sie
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English sien, from Old English sīgan (“to sink, descend”), from Proto-Germanic *sīganą, *sīhwaną (“to strain, drop”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyk- (“to pour, strain”). Cognate with Dutch zijgen (“to filter”), German seihen (“to strain, sieve”), Icelandic síga (“to lower”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /saɪ/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - Rhymes: -aɪ
Verb
sie (third-person singular simple present sies, present participle sying, simple past and past participle sied)
Related terms
Pronoun
sie (third person singular, gender-neutral, nominative case, accusative sir, possessive adjective hir, possessive noun hirs, reflexive hirself)
- (rare, nonstandard) Gender-neutral subject pronoun, grammatically equivalent to the gendered pronouns he and she
- 1993 September 24, Alex Martelli, “punishment vs ethics (was Re: Discipline my daughters)”, in alt.sex.bondage (Usenet):
- If the child is about the intellectual equal of the parent, sie will eventually start holding hir own in discussions, […]
- 2011 May 19, Ken Wickham, The Other Genders: Androgyne, Genderqueer, Non-Binary Gender Variant, CreateSpace, →ISBN, page 7:
- Sie may feel that hir actual identity of hir gender is supposed to be both/neither male or female, outside of gender, third gender, beyond gender, absence of gender, mixing gender, changing gender, or all genders.
- 2011 August 16, Petra Kuppers, Disability Culture and Community Performance: Find a Strange and Twisted Shape, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, →LCCN, LCC PN1590.H36 K87 2011, page 18:
- When I asked hir about hir preferred self-identification in this scene, sie offered me this language, 'sie sharply performs the hotness of teasing all the audience from the edge-space of androgyny.'
Alternative forms
Synonyms
- see Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns
Finnish
Etymology
Dialectal variant of sinä (through siä); see it and its etymon, Proto-Finnic *cinä, for more.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsie̯/, [ˈs̠ie̞̯]
- Rhymes: -ie
- Syllabification(key): sie
Usage notes
- The siu- stem is used in eastern Finland, not in Lapland.
Synonyms
- sinä (standard Finnish; see it for full list)
German
Pronunciation
- (standard) IPA(key): /ziː/
Audio (file) Audio (file) - Rhymes: -iː
- (colloquially in unstressed position) IPA(key): /zə/
Etymology 1
From Middle High German siu, si, from Old High German siu, si, from Proto-West Germanic *si(j)u, *sī, from Proto-Germanic *sī (see Proto-Germanic *iz). Cognate with Gothic 𐍃𐌹 (si) and Old English sēo (“that one (f.)”).
Pronoun
sie f
- she
- Ist sie noch krank? (
)Audio (file) - Is she still sick?
- Das ist meine Katze. Sie heißt Lili. (
)Audio (file) - This is my cat. Her name is Lili.
- Ich suche Vanessa. Hast du sie gesehen? (
)Audio (file) - I'm looking for Vanessa. Have you seen her?
- it (when the object/article/thing/animal etc., referred to, is feminine [die])
- Scheint die Sonne noch? Nein, sie ist schon untergegangen. (
)Audio (file) - Is the sun still shining? No, it has already gone down.
- Ich suche meine Brieftasche. Hast du sie gesehen? (
)Audio (file) - I'm looking for my wallet. Have you seen it?
- he (when the grammatical gender of the noun being referred to and designating a male person, is feminine [die])
- Die Geisel Richard Meier versuchte, sich zu befreien, aber sie schaffte es nicht.
- The hostage Richard Meier tried to break free, but he didn’t succeed.
- Die Wache Michael Müller beschädigte ihr Gewehr, wofür ihr Vorgesetzter sie bestrafte.
- The guardsman Michael Müller damaged his rifle, and his supervisor punished him for that.
Declension
singular | plural | singular and plural | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st person | 2nd person familiar1 |
3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person familiar1 |
3rd person | 2nd person polite/formal | |||
m | f | n | |||||||
nominative | ich | du -e2 |
er | sie -se2 |
es | wir | ihr | sie -se2 |
Sie Ihr3 |
genitive | meiner mein3 |
deiner dein3 |
seiner sein3 |
ihrer | seiner sein3 |
unser | euer | ihrer | Ihrer Euer3 |
dative | mir | dir | ihm | ihr | ihm | uns | euch | ihnen | Ihnen Euch3 |
accusative | mich | dich | ihn | sie -se2 |
es | uns | euch | sie -se2 |
Sie Euch3 |
1These forms are sometimes capitalized, especially in letters. 2enclitic, colloquial 3archaic
- The genitive case ihrer is more and more rarely used in modern German.
- While the genitive of personal pronouns does express ownership, it must not be confused with possessive pronouns. While possessive pronouns such as ihr are put in front of the noun they relate to and follow the inflection rules of adjectives, the genitive form of personal pronouns has only one form, which is not further inflected. Additionally, personal pronouns in the genitive can be put after the word they relate to.
Etymology 2
From Middle High German sie, si (neuter siu), from Old High German sie (masculine plural), sio (feminine plural), siu (neuter plural).
Usage notes
- In the colloquial speech of some areas, this pronoun is used only enclitically after a verb, as an ending /zə/. E.g. hamse, könnse. Stressed instances are replaced with the demonstrative pronoun die. This reflects a similar development for es/das.
- While the genitive of personal pronouns does express ownership, it must not be confused with possessive pronouns. While possessive pronouns such as ihr are put in front of the noun they relate to and follow the inflection rules of adjectives, the genitive form of a personal pronoun has only one form, which is not further inflected. Additionally, personal pronouns in the genitive can be put after the word they relate to.
Declension
singular | plural | singular and plural | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st person | 2nd person familiar1 |
3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person familiar1 |
3rd person | 2nd person polite/formal | |||
m | f | n | |||||||
nominative | ich | du -e2 |
er | sie -se2 |
es | wir | ihr | sie -se2 |
Sie Ihr3 |
genitive | meiner mein3 |
deiner dein3 |
seiner sein3 |
ihrer | seiner sein3 |
unser | euer | ihrer | Ihrer Euer3 |
dative | mir | dir | ihm | ihr | ihm | uns | euch | ihnen | Ihnen Euch3 |
accusative | mich | dich | ihn | sie -se2 |
es | uns | euch | sie -se2 |
Sie Euch3 |
1These forms are sometimes capitalized, especially in letters. 2enclitic, colloquial 3archaic
Hunsrik
Alternative forms
- sii (Wiesemann spelling system)
Etymology 1
From Old High German siu; cognate with Gothic 𐍃𐌹 (si) and Old English sēo (“that one (f.)”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /siː/
Inflection
nominative | accusative | dative | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Proclitic | Enclitic | str. | unstr. | str. | unstr. | |
1st person singular | ich | -ich | mich
meich |
meer | mer
m'r | |
2nd person singular (informal) |
du | -du, -de
-Dau, -De |
dich | deer | der
d'r/D'r | |
3rd person singular (m.) | er; där | -er | ihn | en | ihm | em |
3rd person singular (f.) | sie; die | -se | sie / ihns | se | eer | re |
3rd person singular (n.) | es; das | 's | es |
-et, -'t |
ihm | em |
1st person plural | meer | mer | uns | |||
2nd person plural | deer
Ehr, Dehr |
der | eich | |||
3rd person plural | sie; die | -se | sie | se | denne |
Etymology 2
From Old High German sie (masculine plural), sio (feminine plural), siu (neuter plural).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /siː/
Inflection
nominative | accusative | dative | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Proclitic | Enclitic | str. | unstr. | str. | unstr. | |
1st person singular | ich | -ich | mich
meich |
meer | mer
m'r | |
2nd person singular (informal) |
du | -du, -de
-Dau, -De |
dich | deer | der
d'r/D'r | |
3rd person singular (m.) | er; där | -er | ihn | en | ihm | em |
3rd person singular (f.) | sie; die | -se | sie / ihns | se | eer | re |
3rd person singular (n.) | es; das | 's | es |
-et, -'t |
ihm | em |
1st person plural | meer | mer | uns | |||
2nd person plural | deer
Ehr, Dehr |
der | eich | |||
3rd person plural | sie; die | -se | sie | se | denne |
Further reading
Ingrian
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *sidek, equivalent to sittoa (“to bind”) + -e. Cognates include Finnish side and Estonian side.
Pronunciation
- (Ala-Laukaa) IPA(key): /ˈsie/, [ˈs̠ie̞]
- (Soikkola) IPA(key): /ˈsie/, [ˈʃie̞]
- Rhymes: -ie
- Hyphenation: si‧e
Declension
Declension of sie (type 6/lähe, t- gradation, gemination) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | sie | sitteet |
genitive | sitteen | sittein |
partitive | siettä | sitteitä |
illative | sitteesse | sitteisse |
inessive | sittees | sitteis |
elative | sitteest | sitteist |
allative | sitteelle | sitteille |
adessive | sitteel | sitteil |
ablative | sitteelt | sitteilt |
translative | sitteeks | sitteiks |
essive | sitteennä, sitteen | sitteinnä, sittein |
exessive1) | sitteent | sitteint |
1) obsolete *) the accusative corresponds with either the genitive (sg) or nominative (pl) **) the comitative is formed by adding the suffix -ka? or -kä? to the genitive. |
References
- Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 523
Iu Mien
Etymology
From Proto-Hmong-Mien *tsʰje (“hungry”). Cognate with White Hmong tshaib and Western Xiangxi Miao [Fenghuang] xib.
Karelian
References
- P. M. Zaykov (1999) Грамматика Карельского языка (фонетика и морфология) [Grammar of the Karelian language (phonetics and morphology)], →ISBN, page 58
Kven
Etymology
From Finnish sinä, from Proto-Finnic *cinä, from Proto-Uralic *tinä.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsie̯/
Declension
Declension of sie
|
See also
References
- Eira Söderholm (2017) Kvensk grammatikk, Tromsø: Cappelen Damm Akademisk, →ISBN, page 276
Middle Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /siə/, /si/
Middle High German
Etymology 1
Old High German sie (masculine plural), sio (feminine plural).
Pronoun
sie m pl or f pl
Inflection
Number | Person | Gender | Nominative | Genitive | Dative | Accusative |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | First | ich | mîn | mir | mich | |
Second | du, dû | dîn | dir | dich | ||
Third | Masculine | ër | sîn | im(e) | in | |
Feminine | siu (sî, si) | ir(e) | ir(e) | sie (sî, si) | ||
Neuter | ëȥ | es | im(e) | ëȥ | ||
Plural | First | wir | unser | uns | unsich, uns | |
Second | ir | iuwer | iu | iuch | ||
Third | Masculine | sie (sî, si) | ir(e) | in | sie (sî, si) | |
Feminine | ||||||
Neuter | siu, (sî, si) | siu (sî, si) |
Descendants
- German: sie
Middle Low German
Pronunciation
- Stem vowel: ê⁴
- IPA(key): /siə/, /siɛ/
Old English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /si͜yː/
Old Saxon
Alternative forms
Declension
Personal pronouns | |||||
Singular | 1. | 2. | 3. m | 3. f | 3. n |
Nominative | ik | thū | hē | siu | it |
Accusative | mī, me, mik | thī, thik | ina | sia | |
Dative | mī | thī | imu | iru | it |
Genitive | mīn | thīn | is | ira | is |
Dual | 1. | 2. | - | - | - |
Nominative | wit | git | - | - | - |
Accusative | unk | ink | - | - | - |
Dative | |||||
Genitive | unkero, unka | - | - | - | |
Plural | 1. | 2. | 3. m | 3. f | 3. n |
Nominative | wī, we | gī, ge | sia | sia | siu |
Accusative | ūs, unsik | eu, iu, iuu | |||
Dative | ūs | im | |||
Genitive | ūser | euwar, iuwer, iuwar, iuwero, iuwera | iro |
Descendants
- Low German: se
Pennsylvania German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /siː/
Declension
singular | plural | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st person | 2nd person familiar |
2nd person polite/formal |
3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | |||
m | f | n | |||||||
nominative | ich | du de1 |
dihr der1 Sie |
er | sie se1 |
es | mir mer1 |
dihr der1 |
sie |
dative | mir mer1 |
dir der1 |
eich Ihne Ne1 |
ihm em1 |
ihre re1 |
ihm em1 |
uns | eich | ihne ne1 |
accusative | mich | dich | eich Sie |
ihn en1 |
sie se1 |
es | sie |
1unstressed
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /siː/
Declension
singular | plural | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st person | 2nd person familiar |
2nd person polite/formal |
3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | |||
m | f | n | |||||||
nominative | ich | du de1 |
dihr der1 Sie |
er | sie se1 |
es | mir mer1 |
dihr der1 |
sie |
dative | mir mer1 |
dir der1 |
eich Ihne Ne1 |
ihm em1 |
ihre re1 |
ihm em1 |
uns | eich | ihne ne1 |
accusative | mich | dich | eich Sie |
ihn en1 |
sie se1 |
es | sie |
1unstressed
Plautdietsch
Romanian
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsi.e/
Pronoun
sie
Derived terms
Related terms
- își (unstressed form)
Silesian
Etymology
Inherited from Old Polish się.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɕɛ/
- Rhymes: -ɛ
- Syllabification: sie
Declension
Alternative forms
Particle
sie
- creates the passive voice
- creates the impersonal voice
- expresses that the action is done without restriction, freely