hun
Translingual
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hʌn/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - Rhymes: -ʌn
Noun
hun (plural huns)
Etymology 2
Short for Hungarian partridge.
Alemannic German
Etymology
From Middle High German hunt, from Old High German hunt, from Proto-Germanic *hundaz. Cognate with German Hund, Dutch hond, English hound, Icelandic hundur.
References
- Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien
Breton
Catalan
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin Hunni.
Related terms
- húnnic
Further reading
- “hun” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “hun”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “hun” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
Danish
Etymology
From Old Norse hón (“she”), from Proto-Norse *ᚺᚨᚾᚢ (*hanu), the feminine form, with u-umlaut, of *ᚺᚨᚾᚨᛉ (*hanaʀ) (= Danish han (“he”), Old Norse hann).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [hun]
See also
Number | Person | Type | Nominative | Oblique | Possessive | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
common | neuter | plural | |||||
Singular | First | – | jeg | mig | min | mit | mine |
Second | modern / informal | du | dig | din | dit | dine | |
formal | De | Dem | Deres | ||||
Third | masculine (person) | han | ham | hans | |||
feminine (person) | hun | hende | hendes | ||||
common(noun) | den | dens | |||||
neuter(noun) | det | dets | |||||
reflexive | – | sig | sin | sit | sine | ||
Plural | First | modern | vi | os | vores | ||
archaic / formal | vor | vort | vore | ||||
Second | – | I | jer | jeres | |||
Third | – | de | dem | deres | |||
reflexive | – | sig |
References
- “hun,2” in Den Danske Ordbog
Declension
References
- “hun,1” in Den Danske Ordbog
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɦʏn/
audio (file) - Hyphenation: hun
- Rhymes: -ʏn
Pronoun
hun (personal)
Usage notes
The difference between hen (as direct object) and hun (as indirect object) does not stem from actual language usage, but was created artificially by the prescriptive grammarian Christiaen van Heule in the 17th century in an attempt to differentiate between the accusative (direct object) and dative case (indirect object), a distinction that was then commonly made in the definite article and certain pronouns, but not the personal pronouns.
In practice, hen and hun have been used interchangeably in Modern Dutch since the language has lost its grammatical case system. Many native speakers are not aware or have trouble remembering when to use one over the other, in part because of the rule's artificiality, in part because the distinction in form between the accusative and dative case has not been preserved anywhere else in the language. As a consequence, it is common to hear sentences where they are used in the exactly opposite way from van Heule's rule; for example:
- Hij heeft hun verraden. (“He has betrayed them.”)
- Ze zijn met hun uitgegaan. (“They have gone out with them.”)
- Ik heb het hen gegeven. (“I have given it to them.”)
When the pronoun is unstressed, the problem can be circumvented by using the reduced form ze:
- Hij heeft ze verraden.
- Ze zijn met ze uitgegaan.
- Ik heb het ze gegeven.
For more information, see the article in the Dutch Wikipedia.
Pronoun
hun (personal) (dependent possessive) (independent possessive hunne)
- The third-person plural possessive pronoun: their.
- Ken je hun broer?
- Do you know their brother?
Inflection
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, and in a similar vein to "you lot" or "you guys" in English, it is common to use gijlui ("you people") or gijlieden ("you people") or one of their contracted variants, and their corresponding objects, possessives and reflexives, in the plural. |
Etymology 2
Likely a replacement of or based on dialectal Dutch hullie or a variant thereof, which is a contraction of hunlieden or hunlui, a compound of hun ("them") + lieden or lui (both meaning "men, people"), which then translates roughly into "them-people". Possibly reinfluenced by or confused with the possessive hun. This etymology explains why usage of hun occurs only when referring to people, never to objects. It's similar to dialectal zun often used colloquially in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which is a contraction of ze ("they") + hun ("them"), and which is also only used for people. Also compare Afrikaans hulle, which also stems from hunlui, but is now used also for things. For more information, see the article in the Dutch Wikipedia.
Pronoun
hun (personal)
- (proscribed, regiolectal, Netherlands) The nominative case of the third-person plural personal pronoun: they (only referring to people).
Hokkien
For pronunciation and definitions of hun – see 分 (“to divide; to separate; to distribute; to allocate; to assign; to allot; etc.”). (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 分). |
Hungarian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈhun]
- Rhymes: -un
Declension
Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | hun | hunok |
accusative | hunt | hunokat |
dative | hunnak | hunoknak |
instrumental | hunnal | hunokkal |
causal-final | hunért | hunokért |
translative | hunná | hunokká |
terminative | hunig | hunokig |
essive-formal | hunként | hunokként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | hunban | hunokban |
superessive | hunon | hunokon |
adessive | hunnál | hunoknál |
illative | hunba | hunokba |
sublative | hunra | hunokra |
allative | hunhoz | hunokhoz |
elative | hunból | hunokból |
delative | hunról | hunokról |
ablative | huntól | hunoktól |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
huné | hunoké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
hunéi | hunokéi |
Declension
Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | hun | hunok |
accusative | hunt | hunokat |
dative | hunnak | hunoknak |
instrumental | hunnal | hunokkal |
causal-final | hunért | hunokért |
translative | hunná | hunokká |
terminative | hunig | hunokig |
essive-formal | hunként | hunokként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | hunban | hunokban |
superessive | hunon | hunokon |
adessive | hunnál | hunoknál |
illative | hunba | hunokba |
sublative | hunra | hunokra |
allative | hunhoz | hunokhoz |
elative | hunból | hunokból |
delative | hunról | hunokról |
ablative | huntól | hunoktól |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
huné | hunoké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
hunéi | hunokéi |
Possessive forms of hun | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | hunom | hunjaim |
2nd person sing. | hunod | hunjaid |
3rd person sing. | hunja | hunjai |
1st person plural | hununk | hunjaink |
2nd person plural | hunotok | hunjaitok |
3rd person plural | hunjuk | hunjaik |
Etymology 2
From hol.
Derived terms
- sehun (dialectal)
References
- hun in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN. (See also its 2nd edition.)
- hun in Tótfalusi, István. Magyar etimológiai nagyszótár (’Hungarian Comprehensive Dictionary of Etymology’). Budapest: Arcanum Adatbázis, 2001; Arcanum DVD Könyvtár →ISBN
Further reading
- (Hun, Hunnic): hun in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
- (where [dialectal]): hun in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
Label
Malay
Mandarin
Romanization
hun (hun5/hun0, Zhuyin ˙ㄏㄨㄣ)
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.
Middle English
Mizo
North Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian hond. Cognates include Mooring North Frisian hönj and West Frisian hân.
Norwegian Bokmål
Derived terms
- hunkjønn / hunnkjønn
See also
Number | Person | Type | Nominative | Oblique | Possessive | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
feminine | masculine | neuter | plural | |||||
Singular | First | – | jeg | meg | mi | min | mitt | mine |
Second | general | du | deg | di | din | ditt | dine | |
formal (rare) | De | Dem | Deres | |||||
Third | feminine (person) | hun | henne | hennes | ||||
masculine (person) | han | ham / han | hans | |||||
feminine (noun) | den | dens | ||||||
masculine (noun) | ||||||||
neuter (noun) | det | dets | ||||||
reflexive | – | seg | si | sin | sitt | sine | ||
Plural | First | – | vi | oss | vår | vårt | våre | |
Second | general | dere | deres | |||||
formal (very rare) | De | Dem | Deres | |||||
Third | general | de | dem | deres | ||||
reflexive | – | seg | si | sin | sitt | sine |
Alternative forms
References
- “hun” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Noun
hun m (definite singular hunen, indefinite plural hunar, definite plural hunane)
Noun
hun m (definite singular hunen, indefinite plural hunar, definite plural hunane)
- back part of a log that might still be used as a plank
Etymology 3
From Old Norse húnar, húnir pl.
Noun
hun m (definite singular hunen, indefinite plural hunar, definite plural hunane)
- a Hun (a member of a nomadic tribe from Central Asia)
- Synonym: hunar
References
- “hun” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
- Language Council of Norway, Spelling decisions since 2012 (in Norwegian, retrieved 12.22.20)
- “hun”, in Norsk Ordbok: ordbok over det norske folkemålet og det nynorske skriftmålet, Oslo: Samlaget, 1950-2016
Old Galician-Portuguese
Romanian
Tetum
Etymology
From *pun, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *puqun, compare Malay pohon.
Vietnamese
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [hun˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [hun˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [hʊwŋ͡m˧˧]
Etymology 1
Typical Central and Southern Vietnamese retention of medial *u, which often developed into ‹ô› (or ‹o›) in Northern dialects; later strengthened with the use of "slang" to avoid awkward situations. Compare rún vs. rốn, thúi vs. thối.
Usage notes
- The Northern form with [o] is pretty much never used in daily speech by speakers of Central and Southern dialects, although they might choose to use it in formal writing.
Etymology 2
Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 熏 (SV: huân).
Verb
- to smoke (to preserve or prepare (food) for consumption by treating with smoke)
Anagrams
Welsh
Pronunciation
- (North Wales) IPA(key): /hɨːn/
- (South Wales) IPA(key): /hiːn/
Etymology 1
Lexicalised h-prothesised form of un.
Pronoun
hun
Usage notes
Personal forms
Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|
First person | fy hun | ein hun |
Second person | dy hun | eich hun |
Third person | ei hun m ei hun f |
eu hun |
Numeral
hun
- h-prothesized form of un
- ei hun ei hun ― her own (one)
- (Compare: ei un ei hun ― his own (one))
Mutation
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | h-prothesis |
un | unchanged | unchanged | hun |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Etymology 2
From Proto-Brythonic *hʉn, from Proto-Celtic *sounos, from Proto-Indo-European *swépnos (“sleep”).
References
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “hun”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
Yucatec Maya
Etymology
From Proto-Mayan *juun.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈhun]
References
- Beltrán de Santa Rosa María, Pedro (1746) Arte de el idioma maya reducido a succintas reglas, y semilexicon yucateco (in Spanish), Mexico: Por la Biuda de D. Joseph Bernardo de Hogal, page 152: “Hun. Vno. 1.”
- Montgomery, John (2004) Maya-English, English-Maya (Yucatec) Dictionary & Phrasebook, New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., →ISBN, pages 58, 203