jij

See also: їй

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch ji, northern form of gi, from Old Dutch gī, from Proto-Germanic *jīz, a northwest Germanic variant of *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European *yū́. Cognate with Low German ji, jie, English ye, West Frisian jimme, German ihr.

Until the earlier 20th century, jij was considered exclusively colloquial and hardly appeared in writing. The standard equivalent was the doublet gij. However, the latter’s object and possessive forms u and uw interfered with the polite pronoun u that had developed in the northern Netherlands and this could be odd-sounding e.g. in private letters. Therefore the Hollandic colloquial system (with jij, jou and jullie) came to be fully standardized after WWII. Gij has since been restricted to religious and highly formal contexts in the Netherlands, but remains common in Belgium.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɛi̯/

  • Audio:

    (file)

  • Hyphenation: jij
  • Rhymes: -ɛi̯
• IPA^(key): /jə/ (unstressed, usually written je)

Pronoun

jij

1. (second-person singular subjective personal pronoun) you

   Jij was er niet. ― You weren't there.

Usage notes

• Like several other Dutch personal pronouns, jij has the unstressed variant je, which is used when the pronoun lacks sentence stress. This is usually also reflected in writing.

In dat restaurant kun je heerlijk eten, ben je daar wel eens geweest? — Nee, jij?

You can get great food in that restaurant, have you ever been? — I haven't, have you?

Declension

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	u, zich7	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	u, zich7	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").				7) Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronoun u, e.g. Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronoun u is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g. U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Only u can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g. Meld u aan! 'Log in!', where u is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, both u and zich are equally possible, e.g. U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.'

Related terms

• je
• jullie

Descendants

• Afrikaans: jy
• Berbice Creole Dutch: ju
• Jersey Dutch: jāi
• Negerhollands: joe, ju
• Petjo: jij

Verb

jij

1. inflection of jijen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French juge (“judge”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒiʒ/

Noun

jij

1. judge

Tarifit

Etymology

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

Noun

jij m (Tifinagh spelling ⵊⵉⵊ, plural ijijen, diminutive tjitš)

1. stake
2. peg

Declension

Declension of jij
	Singular	Plural
free state	jij	ijijen
construct state	ujij	yejijen