þú
Icelandic
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Old Norse þú, from Proto-Germanic *þū, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂. Cognate with English thou, German du.
Pronunciation
editPronoun
editþú
Usage notes
editAfter verbs, the pronoun þú is either separated:
- ert þú ― are you
- borðar þú ― do you eat
- kom þú ― come!
or suffixed and changed into -ðu, -du, or -u:
- ertu ― are you
- borðarðu ― do you eat
- komdu ― come!
If the verb ends in a "t", -u is used. If it ends in a "m" or "n", -du is used. Otherwise -ðu is used.
The suffixed version is almost always used except when the speaker wants to emphasize "þú" or sound more formal.
Many younger speakers will write borðaru instead of borðarðu.
Declension
editIcelandic personal pronouns | ||||||
singular | first person | second person | third person masculine | third person feminine | third person neuter | |
nominative | ég, eg, ek† | þú | hann | hún, hon†, hón† | það, þat† | |
accusative | mig, mik† | þig, þik† | hann | hana | það, þat† | |
dative | mér | þér | honum, hánum† | henni | því | |
genitive | mín | þín | hans | hennar | þess | |
plural | first person | second person | third person masculine | third person feminine | third person neuter | |
nominative | við | þið, þit† | þeir | þær | þau | |
accusative | okkur | ykkur | þá | þær | þau | |
dative | okkur | ykkur | þeim | þeim | þeim | |
genitive | okkar | ykkar | þeirra | þeirra | þeirra |
Synonyms
edit- (singular you): þér (formal, archaic)
Derived terms
editOld Norse
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Proto-Germanic *þū (“you; thou”), from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂ (“you; thou”).
Pronunciation
editPronoun
editþú
- (in the singular) you (thou)
- 900s-1000s, Hávamál, verse 112
- Ráðum'k þér, Loddfáfnir, / at þú ráð nemir,
njóta mundu ef þú nemr,
þér munu góð ef þú getr:
Nótt þú rís-at / nema á njósn sér
eða þú leitir þér innan út staðar.- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- 900s-1000s, Hávamál, verse 112
Usage notes
editIt may become enclitic when after a verb, that is, be appended to the preceding word as either -du, -ðu or -tu depending on the consonant cluster. The rules for this are the same as for the past tense dental suffixes of the class 1 weak verbs. This may happen more often in Old Norse, as the personal pronoun is often used with the singular imperative. This is not to say, however, that whenever þú comes after a verb, it will always take an enclitic form. It could well stay separate for the sake of emphasis. With the clitics, this is how it ends up looking.
Note, as seen in the last two examples, that this does not cause u-umlaut.
Declension
editnumber | first person | second person | reflexive | third person | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | singular | singular masculine | singular feminine | singular neuter | ||
nominative | ek | þú | hann | hon, hón, hǫ́n | þat | |
accusative | mik | þik | sik | hann | hana, hána | þat |
dative | mér | þér | sér | hánum, hónum, hǫ́num | henni | því |
genitive | mín | þín | sín | hans | hennar | þess |
case | dual | |||||
nominative | vit | it, þit | ||||
accusative | okkr | ykkr | sik | |||
dative | okkr | ykkr | sér | |||
genitive | okkar | ykkar | sín | |||
case | plural | plural masculine | plural feminine | plural neuter | ||
nominative | vér | ér, þér | þeir | þær | þau | |
accusative | oss | yðr | sik | þá | þær | þau |
dative | oss | yðr | sér | þeim | þeim | þeim |
genitive | vár | yðar, yðvar | sín | þeira, þeirra | þeira, þeirra | þeira, þeirra |
Descendants
edit- Icelandic: þú, -du, -ðu, -tu
- Faroese: tú
- Norwegian Nynorsk: du
- Norwegian Bokmål: du
- Jamtish: dú
- Elfdalian: du
- Old Swedish: þū
- Old Danish: thu
- Danish: du
The enclitic use lives on in modern Icelandic þú. See there for more.
See also
edit- þinn (possessive pronoun)
- Icelandic terms inherited from Old Norse
- Icelandic terms derived from Old Norse
- Icelandic terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Icelandic terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Icelandic terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Icelandic terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Icelandic 1-syllable words
- Icelandic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Icelandic terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Icelandic/uː
- Rhymes:Icelandic/uː/1 syllable
- Icelandic lemmas
- Icelandic pronouns
- Icelandic personal pronouns
- Icelandic terms with usage examples
- Old Norse terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old Norse terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old Norse terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Old Norse terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old Norse terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old Norse lemmas
- Old Norse pronouns
- Old Norse personal pronouns
- Old Norse terms with quotations