he

See also: Appendix:Variations of "he"

Languages (45)

Translingual • English

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Achang • Aukan • Breton • Catalan • Classical Nahuatl • Danish • Dutch • Esperanto • Fasu • Finnish • German • Gullah • Hadza • Hawaiian • Ido • Japanese • Kholosi • Kikuyu • Lakota • Low German • Mandarin • Māori • Middle English • Middle Low German • North Frisian • Norwegian Nynorsk • Nǀuu • Old English • Old Irish • Old Saxon • Pacoh • Polish • Portuguese • Romanian • Scots • Spanish • Swedish • Tagalog • Tokelauan • Turkish • Yanomamö • Yola • Yoruba

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Hebrew.

Symbol

he

1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Hebrew.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Hebrew terms

English

Alternative forms

• hee, hée (obsolete)

Etymology 1

From Middle English he, from Old English hē, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱís (“this”).

Cognate with Scots he (“he”), North Frisian he, hi (“he”), Saterland Frisian hie (“he”), West Frisian hy (“he”), Dutch hij, ie (“he”), German Low German he (“he”), Middle High German her (“he”) Central Franconian hä (“he”), Gothic *𐌷𐌹𐍃 (*his, “this”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: hē, IPA^(key): /ˈhiː/,
  • (Received Pronunciation, Canada) IPA^(key): [hiː]

    • Audio (UK):

      (file)

  • (Standard Southern British, General Australian, Southern US) IPA^(key): [hɪj]
  • (US) IPA^(key): [hi(ː)], [çi(ː)]

    • Audio (US):

      (file)

• (unstressed form) IPA^(key): /(h)i/, /(h)ɪ/
• Rhymes: -iː

Pronoun

he (third-person singular, masculine, nominative case, oblique him, reflexive himself, possessive his)

1. (personal) A person who identifies as male, or animal already known or implied.

   That friend of your cousin's, he's on the phone.

   • 1620, Giovanni Bocaccio, translated by John Florio, The Decameron, Containing an Hundred Pleaſant Nouels: Wittily Diſcourſed, Betweene Seuen Honourable Ladies, and Three Noble Gentlemen‎^[1], Isaac Iaggard, →ISBN, Nouell 8, The Eighth Day:

     […] purſued his vnneighbourly purpoſe in ſuch ſort: that hee being the ſtronger perſwader, and ſhe (belike) too credulous in beleeuing or elſe ouer-feeble in reſiſting, from priuate imparlance, they fell to action; and continued their cloſe fight a long while together, vnſeene and vvithout ſuſpition, no doubt to their equall ioy and contentment.

   • 1886, Peter Christen Asbj&oslash￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 77:

     "It was he we saw the tracks of down by Rausand hill."

   • July 18 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Dark Knight Rises[2]

     Though Bane’s sing-song voice gives his pronouncements a funny lilt, he doesn’t have any of the Joker’s deranged wit, and Nolan isn’t interested in undercutting his seriousness for the sake of a breezier entertainment.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:he.
2. (personal, sometimes proscribed, see usage notes) They; he or she (a person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant).

   The rulebook clearly states that "if any student is caught cheating, he will be expelled", and you were caught cheating, were you not, Anna?

   • 2010, Tom Bingham, Baron Bingham of Cornhill, The Rule of Law, Penguin Books, →ISBN, Preface, page ix:

     First, to avoid the cumbrous ‘he or she’ and ‘his or hers’, and the ungrammatical ‘they’ when used in the singular, I have mostly stuck to saying ‘he’ or ‘his’. I hope that this will be understood in an unchauvinistic, gender-neutral way.

3. (personal, sometimes proscribed) It; an animal whose gender is unknown.
4. A genderless object regarded as masculine, such as certain stars or planets (e.g. Sun, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter) or certain ships.

   Antonyms: she, it

   • 1770, A Mathematical Miscellany in Four Parts, 3rd edition, page 125:

     JUPITER is the largest of all the Planets, his Orbit lies between the Orbits of the Earth and Mars, and at the cast Distance of 426 Millions of Miles from the Sun, he goes round him in 11 Years, 314 Days and 12 Hours; […]

   • 2019, Sabaton, Bismarck:

     He [= the ship Bismarck] was made to rule the waves across the seven seas […]

Usage notes

• He was traditionally used as both a masculine and a gender-neutral pronoun, but since the mid-20th century generic usage has sometimes been considered sexist and limiting. It is deprecated by some style guides, such as Wadsworth. In place of generic he, writers and speakers may use he or she, alternate he and she as the indefinite person, use the singular they, or rephrase sentences to use plural they.

Synonyms

• (person whose gender is unknown): one, you (indefinite, colloquial); he or she, he/she, they, s/he, or these other third-person pronouns (see "Combined forms", "Invented pronouns")
• (animal whose gender is unknown): it

Derived terms

• a man is known by the company he keeps
• he-: he-ass, he-bitch, he-cat, he-goat, he-man, he-whore, he-wolf
• he'd
• he-elephant
• hefemale
• he-huckleberry
• he laughs best that laughs last
• heorshe
• hepeat
• he said, she said
• heself
• he-she
• he shoots, he scores
• he who hesitates is lost
• he who laughs last laughs hardest, he who laughs last laughs best
• hse
• s/he, he/she, he or she
• she-he
• speak of the devil and he will appear
• te-he
• that's what he said

Translations

See he/translations § Pronoun.

See also

English personal pronouns

Dialectal and obsolete or archaic forms are in italics. personal pronoun possessive pronoun possessive determiner subjective objective reflexive first person singular I me (colloquial) me myself me mysen mine my mine (before vowels, archaic) me plural we us ourselves ourself oursen ours ourn (obsolete outside dialects) our second person singular standard (historically formal) you you yourself yoursen yours yourn (obsolete outside dialects) your archaic (historically informal) thou thee thyself theeself thysen thine thy thine (before vowels) plural standard you ye (archaic) you yourselves yours yourn (obsolete outside dialects) your colloquial you all y'all you guys yous you all y'all you guys yous y'allselves all yours y'all's you guys' your guys' all your y'all's your all's (nonstandard) you guys' your guys' informal / dialectal (see list of dialectal forms at you and inflected forms in those entries) third person singular masculine he him himself hisself (archaic) hissen his hisn (obsolete outside dialects) his feminine she her herself hersen hers hern (obsolete outside dialects) her neuter it hit it hit itself hitself its his (archaic) its his (archaic) hits genderless1 they them themself, themselves theirs their nonspecific (formal) one one oneself – one's plural they them hem, 'em themselves theirsen theirs theirn (obsolete outside dialects) their 1 See Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns for attested neopronouns.

Determiner

he

1. (African-American Vernacular) Synonym of his.

Noun

he (countable and uncountable, plural hes)

1. (uncountable) The game of tag, or it, in which the player attempting to catch the others is called "he".
2. The player who chases and attempts to catch the others in this game.
3. (informal) A male.

   Is your cat a he or a she?

Etymology 2

Transliteration of various Semitic letters, such as Phoenician 𐤄 (h), Hebrew ה (h), Classical Syriac ܗ (h, “hē”), and Old South Arabian 𐩠 (h).

Alternative forms

• hay
• hei
• hey

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /heɪ/

Noun

he

1. The name of the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets (Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and others).
   • 1658, Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, Folio Society, published 2007, page 210:

     The same number in the Hebrew mysteries and Cabalistical accounts was the character of Generation; declared by the Letter He, the fifth in their Alphabet.

   • 1988, Milorad Pavić, translated by Christina Pribićević-Zorić, Dictionary of the Khazars, Vintage, published 1989, page 7:

     This Nehama claimed that in his own hand he recognized the consonant “he” of his Hebrew language, and in the letter “vav” his own male soul.

2. The name of the first letter of the Old South Arabian abjad.

Translations

fifth letter of the various Semitic alphabets

• Catalan: he (ca) f
• Finnish: he (fi)
• French: hè (fr) m, hê (fr) m, he (fr) m
• Hebrew: הֵא (he) f (hé), ה (he) (symbol)
• Malay: ha (ms)
• Yiddish: הא (hey)

See also

• Appendix:Hebrew alphabet

Further reading

• He (letter) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 3

Interjection

he

1. (uncommon, usually reduplicated) An expression of laughter.

   Synonyms: ha, hehe (more common)

   • 1897, Charles Dudley Warner, Hamilton Wright Mabie, Charles Henry Warner, Lucia Isabella Gilbert Runkle, Library of the World's Best Literature: A-Z, page 1791:

     If e'er he went into excess, / 'Twas from a somewhat lively thirst; / But he who would his subjects bless, / Odd's fish!—must wet his whistle first; / And so from every cask they got, / Our king did to himself allot / At least a pot. / Sing ho, ho, ho! and he, he, he! / That's the kind of king for me.

   • 1921, Norman Davey, The Pilgrim of a Smile, page 247:

     "Well, what is your next tale?" said Sumner, a little brusquely. "He, he! he, he! . . . he, he!" chuckled the bottle, "the text tale I'm going to tell you in a very funny one. It will make you laugh. There's a lady in it—he, he!—a very comic affair."

Anagrams

• -eh, E.H., EH, eH, eh

Achang

Pronunciation

• (Myanmar) /hɛ˧/

Verb

he

1. to deny
2. to disown

Further reading

• Inglis, Douglas; Sampu, Nasaw; Jaseng, Wilai; Jana, Thocha (2005), A preliminary Ngochang–Kachin–English Lexicon‎^[3], Payap University, page 42

Aukan

Cuniculus paca

Etymology

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

Noun

he

1. paca (large South and Central American rodent)

References

• Aukan-English Dictionary (SIL), citing Vernon (1985)

Breton

Etymology

Compare Welsh ei.

Determiner

he (requires spirant mutation)

1. her

   he zad ― her father

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈe]
• Rhymes: -e

Etymology 1

Noun

he f (plural hes)

1. he (fifth letter of various Semitic alphabets)

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• haig

Verb

he

1. first-person singular present indicative of haver

Classical Nahuatl

Etymology

A natural expression.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [é]

Interjection

he

1. an expression of physical pain; ouch.
   • 1571, Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, f. 22r. col. 1:

     He. o. interjection del / que ſequexa con do / lor.

     He. ouch, and interjection used by one complaining in pain.

References

• Alonso de Molina (1571), Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, Editorial Porrúa, page 22r

Danish

Interjection

he

1. (onomatopoeia) Signifies a laugh, especially one that is slightly mischievous.

See also

• ha

Dutch

Interjection

he

1. misspelling of hè
2. misspelling of hé

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /he/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -e
• Syllabification: he

Interjection

he

1. interjection used to attract someone's attention, hey
2. interjection expressing irony

Derived terms

• he ho

See also

• hej

Further reading

• “he”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN
• “he”, in Reta Vortaro [Online Dictionary] (in Esperanto), 1997-present

Fasu

Noun

hẹ or hȩ́ (Fasu)

1. water
2. river

   he Aiyo ― the River Aiyo

3. lake

   he Kutupu ― Lake Kutubu

4. liquid

Synonyms

• hi (Namumi)

References

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67
• Eunice Loeweke, Jean May, General grammar of Fasu (Namo Me) (1980)
• Eunice Loeweke, Jean May, Fasu Namo Me dictionary (1981, digitized 2006)

Finnish

Etymology 1

From Proto-Finnic *hek, from Proto-Finno-Permic *sej (compare Northern Sami sii, Erzya сынь (sïń), Northern Khanty [script needed] (ᴧĭw)). The word is inflected as plural, but there is no plural marker in the nominative, except in dialects (het). See hän for more details on history of usage.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhe/, [ˈhe̞]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -e
• Syllabification^(key): he
• Hyphenation^(key): he

Pronoun

he

1. (personal) they (plural, only of people)
2. (respectful) he, she, one, (singular) they (of a single human being, like hän)
3. they (in indirect speech: referring to the subjects of the main clause, regardless of whether they are human beings or not, i.e. logophoric pronoun)

Usage notes

• In standard Finnish, he is practically never omitted, despite the verb showing both the person and the number (compare the usage of hän).

Declension

• Irregular (inflectional stem hei-, as if in the plural). The comitative and instructive forms don't exist; the abessive is hardly used.
• In addition to the standard set of cases, he and other personal pronouns have a specific accusative form, heidät.

Declension of he noun case singular plural nominative hän he genitive hänen heidän partitive häntä heitä accusative hänet heidät inessive hänessä heissä elative hänestä heistä illative häneen heihin adessive hänellä heillä ablative häneltä heiltä allative hänelle heille essive hänenä heinä translative häneksi heiksi abessive hänettä heittä instructive – – comitative – –

Synonyms

• (dialectal): het
• (dialectal): hyö
• (colloquial): ne

Derived terms

• heidänlainen
• heidänlaisensa
• heikäläinen

Descendants

• Kven: het

See also

Finnish personal pronouns

	first	second		third
		familiar	polite
singular	minä	sinä	Te	hän
plural	me	te		he

Further reading

• “1. he”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[4] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 9 October 2024

Etymology 2

From Phoenician 𐤄 (h) and/or Biblical Hebrew ה.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhe(ː)/, [ˈhe̞(ː)]
• Rhymes: -e
• Syllabification^(key): he
• Hyphenation^(key): he

Noun

he

1. he (fifth letter of the Hebrew and Phoenician scripts and the Northwest Semitic abjad)

Declension

Inflection of he (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)
nominative		he	het
genitive		hen	heiden heitten
partitive		hetä	heitä
illative		hehen	heihin
		singular	plural
nominative		he	het
accusative	nom.	he	het
	gen.	hen
genitive		hen	heiden heitten
partitive		hetä	heitä
inessive		hessä	heissä
elative		hestä	heistä
illative		hehen	heihin
adessive		hellä	heillä
ablative		heltä	heiltä
allative		helle	heille
essive		henä	heinä
translative		heksi	heiksi
abessive		hettä	heittä
instructive		—	hein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of he (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative heni heni accusative nom. heni heni gen. heni genitive heni heideni heitteni partitive hetäni heitäni inessive hessäni heissäni elative hestäni heistäni illative heheni heihini adessive helläni heilläni ablative heltäni heiltäni allative helleni heilleni essive henäni heinäni translative hekseni heikseni abessive hettäni heittäni instructive — — comitative — heineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative hesi hesi accusative nom. hesi hesi gen. hesi genitive hesi heidesi heittesi partitive hetäsi heitäsi inessive hessäsi heissäsi elative hestäsi heistäsi illative hehesi heihisi adessive helläsi heilläsi ablative heltäsi heiltäsi allative hellesi heillesi essive henäsi heinäsi translative heksesi heiksesi abessive hettäsi heittäsi instructive — — comitative — heinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative hemme hemme accusative nom. hemme hemme gen. hemme genitive hemme heidemme heittemme partitive hetämme heitämme inessive hessämme heissämme elative hestämme heistämme illative hehemme heihimme adessive hellämme heillämme ablative heltämme heiltämme allative hellemme heillemme essive henämme heinämme translative heksemme heiksemme abessive hettämme heittämme instructive — — comitative — heinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative henne henne accusative nom. henne henne gen. henne genitive henne heidenne heittenne partitive hetänne heitänne inessive hessänne heissänne elative hestänne heistänne illative hehenne heihinne adessive hellänne heillänne ablative heltänne heiltänne allative hellenne heillenne essive henänne heinänne translative heksenne heiksenne abessive hettänne heittänne instructive — — comitative — heinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative hensä hensä accusative nom. hensä hensä gen. hensä genitive hensä heidensä heittensä partitive hetään hetänsä heitään heitänsä inessive hessään hessänsä heissään heissänsä elative hestään hestänsä heistään heistänsä illative hehensä heihinsä adessive hellään hellänsä heillään heillänsä ablative heltään heltänsä heiltään heiltänsä allative helleen hellensä heilleen heillensä essive henään henänsä heinään heinänsä translative hekseen heksensä heikseen heiksensä abessive hettään hettänsä heittään heittänsä instructive — — comitative — heineen heinensä

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /he/, /heː/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Interjection

he (informal)

1. An exclamation to get attention; hey
2. Expresses protest or reprimand; hey
3. Reinforces a question; huh

Related terms

• heda

Further reading

• “he” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “he” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “he” in Duden online

Gullah

Alternative forms

• e

Etymology

From Vai [script needed] (he) ("all right") and Yoruba he ("yes").

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɛ̃˦˨/

Interjection

he

1. yes

Usage notes

• This interjection is often tonalized as a falling tone.

References

Lorenzo Dow Turner, Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect (1969)

Hadza

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɦe/

Verb

he

1. to say, to tell

   Synonyms: î, hiyagga

Hawaiian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /he/

Article

he (indefinite)

1. a, an

   he wahine au

   I am a woman

   he wahine kāna

   s/he has a wife

Ido

Etymology

From h +‎ -e.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /he/, /hɛ/

Noun

he (plural be-i)

1. The name of the Latin script letter H/h.

See also

• Latin script letter names: literi: a · be · ce · che · de · e · fe · ge · he · i · je · ke · le · me · ne · o · pe · que · re · se · she · te · u · ve · we · xe · ye · ze ^[edit]

Japanese

Romanization

he

1. The hiragana syllable へ (he) or the katakana syllable ヘ (he) in Hepburn romanization.

Kholosi

Etymology

Cognate with Sindhi ھِي (hī, “this”).

Pronoun

he

1. it (proximal)

References

• Eric Anonby; Hassan Mohebi Bahmani (2014), “Shipwrecked and Landlocked: Kholosi, an Indo-Aryan Language in South-west Iran”, in Cahier de Studia Iranica xx‎^[5], pages 13-36

Kikuyu

Etymology

Hinde (1904) records kuha as an equivalent of English give in “Jogowini dialect” of Kikuyu, listing also Swahili kupa, etc. as its equivalents.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɛ/

Verb

he (infinitive kũhe)

1. to give

Derived terms

(Proverbs)

• mwana ndaheanagwo

Related terms

(Nouns)

• kĩhe(e)o class 7
• maheeo class 6

References

• Armstrong, Lilias E. (1940). The Phonetic and Tonal Structure of Kikuyu, p. 361. Rep. 1967. (Also in 2018 by Routledge).

Lakota

Particle

he

1. question-marking particle used by females in formal speech

   Mázaškaŋškaŋ tóna he? ― what time is it?

Usage notes

Informally, both men and women use this question-marking particle. When speaking formally, however, only women use it. In a formal setting, men use huwó, hwo, or huŋwó.

Synonyms

• huwó (used by men)

Low German

Alternative forms

• e
• hee
• (in other dialects, including Mecklenburgisch, West Pomeranian and Low Prussian) hei
• (in other dialects, including Sauerländisch) hai
• (in other dialects, including regional Westphalian and East Frisian as rare alternative form) hä

Etymology

From Middle Low German hê, from Old Saxon hē, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz (“this, this one”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɛɪ̯/

Pronoun

he m (genitive sin, dative 1 em, dative 2 en, dative 3 jüm, accusative 1 em, accusative 2 en) (German Low German)

1. (in some dialects, including, Münsterland, Mecklenburgish-Western Pomeranian and Low Prussian, personal) he (third-person singular masculine pronoun)

   He ös to lat. (Low Prussian)

   He is too late.

Usage notes

• Which dative is employed depends on dialect, not on function.
• Some dialects might consider any of the inflected forms obsolete.

Further reading

• G. Ungt, Twee Geschichten in Mönstersk Platt. Ollmanns Jans in de Friümde un Ollmanns Jans up de Reise, 1861. The text has dative em and accusative em and en, and on page 22 the author notes: "Hier und in vielen Fällen steht der Dativ em statt des Accusativ en (ihm statt ihn) nach der Bequemlichkeit, die sich diese Mundart erlaubt." (Here and in many other places stands the dative em instead of the accusative en ...)

Mandarin

Romanization

he (he⁵ / he⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄏㄜ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 荷

he

1. nonstandard spelling of hē
2. nonstandard spelling of hé
3. nonstandard spelling of hě
4. nonstandard spelling of hè

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Māori

Etymology

Cognate with Hawaiian he.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhe/ [ˈhɛ]

Article

he

1. a, an, some: indefinite article

See also

• te (for "the" in singular)
• ngā (for "the" in plural)

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English hē, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz (“this, this one”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /heː/

Pronoun

he (accusative him or hine, genitive his or hisen, possessive determiner his)

2. Third-person singular masculine pronoun: he
   • 14th century, Chaucer, General Prologue:

     Benynge he was, and wonder diligent

     Kind he was, and very diligent

3. it; used also of inanimate objects
4. (impersonal) Third-person singular impersonal pronoun: one; you

Usage notes

In addition to referring to male humans and animals, this pronoun was used for inanimate objects belonging to the masculine grammatical gender early in Middle English. As grammatical gender obsolesced, this pronoun continued to refer to inanimate objects.

Alternative forms

• hee, ȝe, e, hey, hi, hie, hye, heo, ho, hæ, ha, a

Descendants

• English: he
• Scots: he
• Yola: hea, he, hey, hay

See also

Middle English personal pronouns

			nominative	accusative	dative	genitive	possessive
singular	1st person		I, ich, ik	me		min mi1	min
	2nd person		þou	þe		þin þi1	þin
	3rd person	m	he	him hine2	him	his	his hisen
		f	sche, heo	hire heo	hire		hire hires, hiren
		n	hit		hit him2	his, hit	—
dual3	1st person		wit	unk		unker
	2nd person		ȝit	inc		inker
plural	1st person		we	us, ous		oure	oure oures, ouren
	2nd person4		ye	yow		your	your youres, youren
	3rd person	inh.	he	hem he2	hem	here	here heres, heren
		bor.	þei	þem, þeim		þeir	þeir þeires, þeiren

¹ Used preconsonantally or before h.
² Early or dialectal.
³ Dual pronouns are only sporadically found in Early Middle English; after that, they are replaced by plural forms. There are no third person dual forms in Middle English.
⁴ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd person singular.

References

• “hẹ̄, pron.(1)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

From Old English hīe, hī. Compare þei.

Pronoun

he (accusative hem or he, genitive heres or heren, possessive determiner here)

2. Third-person plural nominative pronoun: they
   • p. 1154, “AD 1137”, in Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS. Laud Misc. 636, continuation), Peterborough, folio 89, verso; republished at Oxford: Digital Bodleian, 8 February 2018:

     Mani þusen hi drapen mid hungær.

     Many thousands they overcame with hunger.

3. Third-person plural accusative pronoun: them

Alternative forms

• heo, heȝ, hey, hei, ha, hay, hy, hi, hye, hie, hig, hiȝ, hij, hio, ho, hoe, hue, huy, hui, e, i, a

Descendants

• Yola: hi, h'

See also

Middle English personal pronouns

			nominative	accusative	dative	genitive	possessive
singular	1st person		I, ich, ik	me		min mi1	min
	2nd person		þou	þe		þin þi1	þin
	3rd person	m	he	him hine2	him	his	his hisen
		f	sche, heo	hire heo	hire		hire hires, hiren
		n	hit		hit him2	his, hit	—
dual3	1st person		wit	unk		unker
	2nd person		ȝit	inc		inker
plural	1st person		we	us, ous		oure	oure oures, ouren
	2nd person4		ye	yow		your	your youres, youren
	3rd person	inh.	he	hem he2	hem	here	here heres, heren
		bor.	þei	þem, þeim		þeir	þeir þeires, þeiren

¹ Used preconsonantally or before h.
² Early or dialectal.
³ Dual pronouns are only sporadically found in Early Middle English; after that, they are replaced by plural forms. There are no third person dual forms in Middle English.
⁴ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd person singular.

References

• “he, pron.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

Pronoun

he

1. alternative form of heo (“she”)

Etymology 4

Interjection

he

1. alternative form of hey (“hey”)

Etymology 5

Noun

he

1. alternative form of heye (“hedge”)

Etymology 6

Adjective

he

1. alternative form of heigh (“high”)

Etymology 7

Verb

he

1. alternative form of hyen (“to go quickly”)

Middle Low German

Etymology

From Old Saxon hē.

Pronunciation

• Stem vowel: ê⁴
  • (originally) IPA^(key): /heː/

Pronoun

hê

1. (third person singular masculine nominative) he

Declension

Middle Low German personal pronouns

			nominative	accusative	dative	genitive
singular	1st person		ik (ek)	mî (mê, mik, mek)		mîn (mîner)
	2nd person		dû	dî (dê, dik, dek)		dîn (dîner)
	3rd person	m	hê (hî, hie)	ēne, en (ȫne, ȫn)	ēme, em (ȫme, en)	sîn (sîner)
		n	it (et)
		f	sê (sî, sie, sü̂)		ēre, ēr (ērer, ȫrer)
plural	1st person		wî (wê, wie)	uns (ûs, ös, ü̂sik)		unser (ûser)
	2nd person		gî (jê, î)	jû (jûwe, û, jük, gik)		jûwer (ûwer)
	3rd person		sê (sî, sie)		em, öm, jüm (en, ēnen, ȫnen)	ēre, ēr (ērer, ȫrer)

For an explanation of the forms in brackets see here.

North Frisian

Pronoun

he

1. alternative form of hi

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

he

1. (dialectal, Trøndelag) alternative form of hev (“have, has”)

   E he ei bok om føgla. He hann løst å kjøp ho?

   I have a book about birds. Does he want to buy it? (literally "does he have desire to by her?")

Nǀuu

Pronunciation

• (Western) IPA^(key): /ɦe/

Pronoun

he

1. (Western) singular relative pronoun; that, who, what

   ǂuusi he ǁqan

   fly that bites

   ʘooke he Griet si ǁx'oo ng ǃuu

   The wood that Griet will chop in the veld.

Synonyms

• ha (Eastern)
• ne, ne

References

• Sands, Bonny & Jones, Kerry & Esau, Katrina & Collins, Chris & Witzlack-Makarevich, Alena & Job, Sylvanus & Miller, Amanda & Steyn, Betta & Zaanen, Menno & Namaseb, Levi & Berg, Dietloff & Mantzel, Dotty & Damarah, Willem & Snyman, Claudia & Wyk, David & Brugman, Johanna & Exter, Mats & Vaalbooi, Antjie & Westhuizen, Mietjie. (2022). Nǀuuki Namagowab Afrikaans English ǂXoakiǂxanisi/Mîdi di ǂKhanis/Woordeboek/Dictionary
• Collins, C., & Namaseb, L. (2011). A Grammatical Sketch of N|uuki with Stories. Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz (“this, this one”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xeː/, [heː]
• Rhymes: -eː

Pronoun

hē m (accusative hine, genitive his, dative him)

1. he
   • 10th century, The Wanderer‎^[6]:

     Oft him ānhaga · āre gebīdeð,
     Metudes miltse, · þēah þe hē mōdċeariġ

     A loner oft waits a grace for himself,
     Creator's mercy, even if he is sorrowful

2. it (when the thing being referred to is masculine)
3. they (singular) (denotes someone of unknown gender)

Declension

Old English personal pronouns

			nominative	accusative	dative	genitive
singular	first person		iċ	mē, mec	mē	mīn
	second person		þū	þē, þec	þē	þīn
	third person	neuter	hit		him	his
		masculine	hē	hine
		feminine	hēo	hīe	hire
dual	first person		wit	unc, uncit	unc	uncer
	second person		ġit	inc, incit	inc	incer
plural	first person		wē	ūs, ūsiċ	ūs	ūre, ūser
	second person		ġē	ēow, ēowiċ	ēow	ēower
	third person		hīe		him	heora

Descendants

• Middle English: he, hee, ȝe, e, hey, hi, hie, hye, heo, ho, hæ, ha, a
  • English: he
  • Scots: he
  • Yola: hea, he, hey, hay

References

• Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “hē”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Old Irish

Pronoun

he (emphatic hesom)

1. alternative spelling of é

Old Saxon

Alternative forms

• hie

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz.

Pronoun

hē m

1. he

Declension

Old Saxon personal pronouns

			nominative	accusative	dative	genitive
singular	1st person		ik	mī, me, mik	mī	mīn
	2nd person		thū	thī, thik	thī	thīn
	3rd person	m	hē	ina	imu	is
		f	siu	sia	iru	ira
		n	it		it	is
dual	1st person		wit	unk		unkero, unka
	2nd person		git	ink		inker, inka
plural	1st person		wī, we	ūs, unsik	ūs	ūser
	2nd person		gī, ge	eu, iu, iuu		euwar, iuwer, iuwar, iuwero, iuwera
	3rd person	m	sia		im	iro
		f	sia
		n	siu

Descendants

• German Low German: he

Pacoh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [hɛː]

Pronoun

he

1. we (first person plural pronoun)

See also

Pacoh personal pronouns

Person	Number	Direct	Genitive	Dative
First	Singular	cư	ngcư	acư
	Dual-Plural	nhang	nhnhang	anhang
	Plural	he	nghe	ahe
Second	Singular	may	mmay	amay
	Dual-Plural	inha	ndoinha	adoinha
	Plural	ipe	ndoipe	adoipe
Third	Singular	do	ndo	ado
	Dual-Plural	anha	ndoanha	adoanha
	Plural	ape / ngaay	ndoape / ngngaay	adoape / angaay

Polish

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

• (Masovia):
  • (Near Masovian) IPA^(key): [ˈxɛ]

• Audio:

  (file)

Interjection

he

1. (Near Masovian, often repeated) used to direct oxen to move forward

   Coordinate terms: byś, eć, kse

Further reading

• Władysław Matlakowski (1891), “he”, in “Zbiór wyrazów ludowych dawnej ziemi czerskiej”, in Sprawozdania Komisyi Językowej Akademii Umiejętności‎^[7], volume 4, Krakow: Drukarnia Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, page 372

Portuguese

Verb

he

1. obsolete spelling of é

Romanian

Interjection

he

1. alternative form of hei

Scots

Etymology

From Middle English he, from Old English hē.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hi/, /hɪ/
• Rhymes: -iː

Pronoun

he (third-person singular, masculine, nominative case; accusative him, reflexive himsel, possessive his)

1. he

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈe/ [ˈe]
• Rhymes: -e
• Syllabification: he
• Homophones: hé, e

Etymology 1

From Old Spanish fe, from Arabic هَا (hā, dialectally hê).

The alternative forms may reflect a reanalysis of he as a verb form, which could then be pluralized heis (cf. veis ‘you see’). Compare Galician eis, Portuguese eis < Old Galician-Portuguese ei.

Alternative forms

• heis, hes (obsolete)

Adverb

he

1. (literary) here is [with (suffixed) accusative or aquí or ahí or allí]
2. (literary) behold (+ aquí)

Usage notes

• Takes pronoun suffixes, e.g. heme (“here I am”), and is mostly used together with aquí, ahí, allí.

Derived terms

• he ahí
• he allí
• he aquí

References

• Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José Antonio (1984), “he”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic etymological dictionary]‎^[8] (in Spanish), volume III (G–Ma), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 335
• “he”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Etymology 2

Noun

he f (plural hes)

1. he; the Hebrew letter ה

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

he

1. inflection of haber:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative
   3. second-person singular voseo imperative

Swedish

Alternative forms

• hä

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /heː/

Etymology 1

Related to häva.

Verb

he (present her, preterite hedde, supine hett, imperative he)

1. (regional, colloquial, northern) to put

   Synonym: (Hälsingland region) häva

   He den på bordet

   Put it on the table

   Häv/He på stereon

   Put on the stereo (Hälsingland/further north)

Usage notes

Not widely known to native Swedish speakers. Primarily used in certain regions of Norrland in Sweden.

Conjugation

Conjugation of he (weak)

	active		passive
infinitive	he		hes
supine	hett		hetts
imperative	he		—
imper. plural1	hen		—
	present	past	present	past
indicative	her	hedde	hes	heddes
ind. plural1	he	hedde	hes	heddes
subjunctive2	he	hedde	hes	heddes
present participle		heende
past participle		hedd

¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Etymology 2

Pronoun

he n

1. (regional, Northern Sweden, Ostrobothnia) it

Usage notes

In Sweden, primarily used in parts of Norrland (from northern Hälsingland and northward). In Finland, used in the northern part of Swedish-speaking Ostrobothnia.

See also

• det

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈhe/ [ˈhɛ]
• Rhymes: -e
• Syllabification: he

Etymology 1

Interjection

he! (Baybayin spelling ᜑᜒ)

1. alternative form of tse

Etymology 2

Noun

he (Baybayin spelling ᜑᜒ) (historical)

1. alternative spelling of ge

Anagrams

• eh

Tokelauan

Etymology

From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *se. Cognates include Hawaiian he and Māori he.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [he]
• Hyphenation: he

Article

he

1. Singular indefinite article; any, an

Derived terms

• hetahi
• hō he

See also

Tokelauan articles

impersonal
	singular	plural
definite	te	nā
indefinite	he	ni
personal
	nominal	pronominal
simple	ia
after i/ki	a	a te
after mai	ia te

References

• R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎^[9], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 304

Turkish

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /he/, /hɑʃ/

Noun

he (definite accusative heyi, plural heler)

1. The name of the Latin script letter H/h.

Usage notes

The pronunciation /hɑʃ/ is proscribed as incorrect when referring to the letter in the Latin alphabet. For that, the pronunciation /he/ is encouraged and is much more common.

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) harf; a, be, ce, çe, de, e, fe, ge, yumuşak ge, he, ı, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, ö, pe, re, se, şe, te, u, ü, ve, ye, ze

Etymology 2

Noun

he

1. Letter of the Arabic alphabet: ه

Etymology 3

Particle

he

1. alternative form of ha

Interjection

he

1. alternative form of ha

Yanomamö

Alternative forms

• fe

Noun

he

1. head

References

• Lizot, Jacques (2004), Diccionario enciclopédico de la lengua yãnomãmɨ‎^[10] (in Spanish), Vicariato apostólico de Puerto Ayacucho, →ISBN

Yola

Pronoun

he

1. alternative form of hea
   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:

     Co thou; Co he.

     Quoth thou; Says he.

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 11, page 88:

     W' vengem too hard, he zunk ee commane,

     With venom too hard, he sunk his bat-club,

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 12, page 88:

     Licke a mope an a mile, he gazt ing a mize;

     Like a fool in a mill, he looked in amazement;

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 13, page 90:

     He at nouth fade t'zey, llean vetch ee man,

     He that knows what to say, mischief fetch the man,

   • 1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 6, page 104:

     He zide hea'de help mee udh o' hoan

     He said he'd help me out of hand

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 31

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hē/

Verb

he

1. to come across, to come by

   Mo rí ẹ̀bùn he, mo sì bẹ̀rẹ̀ sí í ṣí i. ― I came across a gift and started to open it.

   • 1995?, “‘Níwọ̀n Bí A Ti Ní Iṣẹ́-òjíṣẹ́ Yìí, Àwa Kò Juwọ́sílẹ̀’”, in ÀKÁ ÌWÉ ORÍ ÍŃTÁNẸ́Ẹ̀TÌ ti Watchtower‎^[11]:

     Ìṣòro mìíràn tí mo dojúkọ, yàtọ̀ sí ti èdè, ni àníyàn léraléra pé kí àwọn ọlọ́pàá má he mí.

     Another problem I faced, apart from the language, was the constant concern over being picked up by the police.

Usage notes

• often used in a serial verb construction with rí.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hè/

Verb

hè

1. (Ikalẹ) (transitive) Ikalẹ form of sè (“to cook”)

Usage notes

• he when followed by a direct object.

Derived terms

• híhè (“cooked, cooking”)
• àhè (“banquet”)
• àìhè (“uncooked”)
• èhè (“cooked”)
• ùhè (“manner of cooking”)