ἡμεῖς

Ancient Greek

first person pronoun ^(edit)

case	singular		dual	plural
	str.	encl.	str.	str.
nominative	ἐγώ		νώ, νῶϊ	ἡμεῖς
genitive	ἐμοῦ	μου	νῷν	ἡμῶν
dative	ἐμοί	μοι	νῷν	ἡμῖν
accusative	ἐμέ	με	νώ, νῶϊ	ἡμᾶς
adjective	ἐμός		νωΐτερος	ἡμέτερος

Alternative forms

• ᾱ̔μές (hāmés) — Doric, Boeotian
• ᾰ̓́μμες (ámmes) — Epic, Lesbian
• ᾰ̓μμές (ammés) — Thessalian

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European oblique *n̥sm- (from *éǵh₂), with regular Attic-Ionic η- (ē-) < ᾱ- (ā-) and initial ῾ (h) from ῡ̔μεῖς (hūmeîs).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /hɛː.mêːs/ → /iˈmis/ → /iˈmis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /hɛː.mêːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /(h)e̝ˈmis/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /iˈmis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /iˈmis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /iˈmis/

Pronoun

ἡμεῖς • (hēmeîs) (Attic, Epic, Ionic)

1. (first person plural, personal pronoun) we, us, our

Usage notes

When unemphatic, sometimes accented ἥμων, ἧμιν, etc. in poetry. Singular and dual are ἐγώ (egṓ) and νώ (nṓ).

Inflection

Irregular declension of ἡμεῖς; ἡμῶν (Attic)

Case / #	Plural
Nominative	ἡμεῖς hēmeîs
Genitive	ἡμῶν hēmôn
Dative	ἡμῖν hēmîn
Accusative	ἡμᾶς hēmâs
Vocative	—
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Irregular declension of ἡμεῖς; ἡμείων (Epic)

Case / #	Plural
Nominative	ἡμεῖς / ᾰ̓́μμες hēmeîs / ámmes
Genitive	ἡμείων / ἡμέων hēmeíōn / hēméōn
Dative	ἡμῖν / ᾰ̓́μμῐ / ᾰ̓́μμῐν hēmîn / ámmi(n)
Accusative	ἡμέᾰς / ᾰ̓́μμε hēméas / ámme
Vocative	—
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Irregular declension of ἡμεῖς; ἡμέων (Ionic)

Case / #	Plural
Nominative	ἡμεῖς hēmeîs
Genitive	ἡμέων hēméōn
Dative	ἡμῖν hēmîn
Accusative	ἡμέᾰς hēméas
Vocative	—
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Irregular declension of ᾱ̔μές; ᾱ̔μέων (Doric)

Case / #	Plural
Nominative	ᾱ̔μές hāmés
Genitive	ᾱ̔μέων / ᾱ̔μίων / ᾱ̔μῶν hāméōn / hāmíōn / hāmôn
Dative	ᾱ̔μίν / ἇμῐν hāmín / hâmin
Accusative	ᾱ̔μέ hāmé
Vocative	—
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Irregular declension of ᾰ̓́μμες; ᾰ̓μμέων (Lesbian)

Case / #	Plural
Nominative	ᾰ̓́μμες ámmes
Genitive	ᾰ̓μμέων amméōn
Dative	ᾰ̓́μμι / ᾰ̓́μμιν ámmi(n)
Accusative	ᾰ̓́μμε ámme
Vocative	—
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Irregular declension of ᾱ̔μές; ᾱ̔μίων (Boeotian)

Case / #	Plural
Nominative	ᾱ̔μές hāmés
Genitive	ᾱ̔μίων hāmíōn
Dative	ᾱ̔μίν hāmín
Accusative	ᾱ̔μέ hāmé
Vocative	—
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Irregular declension of ᾰ̓μμές; ᾰ̓μμέουν (Thessalian)

Case / #	Plural
Nominative	ᾰ̓μμές ammés
Genitive	ᾰ̓μμέουν amméoun
Dative	ᾰ̓μμίν ammín
Accusative	ᾰ̓μμέ ammé
Vocative	—
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Further reading

• “ἐγώ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἡμεῖς”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἡμεῖς in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἡμεῖς in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• G2249 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • i idem, page 413.
  • ourselves idem, page 581.
  • we idem, page 969.
• Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920) “Part II: Inflection”, in A Greek grammar for colleges, Cambridge: American Book Company, § 325, 325 D
• Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN
• ἡμεῖς - ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ (since 2011) Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch) University of Chicago.