singular). An exception, however, is God in Hinduism, who is more commonly addressed as تُم (tum) or آپ (āp), as are polytheistic deities in Hinduism and other religions.

Declension

Declension of تو

direct	تُو (tū)
indirect	تجھ (tujh)
ergative	تو نے (tū-ne)
genitive	تیرا (terā)
dative	تجھے (tujhe) تجھ کو (tujh ko)

See also

Urdu personal pronouns

			direct case	indirect case	ergative case	dative/accusative case
1st person	singular		مَیں (ma͠i)	مُجھ (mujh)	مَیں نے (ma͠i ne)	مُجھ کو (mujh ko) مُجھے (mujhe)
	formal (rare)		خَاکْسَار (xāksār)		خَاکْسَار نے (xāksār ne)	خَاکْسَار کو (xāksār ko)
	plural		ہَم (ham)		ہَم نے (ham ne)	ہَم کو (ham ko) ہَمیں (hamẽ)
2nd person	informal (intimate)		تُو (tū)	تُجھ (tujh)	تُو نے (tū ne)	تُجھ کو (tujh ko) تُجھے (tujhe)
	semiformal (familiar)		تُم (tum)		تُم نے (tum ne)	تُم کو (tum ko) تُمْہیں (tumhẽ)
	formal (polite)		آپ (āp)		آپ نے (āp ne)	آپ کو (āp ko)
3rd person	proximal	singular / informal	یِہ (ye)	اِس (is)	اِس نے (is ne)	اِس کو (is ko) اِسے (ise)
		plural / formal		اِن (in)	اِنْہوں نے (inhõ ne)	اِن کو (in ko) اِنْہیں (inhẽ)
	distal	singular / informal	وُہ (vo)	اُس (us)	اُس نے (us ne)	اُس کو (us ko) اُسے (use)
		plural / formal		اُن (un)	اُنْہوں نے (unhõ ne)	اُن کو (un ko) اُنْہیں (unhẽ)

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Sanskrit ततस् (tatas)?

Sauraseni Prakrit

Urdu تو

Inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit, possibly from Sanskrit ततस् (tatas, “from there”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /t̪oː/

Conjunction

تو • (to) (Hindi spelling तो)

1. so
2. then

References

• Platts, John T. (1884), “تو”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.
• McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993), “तू”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press