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du

See also: Appendix:Variations of "du"

Contents

Alemannic GermanEdit

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

du

  1. thou, you

DeclensionEdit

Alemannic German personal pronouns
nominative accusative dative possessive
1st person singular ich, i mich, mi mir, mer miin
2nd person singular familiar du dich dir diin
polite Si Ine, Ene Ire
3rd person singular m er in im siin
f si ire
n es im siin
1st person plural mir öis öise
2nd person plural ir öi öie
3rd person plural si ine, ene ire

AmanabEdit

NounEdit

du

  1. a kind of bird

BretonEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Brythonic *duβ, from Proto-Celtic *dubus, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-.

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

du

  1. black
  2. swollen
  3. starved

NounEdit

du m

  1. black

MutationEdit

  Mutation of du  
Breton consonant mutation
unmutated soft aspirate hard mixed
singular du zu unchanged tu tu
plural d{{{3}}} z{{{3}}} unchanged t{{{3}}} t{{{3}}}

CornishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Brythonic *duβ, from Proto-Celtic *dubus, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-.

PronunciationEdit

  • (Revived Middle Cornish) IPA(key): [dyː]
  • (Revived Late Cornish) IPA(key): [diˑʊ]

AdjectiveEdit

du

  1. black

MutationEdit

  Mutation of du  
Cornish consonant mutation
unmutated soft aspirate hard mixed mixed after 'th
du dhu unchanged tu tu tu

DanishEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Old Danish thu, from Old Norse þú, from Proto-Germanic *þū, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂ (“you”).

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

du (objective dig)

  1. (personal) thou, you (2nd person singular subject pronoun, informal)
See alsoEdit
Danish personal pronouns
Number Person Inflection Nominative Accusative Possessive Reflexive Reflexive possessive
Singular First common jeg mig min
neuter mit
plural mine
Second common du dig din
neuter dit
plural dine
formal De Dem Deres
Third masculine han ham hans sig sin
feminine hun hende hendes
common den den dens
neuter det det dets sit
plural sine
Plural First — vi os vores
common vor
neuter vort
plural vore
Second – I jer jeres
formal De Dem Deres
Third – de dem deres sig

Etymology 2Edit

From Old Danish dughæ, from Old Norse duga.

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

du (imperative du, present dur or duer, past duede, past participle duet)

  1. be good
  2. be fit

Dena'inaEdit

ParticleEdit

du

  1. interrogative particle (placed at the end of the sentence to make a question)

DutchEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle Dutch du, from Old Dutch thū, from Proto-Germanic *þū, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂.

PronounEdit

du

  1. (obsolete or dialectal) Second-person singular, subjective; thou.

ElfdalianEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old Norse þú, from Proto-Germanic *þū, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂. Cognate with Swedish du.

PronounEdit

du

  1. you (singular), thou

EsperantoEdit

Esperanto cardinal numbers
 <  1 2 3  > 
    Cardinal : du
    Ordinal : dua
    Adverbial : due
    Multiplier : duobla
    Fractional : duona

EtymologyEdit

From Latin duo, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁.

PronunciationEdit

NumeralEdit

du

  1. (cardinal) two (2)

Derived termsEdit

FrenchEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old French del.

PronunciationEdit

ContractionEdit

du

  1. Contraction of de + le (of the)
  2. Contraction of de + le; forms the partitive article

Usage notesEdit

  • The partitive article signifies "some", but it often is not translated in English, Dutch, or German.

GaikundiEdit

NounEdit

du

  1. man

Further readingEdit

GermanEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old High German du (akin to Old Saxon thu and English thou), itself from Proto-Germanic *þū, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂.

PronunciationEdit

  • (standard, generally) IPA(key): /duː/
  • (colloquially in unstressed position) IPA(key): /də/
  • In colloquial speech in Germany, the /d/ can assimilate to a preceding coronal when the word is unstressed. This always happens after the second person singular verb ending, except in purposefully enunciated speech.

PronounEdit

du

  1. thou, you (singular familiar)

Usage notesEdit

  • Du is the informal second person pronoun. In polite language, the third person plural Sie (always capitalised) is used.
  • As a simplified rule one can say that du is used among friends, relatives, and young people up to 25~30 years. Du is always used to address children up to 14~16 years, as well as gods, animals, and other creatures.
  • Usage also depends a lot on the setting in which people meet: two unacquainted, middle-aged persons are quite likely to use du when they meet, for example, in a pub, but much less so when they meet in the street.
  • Usage varies in different parts of the German-speaking world. For example, strangers may call each other du more readily in Berlin than in Munich.

InflectionEdit

German personal pronouns
nominative accusative genitive dative possessive
1st person singular ich mich meiner
(† mein)		 mir mein
2nd person singular (familiar)1 du dich deiner
(† dein)		 dir dein
3rd person singular m er ihn seiner
(† sein)		 ihm sein
f sie ihrer ihr
n es seiner
(† sein)		 ihm sein
1st person plural wir uns unser uns unser
2nd person plural (familiar)1 ihr euch euer euch euer
3rd person plural sie ihrer ihnen ihr
polite address naturally: 2nd person sg. or pl.;
grammatically: 3rd person pl.		 Sie Ihrer Ihnen Ihr

1Often capitalized, especially in letters

Derived termsEdit

Further readingEdit

  • du in Duden online

GothicEdit

RomanizationEdit

du

  1. Romanization of 𐌳𐌿

HunsrikEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old High German du (akin to Old Saxon thu and English thou), itself from Proto-Germanic *þū, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

du

  1. thou, you
    Du bist aarich scheen.
    You are so beautiful.

InflectionEdit

Hunsrik personal pronouns
nominative accusative dative
Proclitic Enclitic str. unstr. str. unstr.
1st person singular ich -ich mich meer mer
2nd person singular
(informal)		 du -du, -de dich deer der
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 ihm em
1st person plural meer mer uns uns
2nd person plural deer der eich eich
3rd person plural sie, die -se sie se denne

Further readingEdit

IdoEdit

Ido cardinal numbers
 <  1 2 3  > 
    Cardinal : du
    Ordinal : duesma
    Adverbial : dufoye
    Multiplier : duopla
    Fractional : duima
Ido Wikipedia article on du

EtymologyEdit

From Esperanto du, from French deux, Spanish dos, Italian due, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁.

NumeralEdit

du

  1. (cardinal) two (2)

InterlingueEdit

NumeralEdit

du

  1. two

KalashaEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Sanskrit द्व (dva), from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Compare Hindi दो (do), Bhojpuri दू (dū), Konkani दोन (don).

NumeralEdit

du

  1. (cardinal) two; 2

KurdishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Iranian *duu̯a (compare Persian دو‏ (do), Pashto دوه‏ (dwa), Avestan 𐬛𐬎𐬎𐬀‏ (duua)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian (compare Sanskrit द्व (dvá), Marathi दोन (don), Hindi दो (do)/Urdu دو‏ (do), Punjabi ਦੋ (dō)), from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (compare Russian два (dva), Lithuanian du, Greek δύο (dýo), Spanish dos, English two).

NumeralEdit

du

  1. (cardinal) two (2)

LigurianEdit

PronunciationEdit

ContractionEdit

du

  1. contraction of de + u (of the).
  2. contraction of de + u, forms the partitive article.

Usage notesEdit

  • The partitive article signifies "some", but it often is not translated in English, Dutch, or German.

LithuanianEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Baltic *duwō, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Compare Latvian divi. Cognate to Latin duo.

NumeralEdit

du m (feminine dvi)

  1. (cardinal) two (2)

DeclensionEdit

    declension of du
masculine feminine
nominative du dvi
genitive dviejų dviejų
dative dviem dviem
accusative du dvi
instrumental dviem dviem
locative dviejuose dviejose
    forms of du
masculine feminine
quantitative du dvi
plural dveji dvejos
collective dvejetas dvejeta
ordinal antras antra

LojbanEdit

EtymologyEdit

Derived from dunli.

PronunciationEdit

CmavoEdit

du (rafsi dub or du'o)

  1. (identity selbri) x1 equals x2, x3, x4, ...
    li pa su'i vo du li mu
    one plus four equals five

See alsoEdit

Lower SorbianEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Slavic *jьdǫ (first-person singular) and *jьdǫtь (third-person plural), inflected forms of *jьti.

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

du

  1. first-person singular present of hyś
  2. third-person plural present of hyś

SynonymsEdit

  • (first-person singular): źom

LuxembourgishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Germanic *þū.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

du

  1. second-person singular, informal, nominative: you, thou
    Wéi al bass du? ― How old are you?

DeclensionEdit

Luxembourgish personal pronouns
nominative accusative dative reflexive
str. unstr. str. unstr. str. unstr.
1st person singular ech — mech — mir mer mech
2nd person singular
(informal)		 du de dech — dir der dech
2nd person singular
(formal)		 Dir — Iech — Iech — Iech
3rd person singular (m) hien en en — him em sech
3rd person singular (f) si / hatt se / et si / hatt se / et hir / him — / em sech
3rd person singular (n) et 't et 't him em sech
1st person plural mir mer eis / ons — eis / ons — eis / ons
2nd person plural dir der iech — iech — iech
3rd person plural si — si — hinnen – sech

MandarinEdit

RomanizationEdit

du

  1. Nonstandard spelling of dū.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of dú.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of dǔ.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of dù.

Usage notesEdit

  • English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Middle DutchEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old Dutch thū, from Proto-Germanic *þū.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

du

  1. thou, you (singular, informal)
    Synonyms: gi

Usage notesEdit

This pronoun began to be replaced by gi in formal address during the Middle Dutch period, and eventually fell out of use altogether.

InflectionEdit

Middle Dutch personal pronouns
singular plural
1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd
masc. fem. neut.
nominative ic du hi si het wi gi si
accusative mi di hem, hen haer ons u hem, hen
dative hem, hen
genitive mijn dijn sijn haer sijn onse uwe haer

DescendantsEdit

  • Limburgish: doe

Further readingEdit

  • “du”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
  • “du”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, 1929

Middle Low GermanEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old Saxon thū, from Proto-Germanic *þū.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

dû

  1. thou, you (second person singular nominative)

DeclensionEdit

Middle Low German personal pronouns
nominative accusative dative genitive
1st person singular ik (ek) mî (mê, mik, mek) mîn (mîner)
2nd person singular dû dî (dê, dik, dek) dîn (dîner)
3rd person singular
m hê (hî, hie) ēne, en (ȫne, ȫn) ēme, em (ȫme, en) sîn (sîner)
n it (et)
f sê (sî, sie, sü̂) ēre, ēr (ērer, ȫrer)
1st person plural wî (wê, wie) uns (ûs, ös, ü̂sik) unser (ûser)
2nd person plural gî (jê, î) jû (jûwe, û, jük, gik) jûwer (ûwer)
3rd person plural sê (sî, sie) em, öm, jüm (en) ēre, ēr (ērer, ȫrer)

For an explanation of the forms in brackets see here.


DescendantsEdit

NormanEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Latin dux, ducem.

NounEdit

du m

  1. duke

Related termsEdit

North FrisianEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Germanic *dōną. Cognates include Mooring North Frisian düünj and West Frisian dwaan.

VerbEdit

du

  1. (Föhr-Amrum) to do
  2. (Föhr-Amrum) to give

ConjugationEdit

Conjugation of du
infinitive I du
infinitive II tu duen
past participle den
imperative singular du
imperative plural du'em
  present past
1st-person singular ik du ik ded, diad
2nd-person singular dü deest dü dedst, diadst
3rd-person singular hi/hat/at dee hi/hat/at ded, diad
1st-person dual wat du wat ded, diad
2nd-person dual jat du jat ded, diad
1st-person plural wi du wi ded, diad
2nd-person plural jam du jam ded, diad
3rd-person plural jo du jo ded, diad
  perfect pluperfect
1st-person singular ik haa den ik hed den
2nd-person singular dü heest den dü hedst den
3rd-person singular hi/hat/at hee den hi/hat/at hed den
1st-person dual wat haa den wat hed den
2nd-person dual jat haa den jat hed den
1st-person plural wi haa den wi hed den
2nd-person plural jam haa den jam hed den
3rd-person plural jo haa den jo hed den
  future (skel) future (wel)
1st-person singular ik skal du ik wal du
2nd-person singular dü skääl du dü wääl du
3rd-person singular hi/hat/at skal du hi/hat/at wal du
1st-person dual wat skel du wat wel du
2nd-person dual jat skel du jat wel du
1st-person plural wi skel du wi wel du
2nd-person plural jam skel du jam wel du
3rd-person plural jo skel du jo wel du


Northern SamiEdit

PronounEdit

du

  1. accusative and genitive of don

Norwegian BokmålEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old Norse þú, from Proto-Germanic *þū, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

du (objective case deg)

  1. thou, you (second person, singular)

ReferencesEdit

See alsoEdit

    Personal pronouns in Bokmål
Nominative Objective case Genitive/Possessive pronoun
Singular
First person jeg meg min m
Second person du deg din m
Third person m han han/ham hans
Third person f hun henne hennes
Third person n det det dets
Third person, nonhuman m/f den den dens
Plural
First person vi oss vår m
Second person dere dere deres
Third person de dem deres

Norwegian NynorskEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old Norse þú, from Proto-Germanic *þū, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

du (objective case deg)

  1. thou, you (second person, singular)

ReferencesEdit

See alsoEdit

    Personal pronouns in Nynorsk
Nominative Objective case Genitive/Possessive pronoun
Singular
First person eg, je1 meg min m
Second person du deg din m
Third person m han han, honom2 hans
Third person f ho ho, henne hennar, hennes1
Third person n det, dat3 det, dat3 dess 4
Plural
First person me, vi oss vår m
Second person de, dokker dykk, dokker dykkar, dokkar
Third person dei dei, deim2 deira, deires1
Notes
1No longer part of the official written norm. These non-traditional forms were added to the norm to either approach the Samnorsk ideal or certain dialects.
2Traditional forms that are no longer part of the official written norm. Now primarily used in Høgnorsk texts.
3Never part of official Nynorsk/Landsmål. Primarily used before Landsmål received an official written norm.
4Rare or literary

NovialEdit

Novial cardinal numbers
 <  1 2 3  > 
    Cardinal : du
    Ordinal : duesmi

NumeralEdit

du

  1. (cardinal) two


Old FrenchEdit

Alternative formsEdit

ContractionEdit

du

  1. contraction of de + le (of the)

Old High GermanEdit

 
one drawing of the inscription on the Bülach fibula

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Germanic *þū, whence also Old English þu, Old Norse þú, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂. Perhaps the earliest attestation of the pronoun is the inscription on the Bülach fibula, which may show ᛞᚢ (du) already differentiated from other Germanic languages’ þu.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

du

  1. thou, you (second-person singular pronoun)
    • 3rd-6th century, inscription on the Bülach fibula:
      ᚠᚱᛁᚠᚱᛁᛞᛁᛚ / ᛞᚢ / ...
      frifridil / du / […]
      Frifridil, you / […]

DescendantsEdit

  • German: du

See alsoEdit

  • fridil (“a pet name for a male lover”)

ReferencesEdit

  • Heinz Klingenberg, Runenfibel von Bülach, Kanton Zürich. Liebesinschrift aus alemannischer Frühzeit, in the Alemannisches Jahrbuch (1973/75), page 308
  • Heinz Klingenberg, Die Runeninschrift aus Bülach, in Helvetia archaeologica, volume 7 (1976), pages 116–121
  • Stephan Opitz, Südgermanische Runeninschriften im älteren Futhark aus der Merowingerzeit (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1977)

RomanianEdit

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

du

  1. second-person singular imperative form of duce.
    Du-te acasă.
    Go home.

SwedishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

Dialects

EtymologyEdit

From Old Swedish þū, from Old Norse þú, from Proto-Germanic *þū, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

du

  1. (personal) you (familiar sg.).
  2. (personal) thou.

Usage notesEdit

While du is the traditionally familiar mode of address, it is since the early '70s the standard in almost all circumstances, possibly capitalized in formal communications. This was the result of the so-called du-reformen.

Recently, use of the second-person plural pronoun ni as a less familiar (and thus more formal) pronoun has appeared to some extent, but mainly amongst shopkeepers towards the customers.

The same pronoun ni has also been used historically as a formal way of address, but its use has (in particular in Sweden, not so much in Swedish-speaking parts of Finland) been restricted to addressing people of lower social status, whereby a plethora of different constructions were employed as to avoid the issue of pronouns whatsoever. See also the article about T-V distinction in Wikipedia.

DeclensionEdit

Swedish personal pronouns
subject object possessive
singular full full common neuter plural
1st person jag mig min mitt mina
2nd person du dig din ditt dina
3rd person masculine han honom hans
3rd person feminine hon henne hennes
3rd person gender-neutral hen* hen*/henom* hens*
3rd person common den den dess
3rd person neuter det det dess
3rd person indefinite man/en en ens
3rd person reflexive — sig sin sitt sina
plural
1st person vi oss vår vårt våra
2nd person ni er
eder (dated)		 er ert era
3rd person de dem deras
3rd person reflexive — sig sin sitt sina

*Not universally accepted.

VenetianEdit

EtymologyEdit

Compare Italian due

NumeralEdit

du m

  1. two

SynonymsEdit

VietnameseEdit

EtymologyEdit

Sino-Vietnamese word from 遊/游

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

du

  1. walk

Derived termsEdit

WelshEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Brythonic *duβ, from Proto-Celtic *dubus, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-.

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

du (feminine singular du, plural duon, equative dued, comparative duach, superlative duaf)

  1. black
    Mae ganddo fo fwstash du.
    He has a black mustache

MutationEdit

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
du ddu nu unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

See alsoEdit

Colors in Welsh · lliwiau (layout · text)
     gwyn      llwyd      du      brown
             pinc              coch, rhudd              oren, melyngoch              melyn, melynwyn
             gwyrdd leim              gwyrdd              {{{mint green}}}, {{{dark green}}}              gwyrddlas, glaswyrdd
             asur, gwynlas              glas              fioled, indigo              majenta, porffor
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