we

See also: Appendix:Variations of "we"

Englisch

Etymology 1

From Middle English we, from Old English wē (“we”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, *wiz (“we”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéy (“we (plural)”). Cognate with Scots wee, we (“we”), North Frisian we (“we”), West Frisian wy (“we”), Low German wi (“we”), Dutch we, wij (“we”), German wir (“we”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian vi (“we”), Icelandic vér, við (“we”), Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬨 (vaēm), Sanskrit वयम् (vayám).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: wē, IPA^(key): /wiː/

• Audio (UK):

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• Audio:

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• (General American) IPA^(key): /wi/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophones: oui, wee, Wii (wine–whine merger); whee
• Rhymes: -iː

Pronoun

we (first-person plural nominative case, objective case us, possessive determiner our, possessive pronoun ours, reflexive ourselves, reflexive singular ourself)

1. (personal) The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person (not the person being addressed). (This is the exclusive we.)
   • 2017 February 20, Paul Mason, “Climate scepticism is a far-right badge of honour – even in sweltering Australia”, in the Guardian‎^[1]:

     It’s time to overcome queasiness and restraint. We, the liberal and progressive people of the world, are at war with the far right to save the earth.

2. (personal) The speaker(s)/writer(s) and the person(s) being addressed. (This is the inclusive we.)
3. (personal) The institution which the speaker/writer is acting for. (This is the editorial we, used by writers and others when speaking with the authority of their publication or organisation.)
   • 2021, Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, “Paper No. CMAB C4/9/1”, in Documents of the Hong Kong Legislative Council‎^[2], page 1:

     In light of the promulgation of the aforementioned laws and decisions, we (the administration) propose to make the following amendments to local legislation to implement the relevant requirements on oath taking by public officers.

4. (personal, royal) The sovereign alone in their capacity as monarch. (This is the royal we. The reflexive case of this sense of we is ourself.)
5. (personal) The plural form of you, including everyone being addressed.

   How are we all tonight?

   • 2013 July-August, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, in American Scientist:

     As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.

6. (personal, often considered patronising) A second- or third-person pronoun for a person in the speaker's care.

   How are we feeling this morning?

   • 1836, “Boz” [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], “The Boarding-House”, in Sketches by “Boz,” Illustrative of Every-day Life, and Every-day People. […], volume I, London: John Macrone, […], →OCLC, chapter II, page 204:

     “Well, my dear ma’am, and how are we?” inquired Wosky in a soothing tone. / “Very ill, doctor—very ill,” said Mrs. Bloss in a whisper.

   • 2008 May 13, Tom Armstrong, Marvin (comic):

     Are we ready to go to bed, sweetie?

7. (colloquial) The speaker themselves, used to imply connection between the speaker's experiences and a group of listeners. (Compare the plural of modesty.)

   Hey guys, how's it going? Today we are going to be playing a new game.

   • 2021 January 6, 3:38:03 from the start, in Rally on Electoral College Vote Certification‎^[3] (television broadcast), spoken by Donald Trump, Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN):

     All Vice President [Mike] Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify and we become president and you are the happiest people.

   • 2021 June 24, “Far from Home” (3:07 from the start), in Alone‎^[4], season 9, episode 4 (televison production), spoken by Theresa Emmerich Kamper, via HISTORY Channel:

     [Today is] not a day to think about fishing so we will get back to working on the shelter. [cut in video] Cool, so I guess the best analogy for this, then, is that we've basically framed the house, and now we get to shingle.

   • 2022 October 25, 32:11 from the start, Vote 2022, in Joseph Camp, director, PBS NewsHour‎^[5] (television production), spoken by John Fetterman, via Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), archived from the original on 2022-10-25:

     The elephant in the room, you know, we had a stroke back in May.

8. (West Country, archaic) Us.
9. (bridge) The side which is keeping score.

   Antonym: they

Derived terms

• as we know it
• as we speak
• can we say
• even as we speak
• here we are
• here we go
• here we go again
• Houston, we have a problem
• imperial we
• lest we forget
• let's not and say we did
• shall we say
• the devil we know is better than the devil we don't
• the devil we know is better than the devil we don't know
• the poor we will always have with us
• the real treasure is the friends we made along the way
• there we go
• this is where we came in
• this is why we can't have nice things
• today we are all
• until we meet again
• we all make mistakes
• we aye
• we-group
• we haven't got all day
• we live in a society
• we-uns
• what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive
• what tangled webs we weave when first we practice to deceive
• where are we
• where are we going

 

Descendants

• Jamaican Creole: wi
• Sranan Tongo: wi

Translations

generic we (the speaker and at least one other person, regardless of whether it's the person being addressed)

• Abinomn: awp
• Abkhaz: ҳара (ḥara)
• Abom: neː
• Afar: nanu
• Afrikaans: ons (af)
• Aghwan: 𐔷𐔰𐕎 (žan)
• Akan: yɛn
• Albanian: ne (sq)
• Alviri-Vidari: جیمه (jime)
• American Sign Language: 1^o-f@IpsiChest-FingerBack RoundHoriz 1^o-f@ContraChest-FingerBack (also inclusive and exclusive forms (not listed), as well as numeral incorporation)
• Amharic: እኛ (ʾəña)
• Arabic: نَحْنُ (ar) pl (naḥnu)

  Egyptian Arabic: احنا (ʔíḥna)

  North Levantine Arabic: نحنا pl (niḥna)

  South Levantine إحنا pl (ʔíḥna)

  Tunisian Arabic: أَحْنَا m pl or f pl (ʔaḥnā)

• Aragonese: nusatros m pl, nusatras f pl
• Aramaic:

  Hebrew: אֲנַחְנָא (ʾănaḥnā), אֲנַן (ʾănan)

  Syriac: ܐ̄ܢܲܚܢܲܢ (naḥnan), ܚ̱ܢܲܢ (ḥənan)

• Armenian: մենք (hy) (menkʻ)

  Old Armenian: մեք (mekʻ)

• Aromanian: noi
• Assamese: আমি (ami)
• Asturian: nosotros (ast) m pl, nosotras (ast) f pl
• Avestan: 𐬬𐬁 du (vā), 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬨 pl (vaēm)
• Azerbaijani: biz (az)
• Bakhtiari: ایما (imâ)
• Bambara: an
• Bashkir: беҙ (beź)
• Basque: gu (eu)
• Bavarian: mia
• Beja: hinin
• Belarusian: мы (be) (my)
• Bengali: আমরা (bn) (amra)
• Breton: ni (br)
• Bulgarian: ни́е (bg) (níe)
• Burmese: ကျုပ်တို့ (kyuptui.), တို့ (my) (tui.), ကျွန်တော်တို့ (kywantautui.) (male speaker), ကျွန်မတို့ (kywanma.tui.) (female speaker), ငါတို့ (ngatui.) (informal)
• Burushaski: mî
• Buryat: бидэ (bide)
• Carpathian Rusyn: мы (mŷ)
• Catalan: nosaltres (ca)
• Chamicuro: a'ti
• Chichewa: ife
• Chinese:

  Dungan: вәму (vəmu)

  Eastern Min: 我各儂／我各侬 (nguāi-gáuk-nè̤ng)

  Gan: 我個俚／我个俚 (ngo³ go li), 我等 (ngo³ diin)

  Hakka: 𠊎兜 (ngài-têu), 𠊎等 (ngài-tén, ngài-tên, ngài-nên), 𠊎等人 (ngai² dên¹ ngin² / ngai² dên³ ngin²) (Meixian)

  Jin: 我們／我们 (ghe² me), 俺們／俺们 (ghan² me / gha² me)

  Mandarin: 我們／我们 (zh) (wǒmen) (generic in most dialects, but exclusive in some), 俺們／俺们 (zh) (ǎnmen) (dialectal, Northern China)

  Northern Min: 我人 (uòi-nêng)

  Wu: 阿拉, 伲

  Xiang: 我們／我们 (ngo³ men)

• Chukchi: моргынан (morgynan)
• Chuvash: эпир (ep̬ir)
• Classical Nahuatl: tehhuān, tehhuāntin
• Czech: my (cs)
• Dalmatian: nu
• Danish: vi (da)
• Dutch: wij (nl), we (nl)
• Dyirbal: ŋaliɖi du, ŋanaɖi pl
• Edo: ìmà (emphatic), mà (regular)
• Efik: nnyin
• Esperanto: ni (eo)
• Estonian: meie (et), me (et)
• Even: бу (ʙu)
• Evenki: бу (bu)
• Extremaduran: nusotrus
• Finnish: me (fi), myö (fi) (dialectal)
• French: nous (fr) (formal), on (fr) (informal)

  Old French: nos

• Friulian: nô, noaltris
• Galician: nós (gl) m pl or f pl
• Georgian: ჩვენ (čven)
• German: wir (de)

  Alemannic German: mir

• Greek: εμείς (el) (emeís)

  Ancient: νώ du (nṓ), ἡμεῖς pl (hēmeîs)

• Gurani: ئێمە (ême)
• Haitian Creole: nou
• Hausa: (independent form) ^{(please verify)} múu, (perfective 1) ^{(please verify)} mún, (perfective 2) ^{(please verify)} múkà, (neg. perfective) ^{(please verify)} bàmù...bá, (future) ^{(please verify)} záamù, (predictive) ^{(please verify)} mâa, (habitual) ^{(please verify)} múkàn, (subjunctive) ^{(please verify)} mù (ha), (continuous 1) ^{(please verify)} múnàa, (continuous 2) ^{(please verify)} múkè(e), (neg. continuous) ^{(please verify)} báamàa
• Hebrew: אֲנַחְנוּ (he) (anákhnu), אָנוּ (he) (ánu)
• Hindi: हम (hi) (ham)
• Hopi: itam
• Hungarian: mi (hu), (usually indicated by the suffix only) -unk, -ünk
• Icelandic: við (is)
• Ido: ni (io)
• Igala: àwa (emphatic), à
• Igbo: ànyị (ig)
• Indonesian: kita (id) (informal)
• Ingrian: möö
• Interlingua: nos (ia)
• Irish: muid (conjunctive), sinn (disjunctive), muidne, sinne (emphatic)

  Old Irish: sní

• Istriot: nu
• Italian: noi (it), noialtri
• Izon: wó (short form), wónì (regular form), wómịnị̀ (emphatic form)
• Japanese: 私達 (ja) (わたしたち, watashitachi), 我ら (われら, warera), 我々 (ja) (われわれ, wareware), 僕ら (ぼくら, bokura), (mainly vulgar, informal) 俺達 (おれたち, oretachi), (dialect) 俺等 (おいら, oira), うち (ja) (uchi), 僕達 (ぼくたち, bokutachi), 私ども (わたしども, watashidomo)
• Jeju: 우리 (uri)
• Kabuverdianu: anos, nu
• Kalmyk: бид (bid), бидн (bidn)
• Kannada: ನಾವು (kn) (nāvu)
• Kashubian: më
• Kazakh: біз (kk) (bız)
• Khmer: យើង (km) (yəəng)
• Kikuyu: ithuĩ
• Korean: 우리 (ko) (uri), 저희 (ko) (jeohui) (humble)
• Kumyk: биз (biz)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: em (ku), me (ku)

• Kyrgyz: биз (ky) (biz)
• Ladino: mozotros, מוזוטרוס, mozós
• Lao: ພວກເຮົາ (phūak hao), ເຮົາ (hao), ຮາ (hā) (poetic), ຕູ (tū) (colloquial; I, we), ເຜືອ (phư̄a) (archaic), ເຜືອຂ້ອຽ (phư̄ak ʼīa) (archaic)
• Latgalian: mes
• Latin: nōs (la)
• Latvian: mēs (lv)
• Lithuanian: mes (lt)
• Livonian: mēg
• Lombard: nun (lmo)
• Louisiana Creole French: nouzòt, nou, no
• Low German: wi (nds)
• Lü: ᦣᧁ (haw) (inclusive), ᦎᦴ (ṫuu) (exclusive), ᦎᦴᦃᦾᧉ (ṫuuẋoay²) (exclusive, deferential), ᦕᦴᧉᦃᦱᧉᦎᦴ (ṗhuu²ẋaa²ṫuu) (exclusive), ᦎᦴᦃᦱᧉ (ṫuuẋaa²) (exclusive, deferential), ᦣᦱᦎᦴ (haaṫuu) (exclusive)
• Macedonian: ние (nie)
• Manx: mayd, shin, (emphatic) shinyn
• Mauritian Creole: nou
• Mazanderani: اما (amâ)
• Middle English: we
• Middle Korean: 우리 (wuli)
• Mòcheno: biar
• Mon: ပိုဲ (mnw) (poi)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: бид (mn) (bid)

• Nanai: буэ (bue)
• Navajo: nihí du, danihí pl
• Neapolitan: nuje
• Nepali: हामी (ne) (hāmī)
• Ngarrindjeri: ngurn
• Nheengatu: yandé
• Northern Sami: ^{(please verify)} moai du, ^{(please verify)} mii pl
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: vi (no)

  Nynorsk: me (nn), vi

• Occitan: nos (oc), nosautres (oc)
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: мꙑ pl (my), вѣ du (vě)

• Old East Slavic: мꙑ (my)
• Old English: wit (ang) du, wē (ang) pl
• Old Korean: 吾里 (*WUli)
• Old Turkic: 𐰋𐰃𐰕 (b²iz /⁠biz⁠/)
• Oromo: nuyi
• Ossetian: мах (max)
• Papiamentu: nos
• Pashto: موږ (muẓ̌), مونږ (mung)
• Persian: ما (fa) (mâ)
• Piedmontese: noi
• Pipil: tejemet, tehemet
• Polish: my (pl)
• Portuguese: nós (pt), a gente (pt) (informal)
• Prakrit: ,
• Romanian: noi (ro)
• Romansch: nus, nous
• Russian: мы (ru) (my)
• Sardinian: nois, noso, nosu
• Scottish Gaelic: sinn (nonemphatic), sinne (emphatic)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ми̑

  Latin: mȋ

• Sicilian: nuàutri (scn), nui (scn)
• Sidamo: ninke
• Sindhi: اسين
• Sinhalese: අපි (si) (api)
• Slovak: my
• Slovene: mí (sl) m pl, mé (sl) f pl or n pl
• Somali: innaga
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: my

• Southern Altai: бис (bis)
• Southern Sami: mijjieh
• Spanish: nosotros (es) m pl, nosotras (es) f pl
• Sranan Tongo: wi
• Svan: please add this translation if you can
• Swahili: sisi
• Swedish: vi (sv)
• Tajik: мо (tg) (mo)
• Talysh: əmə
• Taos: ną
• Tat: umu
• Tatar: без (tt) (bez)
• Tedim Chin: ei
• Ternate: ngomi
• Thai: เรา (th) (rao)
• Tibetan: ང་ཐསོ (nga thso)
• Tigrinya: ንሕና (nəḥna)
• Tlingit: uháan
• Tocharian B: wene du, wes pl
• Turkish: biz (tr)
• Turkmen: biz (tk)
• Tuvan: бис (bis)
• Udi: йан (jan)
• Ukrainian: ми (uk) (my)
• Urdu: ہم (ur) (ham)
• Uyghur: بىز (ug) (biz)
• Uzbek: biz (uz)
• Venetian: noaltri (vec), noantri, nualtri, naltri
• Volapük: obs (vo)
• Walloon: nos (wa), nozôtes (wa)
• Welsh: ni, (emphatic) ninnau
• West Frisian: wy (fy)
• Wolof: nun
• Yagnobi: мох (mox)
• Yakut: биһиги (bihigi)
• Yámana: xan
• Yiddish: מיר (mir)
• Yoruba: àwa (emphatic), a (regular)
• Zande: ani
• Zazaki: ma (diq)
• Zealandic: oôns, wulder, (unemphatic) me
• Zou: ei
• Zulu: thina
• ǃXóõ: īh, (emphatic) īhʻī, īsî, (emphatic) īsîʻī

exclusive we (the speaker and at least one other person, but excluding the person(s) being addressed)

• Aklanon: kami
• Avar: ниж (niž)
• Aymara: nanaka
• Bikol Central: kami (bcl)
• Bislama: (dual) mitufala du, (trial) mitrifala, (plural) mifala pl
• Chechen: вай (vaj)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 我哋 (yue) (ngo⁵ dei⁶), 我們／我们 (yue) (ngo⁵ mun⁴) (formal)

  Hokkien: 阮 (zh-min-nan) (góan, gún)

  Mandarin: 我們／我们 (zh) (wǒmen) (generic in most dialects, but exclusive in some)

  Teochew: 阮 (ng²)

• Fijian: keirau du, keitou (paucal), keimami pl
• Guaraní: ore
• Hadza: ôbee f, ûbii m
• Hawaiian: māua du, mākou pl
• Hiligaynon: kami
• Hiri Motu: ai
• Indonesian: kami (id)
• Ingush: вай (vaj)
• Laboya: nami
• Malay: kami (ms)
• Malayalam: ഞങ്ങൾ (ml) (ñaṅṅaḷ)
• Manchu: ᠪᡝ (be)
• Mansaka: kami
• Maori: māua du, mātou pl
• Maranao: kami
• Marathi: आम्ही (āmhī)
• Mbyá Guaraní: ore
• Mori Bawah: kami
• Motu: ai
• Niuean: maua du, mautolu pl
• Ojibwe: niinawind
• Old Tupi: oré
• Pijin: mifala
• Quechua: ñuqayku (qu), ñogaiku, nogakuna
• Rapa Nui: maua du, matou pl
• Samoan: please add this translation if you can
• Tagalog: kami (tl)
• Tamil: நாங்கள் (ta) (nāṅkaḷ)
• Tausug: kami
• Telugu: మేము (te) (mēmu)
• Tetum: ami
• Tok Pisin: mipela (tpi), mitupela (tpi) du
• Tokelauan: māua du, mātou pl
• Udihe: бу (bu)
• Vietnamese: chúng tôi (vi)
• Zhuang: dou

inclusive we (the speaker and the person(s) being addressed, and possibly others)

• Aklanon: kita
• Avar: нилъ (nilˢ)
• Aymara: jiwasa (ay), jiwasanaka
• Bikol Central: kita (bcl)
• Bislama: ^{(please verify)} yumi, (dual) ^{(please verify)} yumitupela du, (trial) ^{(please verify)} yumitripela, ^{(please verify)} yumipela pl
• Chechen: тхо (txo)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 你我 (nei⁵ ngo⁵)

  Hokkien: 咱 (zh-min-nan) (lán), 咱人 (zh-min-nan) (lán-lâng)

  Mandarin: 咱們／咱们 (zh) (zánmen), 咱 (zh) (zán) (dialectal), 你我 (zh) (nǐwǒ)

  Teochew: 俺 (nang²)

• Fijian: kedaru du, kedatou (paucal), keda pl
• Guaraní: ñande
• Hadza: onebee f, unibii m
• Hawaiian: kāua du, kākou pl
• Hiligaynon: kita
• Hiri Motu: ita
• Indonesian: kita (id)
• Ingush: тхо (txo)
• Laboya: yitta
• Malay: kita (ms)
• Malayalam: നമ്മൾ (ml) (nammaḷ)
• Manchu: ᠮᡠᠰᡝ (muse)
• Mansaka: kita
• Maori: tāua du, tātou pl
• Maranao: kita
• Marathi: आपण (mr) (āpaṇ)
• Mbyá Guaraní: nhande
• Mori Bawah: kita
• Motu: ita
• Niuean: taua du
• Ojibwe: giinawind
• Old Tupi: îandé
• Pijin: iumi
• Quechua: ñuqanchik (qu)
• Rapa Nui: taua du, tatou pl
• Samoan: tā du, tātou pl
• Tagalog: tayo (tl)
• Tamil: நாம் (ta) (nām), யாம் (ta) (yām)
• Tausug: kita
• Telugu: మనము (te) (manamu)
• Tetum: ita
• Tok Pisin: yumi, yumipela
• Tokelauan: tāua du, tā du, tātou pl
• Udihe: минти (minti)
• Vietnamese: chúng ta (vi)
• Zhuang: raeuz

items to check for clusivity

• Tagalog: kita (tl)
• Turkish: ikimiz (tr) (you and I), üçümüz (we three etc.) [clusivity depends on context?]
• Venetian: noi doi [clusivity depends on context?]

the royal we (referring to the sovereign alone acting in their capacity as monarch)

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 朕 (zam⁶), 寡人 (gwaa² jan⁴)

  Mandarin: 朕 (zh) (zhèn), 寡人 (zh) (guǎrén)

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• French: nous (fr)
• German: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Japanese: 朕 (ja) (chin)
• Korean: 짐 (ko) (jim)
• Malay: beta (ms)
• Polish: my (pl)
• Russian: мы (ru) (my)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: please add this translation if you can
• Tangut: 𗧅 (*ɣjɨr¹), 𘓊𗸦 (*zjɨ̱r¹ dźjwu¹)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: trẫm (vi)

Determiner

we

1. The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person.

   We Canadians like to think of ourselves as different.

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Pronoun

we

2. (Geordie) Us.

   He was a propa gadgie, and always bought we drinks after a long shift.

   He was a great guy, and always bought us drinks after a long shift.

   And what have you done for we since? Nowt!

   And what have you done for us since? Nothing!

Usage notes

Not to be confused with Tyneside us (“me”).

Anagrams

• EW, e͞w, ew, E&W

Abinomn

Nomen

we (dual werom, plural wekon)

1. tree kangaroo

References

• Newguineaworld, citing Donohue and Musgrave, Abinomn nominal number (2007: 365)

Anguthimri

Nomen

we

1. (Mpakwithi) owl

References

• Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 189

Caac

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /we/

Nomen

we

1. water

   kô-ny we

   'my (glass/drink of) water'

References

• A Study of Space in Caac, an Oceanic Language

Cameroon Pidgin

Alternative forms

• wi, wu

Etymology

From English we.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wi/

Pronoun

we

1. we, us 1st person plural subject and object personal pronoun

See also

Cameroonian Pidgin personal pronouns

Subject personal pronouns
		singular	plural
1st person		I	we, wu
2nd person		you	wuna
3rd person		i	dey
Object and topic personal pronouns
1st person		me	we
2nd person		you	wuna
3rd person		yi, -am	dem, -am

Determiner

we

1. our, 1st person plural possessive determiner

See also

Cameroonian Pidgin possessive determiners

		singular	plural
1st person		my	we
2nd person		your	wuna
3rd person		yi	dia

Chuukese

Determiner

we (plural kewe)

1. (possessive subject marker) the (singular)

Dadibi

Nomen

wẹ

1. water

Synonyms

• ạị

References

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67
• Karl James Franklin, Pacific Linguistics (1973, →ISBN, page 130: Polopa so/sou woman, cf. DAR sou female animal but we woman. Several multiple cognate sets appeared in the data. Daribi uses both ạị and wẹ for water; some Polopa speakers gave one term, some another. Both are probably known everywhere.

Dutch

Etymology

See wij.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋə/

• Audio:

  (file)

Pronoun

we (personal pronoun)

1. we

Inflection

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	zich	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
plural
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	zich	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").

Synonyms

• wij

Descendants

• Jersey Dutch: wê

See also

• ons

Fijian

Nomen

we

1. scar

Fwâi

we

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Nomen

we

1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

References

• André-Georges Haudricourt, Françoise Ozanne-Rivierre, Dictionnaire thématique des langues de la région de Hienghène (1982)

Galoli

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiR.

Nomen

we

1. (Talur) water

References

• Bryan Hinton, The languages of Wetar, in Spices from the east: Papers in languages of eastern Indonesia (2000), page 121

Haeke

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /we/

Nomen

we

1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

References

• Jean Claude Rivierre, Sabine Ehrhart, Raymond Diéla, Le Bwatoo: et les dialectes de la région de Koné (2006)

Haveke

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /we/

Nomen

we

1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

References

• Jean Claude Rivierre, Sabine Ehrhart, Raymond Diéla, Le Bwatoo: et les dialectes de la région de Koné (2006)

Hmwaveke

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Nomen

we

1. water

References

• Leenhardt, M. (1946) Langues et dialectes de l'Austro-Mèlanèsie. Cited in: "ʰMoavekɛ" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.

Ido

Etymology

From w +‎ -e.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /we/, /wɛ/

Nomen

we (plural we-i)

1. The name of the Latin script letter W/w.

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)}

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch wee.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /we/, [we]

Nomen

wé

1. The name of the Latin-script letter W/w.

Synonyms

• dabel yu (Standard Malay)

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) huruf; a, be, ce, de, e, ef, ge, ha, i, je, ka, el, em, en, o, pe, ki, er, es, te, u, ve, we, eks, ye, zet

Further reading

• “we” 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.

Jamaican Creole

Etymology 1

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

Conjunction

we

1. that
   • 2023, Yuunivorshal Deklarieshan a Yuuman Raits, United Nations, Aatikl 25:

     Uman we a mada an pikni disorv speshal kier an elp.

     Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance.

     (literally, “Women that are mothers, and children, deserve special care and help.”)

Etymology 2

Derived from English where.

Conjunction

we

1. where
   • 2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Maak 14:14:

     Wen im go iina wan ous, tel di uona fi di ous se, "Di tiicha se fi aks yu se: We di ges ruum de we mi kyan nyam di Paasuova fuud wid mi speshal falara dem?"

     and when he goes into a house, ask the owner where I and my disciples can celebrate the Passover.

Further reading

• we at majstro.com

Japanese

Romanization

we

1. Rōmaji transcription of ゑ
2. Rōmaji transcription of ヱ
3. Rōmaji transcription of うぇ
4. Rōmaji transcription of ウェ

Jawe

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Nomen

we

1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

References

• André-Georges Haudricourt, Françoise Ozanne-Rivierre, Dictionnaire thématique des langues de la région de Hienghène (1982)

Kashubian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛ/
• Rhymes: -ɛ
• Syllabification: we

Preposition

we

1. Alternative form of w.

Kikuyu

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wɛ(ː)/

Pronoun

we (second person singular)

1. you, thou

Related terms

• -aku (“your, thy”)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wɛ/

Pronoun

we (third person singular)

1. s/he

Related terms

• -ake (“his/her”)

See also

Independent personal pronouns in Kikuyu

	singular	plural
1st person	niĩ	ithuĩ
2nd person	we /wɛ(ː)/	inyuĩ
3rd person	we /wɛ/	o

References

• “we” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 561. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Laboya

Nomen

we

1. water

References

• Greenhill, S. J., Blust. R, Gray, R. D. (2008) “The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics”, in Evolutionary Bioinformatics‎^[6], number 4, archived from the original on 18 April 2017, pages 271-283
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*wahiR”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wɛ/

Preposition

we (with locative)

1. Alternative form of w (especially before labial consonants and consonant clusters)

Mandarin

Romanization

we (we⁵／we⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄨㄝ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 喂

Romanization

we

1. Nonstandard spelling of wē.

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Mapudungun

Adjective

we (Raguileo spelling)

1. new, recent

References

• Wixaleyiñ: Mapucezugun-wigkazugun pici hemvlcijka (Wixaleyiñ: Small Mapudungun-Spanish dictionary), Beretta, Marta; Cañumil, Dario; Cañumil, Tulio, 2008.

Masurian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛ/
• Rhymes: -ɛ
• Syllabification: we

Preposition

we

1. Alternative form of w

Middle English

Etymology 1

from Old English wē (“we”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, *wiz (“we”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéy (“we (plural)”). Compare wit (first person dual pronoun).

Alternative forms

• whe, ve, woe, wue, weo, wæ, vue, hwe, huue

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /weː/

Pronoun

we (accusative us, we, genitive oure, possessive determiner oures)

2. First-person plural pronoun: we
3. First-person plural accusative pronoun: us

Descendants

• English: we
  • Jamaican Creole: wi
  • Sranan Tongo: wi
• Scots: we, oo
• Yola: wough, wu, wee, we, w'

See also

Middle English personal pronouns

			nominative	accusative	dative	genitive	possessive
singular	1st-person		I, ich, ik	me		min mi1	min
	2nd-person		þou	þe		þin þi1	þin
	3rd-person	m	he	him hine2	him	his	his hisen
		f	sche, heo	hire heo	hire		hire hires, hiren
		n	hit		hit him2	his, hit	—
dual3	1st-person		wit	unk		unker
	2nd-person		ȝit	inc		inker
plural	1st-person		we	us, ous		oure	oure oures, ouren
	2nd-person4		ye	yow		your	your youres, youren
	3rd-person	inh.	he	hem he2	hem	here	here heres, heren
		bor.	þei	þem, þeim		þeir	þeir þeires, þeiren

¹Used preconsonantally or before h.
²Early or dialectal.
³Dual pronouns are only sporadically found in Early Middle English; after that, they are replaced by plural forms. There are no third-person dual forms in Middle English.
⁴Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

References

• “we, pron.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 10 May 2018.

Etymology 2

From Old English wēa, from Proto-Germanic *waiwô. Doublet of wowe.

Alternative forms

• wee, wea, wæ

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wɛː/, /weː/

Nomen

we (uncountable)

2. woe, grief, sadness

References

• “wẹ̄, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-12-30.

Middle Low German

Pronunciation

• Certainly: Stem vowel: ê⁴
  • (originally) IPA^(key): /weː/

Etymology 1

From Old Saxon hwē, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz.

Pronoun

wê (accusative wēne or wen, dative wēme or wem, genitive wes)

1. (interrogative, masculine, feminine) who

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *wiz.

Pronoun

wê

1. (personal, first person, in the plural, nominative) Alternative form of wî.

Nedebang

Nomen

we

1. blood

References

• Gary Holton and Laura Robinson, The Internal History of the Alor-Pantar language family, in The Alor-Pantar languages: History and Typology, edited by Marian Klamer
• transnewguinea.org (wæ), ASJP 1 (wE i.e. wɛ), ASJP 2 (we)

Nemi

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Nomen

we

1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

References

• André-Georges Haudricourt, Françoise Ozanne-Rivierre, Dictionnaire thématique des langues de la région de Hienghène (1982)

North Ambrym

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Nomen

we

1. water

Further reading

• Darrell T. Tryon, New Hebrides languages: an internal classification (1976)
• George William Grace, The position of the Polynesian languages within the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language family (1959)

Nyelâyu

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Nomen

we

1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

References

• Jim Hollyman, K. J. Hollyman, Études sur les langues du Nord de la Nouvelle-Calédonie (1991), page 81

Old English

Alternative forms

• wœ̄ — Northumbrian
• wæ
• ƿē

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *wiz, *wīz, from Proto-Indo-European *wéy, plural of *éǵh₂.

Cognate with Old Frisian wī (West Frisian wy), Old Saxon wī (Low German wi), Old Dutch wī (Dutch wij), Old High German wir (German wir), Old Norse vér (Danish and Swedish vi), Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍃 (weis).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /weː/

Pronoun

wē (personal pronoun)

1. we (nominative plural of iċ)

Declension

Old English personal pronouns

			nominative	accusative	dative	genitive
singular	first person		iċ	mē, mec	mē	mīn
	second person		þū	þē, þec	þē	þīn
	third person	neuter	hit		him	his
		masculine	hē	hine
		feminine	hēo	hīe	hire
dual	first person		wit	unc, uncit	unc	uncer
	second person		ġit	inc, incit	inc	incer
plural	first person		wē	ūs, ūsiċ	ūs	ūre, ūser
	second person		ġē	ēow, ēowic	ēow	ēower
	third person		hīe		him	heora

Descendants

• Middle English: we, whe, ve, woe, wue, weo, wæ, vue, hwe, huue
  • English: we
    • Jamaican Creole: wi
    • Sranan Tongo: wi
  • Scots: we, oo
  • Yola: wough, wu, wee, we, w'

Old Javanese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /we/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *waʀi, from Proto-Austronesian *waʀi. Doublet of wari.

Nomen

we

1. sun
2. day

Usage notes

Zoetmulder used Old Javanese we as primary entry for sun and day sense, while Old Javanese wwe used for water as primary entry.

Alternative forms

• wai
• way

 

• wwai
• wway
• wwe

 

Derived terms

• tistis we
• titis iṅ way
• tĕṅahwe
• tĕṅahṅwe
• we göṅ
• we tis

 

Descendants

• > Javanese: ꦮꦺ (wé) (inherited)

Etymology 2

Nomen

we

1. Alternative spelling of wwe (“water”)

Further reading

• "we" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

Old Polish

Pronunciation

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

Preposition

we

1. Alternative form of w

Pije

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Nomen

we

1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

References

• André-Georges Haudricourt, Françoise Ozanne-Rivierre, Dictionnaire thématique des langues de la région de Hienghène (1982)

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɛ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛ
• Syllabification: we

Preposition

we

1. Alternative form of w, used mostly before words that begin with consonant clusters.

Scots

Alternative forms

• oo

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English we, from Old English wē (“we”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, *wiz (“we”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéy (“we (plural)”). Cognate with English we.

Pronunciation

• (stressed) IPA^(key): /wi/
  • (Southern Scots) IPA^(key): /wəi/ (sometimes spelled wey)
• (unstressed) IPA^(key): /wə/ (sometimes spelled wa)

Pronoun

we

1. we
2. us

See also

Scots personal pronouns

			personal pronoun			possessive pronoun	possessive determiner
			subjective	objective	reflexive
first person	singular		A, I, Ik	me	mysel	mine, mines	mine, my
	plural		we	us, we	oorsel, oorsels	oors	our
second person	singular	standard (formal)	ye you, yow	ye you, yow	yersel yoursel	yers yours	yer your
		Insular (informal)	thoo	thee	thysel, theesel	thines	thy, thee, thees
	plural		ye, yese you, youse	ye, yese you, youse theer	yesels yoursels	yers yours	yer your
third person	singular	masculine	he, e	him, im	himsel, hissel	his, is	his, is
		feminine	scho, she, shu	her, er	hersel	hers	her, er
		neuter	it hit	it hit	itsel hitsel	its hits	its hits
		genderless, nonspecific (formal)	ane	ane	-	-	ane's
	plural		thay	thaim	thaimsel, thaimsels	thairs	thair

References

• “we, pers. pron.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 24 May 2024, reproduced from William A[lexander] Craigie, A[dam] J[ack] Aitken [et al.], editors, A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue: […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1931–2002, →OCLC.
• “we, pron.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 24 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.

Silesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛ/
• Rhymes: -ɛ
• Syllabification: we

Preposition

we

1. Alternative form of w, used mostly before words that begin with consonant clusters

Slovincian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvə/
• Rhymes: -və
• Syllabification: we

Preposition

we

1. Alternative form of w.

Further reading

• Lorentz, Friedrich (1912) “we”, in Slovinzisches Wörterbuch‎^[7] (in German), volume 2, Saint Petersburg: ОРЯС ИАН, page 1279

Spanish

Etymology

Variant of güey, representing the relaxed pronunciation of the /gw/ sounds and in some cases loss of the /i/ sound.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwe/ [ˈwe]
• Rhymes: -e
• Syllabification: we

Nomen

we m or f by sense (plural wees)

1. (colloquial) dude, guy, buddy

   Synonyms: carnal, cuate, tonto, bato

2. (Mexico, colloquial slang) chump, punk, dumbass, idiot, jerk

Tocharian A

cardinal numbers

Previous:	sas
Next:	tre

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Compare Tocharian B wi.

Numeral

we f

1. two

Related terms

• wu

Tok Pisin

This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

Etymology

From English where.

Adverb

we

1. where
   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 3:9:

     Tasol God, Bikpela i singaut long man na i tok, “Yu stap we?”

     →New International Version translation

Turkmen

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Persian وَ (va).

Conjunction

we

1. and

Etymology 2

Nomen

we (definite accusative [please provide], plural [please provide])

1. The name of the Latin-script letter W/w.

Uyghur

Nomen

we

1. Latin (ULY) transcription of ۋە (we)

Vamale

Nomen

we

1. water

References

• Greenhill, S.J., Blust. R, & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /weː/

Nomen

we

1. Soft mutation of gwe.

Mutation

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

West Makian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /we/

Nomen

we

1. leaf

References

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[8], Pacific linguistics

Yola

Pronoun

we

1. Alternative form of wough
   • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 114, lines 7-9:

     and whilke we canna zei, albeit o' 'Governere,' 'Statesman,' an alike.

     and for which we have no words but of 'Governor,' 'Statesman,' &c.

   • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 114, lines 21-23:

     Ye pace——yea, we mai zei, ye vaste pace whilke bee ee-stent owr ye londe zince th'ast ee-cam,

     The peace——yes, we may say the profound peace—which overspreads the land since your arrival,

   • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 116, lines 6-8:

     Na oure gladès ana whilke we dellt wi' mattoke, an zing t'oure caulès wi plou,

     In our valleys where we were digging with the spade, or as we whistled to our horses in the plough,

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 114

Yuanga

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Nomen

we

1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

References

• Jim Hollyman, K. J. Hollyman, Études sur les langues du Nord de la Nouvelle-Calédonie (1999), page 81

Zaghawa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /we/

Nomen

we

1. head lice

Numeral

we

1. three

References

• Beria-English English-Beria Dictionary [provisional] ADESK, Iriba, Kobe Department, Chad

Zulu

Pronoun

-we

1. Combining stem of wena.