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

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

Pronoun

zich (Sette Comuni)

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

See also
Cimbrian personal pronouns
nominative accusative dative
1st person singular ichmichmiar
2nd person singular familiar dudichdiar
polite iartachòich
3rd person singular m èar, arin, eniime
f zi, ze iar
n es, ises, 'siime
1st person plural bar,
bandare		zichizàndarn
2nd person plural iart,
iartàndare, artàndare		òich, achogàndarn
3rd person plural ze, zòi,
zandare		zichinnàndarn

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. (by extension, reflexive) 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. (by extension, formal, reflexive) 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].”)

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, 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.

Derived terms
See also: Category:Dutch reflexive verbs
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