personal

See also: Personal and personál

English

Alternative forms

• personall (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English personal, personele, from Anglo-Norman personel, personal, personell, Old French personal, personel, from Late Latin persōnālis (“of a person, personly”), equivalent to person +‎ -al. Doublet of personnel.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɜː.sə.nəl/, /ˈpɜːs.nəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpɜɹ.sə.nəl/, /ˈpɜɹs.nəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: per‧son‧al‧,‧perso‧nal, perso‧nal

Adjective

personal (comparative more personal, superlative most personal)

1. Pertaining to persons (human beings as opposed to things or animals).
2. Of or pertaining to a particular person; relating to, or affecting, an individual, or each of many individuals

   personal values; personal desire

   Her song was her personal look at the values of friendship.

   • 2014 March 3, Zoe Alderton, “‘Snapewives’ and ‘Snapeism’: A Fiction-Based Religion within the Harry Potter Fandom”, in Religions‎^[1], volume 5, number 1, MDPI, →DOI, pages 219–257:

     Despite personal schisms and differences in spiritual experience, there is a very coherent theology of Snape shared between the wives. To examine this manifestation of religious fandom, I will first discuss the canon scepticism and anti-Rowling sentiment that helps to contextualise the wider belief in Snape as a character who extends beyond book and film.

   • 2015 October 27, Matt Preston, The Simple Secrets to Cooking Everything Better‎^[2], Plum, →ISBN, page 192:

     You could just use ordinary shop-bought kecap manis to marinade the meat, but making your own is easy, has a far more elegant fragrance and is, above all, such a great brag! Flavouring kecap manis is an intensely personal thing, so try this version now and next time cook the sauce down with crushed, split lemongrass and a shredded lime leaf.

3. Dealing with subjects about which one wishes (or people usually wish) to maintain privacy or discretion; not for public view; sensitive, intimate.

   personal reasons

   You can't read my diary—it is personal.

   That's a very personal question.

   I can't believe you went through my drawers and looked at all my personal things!

4. (euphemistic) Intended for sexual use.

   personal lubricant; personal massager

5. Pertaining to the external or bodily appearance; corporeal; bodily.

   personal charms

   • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

     The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. […] Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?

6. Done in person; without an intermediary.

   a personal interview

   a personal meeting

   personal settings

   • 2011, Bob Nelson, Peter Economy, Consulting For Dummies:

     Although you miss the nonverbal cues that you pick up in a personal meeting, you can call far more clients in a day than you can meet with in person.

7. Relating to an individual, their character, conduct, motives, or private affairs, in an invidious and offensive manner

   personal reflections or remarks

   Only factual argumentation, no need to get personal.

8. (grammar) Of a noun or pronoun, having reference particular to humans and other entities having personality such as a named animal, a deity, a personification, etc.
9. (grammar) Related to grammatical first, second, etc. persons.

   a personal pronoun

10. Denoting ownership.

    one's personal vehicle, as opposed to a company vehicle

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with personnel (“employees, staff”).

Derived terms

• antipersonal
• bipersonal
• depersonalize, depersonalization
• extrapersonal
• first-personal
• hyperpersonal
• impersonal
• interpersonal
• intrapersonal
• monopersonal
• multipersonal
• nonpersonal
• nothing personal
• overpersonalize
• peripersonal
• personal ad, personal advertisement
• personal area network
• personal assistant
• personal attack, personal attacker
• personal best
• personal brand
• personal capital
• personal column
• personal computer
• personal conduct
• personal covenant
• personal crisis
• personal data
• personal dative
• personal day
• personal defence weapon, personal defence, personal defense weapon
• personal development
• personal digital assistant
• personal effect
• personal equation, absolute p.e.
• personal estate
• personal exception
• personal fiduciary
• personal finance
• personal flotation device
• personal foul
• personal god
• personal goddess
• personal hell
• personal hygiene
• personal identification number
• personal identity
• personal injury
• personalise, personalize
• personalism
• personalist
• personalistic
• personal jurisdiction
• personal law
• personal ledger
• personal life
• personal location beacon, personal location radiobeacon
• personal locator beacon, personal locator radio-beacon
• personal lubricant
• personally
• personal message
• personal mobility device
• personal name
• personal navigant
• personalness
• personal online desktop
• personal ordinariate
• personal organizer
• personal pension
• personal pronoun
• personal property, personal property tax
• personal protective equipment, personal protector
• personal record
• personal rule
• personal security
• personal service
• personal shopper, personal shopping
• Personal Social Health Education
• personal space
• personal stereo
• personal time
• personal trainer, personal training
• personal transaction
• personal transporter
• personalty
• personal union
• personal video recorder
• personal water craft
• personalzine
• polypersonal
• prepersonal
• profersonal
• subpersonal
• superpersonal
• suprapersonal
• telepersonals
• third-personal
• transpersonal
• tripersonal
• ultrapersonal
• unipersonal
• unpersonal
• up close and personal

Related terms

• personalia
• personality
• personally
• personnel

Translations

pertaining to human beings

• Bulgarian: човешки (bg) (čoveški)
• Finnish: ihmis-
• Hungarian: emberi (hu), személyi (hu)
• Ido: homala (io)
• Maori: whaiaro, matawhaiaro
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: personrelatert, menneskelig (no)

of or pertaining to a particular person

• Afrikaans: persoonlik (af)
• Arabic: شَخْصِيّ (šaḵṣiyy)
• Azerbaijani: şəxsi (az)
• Bashkir: шәхси (şəxsi)
• Belarusian: асабі́сты (asabísty), асабо́вы (asabóvy), персана́льны (pjersanálʹny)
• Bulgarian: ли́чен (bg) (líčen), персона́лен (bg) (personálen)
• Catalan: personal (ca)
• Cebuano: personal
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 私人的 (zh) (sīrén de)

• Czech: osobní (cs)
• Danish: personlig (da)
• Dutch: persoonlijk (nl)
• Finnish: henkilökohtainen (fi)
• French: personnel (fr)
• Galician: persoal (gl)
• German: persönlich (de)
• Greek: προσωπικός (el) (prosopikós)
• Hindi: व्यक्तिगत (hi) (vyaktigat)
• Hungarian: személyi (hu), személyes (hu), egyéni (hu), saját (hu)
• Icelandic: persónulegur (is)
• Ido: personala (io)
• Irish: pearsanta
• Italian: personale (it)
• Japanese: 個人の (こじんの, kojin no)
• Korean: 개인의 (ko) (gaeinui)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: کەسی (kesî)

• Latin: proprius (la)
• Macedonian: личен (ličen)
• Maori: whaiaro, matawhaiaro
• Marathi: व्यक्तिगत (vyaktigat)
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari: шке (ške)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: personlig (no)

  Nynorsk: personleg

• Ottoman Turkish: خصوصی (hususî)
• Persian: شخصی (fa) (šaxsi)
• Polish: osobisty (pl), personalny (pl)
• Portuguese: pessoal (pt)
• Russian: ли́чный (ru) (líčnyj), персона́льный (ru) (personálʹnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: pearsanta
• Slovak: osobný
• Spanish: personal (es)
• Swedish: personlig (sv)
• Tagalog: pansarili, personal (tl)
• Tajik: шахсӣ (tg) (šaxsi)
• Thai: ส่วนตัว (th) (sùuan-dtuua)
• Turkish: kişisel (tr), özel (tr), zatî (tr), şahsi (tr)
• Ukrainian: особи́стий (osobýstyj), персона́льний (personálʹnyj), особо́вий (osobóvyj)
• Uyghur: شەخسىي (shexsiy)
• Uzbek: shaxsiy (uz)

dealing with subjects about which one wishes to maintain privacy or discretion

• Afrikaans: persoonlik (af)
• Finnish: henkilökohtainen (fi)
• Hindi: व्यक्तिगत (hi) (vyaktigat)
• Hungarian: személyes (hu), magánjellegű (hu), magán- (hu)

euphemistic: intended for sexual use

• Finnish: henkilökohtainen (fi)
• Hungarian: intim (hu)

pertaining to the external or bodily appearance

• Catalan: corporal (ca)
• Czech: osobní (cs)
• Finnish: fyysinen (fi), ruumiillinen (fi)
• Hungarian: személyes (hu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: personlig (no)

• Scottish Gaelic: pearsanta

done in person

• Afrikaans: in persoon
• Bashkir: шәхси (şəxsi)
• Catalan: personal (ca)
• Finnish: henkilökohtainen (fi), oma (fi)
• French: en personne (fr)
• Hungarian: személyes (hu), élő (hu), szemtől szembeni
• Maori: ā-tinana
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: personlig (no)

relating to an individual in an invidious and offensive manner

• Finnish: henkilökohtainen (fi)
• Hungarian: személyeskedő (hu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: personlig (no)

grammar: denoting person

• Belarusian: асабо́вы (asabóvy)
• Bulgarian: ли́чен (bg) (líčen)
• Catalan: personal (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 人稱 / 人称 (zh) (rénchēng)

• Finnish: persoona- (fi)
• French: personnel (fr)
• German: Personal- (de)
• Greek: προσωπικός (el) (prosopikós)
• Hungarian: személyes (hu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: personlig (no)

• Polish: osobowy (pl)
• Russian: ли́чный (ru) (líčnyj)
• Ukrainian: особо́вий (osobóvyj)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} persona (eo)
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} వ్యక్తిగతమైన (te) (vyaktigatamaina) (2, 5)

Noun

personal (plural personals)

1. (chiefly in the plural) An advertisement by which an individual attempts to meet others with similar interests.
2. One's own property or asset
   • 1748, Tobias Smollett (translator), Alain-René Lesage (original), The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane

     In addition to this, a coarse shirt quite new, a pair of my father's shoes quite old, and, what rejoiced me more than all the rest, a rouleau of twenty rials in a linen rag. Behold the sum total of my personals.

   • 1982 April 10, Roosevelt Williamson, “Prison Racism and Legal Slavery in America”, in Gay Community News, page 15:

     I've had my cell ransacked, savagely searched, and as a result, had my legal papers stolen and destroyed, allong with what little personal clothing and other personals I had.

Translations

advertisement

• Finnish: henkilökohtaista -ilmoitus
• Hungarian: magánjellegű/társkereső/személyes hirdetés/hír/rovat
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: personligannonse m

property, asset

• Finnish: irtain (fi); irtaimisto (fi) (one's movables as a whole)
• Hungarian: ingóság (hu), ingó vagyontárgy
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: løsøre n

Further reading

• “personal”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• psoralen

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin persōnālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [pər.suˈnal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [pər.soˈnal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [peɾ.soˈnal]

Adjective

personal m or f (masculine and feminine plural personals)

1. personal

   Antonym: impersonal

Derived terms

• personalitzar
• personalment
• unipersonal

Related terms

• impersonal
• persona
• personalitat

Further reading

• “personal”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
• “personal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “personal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “personal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Cebuano

Etymology

Borrowed from English personal, from Middle English personal, personele, from Anglo-Norman personel, personal, personell, Old French personal, personel, from Late Latin persōnālis (“of a person, personly”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: per‧so‧nal
• IPA^(key): /peɾˈsonal/ [peɾ̪ˈs̪o.n̪ɐl̪]

Adjective

personal

1. of or pertaining to a particular person; relating to, or affecting, an individual, or each of many individuals; peculiar or proper to private concerns; not public or general

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:personal.

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin persōnālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛʁzoˈnaːl/
• Hyphenation: per‧so‧nal

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

personal (strong nominative masculine singular personaler, not comparable)

1. personal

Declension

Positive forms of personal (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist personal	sie ist personal	es ist personal	sie sind personal
strong declension (without article)	nominative	personaler	personale	personales	personale
	genitive	personalen	personaler	personalen	personaler
	dative	personalem	personaler	personalem	personalen
	accusative	personalen	personale	personales	personale
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der personale	die personale	das personale	die personalen
	genitive	des personalen	der personalen	des personalen	der personalen
	dative	dem personalen	der personalen	dem personalen	den personalen
	accusative	den personalen	die personale	das personale	die personalen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein personaler	eine personale	ein personales	(keine) personalen
	genitive	eines personalen	einer personalen	eines personalen	(keiner) personalen
	dative	einem personalen	einer personalen	einem personalen	(keinen) personalen
	accusative	einen personalen	eine personale	ein personales	(keine) personalen

Further reading

• “personal” in Duden online
• “personal” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Indonesian

Etymology

From English personal, from Middle English personal, personele, from Anglo-Norman personel, personal, personell, Old French personal, personel, from Late Latin persōnālis (“of a person, personly”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [pərˈsonal]
• Hyphenation: per‧so‧nal

Adjective

pêrsonal (comparative lebih personal, superlative paling personal)

1. Synonym of pribadi (“personal”)

Related terms

• person
• persona
• personalia
• personalisasi
• personalitas
• personel

Further reading

• “personal” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Interlingua

Adjective

personal (comparative plus personal, superlative le plus personal)

1. personal

Noun

personal (uncountable)

1. staff, personnel

Ladin

Adjective

personal m (feminine singular personala, masculine plural personai, feminine plural personales)

1. personal

Portuguese

Etymology

Pseudo-anglicism, derived from personal trainer.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /peʁ.soˈnaw/ [peh.soˈnaʊ̯]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /peʁ.soˈnaw/ [peh.soˈnaʊ̯]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /peɾ.soˈnaw/ [peɾ.soˈnaʊ̯]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /peʁ.soˈnaw/ [peχ.soˈnaʊ̯]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /peɻ.soˈnaw/ [peɻ.soˈnaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɨɾ.suˈnal/ [pɨɾ.suˈnaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɨɾ.suˈnal/ [pɨɾ.suˈnaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɨɾ.suˈna.li/

• Hyphenation: per‧so‧nal

Noun

personal m or f by sense (plural personais)

1. (Brazil, informal) personal trainer

   Synonyms: PT, personal trainer

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin personalis or German personell or Italian personale or French personnel. By surface analysis, persoană +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /per.soˈnal/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: per‧so‧nal

Adjective

personal m or n (feminine singular personală, masculine plural personali, feminine and neuter plural personale)

1. personal (relating to the person)
2. personal (intimate, not to be shared)

Declension

Declension of personal

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	personal		personală		personali	personale
	definite	personalul		personala		personalii	personalele
genitive- dative	indefinite	personal		personale		personali	personale
	definite	personalului		personalei		personalilor	personalelor

Antonyms

• impersonal

Derived terms

• pronume personal
• tren personal

Adverb

personal

1. personally

Noun

personal n (plural personale)

1. (collective) staff, members of staff, personnel
2. (countable) Short for tren personal (“stopping train”).

Declension

Declension of personal

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	personal	personalul		personale	personalele
genitive-dative	personal	personalului		personale	personalelor
vocative	personalule			personalelor

Further reading

• “personal”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin persōnālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peɾsoˈnal/ [peɾ.soˈnal]

• Audio (Mexico):

  (file)

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: per‧so‧nal

Adjective

personal m or f (masculine and feminine plural personales)

1. personal

   Antonym: impersonal

Derived terms

• cédula personal
• computadora personal
• defensa personal
• derecho personal
• entrenador personal
• forma no personal
• forma personal
• ordenador personal
• personalismo
• personalmente
• pronombre personal
• unipersonal

Noun

personal m (plural personales)

1. personnel, staff

   profesores y personal ― faculty and staff

   personal militar ― military personnel

   personal de seguridad ― security personnel

   personal sanitario ― health workers, healthcare workers, medical personnel

   personal médico ― medical staff, medical personnel; medical practitioners

Noun

personal m (uncountable)

1. (informal) folks, people, mob, crowd; the masses
   • 1993 April 23, Francisco Umbral, “Queremos saber”, in Antena 3:

     Yo he venido aquí a hablar de mi libro; y no a hablar de lo que opine el personal, que me da lo mismo, porque para eso tengo mi columna y mi opinión diaria.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• antipersonal

Related terms

• impersonal
• persona
• personalidad

Further reading

• “personal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [pɛʂʊnˈɑːl]

Noun

personal c

1. staff (employees of a business)

   Synonym: arbetskraft

Declension

Declension of personal

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	personal	personals
	definite	personalen	personalens
plural	indefinite	personaler	personalers
	definite	personalerna	personalernas

Derived terms

• ambassadpersonal
• ambulanspersonal
• apotekspersonal
• butikspersonal
• civilpersonal
• dagispersonal
• dagpersonal
• däckspersonal
• ekonomipersonal
• extrapersonal
• fyrpersonal
• hemtjänstpersonal
• hotellpersonal
• kabinpersonal
• kanslipersonal
• kassapersonal
• kringpersonal
• kökspersonal
• markpersonal
• omsorgspersonal
• personaladministration
• personaladministratör
• personalansvar
• personalansvarig
• personalansvarsnämnd
• personalavdelning
• personalbostad
• personalbrist
• personalchef
• personaldator
• personaldirektör
• personalfest
• personalföreträdare
• personalförstärkning
• personalförsörjning
• personalförteckning
• personalgrupp
• personalingång
• personalinskränkning
• personalintendent
• personalintensiv
• personalkategori
• personalkonferens
• personalkonsulent
• personalkostnad
• personalkrävande
• personalliggare
• personalläkare
• personalmatsal
• personalminskning
• personalmöte
• personalneddragning
• personalnedskärning
• personalnämnd
• personalomsättning
• personaloption
• personalorganisation
• personalplanering
• personalpolitik
• personalpolitisk
• personalpool
• personalproblem
• personalrekrytering
• personalrepresentant
• personalrestaurang
• personalresurs
• personalrum
• personalsekreterare
• personalsidan
• personalsituation
• personalstyrka
• personaltidning
• personaltoalett
• personaltäthet
• personalunion
• personalutbildning
• personaluthyrning
• personalutrymme
• personalutskott
• personalutveckling
• personalvård
• personalvårdsnämnd
• personalärende
• personalökning
• restaurangpersonal
• räddningspersonal
• serveringspersonal
• servicepersonal
• sjukhuspersonal
• sjukvårdspersonal
• skolpersonal
• stampersonal
• städpersonal
• säkerhetspersonal
• tullpersonal
• tågpersonal
• vakpersonal
• vaktpersonal
• vårdpersonal

Further reading

• personal in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker

Anagrams

• polarens, polernas

Tagalog

Etymology

Each pronunciation has a different source:

• With ultimate stress, borrowed from Spanish personal.
• With antepenultimate stress, borrowed from English personal.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog)
  • IPA^(key): /peɾsoˈnal/ [pɛɾ.soˈn̪al] (Spanish pronunciation)
    • Rhymes: -al
  • IPA^(key): /ˈpeɾsonal/ [ˌpɛɾ.soˈn̪al] (English pronunciation)
    • Rhymes: -eɾsonal
• Syllabification: per‧so‧nal

Adjective

personál or pérsonál (Baybayin spelling ᜉᜒᜇ᜔ᜐᜓᜈᜎ᜔)

1. personal

Derived terms

• mamersonal
• pamemersonal
• personalan
• personalin

Further reading

• “personal”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018