le

See also: Appendix:Variations of "le"

English

Etymology 1

From French le.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lə/, /leɪ/
• Homophone: lay

Article

le

1. (informal, humorous, chiefly Internet slang) the
   • 1996 September 28, Game Freak, Pokémon Blue, Nintendo, level/area: S.S. Anne:

     Waiter: 'Bonjour! I am le waiter on this ship! [...] Ah! Le strong silent type!'

   • 2001 June 24, LaManna, “My Weekend...”, in alt.punk, Usenet‎^[2]:

     […] upon arrival, le girlfriend realizes she has left her ID back at my house (a 1 1/2 hour roundtrip on the Metro), […]

   • 2002 December 27, Amelia, “Re: Neat things SANTA brought me...”, in alt.fashion, Usenet‎^[3]:

     And then le boyfriend perks up and names around 8 different brands (Stila, MAC, Becca, Nars etc..) - I was *SO* proud of him!! :)

   • 2003 January 10, johnny dupe (quoting nowhere man), “Re: I can walk with jezus...”, in alt.fan.wings, Usenet‎^[4]:

     That was always OUR song (me and le girlfriend of the time).

Related terms

• le sigh

Etymology 2

From French lez and French lès.

Preposition

le

1. (obsolete) next to, near (still used in some place names)

   Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham near an old Roman road.

Anagrams

• -el, EL, El, el

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Albanian

Etymology

Jussive particle le (“let”) corresponds with 2nd person/singular Aorist form of Albanian lë (“I let/leave (go/behind)”); le (“you let/left (go/behind)”). From Proto-Albanian *laide (“let”). Identical to Baltic permissive and optative particles Latvian lai (“to let”), Lithuanian laĩ, Old Prussian -lai.

Cognate to Albanian lihem (“I am left; allowed”) (Standard & Tosk), Gheg Albanian lêhem, lêna (passive forms of active lë).

Verb

le (first-person singular past tense láshë, participle lënë)

1. second-person singular aorist active indicative of lë
2. second-person singular aorist passive indicative of lihem

Particle

le (+)

1. (jussive) let

   Jussive modal particle used before verbs. A gentle way to express orders, instructions or to ask for approval/permission. Jussive construction:

   1. jussive particle → le (“let”)

   2. + subjunctive particle → të (“it”)

   3. + → subjunctive verb form (present, imperfect, perfect or past perfect). See also (*) for irregular verbs.

   Examples: third-person singular present active jussive of marr:

   le (“let”) + të + marrë (“take”)

   le të marrë ― let it take

   third-person singular present passive jussive of merrem:

   le (“let”) + të + merret (“deal (with)”)

   le të merret ― let it deal (with)

   third-person singular present active jussive of shkoj:

   le (“let”) + të + shkojë (“go”)

   le të shkojë ― let him go

   third-person plural present active jussive of shkoj:

   le (“let”) + të + shkojnë (“go”)

   le të shkojnë ― let them go

   third-person singular present active jussive of flas:

   le (“let”) + të + flasë (“talk; speak”)

   le të flasë ― let him talk

   third-person plural present active jussive of flas:

   le (“let”) + të + flasin (“talk; speak”)

   le të flasin ― let them talk

   (*) Irregular verb:

   indicative/present → subjunctive/present

   është (“is”) → jetë (“be”)

   Example: third-person singular present active jussive of jam:

   le (“let”) + të (“it”) + jetë (“be”)

   le të jetë ― let it be

2. (subjunctive) + që (“that”) → subjunctive: not only that; if only; would that

   Le që... ― Not only that...

3. (Gheg, subjunctive) → mostly + se (“that”) instead of që (“id”): not only that; if only; would that

   Le se... ― Not only that...

See also

• do, do të
• le të, le që, le se
• të, se, që

Further reading

• Oda Buchholz, Wilfried Fiedler, Gerda Uhlisch (2000) Langenscheidt Handwörterbuch Albanisch, Langenscheidt Verlag, →ISBN, page 273 (juss. particle ¹le / ²le (+ që) → subjunc. / verb ³le 2nd p./sg. aor. of lë)
• [5] jussive particle le (engl. let) • Fjalor Shqip (Albanian Dictionary)
• [6] conjugation active verb lë (e kryera e thjeshtë (engl. Aorist): 1st/sg) lashë; (2nd/sg) le; (3rd/sg) la; (1st/pl) lamë; (2nd/pl) latë; (3rd/pl) lanë) • Fjalor Shqip (Albanian Dictionary)

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Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin ille (“that one”).

Pronoun

le

1. (to) him (indirect object)

Synonyms

• li

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Bourguignon

Alternative forms

• lou

Etymology

From Latin ille.

Article

le (alternative form lou, feminine lai, plural les)

1. the

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Breton

Noun

le ? (plural leou)

1. vow

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Corsican

Etymology

From Latin illae, feminine plural of ille (“that”), from Old Latin olle. Cognates include Italian le (“the, them”) and French les (“the, them”).

Article

le

1. Archaic form of e.

Pronoun

le

1. Archaic form of e.

References

• https://infcor.adecec.net/

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Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin illae, nominative feminine plural of ille.

Article

le f pl

1. the

Related terms

• el
• la
• i

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Danish

En le – a scythe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [leˀ]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse lé (“scythe”), from Proto-Germanic *lewô, cognate with Norwegian ljå and Swedish lie.

Noun

le c (singular definite leen, plural indefinite leer)

1. scythe (farm tool)

Inflection

Declension of le

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	le	leen	leer	leerne
genitive	les	leens	leers	leernes

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hlæja, from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną, cognate with English laugh and German lachen.

Verb

le (imperative le, present ler, past lo, past participle leet or let)

1. to laugh (show mirth by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face and emission of sounds)

Inflection

Inflection of le

	present	past
simple	ler	lo
perfect	har leet or let	havde leet or let
passive	les	—
participle	leende	leet or let
imperative	le	—
infinitive	le	—
auxiliary verb	have	—
gerund	leen	—

See also

• le on the Danish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^da
• Le (flertydig) on the Danish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^da

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French

Etymology

From Middle French le, from Old French le, from Latin illum, by dropping il- and -m. Latin illum is the accusative singular of ille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lə/
• (Parisian) IPA^(key): /lø/
• (between a vowel and a consonant) IPA^(key): /l/

• audio

  (file)

• (Louisiana) IPA^(key): /ɛl/
• Rhymes: -ə

Article

le m (feminine la, masculine and feminine plural les)

1. the (definite article)

   Le lait du matin. ― The milk of the morning.

2. Used before abstract nouns; not translated in English.
3. (before parts of the body) the; my, your, etc.

   Il s’est cassé la jambe. ― He has broken his leg.

4. (before units) a, an

   Cinquante kilomètres à l’heure. ― fifty kilometres an hour

Usage notes

• le becomes l’ before a vowel or an unaspirated h.

  l’amour ― love

  l’homme ― the man

• de le is never used: contracted into du.
• à le is never used: contracted into au.

  Il a une cicatrice au visage. ― He has a scar on the face. / He has a scar on his face.

• However, de le and à le become de l' and à l' respectively in front of a vowel or an unaspirated h.

Pronoun

le m (feminine la, masculine and feminine plural les)

1. (direct object) him, it.
2. (used to refer to something previously mentioned or implied; not translated in English).

   Je suis petit et lui, il l’est aussi. ― I am small and he is too ("he is it too", i.e., "he is small too").

Related terms

French personal pronouns

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

• “le” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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Friulian

Pronoun

le (third person feminine direct object)

1. her

Related terms

• jê
• i

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Galician

Verb

le

1. inflection of ler:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

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Garifuna

Article

le

1. masculine definite article

   Mutu le ― The man

Antonyms

• to

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Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛ]

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -lɛ

Adverb

le (comparative lejjebb)

1. down

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Ido

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian le.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le/, /lɛ/

Article

le (plural)

1. the (used only when there is no other sign of plurality, for example with nominalized adjectives)

   Yen pomi, prenez le bona e lasez le mala.

   Here's apples, take the good ones and leave the bad ones.

Noun

le (plural le-i)

1. The name of the Latin script letter L/l.

See also

• (Latin script letter names) litero; 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 ^{(Category: io:Latin letter names)}

See also

• la

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Interlingua

Article

le

1. the

Usage notes

• de le is contracted into del.
• a le is contracted into al.

Pronoun

le m (plural les)

1. him (direct object)

   Io le appella mi amico — I call him my friend.

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Irish

Alternative forms

• lé (superseded)

Etymology

From a conflation of two Early Modern Irish prepositions:

1. re (“to”), from Old Irish fri, from Proto-Celtic *writ- (compare Welsh wrth, prefix gwrth-), from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn”) (compare Latin versus (“against”)).
2. le (“with”), from Old Irish la, from Proto-Celtic *let-, from Proto-Celtic *letos (“side”) (compare leath, Welsh lled).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lʲɛ/

Preposition

le (plus dative, triggers h-prothesis, before the definite article leis)

1. with

   le héadach ― with clothing

2. used in conjunction with the copula particle is to indicate possession

   Is liomsa an hata ― The hat is mine; the hat belongs to me

   Is le Cáit an peann luaidhe. ― The pencil is Cáit’s; the pencil belongs to Cáit.

3. to (indicating purpose; in this sense triggering eclipsis of ithe (“eating”) and ól (“drinking”))

   rud le n-ithe ― something to eat

   oiriúnach le n-ól ― fit to drink

   ró-the le n-ól ― too hot to drink

4. to (after a verb of speaking)
   • Níl sé ina lá (Irish traditional song):

     Is é dúirt sí liom “ní bhfaighidh tú deor. / Buail an bóthar is gabh abhaile.”

     And what she said to me was, “you won’t get a drop. / Hit the road and go home.”

5. in order to

   le rud a dhéanamh ― in order to do a thing

   Synonyms: chun, d'fhonn

Inflection

Inflection of le

Person	Normal	Emphatic
1st person sing.	liom	liomsa
2d person sing.	leat	leatsa
3d sing. masc.	leis	leis-sean
3d sing. fem.	léi	léise
1st person pl.	linn	linne
2d person pl.	libh	libhse
3d person pl.	leo	leosan

Derived terms

• abair le (“tell”)
• ar olca le (“to spite”)
• dar le (“according to”)
• i mborr le (“puffed up with”)
• in éineacht le (“together with”)
• le chéile (“together”)
• le thine (“on fire, alight”)
• maidir le (“as for”)

 

See also

Irish preposition contractions

Basic form	Contracted with							Copular forms
	an (“the sg”)	na (“the pl”)	mo (“my”)	do (“your”)	a (“his, her, their; which (present)”)	ár (“our”)	ar (“which (past)”)	(before consonant)	(present/future before vowel)	(past/conditional before vowel)
de (“from”)	den	de na desna*	de mo dem*	de do ded*, det*	dá	dár		dar	darb	darbh
do (“to, for”)	don	do na dosna*	do mo dom*	do do dod*, dot*	dá	dár		dar	darb	darbh
faoi (“under, about”)	faoin	faoi na	faoi mo	faoi do	faoina	faoinár	faoinar		faoinarb	faoinarbh
fara (“along with, beside”)	fairis an	fairis na	fara mo	fara do	farana	faranár	faranar		faranarb	faranarbh
i (“in”)	sa, san	sna	i mo im*	i do id*, it*	ina	inár	inar		inarb	inarbh
le (“with”)	leis an	leis na	le mo lem*	le do led*, let*	lena	lenár	lenar		lenarb	lenarbh
ó (“from, since”)	ón	ó na ósna*	ó mo óm*	ó do ód*, ót*	óna	ónár	ónar		ónarb	ónarbh
trí (“through”)	tríd an	trí na	trí mo	trí do	trína	trínár	trínar		trínarb	trínarbh
*Dialectal.

Further reading

• "le" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “fri”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “la”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Entries containing “le” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

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Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le/
• Rhymes: -e

Etymology 1

From Latin illae, which is the nominative plural feminine of ille.

Article

Italian Definite Articles
	singular	plural
masculine	il lo/l'	i gli
feminine	la/l'	le

le f pl (singular la)

1. the

Usage notes

Contrary to la, le does not elide before words that begin with a vowel:

le amiche ― the girlfriends

Pronoun

le f pl (masculine li, singular la)

1. (accusative) them (third-person plural feminine)

   Le ho viste. ― I saw them.

Alternative forms

• -le (enclitic)

Usage notes

• Never elides.
• Becomes glie when followed by a third person direct object clitic (lo, la, li, le, or ne).

See also

Italian personal pronouns

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Reflexive	Accusative	Dative	Conjunctive	Disjunctive	Locative	Partitive
Singular	first	—	io	mi, m', -mi			me	me	—
	second	—	tu	ti, t', -ti			te	te
	third	m	lui	si2, s', -si	lo, l', -lo	gli, -gli	glie, se2	lui, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
		f	lei, Lei1		la, La1, l', L'1, -la, -La1	le3, Le1, -le3, -Le1		lei, Lei1, sé
Plural	first	—	noi	ci, c', -ci			ce	noi	—
	second	—	voi, Voi4	vi, Vi4, v', V'4, -vi, -Vi4			ve	voi, Voi4
	third	m	loro, Loro1	si, s', -si	li, Li1, -li, -Li1	gli, -gli, loro (formal), Loro1	glie, se	loro, Loro1, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
		f			le, Le1, -le, -Le1
1	Third person pronominal forms used as formal terms of address to refer to second person subjects (with the first letter frequently capitalised as a sign of respect, and to distinguish them from third person subjects). Unlike the singular forms, the plural forms are mostly antiquated terms of formal address in the modern language, and second person plural pronouns are almost always used instead.
2	Also used as indefinite pronoun meaning “one”, and to form the passive.
3	Often replaced by gli, -gli in informal language.
4	Formal (capitalisation optional); in many regions, can refer to just one person (compare with French vous).

Etymology 2

From Vulgar Latin *illae, a nonstandard form of Latin illī (dative singular of illa). The ae in illae is modelled under influence of the dative case for first-declension feminine nouns, e.g. Classical puellae.

Pronoun

le f (plural gli)

1. (dative) her, to her

   Synonym: gli (informal)

   Le ho detto che la amo. ― I told her that I love her.

   Le ho dato la lettera. ― I gave her the letter.

2. (dative) you, to you (term of respect)

   Non le ho detto il mio nome. ― I didn't tell you my name.

   Le ho dato la lettera. ― I gave you the letter.

Usage notes

• In formal writing, when le is used as term of respect it is usually capitalised as Le to avoid confusion with le (“her”).
• In informal contexts often replaced with gli, especially in spoken language.
• Becomes glie when followed by a third person direct object clitic (lo, la, li, le, or ne).
• Never elides.

Alternative forms

• Le

See also

Italian personal pronouns

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Reflexive	Accusative	Dative	Conjunctive	Disjunctive	Locative	Partitive
Singular	first	—	io	mi, m', -mi			me	me	—
	second	—	tu	ti, t', -ti			te	te
	third	m	lui	si2, s', -si	lo, l', -lo	gli, -gli	glie, se2	lui, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
		f	lei, Lei1		la, La1, l', L'1, -la, -La1	le3, Le1, -le3, -Le1		lei, Lei1, sé
Plural	first	—	noi	ci, c', -ci			ce	noi	—
	second	—	voi, Voi4	vi, Vi4, v', V'4, -vi, -Vi4			ve	voi, Voi4
	third	m	loro, Loro1	si, s', -si	li, Li1, -li, -Li1	gli, -gli, loro (formal), Loro1	glie, se	loro, Loro1, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
		f			le, Le1, -le, -Le1
1	Third person pronominal forms used as formal terms of address to refer to second person subjects (with the first letter frequently capitalised as a sign of respect, and to distinguish them from third person subjects). Unlike the singular forms, the plural forms are mostly antiquated terms of formal address in the modern language, and second person plural pronouns are almost always used instead.
2	Also used as indefinite pronoun meaning “one”, and to form the passive.
3	Often replaced by gli, -gli in informal language.
4	Formal (capitalisation optional); in many regions, can refer to just one person (compare with French vous).

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Japanese

Romanization

le

1. Rōmaji transcription of れ゚
2. Rōmaji transcription of レ゚

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Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic لَا‎ (lā). Cognate with Hebrew לא‎ (lō).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛː/

Adverb

le

1. no

Related terms

• bla
• la

See also

• forsi (“maybe”)
• iva (“yes”)

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Mandarin

Romanization

le (Zhuyin ˙ㄌㄜ)

1. Pinyin transcription of 了
2. Pinyin transcription of 餎, 饹

le

1. Nonstandard spelling of lē.
2. Nonstandard spelling of lè.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

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Mauritian Creole

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lø, le/

Etymology

From French le

Article

le

1. (definite) the

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Meriam

Etymology

From Rotuman.

Noun

le

1. person

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Middle French

Etymology

From Old French le, from Latin illum

Article

le m (feminine la, masculine and feminine plural les)

1. the

Descendants

• French: le

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Neapolitan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le/
• Rhymes: -e

Pronoun

le

1. Alternative form of 'e

Coordinate terms

Number	Person	Nominative	Accusative	Dative	Reflexive	Possessive	Prepositional
singular	first-person	io (i')	me			mìo, mìa, mieje, meje	me, méne
	second-person, familiar	tu	te			tùjo, tòja, tùoje, tòje	te, téne
	second-person, formal	vuje	ve			vuósto, vósta, vuóste, vóste	vuje
	third-person, masculine	ìsso	'o, 'u (lo, lu)	'i, 'e (li, le)	se	sùjo, sòja, sùoje, sòje	ìsso
	third-person, feminine	éssa	'a (la)	'e (le)			éssa
plural	first-person	nuje	ce			nuósto, nòsta, nuóste, nòste	nuje
	second-person, plural	vuje	ve			vuósto, vòsta, vuóste, vòste	vuje
	third-person, masculine	ìsse	'i, 'e (li, le)	llòro	se	llòro (invariable)	llòro
	third-person, feminine	llòro	'e (le)

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hlé

Adjective

le (indeclinable)

1. lee or leeward (side)

Noun

le n

1. lee (sheltered or leeward side)
2. shelter

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hlæja (“to laugh”), from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *klek-, *kleg- (“to shout”).

Verb

le (imperative le, present tense ler, passive -, simple past lo, past participle ledd, present participle leende)

1. to laugh

References

• “le” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leː/ (example of pronunciation)

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hlæja (“to laugh”), from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną, from the Proto-Indo-European root *klel-, *kleg- (“to shout”). Akin to English laugh.

Alternative forms

• læ, læja (archaic or obsolete)

Verb

le (present tense ler, past tense lo, supine ledd or lett, past participle ledd, present participle leande, imperative le)

1. (intransitive) to laugh

Derived terms

• dumle
• forle
• gaple
• hegrele
• hånle
• skamle
• småle
• storle

 

Related terms

• latter
• løye
• lått

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hlé. Akin to English lee.

Noun

le n (definite singular leet, indefinite plural le, definite plural lea)

1. lee (sheltered or leeward side)
2. shelter

Adjective

le (indeclinable)

1. lee or leeward (side)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

le

1. imperative of lea

Anagrams

• el

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Novial

Pronoun

le

1. (s)he; him or her

Related terms

• les
• lo
• la

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Old French

Alternative forms

• lo (9th century in The Sequence of Saint Eulalia and 10th century in La Vie de Saint Léger)

Etymology

From Latin illum

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lə/

Article

le

1. the (masculine singular oblique definite article)
2. (Picardy, Anglo-Norman) the (feminine singular definite article)

Inflection

Old French definite articles

Declension of the definite article le

	singular		plural
	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
nominative	li	la, le 1	li	les
oblique	le 1	la 1	les	les
1 These singular forms elide to l' before a vowel or non-aspirate h.

Pronoun

le

1. it (masculine singular object pronoun)

Descendants

• Middle French: le
  • French: le

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Phalura

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le, ɽe/

Determiner

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

1. that, this (agr: dist fem / dist non-nom masc)

References

• Liljegren, Henrik; Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[7], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le, ɽe/

Determiner

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

1. those, these (agr: dist)

References

• Liljegren, Henrik; Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[8], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 3

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le, ɽe/

Pronoun

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

1. that one
2. it
3. she (dist fem nom)

References

• Liljegren, Henrik; Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[9], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 4

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le, ɽe/

Pronoun

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

1. those ones
2. these ones
3. they (dist nom)

References

• Liljegren, Henrik; Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[10], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

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Pnar

Pnar cardinal numbers

<  2	3	4  >
Cardinal : le     Ordinal : wa le

Etymology

From Proto-Khasian *laːj. Cognate with Khasi lai. Compare Proto-Palaungic *ʔɔɔj (whence Blang [La Gang] lɔ́j) and Car Nicobarese lōe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le/

Numeral

le

1. (cardinal) three

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Romanian

Etymology

From Latin illīs, dative common plural of ille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le/
• Rhymes: -e

Pronoun

le m (unstressed dative form of ei)

1. (indirect object, third-person masculine plural) to them (all-male or mixed group)

Pronoun

le f (unstressed dative form of ele)

1. (indirect object, third-person feminine plural) to them (all-female group)

Pronoun

le m (unstressed accusative form of ele)

1. (direct object, third-person feminine plural) them (all-female group)

Related terms

• lor (stressed dative of ei and ele)
• ele (stressed accusative of ele)
• îl (unstressed dative of el (singular))
• îi (unstressed dative of ea (singular) and unstressed accusative of ei (masculine))
• o (unstressed accusative of ea (singular))

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Samoan

Article

le

1. the (the definite article)

Usage notes

Only in the singular. Sometimes used where the indefinite article would be used in English.

See also

• se

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Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish la, from Proto-Celtic *let-, from Proto-Celtic *letos (“side”) (compare leath, Welsh lled).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lʲɛ/, /le/

Preposition

le

1. with
2. by
3. down

   Thuit e leis a' chreig.

   He fell down the rock.

   deòir a' ruith leis a h-aodann ― tears running down her face

Usage notes

• This form is used before nouns without the definite article; before the definite article the form leis is used.

Derived terms

• leis an t-sruth
• The following prepositional pronouns:

Person	Number	Prepositional pronoun	Prepositional pronoun (emphatic)
Singular	1st	leam	leamsa
	2nd	leat	leatsa
	3rd m	leis	leis-san
	3rd f	leatha	leathase
Plural	1st	leinn	leinne
	2nd	leibh	leibhse
	3rd	leotha	leothasan

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Serbo-Croatian

Adverb

le (Cyrillic spelling ле)

1. (archaic) only
   • 1556, Hanibal Lucić, U vrime ko čisto

     Nego se varteći dugo tuj zamani,

     Goro, le htih reći, zbogome ostani.

Related terms

• samo, tek

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Slovene

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛ́/

Adverb

lȅ

1. only, merely, just

Further reading

• “le”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran

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Southern Ndebele

Etymology 1

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

Pronoun

le

1. these; class 4 proximal demonstrative.

Etymology 2

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

Pronoun

le

1. this; class 9 proximal demonstrative.

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin illī, dative of ille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le/, [le]

Pronoun

le

1. To him, for him; dative of él

   Mi mamá va a escribirle una carta. ― My mom is going to write him a letter.

2. To her, for her; dative of ella

   Le dio un beso a Ana. ― He gave Ana a kiss.

3. To it, for it; dative of ello

   ¡Ponle esfuerzo! ― Put some effort into it!

4. To you, for you (formal); dative of usted

   ¿A usted le gustan los caballos? ― Do you like horses?

Usage notes

• Though le is usually the indirect object form of the direct object pronouns lo/la, it is often used in Spain as a direct object as well...e.g., «yo le amo» (I love him). This phenomenon is known as leísmo.
• Note that when a sentence contains a noun that is an indirect object, a redundant indirect object le (or its plural form les) is also required; for example «yo le daré el libro a Jorge» (literally, "I him will give the book to Jorge"), where him/le corresponds to Jorge. This type of pronoun is obligatory. Both of the object pronouns le and les become se when followed by the direct object lo/la/los/las; hence, «yo se lo daré» (I will give it to him/her/them) rather than «yo le/les lo daré».

See also

Spanish personal pronouns

				nominative	dative	accusative	disjunctive
first person	singular			yo	me		mí1
	plural	masculine2		nosotros	nos		nosotros
		feminine		nosotras			nosotras
second person	singular	tuteo		tú	te		ti1
		voseo		vos			vos
		formal3		usted	le, se4	lo/la5	usted
	plural	familiar6	masculine2	vosotros	os		vosotros
			feminine	vosotras			vosotras
		formal/general3		ustedes	les, se4	los/las5	ustedes
third person	singular	masculine2		él	le, se4	lo	él
		feminine		ella		la	ella
		neuter		ello7		lo/la5	ello
	plural	masculine2		ellos	les, se4	los	ellos
		feminine		ellas		las	ellas
	reflexive			—	se		sí1

1. Not used with con; conmigo, contigo, and consigo are used instead, respectively
2. Like other masculine Spanish words, masculine Spanish pronouns can be used when the gender of the subject is unknown or when the subject is plural and of mixed gender.
3. Treated as if it were third-person for purposes of conjugation and reflexivity
4. If le or les precedes lo, la, los, or las in a clause, it is replaced with se (e.g., Se lo dije instead of Le lo dije)
5. Depending on the implicit gender of the object being referred to
6. Used primarily in Spain
7. Used only in rare circumstances

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Swahili

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya)

  (file)

Adjective

-le (declinable)

1. that (distal demonstrative adjective)

Inflection

Inflected forms of -le

Noun class	singular	plural
M-wa class	yule	wale
M-mi class	ule	ile
Ma class	lile	yale
Ki-vi class	kile	vile
N class	ile	zile
U class	ule	zile
Pa class	pale	pale
Ku class	kule	kule
Mu class	mle	mle

See also

• hii
• hiyo

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Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish lēia, lea, from Old Norse hlæja (“to laugh”), from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leː/

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eː

Verb

le (present ler, preterite log, supine lett, imperative le)

1. to smile
2. (obsolete) to laugh

Conjugation

Conjugation of le (class 6 strong)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	le		les
Supine	lett		letts
Imperative	le		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	ler	log	les	logs
Indicative plural1	le	logo	les	logos
Subjunctive2	le	loge	les	loges
	Participles
Present participle	leende
Past participle	—
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Derived terms

• småle
• leende

Related terms

• löje

Anagrams

• e.l., el, el.

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Tarantino

Alternative forms

• l'

Article

le m pl or f pl

1. the

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Turkish

Noun

le

1. The name of the Latin-script letter L.

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

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Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [lɛ˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [lɛ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [lɛ˧˧]

Etymology 1

Noun

(classifier cây) le

1. a plant in the rice family, which grows in forests and has a shape similar to bamboo

Etymology 2

Verb

le

1. (Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) Alternative form of lè (“to loll (tongue); to put out”)

Etymology 3

Adverb

le

1. (rare) Alternative form of lè (“very”)

Etymology 4

Conjunction

le

1. (archaic) but; however

Derived terms

Derived terms

• song le

 

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Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leː/

Noun

le

1. Soft mutation of lle.

Adverb

le

1. (South Wales, colloquial) where

   Le ma'r tŷ bach?

   Where's the loo?

Synonyms

• ble
• (North Wales, colloquial) lle

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
lle	le	unchanged	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

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Xhosa

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [lé]

Pronoun

lé

1. these; class 4 proximal demonstrative.

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [lé]

Pronoun

lé

1. this; class 9 proximal demonstrative.

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Zou

Conjunction

le

1. and

References

• http://www.languageinindia.com/feb2013/zouphonologyfinal.pdf

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Zulu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlé/

Etymology 1

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

Pronoun

le

1. these; class 4 proximal demonstrative.

Inflection

Stem -lé
Full form	lé
Locative	kule
Full form	lé
Locative	kule
Copulative	yile
Possessive forms
	Modifier	Substantive
Class 1	wale	owale
Class 2	bale	abale
Class 3	wale	owale
Class 4	yale	eyale
Class 5	lale	elale
Class 6	ale	awale
Class 7	sale	esale
Class 8	zale	ezale
Class 9	yale	eyale
Class 10	zale	ezale
Class 11	lwale	olwale
Class 14	bale	obale
Class 15	kwale	okwale
Class 17	kwale	okwale

Etymology 2

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

Pronoun

le

1. this; class 9 proximal demonstrative.

Inflection

Stem -lé
Full form	lé
Locative	kule
Full form	lé
Locative	kule
Copulative	yile
Possessive forms
	Modifier	Substantive
Class 1	wale	owale
Class 2	bale	abale
Class 3	wale	owale
Class 4	yale	eyale
Class 5	lale	elale
Class 6	ale	awale
Class 7	sale	esale
Class 8	zale	ezale
Class 9	yale	eyale
Class 10	zale	ezale
Class 11	lwale	olwale
Class 14	bale	obale
Class 15	kwale	okwale
Class 17	kwale	okwale

References

• C. M. Doke; B. W. Vilakazi (1972) , “le”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “le (2)”