le

See also: Appendix:Variations of "le"

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French le.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (usual pronunciation, like French) /lə/; also (esp. US or online) /leɪ/, (rarely) /li/, (emulating Parisian French) /lø/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -e

Article

le

1. (informal, humorous) The.
   • 1949, Michael Maltese, For Scent-imental Reasons, spoken by Penelope Pussycat:

     Le mew. Le purr.

   • 1996 September 28, Game Freak, Pokémon Blue, Nintendo, level/area: S.S. Anne:

     Waiter: 'Bonjour! I am le waiter on this ship! [...] Ah! Le strong silent type!'

   • 2001 June 24, LaManna, “My Weekend...”, in alt.punk‎^[4] (Usenet):

     […] upon arrival, le girlfriend realizes she has left her ID back at my house (a 1 1/2 hour roundtrip on the Metro), […]

   • 2002 December 27, Amelia, “Re: Neat things SANTA brought me...”, in alt.fashion‎^[5] (Usenet):

     And then le boyfriend perks up and names around 8 different brands (Stila, MAC, Becca, Nars etc..) - I was *SO* proud of him!! :)

   • 2003 January 10, johnny dupe (quoting nowhere man), “Re: I can walk with jezus...”, in alt.fan.wings‎^[6] (Usenet):

     That was always OUR song (me and le girlfriend of the time).

   • 2012 October 1, Miranda Kenneally, Stealing Parker, Sourcebooks, Inc., →ISBN, page 63:

     That's when Waitress Seductress Extraordinaire comes back and gets our order. […] "We're sharing an order of à la Appalachia, he says, handing over the menus and turning his focus back to me. Le waitress stomps off. I ask, "Why are they called that?" "Because when they've got the fries stacked up they're higher than a mountain range." I groan and touch my stomach. "You're funny," he says, his eyes twinkling.

Usage notes

Marks the speaker as pretending to be stereotypically French. For additional jocular effect, may be used where neither English nor French would place a definite article.

Related terms

• le sigh

See also

• moi
• ze

Etymology 2

From French lez and lès.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lə/, /li/

Preposition

le

1. (obsolete) Next to, near (still used in some place names).

   Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham near an old Roman road.

   Witton-le-Wear, Dalton-le-Dale, Hetton-le-Hole

Anagrams

• -el, EL, El, el

Afar

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈle/, [ˈlɛ]

Verb

lé

1. (transitive) have

Conjugation

Conjugation of le (irregular)
		1st singular	2nd singular	3rd singular		1st plural	2nd plural	3rd plural
				m	f
present indicative I	V-affirmative	liyóh	litóh	léh	léh	linóh	litoonúh	loonúh
	N-affirmative	liyó	litó	lé	lé	linó	litón	lón
	negative	máliyo, máyyu	málito, mántu	máli	máli	málino, mánnu	máliton	málon
present indicative II		affirmative present indicative I + imperfective of én
past indicative I		lúk + perfective of én
past indicative II		lúk + perfective of sugé
present potential	affirmative	liyóm takkéh	litóm takkéh	lém takkéh	lém takkéh	linóm takkéh	litoonúm takkéh	loonúm takkéh
past conditional	affirmative	lúk + past conditional of sugé
		-h converb	-k converb	-in(n)uh converb	infinitive
		líh	lúk	línnuh	líyya

Derived terms

• -llih
• -lluk

 

References

• E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN, page 284

Albanian

Etymology 1

Jussive particle le (“let”) corresponds with 2nd person/singular Aorist form of Albanian lë (“to let/leave (go/behind)”); le (“you let/left (go/behind)”). From Proto-Albanian *laide (“let”). Identical to Baltic permissive and optative particles Latvian lai (“to let”), Lithuanian laĩ, Old Prussian -lai.

Cognate to Albanian lihem (“to be left; allowed”) (Standard & Tosk), Gheg Albanian lêhem, lêna (passive forms of active lë).

Verb

le (aorist láshë, participle lënë)

1. second-person singular aorist active indicative of lë
2. second-person singular aorist passive indicative of lihem

Particle

le (+)

1. (jussive) let

   Jussive modal particle used before verbs. A gentle way to express orders, instructions or to ask for approval/permission. Jussive construction:

   1. jussive particle → le (“let”)

   2. + subjunctive particle → të (“it”)

   3. + → subjunctive verb form (present, imperfect, perfect or past perfect). See also (*) for irregular verbs.

   Examples: third-person singular present active jussive of marr:

   le (“let”) + të + marrë (“take”)

   le të marrë ― let it take

   third-person singular present passive jussive of merrem:

   le (“let”) + të + merret (“deal (with)”)

   le të merret ― let it deal (with)

   third-person singular present active jussive of shkoj:

   le (“let”) + të + shkojë (“go”)

   le të shkojë ― let him go

   third-person plural present active jussive of shkoj:

   le (“let”) + të + shkojnë (“go”)

   le të shkojnë ― let them go

   third-person singular present active jussive of flas:

   le (“let”) + të + flasë (“talk; speak”)

   le të flasë ― let him talk

   third-person plural present active jussive of flas:

   le (“let”) + të + flasin (“talk; speak”)

   le të flasin ― let them talk

   (*) Irregular verb:

   indicative/present → subjunctive/present

   është (“is”) → jetë (“be”)

   Example: third-person singular present active jussive of jam:

   le (“let”) + të (“it”) + jetë (“be”)

   le të jetë ― let it be

2. (subjunctive) + që (“that”) → subjunctive: not only that; if only; would that

   Le që... ― Not only that...

3. (Gheg, subjunctive) → mostly + se (“that”) instead of që (“id”): not only that; if only; would that

   Le se... ― Not only that...

See also

• do, do të
• le të, le që, le se
• të, se, që

Further reading

• Oda Buchholz, Wilfried Fiedler, Gerda Uhlisch (2000) Langenscheidt Handwörterbuch Albanisch, Langenscheidt Verlag, →ISBN, page 273 (juss. particle ¹le / ²le (+ që) → subjunc. / verb ³le 2nd p./sg. aor. of lë)
• [7] jussive particle le (engl. let) • Fjalor Shqip (Albanian Dictionary)
• [8] conjugation active verb lë (e kryera e thjeshtë (engl. Aorist): 1st/sg) lashë; (2nd/sg) le; (3rd/sg) la; (1st/pl) lamë; (2nd/pl) latë; (3rd/pl) lanë) • Fjalor Shqip (Albanian Dictionary)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Albanian *laida, an ostensibly o-grade thematic present from the root *leyd- (“to let go, release”).

Verb

le needs inflection

1. (dialectal) to give birth, bear

   Synonyms: lej, lind

   lehet ― is born

   u le ― to be born

Related terms

• lej, lind

References

• Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “lej”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 217
• AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 56: “nascere” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin ille (“that one”).

Pronoun

le

1. (to) him (indirect object)

Synonyms

• li

Bourguignon

Alternative forms

• lou

Etymology

From Latin ille.

Article

le (alternative form lou, feminine lai, plural les)

1. the

Breton

Noun

le ? (plural leou)

1. vow

Cornish

From Proto-Brythonic *lleɣ, from Proto-Celtic *legyom. Cognate to Welsh lle and Breton lec'h.

Noun

le m (plural leow)

1. place, location

   Pur vysi yw an le ma der an hav.

   This place is very busy through the summer.

2. space, seat

   Eus le yn an park kerri na?

   Is there a space in that car park?

   Res yw dhywgh ragerghi le rag an kyttrin leel.

   You need to book a seat for the local bus.

Derived terms

• leel (“local”)
• leelieth (“localism”)
• yn le (“instead of, in place of, in lieu of”)

Corsican

Etymology

From Latin illae, feminine plural of ille (“that”), from Old Latin olle. Cognates include Italian le (“the, them”) and French les (“the, them”).

Article

le

1. Archaic form of e.

Pronoun

le

1. Archaic form of e.

References

• https://infcor.adecec.net/

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin illae, nominative feminine plural of ille.

Article

le f pl

1. the

Related terms

• el
• la
• i

Danish

En le – a scythe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [leˀ]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse lé (“scythe”), from Proto-Germanic *lewô, cognate with Norwegian ljå and Swedish lie.

Noun

le c (singular definite leen, plural indefinite leer)

1. scythe (farm tool)

Inflection

Declension of le

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	le	leen	leer	leerne
genitive	les	leens	leers	leernes

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hlæja, from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną, cognate with English laugh and German lachen.

Verb

le (imperative le, present ler, past lo, past participle leet or let)

1. to laugh (show mirth by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face and emission of sounds)

Conjugation

Inflection of le

	present	past
simple	ler	lo
perfect	har leet or let	havde leet or let
passive	les	—
participle	leende	leet or let
imperative	le	—
infinitive	le	—
auxiliary verb	have	—
gerund	leen	—

See also

• le on the Danish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^da
• Le (flertydig) on the Danish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^da

Fala

Etymology

From Latin illī.

Pronoun

le

1. Third person dative pronoun; to him, to her, to it, to them

Usage notes

• Takes the form -li when suffixed to an impersonal verb form.

See also

Fala personal pronouns

			nominative	dative	accusative	disjunctive
first person	singular		ei	me, -mi		mi
	plural	common	nos	musL nusLV nos, -nusM		nos
		masculine	noshotrusM			noshotrusM
		feminine	noshotrasM			noshotrasM
second person	singular		tú	te, -ti		ti
	plural	common	vos	vusLV vos, -vusM		vos
		masculine	voshotrusM			voshotrusM
		feminine	voshotrasM			voshotrasM
third person	singular	masculine	el	le, -li	uLV, oM	el
		feminine	ela		a	ela
	plural	masculine	elis		usLV, osM	elis
		feminine	elas		as	elas
	reflexive		—	se, -si		sí

References

• Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎^[9], 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

French

Etymology

From Middle French le, from Old French le, from Latin illum, by dropping il- and -m. Latin illum is the accusative singular of ille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lə/
• (Parisian) IPA^(key): /lø/
• (before a word starting with a vowel) IPA^(key): /l‿/

• audio

  (file)

• (Louisiana) IPA^(key): /ɛl/
• Rhymes: -ə

Article

le m (feminine la, masculine and feminine plural les)

1. the (definite article)

   Le lait du matin. ― The milk of the morning.

2. Used before abstract nouns; not translated in English.

   L’amour est aveugle.

   Love is blind.

3. Used before the names of most countries, many subnational regions, and other geographical names including names of lakes and streets; not translated into English in most cases.

   Je vais visiter le Canada l’année prochaine, surtout l’Ontario et le Québec.

   I will be visiting Canada next year, especially Ontario and Quebec.

   La place Rouge se trouve au cœur de Moscou.

   Red Square is located in the heart of Moscow.

4. (before parts of the body) the; my, your, etc.

   Il s’est cassé la jambe. ― He has broken his leg.

5. (before units) a, an, per

   cinquante kilomètres à l’heure ― fifty kilometres an hour

   trois dollars le morceau ― three dollars per piece

6. (before dates) on

   Je suis née le 1er juillet 1967. ― I was born on July 1, 1967.

Usage notes

• le becomes l’ before a vowel or an unaspirated h.

  l’amour ― love

  l’homme ― the man

• When the article le is preceded by the prepositions de or à, *de le or *à le is not used; instead, it is always contracted into du or au, respectively. Likewise, *de les and *à les are replaced by des and aux. However, la may be preceded by de and à.

  Il a une cicatrice au visage. ― He has a scar on the face. / He has a scar on his face.

• *de le and *à le become de l' and à l' respectively in front of a vowel or an unaspirated h.

Pronoun

le m (feminine la, masculine and feminine plural les)

1. (direct object) him, it

   Où est Malik ? Je ne le vois pas.

   Where is Malik? I don't see him.

   Mon sac ? Je vais le mettre dans la voiture.

   My bag? I'm going to put it in the car.

2. used to refer to something previously mentioned or implied; not translated in English

   Je suis petit et lui, il l’est aussi. ― I am small and he is too (literally, “... and he is it too”)

Usage notes

• Unlike the definite article le, the pronouns le and les may be preceded by the prepositions de and à: Je cherchais à le voir. ― I was trying to see him.

Related terms

French personal pronouns

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative (subject)	Accusative (direct complement)	Dative (indirect complement)	Disjunctive (tonic)
Singular	First	—	je, j’	me, m’		moi
	Second	—	tu	te, t’		toi
	Third	Masculine	il	le, l’	lui	lui
		Feminine	elle	la, l’		elle
		Gender neutral5	iel	lea		ellui
		Indeterminate	on1	—	—	—
		Reflexive	—	se, s’4		soi4
Plural	First	—	nous	nous		nous
	Second	—	vous2	vous2,3		vous2
	Third	Masculine	ils3	les	leur	eux
		Feminine	elles			elles
		Gender neutral5	iels			elleux

¹ Also used as the first person plural.

² Also used as the polite singular form.

³ Also used when a group has both men and women.

⁴ Also used as third person plural reflexive.

⁵ Colloquial, and not in popular use.

Further reading

• “le”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Friulian

Pronoun

le (third person feminine direct object)

1. her

Related terms

• jê
• i

Fula

Particle

le

1. (Pular, Maasina) as for, truly

   aan le?

   and as for you?

   (Maasina)

   O yahii le!

   He really left!

   (Pular)

References

• Oumar Bah, Dictionnaire Pular-Français, Avec un index français-pular, Webonary.org, SIL International, 2014.
• Richard Smith, Urs Niggli, Dictionnaire fulfulde - anglais - français, Webonary.org, SIL International, 2016.

Galician

Verb

le

1. inflection of ler:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Garifuna

Article

le

1. masculine definite article

   Mutu le ― The man

Antonyms

• to

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛ]

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -lɛ

Adverb

le (comparative lejjebb)

1. down

Usage notes

This term may also be part of the split form of a verb prefixed with le-, occurring when the main verb does not follow the prefix directly. It can be interpreted only with the related verb form, irrespective of its position in the sentence, e.g. meg tudták volna nézni (“they could have seen it”, from megnéz). For verbs with this prefix, see le-; for an overview, Appendix:Hungarian verbal prefixes.

Further reading

• le in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Anagrams

• el

Ido

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le/, /lɛ/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian le.

Article

le (plural)

1. the (used only when there is no other sign of plurality, for example with nominalized adjectives)

   Yen pomi, prenez le bona e lasez le mala.

   Here's apples, take the good ones and leave the bad ones.

See also

• la

Etymology 2

Noun

le (plural le-i)

1. The name of the Latin script letter L/l.

See also

• (Latin script letter names) litero; a, be, ce, che, de, e, fe, ge, he, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, pe, que, re, se, she, te, u, ve, we, xe, ye, ze ^{(Category: io:Latin letter names)}

Interlingua

Article

le

1. the

Usage notes

• de le is contracted into del.
• a le is contracted into al.

Pronoun

le m (plural les)

1. him (direct object)

   Io le appella mi amico. ― I call him my friend.

Irish

Alternative forms

• lé (superseded)

Etymology

From a conflation of two Early Modern Irish prepositions:

1. re (“to”), from Old Irish fri, from Proto-Celtic *writ- (compare Welsh wrth, prefix gwrth-), from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn”) (compare Latin versus (“against”)).
2. le (“with”), from Old Irish la, from Proto-Celtic *let-, from Proto-Celtic *letos (“side”) (compare leath, Welsh lled).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lʲɛ/

Preposition

le (plus dative, triggers h-prothesis, before the definite article leis)

1. with

   le héadach ― with clothing

2. used in conjunction with the copula particle is and a noun to indicate possession

   Is liomsa an hata.

   The hat is mine; the hat belongs to me.

   Is le Cáit an peann luaidhe.

   The pencil is Cáit’s; the pencil belongs to Cáit.

3. (in conjunction with the copula particle is and an adjective) in the opinion of, in the consideration of

   Is beag liom an cheist.

   The issue is unimportant to me/in my opinion.

4. to (indicating purpose; in this sense triggering eclipsis of ithe (“eating”) and ól (“drinking”))

   rud le n-ithe ― something to eat

   oiriúnach le n-ól ― fit to drink

   ró-the le n-ól ― too hot to drink

5. to (after a verb of speaking)
   • Níl sé ina lá (Irish traditional song):

     Is é dúirt sí liom “ní bhfaighidh tú deor. / Buail an bóthar is gabh abhaile.”

     And what she said to me was, “you won’t get a drop. / Hit the road and go home.”

6. in order to

   le rud a dhéanamh ― in order to do a thing

   Synonyms: chun, d'fhonn

Inflection

Inflection of le

Person	Normal	Emphatic
1st person sing.	liom	liomsa
2d person sing.	leat	leatsa
3d sing. masc.	leis	leis-sean
3d sing. fem.	léi	léise
1st person pl.	linn	linne
2d person pl.	libh	libhse
3d person pl.	leo	leosan

Derived terms

• abair le
• ar olca le
• dar le
• i mborr le
• in éineacht le
• le chéile
• le thine
• maidir le

 

See Category:Irish phrasal verbs with particle (le)

See also

Irish preposition contractions

Basic form	Contracted with							Copular forms
	an (“the sg”)	na (“the pl”)	mo (“my”)	do (“your”)	a (“his, her, their; which (present)”)	ár (“our”)	ar (“which (past)”)	(before consonant)	(present/future before vowel)	(past/conditional before vowel)
de (“from”)	den	de na desna*	de mo dem*	de do ded*, det*	dá	dár		dar	darb	darbh
do (“to, for”)	don	do na dosna*	do mo dom*	do do dod*, dot*	dá	dár		dar	darb	darbh
faoi (“under, about”)	faoin	faoi na	faoi mo	faoi do	faoina	faoinár	faoinar		faoinarb	faoinarbh
i (“in”)	sa, san	sna	i mo im*	i do id*, it*	ina	inár	inar		inarb	inarbh
le (“with”)	leis an	leis na	le mo lem*	le do led*, let*	lena	lenár	lenar		lenarb	lenarbh
ó (“from, since”)	ón	ó na ósna*	ó mo óm*	ó do ód*, ót*	óna	ónár	ónar		ónarb	ónarbh
trí (“through”)	tríd an	trí na	trí mo	trí do	trína	trínár	trínar		trínarb	trínarbh
*Dialectal.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “le”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “fri”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “la”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Entries containing “le” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le/
• Rhymes: -e
• Hyphenation: le

Etymology 1

From Latin illae, which is the nominative plural feminine of ille.

Article

Italian Definite Articles
	singular	plural
masculine	il lo/l'	i gli
feminine	la/l'	le

le f pl (singular la)

1. the

Usage notes

• Contrary to la, le does not elide before words that begin with a vowel:

  le amiche ― (the female) friends

Pronoun

le f pl (masculine li, singular la)

1. (accusative) them (third-person plural feminine)

   Le ho viste. ― I saw them.

Usage notes

• Never elides.
• Becomes glie when followed by a third person direct object clitic (lo, la, li, le, or ne).

Alternative forms

• -le (enclitic)

See also

Italian personal pronouns

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Reflexive	Accusative	Dative	Conjunctive	Disjunctive	Locative	Partitive
Singular	first	—	io	mi, m', -mi			me	me	—
	second	—	tu	ti, t', -ti			te	te
	third	m	lui	si2, s', -si	lo, l', -lo	gli, -gli	glie, se2	lui, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
		f	lei, Lei1		la, La1, l', L'1, -la, -La1	le3, Le1, -le3, -Le1		lei, Lei1, sé
Plural	first	—	noi	ci, c', -ci			ce	noi	—
	second	—	voi, Voi4	vi, Vi4, v', V'4, -vi, -Vi4			ve	voi, Voi4
	third	m	loro, Loro1	si, s', -si	li, Li1, -li, -Li1	gli, -gli, loro (formal), Loro1	glie, se	loro, Loro1, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
		f			le, Le1, -le, -Le1
1	Third person pronominal forms used as formal terms of address to refer to second person subjects (with the first letter frequently capitalised as a sign of respect, and to distinguish them from third person subjects). Unlike the singular forms, the plural forms are mostly antiquated terms of formal address in the modern language, and second person plural pronouns are almost always used instead.
2	Also used as indefinite pronoun meaning “one”, and to form the passive.
3	Often replaced by gli, -gli in informal language.
4	Formal (capitalisation optional); in many regions, can refer to just one person (compare with French vous).

Etymology 2

From Vulgar Latin *illae, a nonstandard form of Latin illī (dative singular of illa). The ae in illae is modelled under influence of the dative case for first-declension feminine nouns, e.g. Classical Latin puellae.

Pronoun

le f (plural gli)

1. (dative) her, to her

   Synonym: (informal) gli

   Le ho detto che la amo. ― I told her that I love her.

   Le ho dato la lettera. ― I gave her the letter.

2. (dative) you, to you (term of respect)

   Non le ho detto il mio nome. ― I didn't tell you my name.

   Le ho dato la lettera. ― I gave you the letter.

Usage notes

• In formal writing, when le is used as term of respect it is usually capitalised/capitalized as Le to avoid confusion with le (“her”).
• In informal contexts often replaced with gli, especially in spoken language.
• Becomes glie when followed by a third person direct object clitic (lo, la, li, le, or ne).
• Never elides.

Alternative forms

• Le

See also

Italian personal pronouns

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Reflexive	Accusative	Dative	Conjunctive	Disjunctive	Locative	Partitive
Singular	first	—	io	mi, m', -mi			me	me	—
	second	—	tu	ti, t', -ti			te	te
	third	m	lui	si2, s', -si	lo, l', -lo	gli, -gli	glie, se2	lui, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
		f	lei, Lei1		la, La1, l', L'1, -la, -La1	le3, Le1, -le3, -Le1		lei, Lei1, sé
Plural	first	—	noi	ci, c', -ci			ce	noi	—
	second	—	voi, Voi4	vi, Vi4, v', V'4, -vi, -Vi4			ve	voi, Voi4
	third	m	loro, Loro1	si, s', -si	li, Li1, -li, -Li1	gli, -gli, loro (formal), Loro1	glie, se	loro, Loro1, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
		f			le, Le1, -le, -Le1
1	Third person pronominal forms used as formal terms of address to refer to second person subjects (with the first letter frequently capitalised as a sign of respect, and to distinguish them from third person subjects). Unlike the singular forms, the plural forms are mostly antiquated terms of formal address in the modern language, and second person plural pronouns are almost always used instead.
2	Also used as indefinite pronoun meaning “one”, and to form the passive.
3	Often replaced by gli, -gli in informal language.
4	Formal (capitalisation optional); in many regions, can refer to just one person (compare with French vous).

Anagrams

• el

Japanese

Romanization

le

1. Rōmaji transcription of れ゚
2. Rōmaji transcription of レ゚

Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic لَا (lā). Cognate with Hebrew לא (lō).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛː/

Adverb

le

1. no

   Synonym: leqq (colloquial)

Related terms

• bla
• la

 

See also

• forsi (“maybe”)
• iva (“yes”)

 

Mandarin

Romanization

le (le⁵／le⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄌㄜ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 了
2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 餎／饹

le

1. Nonstandard spelling of lē.
2. Nonstandard spelling of lè.

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Mauritian Creole

Etymology

From French le.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lø, le/

Article

le

1. (definite) the

Meriam

Etymology

From Rotuman.

Noun

le

1. person

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French le, from Latin illum.

Article

le m (feminine la, masculine and feminine plural les)

1. the

Descendants

• French: le

Neapolitan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le/
• Rhymes: -e

Pronoun

le

1. Alternative form of 'e

Coordinate terms

Number	Person	Nominative	Accusative	Dative	Reflexive	Possessive	Prepositional
singular	first-person	io (i')	me			mìo, mìa, mieje, meje	me, méne
	second-person, familiar	tu	te			tùjo, tòja, tùoje, tòje	te, téne
	second-person, formal	vuje	ve			vuósto, vósta, vuóste, vóste	vuje
	third-person, masculine	ìsso	'o, 'u (lo, lu)	'i, 'e (li, le)	se	sùjo, sòja, sùoje, sòje	ìsso
	third-person, feminine	éssa	'a (la)	'e (le)			éssa
plural	first-person	nuje	ce			nuósto, nòsta, nuóste, nòste	nuje
	second-person, plural	vuje	ve			vuósto, vòsta, vuóste, vòste	vuje
	third-person, masculine	ìsse	'i, 'e (li, le)	llòro	se	llòro (invariable)	llòro
	third-person, feminine	llòro	'e (le)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hlé.

Adjective

le (indeclinable)

1. lee or leeward (side)

Noun

le n

1. lee (sheltered or leeward side)
2. shelter

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hlæja (“to laugh”), from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *klek-, *kleg- (“to shout”).

Verb

le (imperative le, present tense ler, passive -, simple past lo, past participle ledd, present participle leende)

1. to laugh

References

• “le” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leː/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hlæja (“to laugh”), from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną, from the Proto-Indo-European root *klel-, *kleg- (“to shout”). Akin to English laugh.

Alternative forms

• læ, læja (archaic or obsolete)

Verb

le (present tense ler, past tense lo, supine ledd or lett, past participle ledd, present participle leande, imperative le)

1. (intransitive) to laugh

Derived terms

• dumle
• forle
• gaple
• hegrele
• hånle
• skamle
• småle
• storle

 

Related terms

• latter
• løye
• lått

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hlé. Akin to English lee.

Noun

le n (definite singular leet, indefinite plural le, definite plural lea)

1. lee (sheltered or leeward side)
2. shelter

Adjective

le (indeclinable)

1. lee or leeward (side)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

le

1. imperative of lea

Anagrams

• el

Old French

Alternative forms

• lo (9th century in The Sequence of Saint Eulalia and 10th century in La Vie de Saint Léger)

Etymology

From Latin illum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lə/

Article

le

1. the (masculine singular oblique definite article)
2. (Picardy, Anglo-Norman) the (feminine singular definite article)

Usage notes

When coming after en, the two words combine into el.

Inflection

Old French definite articles

Declension of the definite article le

	singular		plural
	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
nominative	li	la, le 1	li	les
oblique	le 1	la 1	les	les
1 These singular forms elide to l' before a vowel or non-aspirate h.

Pronoun

le

1. it (masculine singular object pronoun)

Descendants

• Middle French: le
  • French: le

Anagrams

• el

Old Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /lʲɛ/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /lʲɛ/

Conjunction

le

1. but
2. only
3. that is, namely

Related terms

conjunction

• ale

 

Descendants

• Middle Polish: le

Phalura

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le, ɽe/

Determiner

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

1. that, this (agr: dist fem / dist non-nom masc)

References

• Liljegren, Henrik, Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[10], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le, ɽe/

Determiner

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

1. those, these (agr: dist)

References

• Liljegren, Henrik, Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[11], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 3

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le, ɽe/

Pronoun

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

1. that one
2. it
3. she (dist fem nom)

References

• Liljegren, Henrik, Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[12], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 4

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le, ɽe/

Pronoun

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

1. those ones
2. these ones
3. they (dist nom)

References

• Liljegren, Henrik, Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[13], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Pnar

Pnar cardinal numbers

<  2	3	4  >
Cardinal : le     Ordinal : wa le

Etymology

From Proto-Khasian *laːj. Cognate with Khasi lai. Compare Proto-Palaungic *ləʔɔːj (whence Blang [La Gang] lɔ́j) and Car Nicobarese lōe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le/

Numeral

le

1. (cardinal number) three

Romanian

Etymology

From Latin illīs, dative common plural of ille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -e

Pronoun

le m (unstressed dative form of ei)

1. (indirect object, third-person masculine plural) to them (all-male or mixed group)

Pronoun

le f (unstressed dative form of ele)

1. (indirect object, third-person feminine plural) to them (all-female group)

Pronoun

le m (unstressed accusative form of ele)

1. (direct object, third-person feminine plural) them (all-female group)

Related terms

• lor (stressed dative of ei and ele)
• ele (stressed accusative of ele)
• îl (unstressed dative of el (singular))
• îi (unstressed dative of ea (singular) and unstressed accusative of ei (masculine))
• o (unstressed accusative of ea (singular))

Samoan

Article

le

1. the (the definite article)

Usage notes

Only in the singular. Sometimes used where the indefinite article would be used in English.

See also

• se

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish la. Cognates include Irish le and Manx lesh.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le/
• Hyphenation: le

Preposition

le (+ dative, no mutation, before the definite article leis)

1. with
2. by
3. down

   Thuit e leis a' chreig. ― He fell down the rock.

   deòir a' ruith leis a h-aodann ― tears running down her face

Usage notes

• When referring to being with people, còmhla ri is preferred to le by many speakers.

Inflection

Personal inflection of le
Number	Person	Simple	Emphatic
Singular	1st	leam	leamsa
	2nd	leat	leatsa
	3rd m	leis	leis-san
	3rd f	leatha	leathase
Plural	1st	leinn	leinne
	2nd	leibh	leibhse
	3rd	leotha	leothasan

Possessive declension of le

	Singular	Plural
First person	lemL	lerN
Second person	ledL	lurN
Third person m	le aL	lenN, lemN 1)
Third person f	le aH
L Triggers lenition; H Triggers H-prothesis; N Triggers eclipsis; 1) Used before b-, f-, m- or p-

Serbo-Croatian

Adverb

le (Cyrillic spelling ле)

1. (archaic) only
   • 1556, Hanibal Lucić, U vrime ko čisto:

     Nego se varteći dugo tuj zamani,
     Goro, le htih reći, zbogome ostani.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Related terms

• samo, tek

Slovene

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛ́/

Adverb

lȅ

1. only, merely, just
   • 2024, Raiven (lyrics and music), “Veronika”:

     Tvojo resnico le ona ve.

     Only she knows your truth.

Further reading

• “le”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran

Southern Ndebele

Etymology 1

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

Pronoun

le

1. these; class 4 proximal demonstrative.

Etymology 2

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

Pronoun

le

1. this; class 9 proximal demonstrative.

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin illī, dative of ille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le/ [le]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -e
• Syllabification: le

Pronoun

le m or f by sense

1. to him, for him; dative of él

   Mi mamá va a escribirle una carta.

   My mom is going to write him a letter.

2. to her, for her; dative of ella

   Le dio un beso a Ana.

   He gave Ana a kiss.

3. to it, for it; dative of ello

   ¡Ponle esfuerzo!

   Put some effort into it!

4. to you, for you (formal); dative of usted

   ¿A usted le gustan los caballos?

   Do you like horses?

Usage notes

• Though le is usually the indirect object form of the direct object pronouns lo/la, it is often used in Spain as a direct object as well...e.g., yo le amo (“I love him”). This phenomenon is known as leísmo.
• Note that when a sentence contains a noun that is an indirect object, a redundant indirect object le (or its plural form les) is also required; for example yo le daré el libro a Jorge (literally “I will give him the book to Jorge”), where him/le corresponds to Jorge. This type of pronoun is obligatory. Both of the object pronouns le and les become se when followed by the direct object lo/la/los/las; hence, yo se lo daré (“I will give it to him/her/them”) rather than *yo le/les lo daré.

Pronoun

le gender-neutral

1. (gender-neutral, neologism) to them, for them (singular); dative of elle

   Le diré que te llame.

   I will tell them to call you.

See also

Spanish personal pronouns

				nominative	dative	accusative	disjunctive
first person	singular			yo	me		mí1
	plural	masculine2		nosotros	nos		nosotros
		feminine		nosotras			nosotras
second person	singular	tuteo		tú	te		ti1
		voseo		vos			vos
		formal3		usted	le, se4	lo/la5	usted
	plural	familiar6	masculine2	vosotros	os		vosotros
			feminine	vosotras			vosotras
		formal/general3		ustedes	les, se4	los/las5	ustedes
third person	singular	masculine2		él	le, se4	lo	él
		feminine		ella		la	ella
		neuter		ello7		lo	ello
	plural	masculine2		ellos	les, se4	los	ellos
		feminine		ellas		las	ellas
	reflexive			—	se		sí1

1. Not used with con; conmigo, contigo, and consigo are used instead, respectively
2. Like other masculine Spanish words, masculine Spanish pronouns can be used when the gender of the subject is unknown or when the subject is plural and of mixed gender.
3. Treated as if it were third-person for purposes of conjugation and reflexivity
4. If le or les precedes lo, la, los, or las in a clause, it is replaced with se (e.g., Se lo dije instead of Le lo dije)
5. Depending on the implicit gender of the object being referred to
6. Used primarily in Spain
7. Used only in rare circumstances

Further reading

• “le”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Swahili

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya)

  (file)

Adjective

-le (declinable)

1. that (distal demonstrative adjective)

Inflection

Inflected forms of -le

Noun class	singular	plural
m-wa class(I/II)	yule	wale
m-mi class(III/IV)	ule	ile
ji-ma class(V/VI)	lile	yale
ki-vi class(VII/VIII)	kile	vile
n class(IX/X)	ile	zile
u class(XI)	ule	see n(X) or ma(VI) class
pa class(XVI)	pale
ku class(XVII)	kule
mu class(XVIII)	mle

See also

• hii
• hiyo

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish lēia, lea, from Old Norse hlæja (“to laugh”), from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leː/

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eː

Verb

le (present ler, preterite log, supine lett, imperative le)

1. to smile

   Hon log brett ― She smiled broadly

2. (obsolete) to laugh

Conjugation

Conjugation of le (class 6 strong)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	le		les
Supine	lett		letts
Imperative	le		—
Imper. plural1	len		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	ler	log	les	logs
Ind. plural1	le	logo	les	logos
Subjunctive2	le	loge	les	loges
	Participles
Present participle	leende
Past participle	—
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Derived terms

• småle

Related terms

• löje

See also

• dra på smilbanden
• smila

References

• le in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• le in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• e.l., el, el.

Tarantino

Alternative forms

• l'

Article

le m pl or f pl

1. the

Turkish

Noun

le

1. The name of the Latin-script letter L.

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) harf; a, be, ce, çe, de, e, fe, ge, yumuşak ge, he, ı, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, ö, pe, re, se, şe, te, u, ü, ve, ye, ze

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [lɛ˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [lɛ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [lɛ˧˧]

Etymology 1

Noun

(classifier cây) le

1. a plant in the rice family, which grows in forests and has a shape similar to bamboo

Etymology 2

Noun

(classifier con) le • (𪅆)

1. (obsolete, zoology) lesser whistling duck
   • Nam Giao cổ kim lý hạng ca dao chú giải 南交古金里巷歌謠註解 ("Old and new folk-ballads from the hamlets and alleys in Nanjiao, annotated and explained"), 151a

     𡥵𪅆奴𣵰𡥵𪂮奴𱝩

     Con le nó lặn; con cò nó bay.

     The lesser whistling duck dives; the stork flies.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• le le
• le nâu

 

Etymology 3

Verb

le

1. (Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) Alternative form of lè (“to loll (tongue); to put out”)

Etymology 4

Adverb

le

1. (rare) Alternative form of lè (“very”)

Etymology 5

Conjunction

le

1. (archaic) but; however

Derived terms

Derived terms

• song le

 

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leː/
• Rhymes: -eː

Noun

le

1. Soft mutation of lle.

Adverb

le

1. (South Wales, colloquial) where

   Le ma'r tŷ bach?

   Where's the loo?

Synonyms

• ble
• (North Wales, colloquial) lle

Mutation

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

Xhosa

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [lé]

Pronoun

lé

1. these; class 4 proximal demonstrative.

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [lé]

Pronoun

lé

1. this; class 9 proximal demonstrative.

Yoruba

Pronunciation

• (low-tone): IPA^(key): /lè/
• (mid-tone): IPA^(key): /lē/
• (high-tone): IPA^(key): /lé/

Etymology 1

Verb

lè

1. (auxiliary, defective) to be able, can, to be possible

   Ó lè gbọ́ Yorùbá. ― She can understand Yoruba.

Derived terms

• ìlè (“ability”)

 

Etymology 2

Verb

le

1. to be hard in texture, to be difficult

   Iṣẹ́ náà le bí ojú ẹja. ― The work is as hard as a fish's eye.

2. (idiomatic) to be healthy, to be in good health

   Synonym: yá

   ṣe ará le o? ― Are you in good health?

Derived terms

• eré-ìmárale (“exercise”)
• kára ó le (“A Yoruba greeting meaning, may you always be in good health!”)
• líle (“to be hard”)

 

Etymology 3

Verb

le

1. to have a strong taste

   Ọtí yìí le. ― This beer is strong.

Derived terms

• ale
• lekó

Etymology 4

Verb

le

1. to have an erection (of the penis)

Derived terms

• ìle (“erection”)

 

Etymology 5

Verb

lé

1. (transitive) to exceed in number
2. to yield interest

Derived terms

• èlé (“interest”)

Etymology 6

Verb

lé

1. (intransitive) to appear distinctly

Derived terms

• Alébíoṣù (“A Yoruba nickname meaning, "One that appears very distinctly like the moon."”)
• léfòó

Etymology 7

Preposition

lé

1. on, on top of, after

   Wọ́n bí Àlàbá lé Ìdòwú. ― Alaba was born right after Idowu.

Usage notes

When a word is homophonous with the verb 'lé'; it always occurs in a non-V1 position.

Derived terms

• gbẹ́kẹ̀lé (“to trust”)

Etymology 8

Verb

lé

1. (transitive) to pursue, to chase

   Wọ́n lé e nílèékulèé, òun náà sàsàákúsàá. ― They pursued him relentlessly, and he also ran relentlessly.

Derived terms

• ìlé

Etymology 9

Verb

lé

1. (transitive) to become swollen

   Synonyms: ré, wú

Derived terms

• ìlé

Zou

Conjunction

le

1. and

References

• http://www.languageinindia.com/feb2013/zouphonologyfinal.pdf

Zulu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlé/

Etymology 1

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

Pronoun

le

1. these; class 4 proximal demonstrative.

Inflection

Stem -lé
Full form	lé
Locative	kule
Full form	lé
Locative	kule
Copulative	yile
Possessive forms
	Modifier	Substantive
Class 1	wale	owale
Class 2	bale	abale
Class 3	wale	owale
Class 4	yale	eyale
Class 5	lale	elale
Class 6	ale	awale
Class 7	sale	esale
Class 8	zale	ezale
Class 9	yale	eyale
Class 10	zale	ezale
Class 11	lwale	olwale
Class 14	bale	obale
Class 15	kwale	okwale
Class 17	kwale	okwale

Etymology 2

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

Pronoun

le

1. this; class 9 proximal demonstrative.

Inflection

Stem -lé
Full form	lé
Locative	kule
Full form	lé
Locative	kule
Copulative	yile
Possessive forms
	Modifier	Substantive
Class 1	wale	owale
Class 2	bale	abale
Class 3	wale	owale
Class 4	yale	eyale
Class 5	lale	elale
Class 6	ale	awale
Class 7	sale	esale
Class 8	zale	ezale
Class 9	yale	eyale
Class 10	zale	ezale
Class 11	lwale	olwale
Class 14	bale	obale
Class 15	kwale	okwale
Class 17	kwale	okwale

References

• C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “le”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “le (2)”