em

See also: Appendix:Variations of "em"

Languages (30)

English

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Bislama • Catalan • Central Franconian • Czech • Daur • Indonesian • Latin • Latvian • Lower Sorbian • Luxembourgish • Marshallese • Middle English • Northern Kurdish • Northern Ohlone • Old Frisian • Old Norse • Pennsylvania German • Portuguese • Salar • Scots • Serbo-Croatian • Swedish • Tagalog • Tok Pisin • Torres Strait Creole • Veps • Vietnamese • Welsh • Yola

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Page categories

English

Etymology 1

Attested since 1808. In typography, the em is named after the em quadrat (later called em quad), from m quadrat, a metal type used in letterpress typesetting, which is as wide as the point size of the font.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ĕm, IPA^(key): /ˈɛm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛm

Noun

em (plural ems)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter M/m.

   The ems and ens at the beginnings and ends.

   • 2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170:

     It said, in a whispering, buzzing voice, "Gee-you-ess-ess-ay-dash-em-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-em-eye-en-gee-oh-dash-pee-eye-pee-dash-pee-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-pee-eye-en-gee-oh."

2. (typography) A unit of measurement equal to the height of the type in use.

   Synonyms: quad, em quad, mutton, mut

Derived terms

• 3-em space
• 3-to-the-em space
• 5-em space
• 5-to-the-em space
• emcee
• em dash
• em quad
• em rule
• em space
• oh em gee
• rem

 

Translations

name of the letter M, m

• Arabic: إِم m (ʔem)
• Asturian: eme (ast)
• Bengali: এম (bn) (em)
• Catalan: ema (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: (English letter names are called as in English, no other standard Mandarin name exists)

• Dutch: em (nl)
• Esperanto: mo (eo)
• Finnish: äm (fi), ämmä (fi)
• French: emme (fr) m
• Galician: eme (gl) m
• Greek: έμ (ém)
• Hawaiian: mū
• Hindi: एम् (em), एम (hi) (em)
• Ido: me (io)
• Irish: eim, muin
• Japanese: エム (ja) (emu)
• Korean: 엠 (em)
• Latin: em (la)
• Malay: em
• Marathi: एम (em)
• Occitan: èma f
• Persian: ام (fa) (em)
• Portuguese: eme (pt) m
• Russian: эм (ru) n (em)
• Spanish: eme (es) f
• Tagalog: em
• Thai: เอ็ม (th) (em)
• Turkish: me (tr)
• Ukrainian: ем (em)
• Vietnamese: em-mờ (vi), em (vi), mờ (vi)
• Welsh: em f

typographic unit

• Finnish: neliö (fi), em (fi)
• French: cadratin (fr) m
• Hungarian: betűnégyzet, kvirt (hu)
• Spanish: cuadratín m
• Swedish: fyrkant (sv), fyrkantsvärde, Åp-höjd

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} emme (it) m or f

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) letter; a, bee, cee, dee, e, ef, gee, aitch, i, jay, kay, el, em, en, o, pee, cue, ar, ess, tee, u, vee, double-u, ex, wye, zee / zed

Etymology 2

Pronoun

em

1. Alternative form of 'em

Etymology 3

Coined by Christine M. Elverson by removing the "th" from them, perhaps influenced by the pre-existing em/'em, now often perceived as apheretic forms of them (though originally unrelated).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛm/

Pronoun

em (third-person singular, gender-neutral, objective case, reflexive emself, possessive adjective eir, possessive pronoun eirs)

1. (rare, nonstandard) A gender-neutral third-person singular object pronoun, the objective case of ey or e, equivalent to the singular them and coordinate with him and her.
   • 1986 April 1, Michael Spivak, The Joy of TeX: A Gourmet Guide to Typesetting with the AMS-TeX macro package‎^[1], Providence: American Mathematical Society, →ISBN, →LCCN, LCC Z253.4.T47 S673 1986, page 68:

     If the author uses such notation, it should be up to Em to indicate Eir intentions clearly, but there’s no harm checking first.

   • 1997, Steven Shaviro, Doom Patrols : A Theoretical Fiction About Postmodernism, London: Serpent's Tail, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 138:

     I may become quite intimate with someone, spend hours with em every night, and yet not have the slightest idea what eir voice sounds like, or what eir RL body looks, feels, and smells like.

   • 2000, Jane Love, “Ethics, Plugged and Unplugged: The Pegagogy of Disorderly Conduct”, in James A. Inman, Donna N. Sewell, editors, Taking flight with OWLs: Examining Electronic Writing Center Work‎^[2], Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, LCC PE1414.T24 1999, page 193:

     E invites em to consider how ey represent emselves^[sic], and in so doing, e focuses eir attention on the ethics that make human relations possible.

   • 2011 March 15, RJ Edwards, “89: New Friend”, in Riot Nrrd‎^[3], retrieved 2012-10-06:

     And ultimately: I think my readers are mature enough that knowing eir assigned gender is not going to give them an “excuse” to misgender em.

   • 2023, Aimee Ogden, “A Half-Remembered World”, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, vol. 145, no. 1-2, whole no. 768 (July/August 2023), pages 146-202

     “You idiot girl! Are you childsick?” She grabbed Asu’s wrist; Asu made no effort to twist away. “Sand and soil, tell me you’re not pregnant. Is it that—what’s eir name? Aeran? Have you lain with em? Tell me!”

Synonyms

• see Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns

Derived terms

• emself

 

Etymology 4

Compare um.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ(ː)m/

Interjection

em

1. (Scotland, Ireland) a form of hesitant speech, or an expression of uncertainty; um; umm; erm

   She was abused by, em... David, I think. That was his name, he's a real em... what's the word, narcissist. You should really stay away from him.

Etymology 5

Noun

em (plural ems)

1. The name of the unspecified script letter М / м.

Anagrams

• -me-, /me, M&E, ME, Me, Me., me

Bislama

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈem/
• Hyphenation: em

Pronoun

em

1. Alternative form of hem (“he, she”)

See also

Bislama personal pronouns

		singular	dual	trial	plural
1st person	exclusive	mi	mitufala	mitrifala	mifala
	inclusive	—	yumitu, yumitufala	yumitrifala	yumi
2nd person		yu	yutufala	yutrifala	yufala
3rd person	neutral	hem, em	tufala	trifala	ol1), olgeta
	collective	—	tugeta	trigeta	—
1) Used only as an object of a preposition or a verb. *) Some speakers may not distinguish various plurality categories, using only one or two plural pronouns. **) The collective pronouns specify that the action is performed by all subjects together, rather than on their own.

References

• Terry Crowley (2004) Bislama Reference Grammar, Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi press, →ISBN, page 14

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin mē, from Proto-Indo-European *(e)me-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [əm]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [em]

Pronoun

em (proclitic, contracted m', enclitic me, contracted enclitic 'm)

1. me (direct or indirect object)

Usage notes

• em is the reinforced (reforçada) form of the pronoun. It is used before verbs beginning with a consonant.

  Em dic… ― My name is… (literally, “I call myself…”)

Declension

Catalan personal pronouns and clitics

	strong/subject	weak (direct object)		weak (indirect object)		possessive
singular		proclitic	enclitic	proclitic	enclitic
1st person	jo, mi3	em, m’	-me, ’m	em, m’	-me, ’m	meu
1st person majestic1	nós	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
2nd person	tu	et, t’	-te, ’t	et, t’	-te, ’t	teu
2nd person formal1	vós	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
2nd person very formal2	vostè	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
3rd person masculine	ell	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
3rd person feminine	ella	la, l’4	-la	li	-li	seu
3rd person neuter		ho	-ho	li	-li	seu
3rd person reflexive	si	es, s’	-se, ’s	es, s’	-se, ’s	seu
plural
1st person	nosaltres	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
2nd person	vosaltres	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
2nd person formal2	vostès	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person masculine	ells	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person feminine	elles	les	-les	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person reflexive	si	es, s’	-se, ’s	es, s’	-se, ’s	seu
adverbial
ablative/genitive		en, n’	-ne, ’n
locative		hi	-hi
1) Behaves grammatically as plural. 2) Behaves grammatically as third person.			3) Only as object of a preposition. 4) Not before unstressed (h)i-, (h)u-.

Central Franconian

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əm/

Pronoun

em

1. (most dialects) Reduced form of im (“to him”).

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əm/

Article

em

1. (most dialects) Reduced form of däm (“to the”).

Usage notes

• The normal reduced form is dem (also spelt d'm). The further reduction is used especially after prepositions.

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /em/

Contraction

em

1. (most dialects) Contraction of en däm (“in the”).

Alternative forms

• om, öm (Eifel)

Etymology 4

From Old High German umbi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /em/

Preposition

em (+ accusative)

1. (Moselle Franconian) around

Alternative forms

• öm (Ripuarian)

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛm]

Noun

em n (indeclinable)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter M/m.

Further reading

• “em”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “em”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Daur

Etymology

Akin to Mongolian эм (em).

Noun

em

1. medicine

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch em.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛm/, [ɛm]

Noun

èm

1. The name of the Latin-script letter M/m.

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

• “em” 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.

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /em/, [ɛ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /em/, [ɛm]

Etymology 1

Noun

em f (indeclinable)

1. The name of the letter M.

Usage notes

• Multiple Latin names for the letter M, m have been suggested. The most common is em or a syllabic m, although there is some evidence which also supports, as names for the letter, mē, əm, mə, and even (in the fourth- or fifth-century first Antinoë papyrus, which gives Greek transliterations of the Latin names of the Roman alphabet’s letters) ιμμε (imme).

Coordinate terms

• (Latin-script letter names) littera; ā, bē, cē, dē, ē, ef, gē, hā / *acca, ī, kā, el, em, en, ō, pē, kū, er, es, tē, ū, ix / īx / ex, ȳ / ī graeca / ȳpsīlon, zēta

Etymology 2

Fossilised (2nd person singular) imperative of emō.

Interjection

em

1. of wonder or emphasis, there!

References

• "em", in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "em", in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• em in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[4], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to sully one's fair fame: vitae splendori(em) maculas(is) aspergere
    
• Arthur E. Gordon, The Letter Names of the Latin Alphabet (University of California Press, 1973; volume 9 of University of California Publications: Classical Studies), especially pages 30–31, 42–44, and 63
• Hannah Rosén (1999). Latine loqui: trends and directions in the crystallization of classical Latin. München: Fink. p. 47

Latvian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɛm]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

em m (invariable)

1. The Latvian name of the Latin script letter M/m.

See also

• Latvian letter names:

  a (A), garais ā (Ā), bē (B), cē (C), čē (Č), dē (D), e (E), garais ē (Ē), ef (F), gā (G), ģē (Ģ), hā (H), i (I), garais ī (Ī), jē (J), kā (K), ķē (Ķ), el (L), eļ (Ļ), em (M), en (N), eņ (Ņ), o (O), pē (P), er (R), es (S), eš (Š), tē (T), u (U), garais ū (Ū), vē (V), zē (Z), žē (Ž)

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛm/

Noun

em m inan

1. The name of the Latin-script letter m/M.

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) a, bej, cej, čet, ćej, dej, ej, ět, ef, gej, ha, cha, i, jot, ka, eł, el, em, en, ejn, o, pej, er, ejŕ, es, eš, śej, tej, u, wej, y, zet, žet, źej

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /em/, [əm]

Pronoun

em

1. Reduced form of him

Declension

Luxembourgish personal pronouns

		nominative		accusative		dative		reflexive
		str.	unstr.	str.	unstr.	str.	unstr.
1st person singular		ech	—	mech	—	mir	mer	like dat. and acc.
2nd person singular (informal)		du	de	dech	—	dir	der	like dat. and acc.
2nd person singular (formal)		Dir	Der	Iech	Iech [əɕ]	Iech	Iech [əɕ]	Iech
3rd person singular	m	hien	en	hien	en	him	em	sech
	f	si	se	si	se	hir	er	sech
	n	hatt	et ('t)	hatt	et ('t)	him	em	sech
1st person plural		mir	mer	eis (ons)	—	eis (ons)	—	eis (ons)
2nd person plural		dir	der	iech	iech [əɕ]	iech	iech [əɕ]	iech
3rd person plural		si	se	si	se	hinnen	en	sech

Marshallese

Alternative forms

• im
• -m

Pronunciation

• (phonetic) IPA^(key): [ɛmʲ]
• (phonemic) IPA^(key): /jɛmʲ/
• Bender phonemes: {yem}

Conjunction

em

1. and

References

• Marshallese–English Online Dictionary

Middle English

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English ēam (“maternal uncle”), from Proto-West Germanic *auhaim, from Proto-Germanic *awahaimaz.

Alternative forms

• eam, eem, eeme, eme, heme, nem
• æem, æm, eom, heam, yem (Early Middle English)
• eame, eyme (Late Middle English)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛːm/
• Rhymes: -ɛːm

Noun

em (plural emes)

1. uncle (brother of one's parents)

   Synonym: uncle

2. (rare) progenitor, forefather
3. (rare) nephew (son of one's sibling)

Descendants

• English: eam, eme (dialectal)
• Scots: eme

References

• “ēm, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Pronoun

em

1. Alternative form of hem (“them”)

Etymology 3

Verb

em

1. Alternative form of am

Northern Kurdish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛm/
• Rhymes: -ɛm

Pronoun

em (oblique me)

1. we; us (first-person plural personal pronoun)

See also

Kurmanji Kurdish personal pronouns

	singular	plural
1st person	ez (æz)	em (æm)
2nd person	tu (tu)	hûn (huːn)
3rd person	ew (æw)	ew (æw)

Northern Ohlone

Etymology

Compare Southern Ohlone men- (“your”).

Pronoun

em

1. your (second-person, singular, possesive pronoun)

References

• María de los Angeles Colós, José Guzman, and John Peabody Harrington (1930s) Chochenyo Field Notes (Survey of California and Other Indian Langauges)‎^[5], Unpublished

Old Frisian

Alternative forms

• ām, āme

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *auhaim (“maternal uncle”).

Noun

ēm m

1. an uncle, mother's brother

Inflection

Declension of ēm (masculine a-stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	ēm	ēmar, ēma
genitive	ēmes	ēma
dative	ēme	ēmum, ēmem
accusative	ēm	ēmar, ēma

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *immi ("am"; a form of the verb *wesaną (“to be; dwell”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésmi (“I am, I exist”). Cognate with English am, Gothic 𐌹𐌼 (im, “am”), Latin sum (“am”), Ancient Greek εἰμί (eimí), Albanian jam (“I am”), Sanskrit अस्मि (ásmi), Latvian esmu (“(I) am”), esam (“we are”).

Verb

em

1. I am, first-person of vera (meaning "to be")

Derived terms

• emk

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

Compare German dem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛm/

Article

em (definite)

1. dative masculine/neuter singular of der: the

Declension

Pennsylvania German definite articles
	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominative	der	die	es	die
Dative	dem or em	der	dem or em	de
Accusative	der or den	die	es	die

Pronoun

em

1. dative of er: him, to him
2. dative of es: it, to it

Declension

Pennsylvania German personal pronouns

	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   

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese en, from Latin in (“in”), from Proto-Italic *en, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én (“in”). Doublet of in.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): (careful pronunciation) /ẽj̃/, (natural pronunciation) /ĩ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ̃j̃/

Preposition

em

2. in; inside; within (contained by)

   Estou em minha casa.

   I’m in my house.

   Encontraram umas moedas no baú.

   They found some coins inside the chest.

4. on; on top of (located just above the surface of)

   O livro está na mesa.

   The book is on the table.

   • 2003, J. K. Rowling, Lia Wyler, Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix, Rocco, page 417:

     Então o sorriso reapareceu em seu rosto [...]

     Then the smile reappeared on his face [...]

6. in; at (located in a location)

   Os soldados estão na Crimeia.

   The soldiers are in Crimea.

8. in (part of; a member of)

   Só três jogadores ainda estão nesta equipa/e.

   Only three players are still in this team.

10. in; into; inside (towards the inside of)

    A água entrou em várias casas.

    The water got into various houses.

12. indicates the target of an action

    Quero dar um soco na tua cara.

    I want to punch you in the face.

    Mete um processo neles.

    Shove a lawsuit down their throats.

14. in (pertaining to the particular thing)

    Ela não passou em inglês.

    She didn’t pass in English.

16. in (immediately after a period of time)

    Entraremos em contato com você em duas semanas.

    We will get in contact with you in two weeks.

18. in; during (within a period of time)

    O jornal será publicado no dia cinco.

    The newspaper will be published on the fifth.

20. at; in (in a state of)

    Estamos em perigo!

    We’re in danger!

22. in (indicates means, medium, format, genre or instrumentality)

    Fomos pagos em moeda estrangeira.

    We were paid in foreign currency.

24. in (indicates a language, script, tone etc. of writing, speaking etc.)

    Li um livro em holandês.

    I read a book in Dutch.

26. in (wearing)

    A moça em preto.

    The lady in black.

28. (slang) indicates that the object deserves a given punishment

    Cadeia nele!

    He should be in jail!

    (literally, “jail on him!”)

Usage notes

When followed by an article, a pronoun, a demonstrative pronoun or adjective, em is combined with the next word to give the following combined forms:

Contractions of em

Em + article	Combined form
em + o	no
em + a	na
em + os	nos
em + as	nas
em + um	num
em + uma	numa
em + uns	nuns
em + umas	numas

Em + pronoun	Combined form
em + ela	nela
em + elas	nelas
em + ele	nele
em + eles	neles

Em + dem. pronoun	Combined form
em + aquela	naquela
em + aquelas	naquelas
em + aquele	naquele
em + aqueles	naqueles
em + aquilo	naquilo
em + esse	nesse
em + essa	nessa
em + esses	nesses
em + essas	nessas
em + este	neste
em + esta	nesta
em + estes	nestes
em + estas	nestas
em + isso	nisso
em + isto	nisto
em + outra	noutra
em + outras	noutras
em + outro	noutro
em + outros	noutros

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:em.

Synonyms

• (inside): dentro de
• (on): sobre, em cima de
• (part of): parte de
• (into): para dentro de
• (immediately after): logo depois/após
• (during): consoante, durante
• (wearing): de, vestido de, vestindo

See also

• n'

Salar

Etymology

Cognate with Turkmen, Turkish em, Kyrgyz, Tuvan, Southern Altai эм (em), Kazakh ем (em), etc.

Noun

em

1. medicine

   Antonym: ağu

References

• Tenishev, Edhem (1976) “em”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, page 324
• 张, 进锋 (Ayso Cañ Cinfen) (2008) 乌璐别格 (Ulubeğ), 鄭初陽 (Çuyañ Yebey oğlı Ceñ), editors, Salar İbret Sözler 撒拉尔谚语 [Salar Proverbs]‎^[6], China Salar Youth League, page 2

Scots

Verb

em

1. (Southern Scots) emphatic first-person singular simple present of ti be

See also

• er
• es
• im

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• hem

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish هم (hem), from Persian هم (ham).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /em/

Conjunction

em … em … (Cyrillic spelling ем … ем …)

1. not only … but also

   Em me bio em još da mu kažem hvala. ― Not only did he beat me up but he also wanted me to tell him thanks.

Swedish

Alternative forms

• em.
• e.m.
• e. m.

Noun

em

1. pm (indicating hours in the afternoon); abbreviation of eftermiddagen.

Usage notes

• Since the 1960s, Sweden primarily uses the 24 hour clock, making am/pm abbreviations unnecessary and less common

Antonyms

• fm

Tagalog

Etymology

From English em, the English name of the letter M/m.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔem/ [ʔɛm]
• Rhymes: -em
• Syllabification: em

Noun

em (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜋ᜔)

1. the name of the Latin-script letter M/m, in the Filipino alphabet

   Synonyms: (in the Abakada alphabet) ma, (in the Abecedario) eme

Derived terms

• gatlang em

 

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) titik; ey, bi, si, di, i, ef, dyi, eyts, ay, dyey, key, el, em, en, enye, en dyi, o, pi, kyu, ar, es, ti, yu, vi, dobolyu, eks, way, zi

Further reading

• “em”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English him.

Pronoun

em

1. The third person singular pronoun refers to a person or thing other than the speaker or the person being spoken to. Pronouns in Tok Pisin are not inflected for different cases.
   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 1:15:

     God i mekim kamap tupela bikpela lait. Bikpela em san bilong givim lait long de, na liklik em mun bilong givim lait long nait. Na God i mekim kamap ol sta tu.

     →New International Version translation

Derived terms

• em tasol

Related terms

• -im

See also

Tok Pisin personal pronouns

			singular	dual	trial	plural
1st person			mi	mitupela (exclusive) yumitupela (inclusive)	mitripela (exclusive) yumitripela (inclusive)	mipela (exclusive) yumipela, yumi (inclusive)
2nd person			yu	yutupela	yutripela	yupela
3rd person			em	tupela	tripela	ol

Torres Strait Creole

Etymology

From English him.

Pronoun

em

1. he/she/it (third-person singular pronoun)

Veps

Verb

em

1. first-person plural present of ei

Vietnamese

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *ʔɛːm, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *(sʔ)iəm; cognate with Pacoh a-em (“younger sibling”).

According to Phan Kế Bính's Việt Nam phong tục (1915), apparently the practice of calling each other anh-em for those in relationship originated from the province of Quảng Nam:

1915, Phan Kế Bính, Việt Nam phong tục [Vietnamese customs]:

— Vợ chồng con nhà sang trọng, gọi nhau bằng cậu mợ, thầy thông thầy phán thì gọi nhau bằng thầy cô, nhà thường thì gọi nhau bằng anh chị. Có con rồi thì gọi nhau bằng thầy em đẻ em, nhà thô tục thì gọi nhau là bố cu mẹ đĩ, có người thì gọi bố nó mẹ nó, có người cả hai vợ chồng gọi lẫn nhau là nhà ta. Ở Quảng-Nam thì vợ gọi chồng là anh, chồng gọi vợ là em. Ở Nghệ Tĩnh vợ chồng gọi là gấy nhông.

Spouses from wealthy families tend to call each other cậu and mợ; those employed by the government prefer thầy and cô; while in an average household, they call each other anh and chị. Couples with children call each other thầy em [father of the little one] and đẻ em [mother of the little one], while those from low-born families use bố cu and mẹ đĩ; there are also those who say bố nó and mẹ nó and those who both call each other nhà ta. In Quảng Nam, a housewife would call her husband anh and a husband would call his wife em. In Nghệ Tĩnh, "husband and wife" is called gấy nhông.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɛm˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɛm˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɛm˧˧]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

Noun

(classifier đứa, thằng, con) em • (㛪, 俺, 腌)

1. a younger sibling

   thằng em của em ― my younger brother

2. a cousin who is descended from an ancestor who is/was a younger sibling to oneself's or one's spouse's (such as a child of a younger sibling of one of one's parents or a grandchild of a younger sibling of one of one's grandparents)

   Synonym: em họ

   - Sao anh lại gọi chú ấy là thầy ? Chú ấy là em của em. Chú ấy cũng là em của anh.
   - Anh thấy mình nên tôn trọng cái có trước. Thầy ấy là thầy của anh từ trước khi anh lấy em.

   - Why did you call him "teacher"? He's my "younger sibling", meaning he's yours, too.
   - I felt like I should respect what comes first. He was my teacher long before we're married.

3. a person younger than oneself but of the same generation
4. (formal) a child or a student
   • 2021, Tâm An, “Cận cảnh các em học sinh tiểu học ăn ngủ, sinh hoạt trong khu cách ly tại trường”, in Tuổi trẻ online‎^[7]:

     Cận cảnh các em học sinh tiểu học ăn ngủ, sinh hoạt trong khu cách ly tại trường

     Close-up of primary students living in school quarantine

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:em.

Derived terms

• em gái (㛪𡛔, “younger sister”)
• em trai (俺𤳆, 㛪𤳆, “younger brother”)

 

Pronoun

em • (㛪, 俺, 腌)

1. pronoun used to refer to any person (oneself, the addressee, or any third person) described by the noun em above

   Synonyms: (second person): thằng em, (third person): em ấy, ẻm

   thằng em của em ― my younger brother

   1. (familiar) pronoun used to refer to younger person of the same generation
   2. pronoun used to refer to younger siblings or cousins descended from an ancestor who is/was a younger sibling to one's own or one's spouse's
   3. (formal) pronoun used to refer to a child or a student

      Synonym: con

      Viết một đoạn văn ngắn miêu tả một thứ bố em làm cho em.

      Write a short essay describing something your father made for you.

2. pronoun used to refer to the girl or woman in a romantic relationship

   Antonyms: anh, tôi

   Anh yêu em. / Em cũng yêu anh.

   I love you. / I love you too.

   • (Can we date this quote?), Alexander Pushkin, translated by Hoàng Thúy Toàn, Tôi yêu em [I Loved You], translation of Я вас любил:

     Tôi yêu em âm thầm, không hi vọng, / Lúc rụt rè, khi hậm hực lòng ghen, / Tôi yêu em, yêu chân thành, đằm thắm, / Cầu em được người tình như tôi đã yêu em.

     I loved you, without words, without hope, / Sometimes I felt shy, sometimes I felt tortured with jealousy, / I loved you, truly and deeply, / I pray you will find someone who loves you as much as I ever did.

Usage notes

Textbooks tend to assume grade schoolers and middle schoolers to be young enough to be called em (literally “little sibling”), but high schoolers to be old enough to be called anh (“big brother”) and chị (“big sister”).

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:em.

Adjective

em • (㛪, 俺, 腌)

1. small; smaller

See also

• anh
• chị

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛm/

Noun

em f (plural emiau)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter M/m.

Mutation

Mutated forms of em

radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
em	unchanged	unchanged	hem

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) llythyren; a, bi, ec, èch, di, èdd, e, èf, èff, èg, eng, aetsh, i / i dot, je, ce, el, èll, em, en, o, pi, ffi, ciw, er, rhi, ès, ti, èth, u / u bedol / u gwpan, fi, w, ecs, y, sèd

Yola

Pronoun

em

1. Alternative form of him
   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:

     Ich knouth em.

     I know him.

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 51