on

See also: Appendix:Variations of "on"

English

Pronunciation

• (British Isles, Eastern New England) enPR: ŏn, IPA^(key): /ɒn/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (Southern American English, Midland US) IPA^(key): /ɔn/
• (Southern American English) IPA^(key): /ɔʊn/
• (Northern US, cot–caught merger) enPR: än, IPA^(key): /ɑn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒn
• Homophone: awn (Midland American English, Southern American English, Cot-Caught merger)

Etymology 1

From Middle English on, from Old English on, an (“on, upon, onto, in, into”), from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on, at”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-.

Cognate with North Frisian a (“on, in”), Saterland Frisian an (“on, at”), West Frisian oan (“on, at”), Dutch aan (“on, at, to”), Low German an (“on, at”), German an (“to, at, on”), Swedish å (“on, at, in”), Faroese á (“on, onto, in, at”), Icelandic á (“on, in”), Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana), Ancient Greek ἀνά (aná, “up, upon”), Albanian në (“in”); and from Old Norse upp á: Danish på, Swedish på, Norwegian på, see upon.

Adjective

on (not comparable)

1. In the state of being active, functioning or operating.

   Antonym: off

   All the lights are on, so they must be home.

2. Performing according to schedule; taking place.

   Are we still on for tonight?

   Is the show still on?

   We had to ration our food because there was a war on.

   That TV programme that you wanted to watch is on now.

3. Fitted; covering; being worn.

   Your feet will soon warm up once your socks are on.

   I was trying to drink out of the bottle while the top was still on!

4. (postpositive) Of a stated part of something, oriented towards the viewer or other specified direction.

   The photograph shows the UFO side on.

   edge on, side on, end on, face on

5. (chiefly UK, informal, usually negative) Acceptable, appropriate.

   You can't do that; it's just not on.

   • 1998 May 22, Phoenix Gamma, “If I was owned Nintendo...”, in alt.games.video.nintendo-64 (Usenet):

     This kind of over-packaging of goods is completely not on.

   • 2003 August 12, DAB sounds worse than FM, “Gerg Dyke's Speech at Radio Festival”, in alt.radio.digital (Usenet):

     so Simon Nelson saying on Feedback "we'd prefer it if everybody listened to digital radio via DAB" is completely not on at all.

6. (informal) Destined, normally in the context of a challenge being accepted; involved, doomed.

   "Five bucks says the Cavs win tonight." ―"You're on!"

   Mike just threw coffee onto Paul's lap. It's on now.

7. (baseball, informal) Having reached a base as a runner and being positioned there, awaiting further action from a subsequent batter.
   • 2019 February 24, Chris Kennedy, “Aggies Earn Series Win Over Yale in Sunday Finale”, in New Mexico State University Athletics‎^[1]:

     With one out and no men on, Tristen Carranza belted a ball to the opposite field for a solo home run to put the NM State deficit at just 2-1.

   • 2019 April 6, Daniel Martinez-Krams, “Baseball Falls Short in Game 2 of UCLA Series”, in The Stanford Daily‎^[2]:

     Although Stanford was outhit 15-6, the Cardinal stranded eight runners to UCLA's three, hitting just 3-15 with runners on compared to the Bruin's 9-22.

8. (cricket) Within the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs; the left side for a right-handed batsman.

   Synonym: leg; Antonym: off

   The captain moved two fielders to the on side.

   Ponsonby-Smythe hit a thumping on drive.

9. (acting, drama, roleplaying games) Acting in character.
10. (euphemistic) Menstruating.
    • 2011, Hollie Smith Netmums, You and Your Tween: Managing the years from 9 to 13, Hachette, →ISBN:

      It still gets in the way of her doing things like swimming, and she avoids sleepovers when she's "on".

11. (informal, of a person) Performative or funny in a wearying manner.

    He always has to be on, it's so exhausting.

Synonyms

• (baseball: positioned at a base): on base (not informal)

Translations

See on/translations § Adjective.

Adverb

on (not comparable)

For idiomatic meanings of phrasal verbs, such as carry on, hang on, have on, try on, etc., please see the individual entries.

1. To an operating state.

   turn the television on

2. So as to cover or be fitted.

   The lid wasn't screwed on properly.

   Put on your hat and gloves.

3. Along, forwards (continuing an action).

   drive on, rock on

   • 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport‎^[3]:

     He met Luis Suarez's cross at the far post, only for Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to show brilliant reflexes to deflect his header on to the bar. Carroll turned away to lead Liverpool's insistent protests that the ball had crossed the line but referee Phil Dowd and assistant referee Andrew Garratt waved play on, with even a succession of replays proving inconclusive.

4. In continuation, at length.

   and so on

   He rambled on and on.

5. (obsolete in the US) Later.

   Ten years on, nothing had changed in the village.

6. Of betting odds, denoting a better-than-even chance. See also odds-on.

   Antonym: against

   That horse is twenty-to-one on, so you need to stake twenty pounds just to win one pound.

Antonyms

• (active, functioning, operating): off
• (to an operating state): off
• (later): after, afterward/afterwards, later, subsequently, thence

Translations

See on/translations § Adverb.

Preposition

A green pepper on (with its position being the upper surface of) a box

on

1. Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above.

   A vase of flowers stood on the table.

   Please lie down on the couch.

   The parrot was sitting on Jim's shoulder.

   • 1845, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Bridge:

     I stood on the bridge at midnight.

2. Positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to.

   He had a scar on the side of his face.

   There is a dirty smudge on this window.

   The painting hangs on the wall.

   The fruit ripened on the trees.

3. Expressing figurative placement, burden, or attachment.

   All of the responsibility is on him.

   I put a bet on the winning horse.

4. Denoting performance or action by contact with the surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by means of; with.

   to play on a violin or piano

5. At or in (a certain region or location).

   The lighthouse that you can see is on the mainland.

   The suspect is thought to still be on the campus.

6. Near; adjacent to; alongside; just off.

   The fleet is on the American coast.

   Croton-on-Hudson, Rostov-on-Don, Southend-on-Sea

7. Supported by (the specified part of itself).

   A table can't stand on two legs.

   After resting on his elbows, he stood on his toes, then walked on his heels.

8. So as to impart force to.

   tug on the rope; push hard on the door

9. So as to impact; against.

   I stubbed my toe on an old tree stump.

10. Covering.

    He wore old shoes on his feet.

11. (with certain modes of transport, especially public transport) Inside (a vehicle) for the purpose of travelling.

    on a bus, on a train, on a plane

12. At the date of.

    Born on the 4th of July.

13. Sometime during the day of.

    On Sunday I'm busy. I'll see you on Monday.

    Can I see you on a different day?

14. At a given time after the start of something; at.

    Smith scored again on twelve minutes, doubling Mudchester Rovers' lead.

    I'll see you a week on Friday.

    • 2011 September 24, Aled Williams, “Chelsea 4-1 Swansea”, in BBC Sport:

      The Spain striker had given Chelsea the lead on 29 minutes but was shown a straight red card 10 minutes later for a rash challenge on Mark Gower.

15. Dealing with the subject of; about; concerning.

    I was reading a book on history.

    The city hosted the World Summit on the Information Society

    I have no opinion on this subject.

    • 1869 May, Anthony Trollope, “Lady Milborough as Ambassador”, in He Knew He Was Right, volume I, London: Strahan and Company, […], →OCLC, page 85:

      [...] I received a note from that gentleman on a most trivial matter. I answered it as trivially.

16. (informal) In the possession of.

    I haven't got any money on me.

17. Because of; due to; upon the basis of (something not yet confirmed as true).

    to arrest someone on suspicion of bribery

    to contact someone on a hunch

18. Upon; at the time of (and often because of).

    On Jack's entry, William got up to leave.

    On the addition of ammonia, a chemical reaction begins.

19. Paid for by.

    The drinks are on me tonight, boys.

    The meal is on the house.

    I paid for the airfare and meals for my family, but the hotel room was on the company.

20. Indicating a means or medium.

    I saw it on television.

    Can't you see I'm on the phone?

    My favorite shows are on BBC America.

    The Beatles' appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show is on YouTube.

    The film was released on DVD.

21. Indicating the target of, or thing affected by, an event or action.

    They planned an attack on London.

    The soldiers mutinied and turned their guns on their officers.

    Her words made a lasting impression on my mind.

    What will be the effect on morale?

22. Toward; for; indicating the object of an emotion.

    Have pity or compassion on him.

24. (especially Ireland) Indicating the person experiencing an emotion, cold, thirst, hunger, etc.
    • 2013 February 27, Rosemary Sutcliff, The Shining Company, Random House, →ISBN:

      ' […] the hunger is on me to carry my sword in distant places.' Mynyddog bowed his head.

    • 2017 January 24, Ruth Gilligan, Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan, Tin House Books, →ISBN:

      “Christ, the thirst on me.” “Sure, it's serious work, all that talk of independence.” The theater's stained-glass doors had first flung open in 1904, all in the hope of “rewriting the Irish identity,” of using culture in the fight […]

    • 2017 August 29, Ralph Peters, Judgment at Appomattox: A Novel, Forge Books, →ISBN, page 18:

      “I've got the hunger on me, I do.” Riordan snorted. Hardly a man knew hunger as he did. The prison rations at Point Lookout, spare enough, had been a feast compared to the black years in Ireland. […]

25. Indicating a means of subsistence.

    They lived on ten dollars a week.

    The dog survived three weeks on rainwater.

26. Engaged in or occupied with (an action or activity).

    He's on his lunch break.

    I'm on nights all this week.

    on vacation; on holiday; on the job; on the fiddle

28. Regularly taking (a drug).

    You've been on these antidepressants far too long.

    He's acting so strangely, I think he must be on something.

30. Under the influence of (a drug, or something that is causing drug-like effects).

    He's acting crazy because he's on crack right now.

31. (mathematics) Having identical domain and codomain.

    a function on

32. (mathematics) Having $V^{n}$ as domain and V as codomain, for some set V and integer n.

    an operator on

33. (mathematics) Generated by.

    the free group on four letters

34. In addition to; besides; indicating multiplication or succession in a series.

    heaps on heaps of food

    mischief on mischief; loss on loss

35. (obsolete, regional) of
    • 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

      Be not jealous on me.

    • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

      Or have we eaten on the insane root / That takes the reason prisoner?

36. Indicating dependence or reliance.

    I depended on them for assistance.

    He will promise on certain conditions.

37. (obsolete) At the peril of, or for the safety of.
    • a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The First Book of Homer’s Ilias”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 415:

      Hence on thy life: the captive maid is mine; / Whom not for price or pray'rs I will reſign: [...]

38. Serving as a member of.

    He is on the jury; I am on the committee.

39. By virtue of; with the pledge of.

    He affirmed or promised on his word, or on his honour.

40. To the account or detriment of; denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon.

    On us be all the blame.

    A curse on him!

    Please don't tell on her and get her in trouble.

    He turned on her and has been her enemy ever since.

    He went all honest on me, making me listen to his confession.

    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 27:25:

      His blood be on vs, and on our children.

41. (especially when numbers of combatants or competitors are specified) Against; in opposition to.

    The fight was three on one, and he never stood a chance.

42. (philosophy, logic) According to, from the standpoint of; expressing what must follow, whether accepted or not, if a given premise or system is assumed true.
    • 2021, Gavin Ortlund, Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn't: The Beauty of Christian Theism, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, →ISBN:

      On naturalism, it is therefore difficult to find a ground for ultimate moral hope.

Synonyms

• (dealing with the subject of): about, apropos, as for; See also Thesaurus:about
• (because of): by dint of, due to; See also Thesaurus:because of

Derived terms

• end-on
• follow-on
• hands-on
• on call, on-call
• on-campus
• on high
• on-prem
• on stream, onstream
• on time, on-time
• on-trade
• on-train
• painted-on

 

Related terms

• depend (on)
• put on airs

Translations

See on/translations § Preposition.

Verb

on (third-person singular simple present ons, present participle oning or onning, simple past and past participle oned or onned)

1. (Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Nigeria, transitive, colloquial) To switch on.

   Synonym: turn on

   Can you on the light?

Etymology 2

From Old Norse ón, án (“without”), from Proto-Germanic *ēnu, *ēno, *ino (“without”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḗnu (“without”). Cognate with North Frisian on (“without”), Middle Dutch an, on (“without”), Middle Low German āne (“without”), German ohne (“without”), Gothic 𐌹𐌽𐌿 (inu, “without, except”), Ancient Greek ἄνευ (áneu, “without”).

Alternative forms

• ohn

Preposition

on

1. (UK dialectal, Scotland) Without.

Usage notes

• Usually followed by a present participle, as being, having, etc.

Etymology 3

From Japanese 音読み (on'yomi, literally “sound reading”).

Noun

on

1. In the Japanese language, a pronunciation, or reading, of a kanji character that was originally based on the character's pronunciation in Chinese, contrasted with kun.

   Most kanji have two kinds of reading, called "on" and "kun".

Related terms

• kun

See also

• on dit (etymologically unrelated)

References

• on at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• N.O., NO, No, No., no, no.

Azerbaijani

Azerbaijani numbers ^(edit)

		100
←  1	←  9	10	11  →	20  →
		1
Cardinal: on     Ordinal: onuncu

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ōn (“ten”). Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰆𐰣‎‎ (on, “ten”).

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Numeral

Other scripts

Cyrillic		он
Perso-Arabic

on

1. ten

Basque

Etymology

From Proto-Basque *bon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /on/, [õ̞n]

Adjective

on (comparative hobe, superlative onen or hoberen, excessive onegi)

1. good
2. useful, convenient

Declension

Declension of on (adjective, ending in consonant)

		indefinite	singular	plural
absolutive		on	ona	onak
ergative		onek	onak	onek
dative		oni	onari	onei
genitive		onen	onaren	onen
comitative		onekin	onarekin	onekin
causative		onengatik	onarengatik	onengatik
benefactive		onentzat	onarentzat	onentzat
instrumental		onez	onaz	onez
inessive	anim.	onengan	onarengan	onengan
	inanim.	onetan	onean	onetan
locative	anim.	—	—	—
	inanim.	onetako	oneko	onetako
allative	anim.	onengana	onarengana	onengana
	inanim.	onetara	onera	onetara
terminative	anim.	onenganaino	onarenganaino	onenganaino
	inanim.	onetaraino	oneraino	onetaraino
directive	anim.	onenganantz	onarenganantz	onenganantz
	inanim.	onetarantz	onerantz	onetarantz
destinative	anim.	onenganako	onarenganako	onenganako
	inanim.	onetarako	onerako	onetarako
ablative	anim.	onengandik	onarengandik	onengandik
	inanim.	onetatik	onetik	onetatik
partitive		onik	—	—
prolative		ontzat	—	—

Further reading

• "on" in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy], euskaltzaindia.eus
• “on” in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], euskaltzaindia.eus

Catalan

Alternative forms

• ahont, hon, hont (archaic)
• ont

Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan on (“whence”), from Latin unde (“whence”). Compare Occitan ont, Old French ont (French dont), Spanish onde.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈon/

• Audio

  (file)

Adverb

on

1. where

References

• “on” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “on”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
• “on” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “on” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Central Franconian

Alternative forms

• un (widely in free variation)
• en (some western dialects)

Etymology

The native form in most dialects was Old High German indi, whence the variant en. In parts of the Eifel, this indi regularly becomes on (compare Luxembourgish an). In southern and eastern dialects, on the other hand, on may have been inherited from the Old High German variant unde (unti). From these two groups of dialects, the form will have spread, without doubt under influence of German und.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /on/

Conjunction

on

1. and

   Salz on Päfer

   salt and pepper

Classical Nahuatl

Pronoun

on, ōn

1. (demonstrative) that; those

Related terms

• in

References

• Michel Launey; Christopher Mackay (2011) An Introduction to Classical Nahuatl, Amazon Kindle: Cambridge University Press, pages Loc 1408

Cornish

Alternative forms

• ôn

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *ognos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʷnós (“lamb”).

Pronunciation

• (Revived Middle Cornish) IPA^(key): [ɔːn]
• (Revived Late Cornish) IPA^(key): [oːn]

Noun

on m (plural en)

1. lamb

Crimean Tatar

Numeral

on

1. ten

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech on, from Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈon]

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -on

Pronoun

on m

1. he (third person personal singular)

Declension

Declension of on (sg-only masculine pronoun)

	singular
	stressed	clitic
nominative	on
genitive	jeho, jej, něho1, něj1	ho, jej
dative	jemu, němu1	mu
accusative	jej, něj1, jeho2, něho2	jej, ho, -ň1
vocative	—
locative	něm1
instrumental	jím, ním1

¹After a preposition.
²Animate.

Derived terms

• onak
• onaký
• onam
• onde
• ondy
• onehdy
• onen
• onkat

 

Related terms

Czech personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person		já	my
2nd person	familiar	ty	vy
	polite	vy
3rd person	m	on	oni*
	f	ona	ony
	n	ono	ona
reflexive		sebe, se (clitic)
* animate referents only, for inanimate ones ony is used.

Further reading

• on in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• on in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• on in Internetová jazyková příručka

Dutch

Adverb

on

1. rarely used as shorthand for oneven (odd), the prefix on- means not (corresponds to English un-)

Estonian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈon/, [ˈon]
• Rhymes: -on
• Hyphenation: on

Verb

on

1. third-person singular present indicative of olema
2. third-person plural present indicative of olema

Finnish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈon/, [ˈo̞n]
• Rhymes: -on
• Syllabification^(key): on

Verb

on

1. third-person singular indicative present of olla

   Se on tuolla.

   It is there.

   Se on ollut tuolla.

   It has been there.

Anagrams

• no

French

Alternative forms

• l’on (formal)

Etymology

Inherited from Old French hom, om (nominative form), from Latin homō (“human being”) (compare homme from the Old French oblique form home, from the Latin accusative form hominem). Its pronominal use is of Germanic origin. Compare Old English man (“one, they, people”), reduced form of Old English mann (“person”); Catalan hom; German man (“one, they, people”); Dutch men (“one, they, people”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔ̃/, (before a vowel) /ɔ.n‿/

• audio

  (file)

• Homophone: ont

Pronoun

on

1. (indefinite) one, people, you, someone (an unspecified individual)

   Synonyms: quelqu’un (in some contexts), l’on (formal)

   • 2003, Natasha St. Pier, L’instant d’après (album), Quand on cherche l’amour (song)

     Quand on cherche l’amour…

     When one searches for love…

   On ne peut pas pêcher ici ― You can’t fish here

2. (personal, informal) we

   Synonym: nous (in some contexts)

   • 2021, Zaz, Tout là-haut:

     On oublie nos certitudes

     We forget our certainties

   On s’est amusés. ― We had fun.

Usage notes

• In informal and standard conversational French, on has almost completely replaced the pronoun nous (“we”) to indicate that a sentence or clause has a first-person plural as its subject. However, nous is still favored in formal writing and speech, and is still used colloquially as a disjunctive reinforcing nominative on, as well as to indicate direct and indirect objects. It may be used for reflexive objects, but as this is potentially ambiguous, these are also indicated with the reflexive pronoun se — especially with reinforcement from disjunctive nous, which clarifies that the speaker means "we" and not "one," i.e. a generalized indefinite subject. This clarification can also be achieved by the use of tous.

  On est toujours là. ― We're still here.

  Nous, on s’y fait. ― We get used to it.

  On connait tous la chanson qu’elle chante. ― We all know which song she is singing.

  Nous, on l’a tous vu. ― We all saw it.

• The verb is always conjugated in the third-person singular, but if the pronoun refers to a first-person plural, the attribute agrees in gender and number.

  On est venu ici. ― One came here.

  On y est allés / allées. ― We went there.

  On est prêts / prêtes. ― We are ready.

• The variant l’on is used in more formal or literary contexts. Some use it especially after que (que l'on) to avoid the contraction qu’on, which is homophonous with the vulgar word con.

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.

Descendants

• → Esperanto: oni
  • → Ido: onu
• → Interlingue: on

Further reading

• “on”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• NO, nô

German Low German

Conjunction

on

1. (in several dialects, including Low Prussian) Alternative form of un (and)

   Melk on Brot

   milk and bread

Guerrero Nahuatl

Noun

on

1. the

Ido

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /on/, /ɔn/

Pronoun

on

1. Apocopic form of onu; one, someone, they (indefinite personal pronoun)

See also

    Personal pronouns in Ido

		Singular			Plural
		Nominative	Possessive		Nominative	Possessive
			Singular	Plural		Singular	Plural
First person		me	mea	mei	ni	nia	nii
Second person	Formal	vu	vua	vui	vi	via	vii
	Familiar	tu	tua	tui
Third person	Masculine	ilu, il	ilua	ilui	ili	ilia	ilii
	Feminine	elu, el	elua	elui	eli	elia	elii
	Neuter	olu, ol	olua	olui	oli	olia	olii
	Common	lu	lua	lui	li	lia	lii
	Reflexive	su	sua	sui	su	sua	sui
Indefinite		onu, on	onua	onui	onu, on	onua	onui
Notes
The possessive plurals are seldom used.
The shortened forms are preferred.
The pangendered forms are preferred to the gendered or neuter forms in most scenarios.

Interlingua

Pronoun

on

1. one (indefinite personal pronoun)

Japanese

Romanization

on

1. Rōmaji transcription of おん

Juǀ'hoan

Pronunciation

• The nasal vowel IPA^(key): /õ/

Letter

on (upper case On)

1. A letter of the Juǀ'hoan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Karaim

Etymology 1

From Proto-Turkic *ōn. Compare to Crimean Tatar on, Karachay-Balkar он (on), Kumyk он (on), Urum он (on), etc.

Numeral

on

1. ten

Etymology 2

From Proto-Turkic *oŋ. Compare to Crimean Tatar oñ, Karachay-Balkar онг (oñ), Kumyk онг (oñ), Urum он (on), etc.

Noun

on

1. right

References

N. A. Baskakov, S.M. Šapšala, editor (1973), “on”, in Karaimsko-Russko-Polʹskij Slovarʹ, Moskva, →ISBN

Karelian

Verb

on

1. (there) is

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English on, an, from Proto-West Germanic *an, from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on, at”).

Preposition

on

1. on, in

Adverb

on

1. on

Alternative forms

• (preposition): one, onne, hon, ane; an (before initial h or vowel); æn (early)
• (adverb): one, onne, an

Descendants

• English: on
• Scots: an, on
• Yola: on

References

• “on, prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “on, adv.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Numeral

on

1. Alternative form of oon

Pronoun

on

1. Alternative form of oon

Adverb

on

1. Alternative form of oon

Determiner

on

1. (Early Middle English) Alternative form of a (indefinite article)

Etymology 3

Verb

on

1. (Early Middle English) first/third-person singular present of unnen

Etymology 4

Noun

on (uncountable)

1. Alternative form of wone (“course”)

Etymology 5

Noun

on (uncountable)

1. Alternative form of oven

Northern Sami

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈoːn/

Adverb

ōn

1. again

Further reading

• Koponen, Eino; Ruppel, Klaas; Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008) Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[4], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

Occitan

Alternative forms

• ond

Pronunciation

• Audio (Gascon)

  (file)

Adverb

on

1. (Gascony) where

References

• Patric Guilhemjoan, Diccionari elementari occitan-francés francés-occitan (gascon), 2005, Orthez, per noste, 2005, →ISBN, page 99.

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈon/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈon/

Pronoun

on m sg (third person)

1. he (masculine singular)

Declension

Declension of the third-person pronouns (around AD 1300)

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	on	ona	ono
Genitive	jeho, (j)ho, ň(e)ho	jie, nie	jeho, (j)ho, ň(e)ho
Dative	jemu, (j)mu, ňemu	jí, jiej, ní, niej	jemu, (j)mu, ňemu
Accusative	jej, jen, ji, jeho, (j)ho -ň, ňej, ňen, ni, ň(e)ho	ju, ňu	je, ňe + later masculine
Locative	ňem	ní, niej	ňem
Instrumental	jím, ním	jú, ňú	jím, ním
Possessive	jeho	(je)jie, jejílater	jeho
Dual	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ona	oně
Genitive	jú, ňú
Dative	jima, nima
Accusative	jě, ně	ji, ni
Locative	ňú
Instrumental	jima, nima
Possessive	(je)jú
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	oni	ony	ona
Genitive	jich, nich
Dative	jim, nim
Accusative	jě, ně
Locative	nich
Instrumental	jimi, nimi
Possessive	(je)jich

Descendants

• Czech: on

Pronoun

on

1. Alternative form of onen

References

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916), “on”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Old English

Alternative forms

• an

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /on/

Preposition

on

1. on, in, at, among [+dative or instrumental]

   On þæm huse

   In the house

2. on, during [+accusative]

   On midne winter

   In mid-winter

3. onto, into (to express allative motion or a change of state) [+accusative]

   On þæt hus

   Into the house

   Heo awende þa boc on Englisc

   She translated the book into English

Adverb

on

1. (with verbs of taking or depriving) from

Descendants

• Middle English: an, on, one, onne, hon, ane; an; æn; one, onne, an
  • English: on
  • Scots: an, on
  • Yola: on

Old French

Alternative forms

• hon

Etymology

See hom, om.

Pronoun

on

1. one (gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun)

Descendants

• French: on

Old Frisian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *an, from Proto-Germanic *an (“on”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- (“up”). Cognates include Old English on, Old Saxon ana and Old Dutch ana.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /on/

Preposition

on

1. on

Descendants

• North Frisian: a
• Saterland Frisian: an, oun
• West Frisian: oan

References

• Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN

Old Irish

Pronoun

on

1. Alternative spelling of ón

Article

on

1. Alternative spelling of ón

Old Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *onъ. First attested in the 14th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /ɔn/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ɔn/

Pronoun

on

1. he (for animate nouns), it (for inanimate nouns)
2. this (demonstrative)

Declension

This pronoun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Polish: on
• Silesian: ôn

References

• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, editor (2011–2015), “on”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish on, from Proto-Slavic *onъ. The non-nominative declension of the first meaning comes from Proto-Slavic *jь.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔn/
• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈɔn/, /ˈon/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔn
• Syllabification: on

Pronoun

on (plural: masculine personal oni, all others one)

1. he (for animate nouns), it (for inanimate nouns)

Declension

Declension of on

	singular
nominative	on
genitive	jego/go/niego
dative	jemu/mu/niemu
accusative	jego/go/niego
instrumental	nim
locative	nim
vocative	—

Related terms

pronouns

• ona
• one
• oni
• ono
• onu
• ony

 

Pronoun

on m

1. (dated) this (demonstrative)

Declension

Declension of on

case	singular				plural
	masculine personal/animate	masculine inanimate	neuter	feminine	virile	nonvirile
nominative, vocative	on		ono	ona	oni	one
genitive	onego			onej	onych
dative	onemu				onym
accusative	onego	on	ono	oną	onych	one
instrumental	onym				onymi
locative				onej	onych

See also

• Appendix:Polish pronouns

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), on is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 1477 times in scientific texts, 677 times in news, 976 times in essays, 1957 times in fiction, and 1617 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 6650 times, making it the 8th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

Further reading

• on in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• on in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• “on”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish], 2010-2022
• “on”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish], 2010-2022
• “I ON I”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 03.11.2021
• “II ON II”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 30.03.2020
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807-1814), “on”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861), “on”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1904), “on”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 3, Warsaw, page 779

Romani

Alternative forms

• jon, jone

Pronoun

on

1. they

Descendants

• Kalo Finnish Romani: joon
• Vlax Romani: von

See also

Romani personal pronouns

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Accusative	Dative	Locative	Ablative	Instrumental	Possessive
Singular	First	—	me	man	manqe	manθe	manθar	mança	miro, -i, -e
	Second	—	tu	tut	tuqe	tuθe	tuθar	tuça	tiro, -i, -e
	Reflexive third	—	—	pes	pesqe	pesθe	pesθar	peça	pesqero, -i, -e
	Third	Masculine	ov	les	lesqe	lesθe	lesθar	leça	lesqero, -i, -e
		Feminine	oj	la	laqe	laθe	laθar	laça	laqero, -i, -e
Plural	First	—	amen		amenqe	amenθe	amenθar	amença	amaro, -i, -e
	Second	—	tumen		tumenqe	tumenθe	tumenθar	tumença	tumaro, -i, -e
	Reflexive third	—	—	pen	penqe	penθe	penθar	pença	penqero, -i, -e
	Third	—	on	len	lenqe	lenθe	lenθar	lença	lenqero, -i, -e

---

Kalderash Romani personal pronouns

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Accusative (long and short forms)	Dative	Locative	Ablative	Instrumental	Possessive
Singular	First	—	me	man, ma	mánge	mánde	mándar	mánsa	múrro m, múrri f, múrre pl
	Second	—	tu	tut, tu	túke	túte	tútar	túsa	tíro m, tíri f, tíre pl
	Reflexive third	—	—	pês, pe	pêske	pêste	pêstar	pêsa	pêsko m, pêski f, pêske pl
	Third	Masculine	wo	lês, le	lêske	lêste	lêstar	lêsa	lêsko m, lêski f, lêske pl
		Feminine	woi	la, la	láke	láte	látar	lása	láko m, láki f, láke pl
Plural	First	—	ame	amên, ame	amênge	amênde	amêndar	amênsa	amáro m, amári f, amáre pl
	Second	—	tume	tumên, tume	tumênge	tumênde	tumêndar	tumênsa	tumáro m, tumári f, tumáre pl
	Reflexive third	—	—	pên, pe	pênge	pênde	pêndar	pênsa	pêngo m, pêngi f, pênge pl
	Third	—	won	lên, le	lênge	lênde	lêndar	lênsa	lêngo m, lêngi f, lênge pl

Romansch

Alternative forms

• onn (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Surmiran)
• an (Puter)

Etymology

From Latin annus.

Noun

on m (plural ons)

1. (Sutsilvan, Vallader) year

Salar

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ōn.

Numeral

on (3rd person possessive [please provide], plural [please provide])

1. ten

Sedang

Etymology

From Proto-Bahnaric *ʔuɲ. Cognate with Bahnar ŭnh and Hre ùnh.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔɔn/

Noun

on

1. fire

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ôːn/

Pronoun

ȏn (Cyrillic spelling о̑н)

1. he

Declension

    Inflection of 3rd-person pronouns

	Singular			Plural
	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
nominative	ȏn	òna	òno	òni	òne	òna
genitive	njȅga, ga	njȇ, je	njȅga, ga	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih
dative	njȅmu, mu	njȏj, joj	njȅmu, mu	njȉma, im	njȉma, im	njȉma, im
accusative	njȅga, ga, nj	njȗ, ju, je	njȅga, ga, nj	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih
vocative	—	—	—	—	—	—
locative	njȅm, njȅmu	njȏj	njȅm, njȅmu	njȉma	njȉma	njȉma
instrumental	njȋm, njíme	njȏm, njóme	njȋm, njíme	njȉma	njȉma	njȉma

See also

• njezin
• njegov

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos; inflected forms from Proto-Slavic *jь, from Proto-Indo-European *éy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔn/

Pronoun

on m

1. he (third-person personal masculine singular pronoun)

Declension

Declension of on

	singular	plural
nominative	on	oni, ony
genitive	ho, jeho, neho	ich, nich
dative	mu, jemu, nemu	im, nim
accusative	ho, jeho, neho	ich, nich, ne
locative	ňom	nich
instrumental	ním	nimi

Related terms

Slovak personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person		ja	my
2nd person	familiar	ty	vy
	polite	vy
3rd person	m	on	oni*
	f	ona	ony
	n	ono
reflexive		seba, sa (clitic)
* animate referents only, for inanimate ones ony is used.

Further reading

• on in Slovak dictionaries at slovnik.juls.savba.sk

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔ́n/

Pronoun

ȍn

1. he
2. (obsolete) onkanje form^{[→SS, p. 389]}

Usage notes

The second binding singular form (-enj) is used when the prefix ends in a consonant:

• zȃnj (za- + -nj)
• skọ̑zenj (skoz- + -enj)

Inflection

Fourth masculine declension (adjectival endings, animate), fixed accent, highly irregular Stressed ("naglasne") forms
nominative imenovȃlnik	ȍn	ónadva, onȃdva	óni, onȋ
genitive rodȋlnik	njéga	njȋju, njȉh, njȗ	njȉh
dative dajȃlnik	njému	njȋma	njȉm
accusative tožȋlnik	njéga	njȋju, njȉh, njȗ	njȉh, njẹ̑
locative mẹ̑stnik	njém, njému	njȋju, njȉh	njȉh
instrumental orọ̑dnik	njím	njȋma	njȋmi
(vocative) (ogȏvorni imenovȃlnik)	ȍn	ȏnadva, onȃdva	ȏni, onȋ

Unstressed ("naslonske") forms
	singular	dual	plural
genitive rodȋlnik	ga	ju, jih	jih
dative dajȃlnik	mu	jima	jim
accusative tožȋlnik	ga	ju	jih

Binding ("navezne / predložne") accusative forms
	singular	dual	plural
unstressed	-nj, -ənj	-nju	-nje
stressed	–	–	njẹ̑, njȉh

See also

Slovene personal pronouns

			singular	dual	plural
1st person		m	jaz	midva	mi
		f or n		medve, midve	me
2nd person	familiar tikanje	m	ti	vidva	vi
		f or n		vedve, vidve	ve
3rd person		m	on	onadva	oni
		f	ona	onedve, onidve	one
		n	ono	onedve, onidve	ona
Polite forms (not differentiated in dual and plural)					singular
polite vikanje – instead of 2nd person, binds with forms for 2rd person plural masculine					vi, Vi
very polite onikanje – instead of 2nd or 3rd person, binds with forms for 3rd person plural masculine (archaic)					oni
hyper polite onokanje – instead of 2nd person, binds with forms for 3rd person singular neuter (obsolete)
patriarchal – instead of 2nd person, binds with forms for 3rd person singular masculine (obsolete)

Further reading

• ”, in , portal Fran
• ”, in , Amebis
• See also the general references

Southeastern Tepehuan

Etymology

From .

References

• R. de Willett, Elizabeth, et al. (2016) (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 48)‎^[5] (in ), electronic edition, Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 140

Turkish

Etymology

From , from . Compare .

Pronunciation

• (file)

Numeral

1. ten

Turkmen

Etymology

From , from .

Numeral

1. ten

Venetian

Article

1. a, an

Usage notes

• Variant of

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from .

Pronoun

1. it
2. one

Declension

    declension of on

	singular	plural
nominative
genitive
dative
accusative

Walloon

Numeral

1. one

Yola

Alternative forms

• a, an
• ana (before consonant)

Etymology

From Middle English on, an, from Old English on.

Preposition

on

1. on

References

• Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, , London: J. Russell Smith, page 94