zich

Cimbrian

Etymology 1

From Middle High German sich, from Old High German sih, from Proto-West Germanic *sik, from Proto-Germanic *sek, cognate with German sich.

Pronoun

zich

1. Third-person reflexive pronoun: herself, himself, itself, themselves

Etymology 2

In the first person plural from Middle High German unsich. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronoun

zich (Sette Comuni)

1. accusative of bar: us
2. accusative of ze: them

See also

Cimbrian personal pronouns

		nominative	accusative	dative
1st person singular		ich	mich	miar
2nd person singular	familiar	du	dich	diar
	polite	iart	ach	òich
3rd person singular	m	èar, ar	in, en	iime
	f	zi, ze		iar
	n	es, is	es, 's	iime
1st person plural		bar, bandare	zich	izàndarn
2nd person plural		iart, iartàndare, artàndare	òich, ach	ogàndarn
3rd person plural		ze, zòi, zandare	zich	innàndarn

References

• “zich” in Martalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso (1974), Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch sich, from Middle High German sich, from Old High German sih, from Proto-West Germanic *sik, from Proto-Germanic *sek. Old Dutch did not have a reflexive pronoun (only rarely in early Limburgish texts), but used the normal accusative pronoun (if necessary intensified by selven, cf. English himself). Although the use of zich in Holland-based Dutch was clearly triggered by written German, this development was assisted by the fact that the south-eastern dialects of Dutch had already adopted certain High German pronoun forms in much earlier times (cf. Limburgish ich, mich, dich, zich).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zɪx/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: zich
• Rhymes: -ɪx

Pronoun

zich

1. (reflexive pronoun) Third person singular and plural reflexive pronoun; himself, herself, itself, themselves, oneself

   Hij wast zich. — He washes himself.

   Hij wast zich het gezicht. — He washes his face.

   Ieder voor zich. — Every man for himself.

2. (reflexive pronoun, formal) Second person singular and plural formal reflexive pronoun; yourself, yourselves

   Sloeg u zich in het donker? ― Did you hit yourself in the dark?

   U kunt zich hier scheren. ― You can shave here.

   Vergist u zich niet? ― Aren't you mistaken?

3. expresses an unintended result with many otherwise non-reflexive and ergative verbs

   Hij viel zich een ongeluk — He fell and this resulted in an accident.

   Hij lachte zich een bult — He laughed so severely that it left him a hunchback.

Usage notes

• Zich can be used whether the reflexivity of the verb is optional or mandatory. Optionally reflexive verbs can also take zichzelf as reflexive pronoun.
• As in English (but unlike German and French), Dutch reflexive pronouns do not express reciprocity, except dialectally. Reciprocal senses may occur in fixed verb constructions, as in: Ze hebben zich verloofd. (“They have got engaged.”) Such cases are generally explainable by etymology. (In the example, the original sense is “They have promised themselves [to each other].”)
• In the formal second person singular and plural, zich alternates with u, e.g. U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.' Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronoun u, e.g. Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronoun u is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular and different from the informal second person singular, e.g. U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Only u can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g. Meld u aan! 'Log in!', where u is the reflexive pronoun.

Declension

Dutch personal pronouns

	subject		object		possessive			reflexive	genitive5
singular	full	unstr.	full	unstr.	full	unstr.	pred.
1st person	ik	'k1	mij	me	mijn	m'n1	mijne	me	mijner, mijns
2nd person	jij	je	jou	je	jouw	je	jouwe	je	jouwer, jouws
2nd person archaic or regiolectal	gij	ge	u	–	uw	–	uwe	u	uwer, uws
2nd person formal	u	–	u	–	uw	–	uwe	u, zich7	uwer, uws
3rd person masculine	hij	ie1	hem	'm1	zijn	z'n1	zijne	zich	zijner, zijns
3rd person feminine	zij	ze	haar	h'r1, 'r1, d'r1	haar	h'r1, 'r1, d'r1	hare	zich	harer, haars
3rd person neuter	het	't1	het	't1	zijn	z'n1	zijne	zich	zijner, zijns
3rd person gender-neutral8	hen	–	hen	–	hun	–	hunne	zich	hunner, huns
plural	full	unstr.	full	unstr.	full	unstr.	pred.
1st person	wij	we	ons	–	ons, onze2	–	onze	ons	onzer, onzes
2nd person	jullie	je	jullie	je	jullie	je	–	je	–
2nd person archaic or regiolectal6	gij	ge	u	–	uw	–	uwe	u	uwer, uws
2nd person formal	u	–	u	–	uw	–	uwe	u, zich7	uwer, uws
3rd person	zij	ze	hen3, hun4	ze	hun	–	hunne	zich	hunner, huns

¹⁾ Not as common in written language.
²⁾ Inflected as an adjective.
³⁾ In prescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative).
⁴⁾ In prescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative).
⁵⁾ Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions.
⁶⁾ To differentiate from the singular gij, gelle (object form elle) and variants are commonly used colloquially in Belgium. Archaic forms are gijlieden and gijlui ("you people").
⁷⁾ Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronoun u, e.g. Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronoun u is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g. U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Only u can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g. Meld u aan! 'Log in!', where u is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, both u and zich are equally possible, e.g. U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.'
⁸⁾ Not officially recognized in standard Dutch. It has gained popularity, especially in mainstream media and queer circles, as a respectful term for non-binary individuals.

Derived terms

• op zich
• voor zich
• zichzelf