les

See also: Appendix:Variations of "les"

Languages (37)

English

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Page categories

English

Alternative forms

• lez

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /lɛz/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛz

Noun

les (plural leses)

1. (slang, colloquial, derogatory) Clipping of lesbian.

Adjective

les (comparative more les, superlative most les)

1. (slang, colloquial, derogatory) Clipping of lesbian.

Anagrams

• SEL, SLE, Els, ELs, LSE, els, ELS, ESL

Afrikaans

Etymology

Inherited from Dutch les (“lesson”), from Middle Dutch lesse, from Latin lēctiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛs/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

les (plural lesse, diminutive lessie)

1. lesson

Aragonese

Etymology

Derived from Latin ille (“that one”).

Pronoun

les

1. them (indirect object)

Synonyms

• lis

Asturian

Alternative forms

• lles (archaic)

Etymology

Inherited from Latin illas.

Article

les f pl (masculine sg el, feminine sg la, neuter sg lo, masculine plural los)

1. (definite) the

Catalan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin illās, from ille.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ləs/
• (Valencia) IPA^(key): /les/
• Rhymes: -es

Article

les f pl (masculine plural els, masculine singular el, feminine singular la)

1. the; feminine plural definite article

Pronoun

les (enclitic and proclitic)

1. them (feminine, direct object)

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-.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin laesus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈlɛs]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈləs]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈles]

Adjective

les (feminine lesa, masculine plural lesos, feminine plural leses)

1. (law) harmed

Derived terms

• crim de lesa humanitat

Related terms

• il·lès

Further reading

• “les” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Cornish

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Brythonic *lles, from Proto-Celtic *lexstus. Cognate with Welsh lles.

Noun

les m (plural lesow)

1. advantage, benefit, gain, profit

   Synonym: budh

2. utility, usefulness, importance, interest
3. welfare

Derived terms

• dhe les (“advantageous, useful, interesting”)
• meur y les (“beneficial”)
• stat an les (“welfare state”)

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Celtic *lussus (“medicinal herb, vegetable”). Doublet of losow. Cognate with Welsh llys.

Noun

les m (plural lesyow)

1. plant

   Synonym: losowen

Derived terms

• les an gog (“marigold”)

Etymology 3

Inherited from Proto-Brythonic *lled, from Proto-Celtic *ɸletos. Cognate with Welsh lled.

Noun

les m (plural lesyow)

1. width, breadth

Derived terms

• a-les (“apart”)
• skollya a-les (“disperse”)
• yn les (“from side to side”)

Etymology 4

Noun

les f (plural lesow)

1. Alternative form of lys (“court”)

Etymology 5

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

Conjunction

les

1. in case

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech les, from Proto-Slavic *lěsъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛs]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: les
• Rhymes: -ɛs
• Homophone: lez

Noun

les m inan

1. forest

   Synonym: hvozd

Declension

Declension of les (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	les	lesy
genitive	lesa	lesů
dative	lesu	lesům
accusative	les	lesy
vocative	lese	lesy
locative	lese	lesích
instrumental	lesem	lesy

Related terms

(nouns):

• lesačka
• lesař
• lesák
• lesník
• lesňák

(adjectives):

• lesnatý
• lesní

(proverb):

• jak se do lesa volá, tak se z lesa ozývá

Further reading

• “les”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “les”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “les”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Danish

Noun

les c

1. indefinite genitive singular of le

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛs/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: les
• Rhymes: -ɛs

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle Dutch lesse, from Latin lēctiō.

Noun

les f (plural lessen, diminutive lesje n)

1. course, lesson

Derived terms

• acteerles
• avondles
• bijles
• gymles
• gymnastiekles
• lesgeven
• leslokaal
• lesplan
• lesrooster
• lessen
• lesuur
• paardrijles
• rijles
• schoolles
• zangles
• zwemles

Descendants

• Afrikaans: les
• → Caribbean Javanese: lès
• → Indonesian: les
• → Papiamentu: lès, les

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

les

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

Anagrams

• els

Further reading

• “les” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]

Franco-Provençal

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin illās.

Determiner

les f pl

1. feminine plural of lo (“the”)

Pronoun

les f pl (ORB, broad)

1. them (third-person plural feminine accusative)

See also

Franco-Provençal personal pronouns

singular	nominative	accusative	dative	tonic1	possessive2
1st person	jo	mè			min
2nd person	te	tè			tin
3rd person masculine	il	lo / le	lui		sin
3rd person feminine	el	la	lyé
3rd person neuter	o		y	—
3rd person reflexive	—	sè
plural	nominative	accusative	dative	tonic1	possessive2
1st person	nos				noutro
2nd person	vos				voutro
3rd person masculine	ils	los / les	lor		lor
3rd person feminine	els	les	lor / lyés
3rd person reflexive	—	sè
1 Disjunctive or object of a preposition.		2 Generally preceded by a definite article.

References

• les [3] in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• les in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

Etymology 2

Determiner

les m pl

1. Alternative form of los, masculine plural of lo (“the”)

Pronoun

les m pl (ORB, broad)

1. Alternative form of los m pl (“them”)

References

• les in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• les in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French les, from Old French les, from Latin illōs m and illās f which are the accusative plurals of ille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛ/, (in liaison) /lɛ.z‿/ ~ /le.z‿/
• IPA^(key): /le/, (in liaison) /le.z‿/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: lé, lés, lez, lait, laits

Article

les

1. plural of le: the
2. plural of la: the

Usage notes

• de les is never used: contracted into des.
• à les is never used: contracted into aux.

Pronoun

les m pl or f pl

1. plural of le: them
2. plural of la: them

Related terms

French personal pronouns

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative (subject)	Accusative (direct complement)	Dative (indirect complement)	Locative (at)	Genitive (of)	Disjunctive (tonic)
Singular	First	—	je, j’	me, m’		—	—	moi
	Second	—	tu	te, t’		—	—	toi
	Third	Masculine	il	le, l’	lui	y	en	lui
		Feminine	elle	la, l’				elle
		Indeterminate	on1	—	—	—	—	—
		Reflexive	—	se, s’4		—	—	soi4
Plural	First	—	nous	nous		—	—	nous
	Second	—	vous2	vous2,3		—	—	vous2
	Third	Masculine	ils3	les	leur	y	en	eux3
		Feminine	elles					elles

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.

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• sel

Galician

Verb

les

1. second-person singular present indicative of ler

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leːs/

Verb

les

1. (colloquial) first-person singular present of lesen

   Synonym: (standard) lese

2. (colloquial) singular imperative of lesen

   Synonym: (standard) lies

Hungarian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Ugric *läćɜ (“hiding place; lurk”). Cognates include Southern Mansi [script needed] (lǟš-), Northern Mansi [script needed] (lāś-).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛʃ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛʃ

Noun

les (plural lesek)

2. cover, hideaway, ambush (the place where one is concealed, in wait to attack by surprise, or the act of concealing oneself there)

   Synonyms: lesállás, leshely

   Hypernyms: búvóhely, rejtekhely, (hiding place in general) rejtek

3. (hunting) hide, blind
4. (soccer) offside

   Synonyms: lesállás, leshelyzet

Declension

Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	les	lesek
accusative	lest	leseket
dative	lesnek	leseknek
instrumental	lessel	lesekkel
causal-final	lesért	lesekért
translative	lessé	lesekké
terminative	lesig	lesekig
essive-formal	lesként	lesekként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	lesben	lesekben
superessive	lesen	leseken
adessive	lesnél	leseknél
illative	lesbe	lesekbe
sublative	lesre	lesekre
allative	leshez	lesekhez
elative	lesből	lesekből
delative	lesről	lesekről
ablative	lestől	lesektől
non-attributive possessive - singular	lesé	leseké
non-attributive possessive - plural	leséi	lesekéi

Possessive forms of les
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	lesem	leseim
2nd person sing.	lesed	leseid
3rd person sing.	lese	lesei
1st person plural	lesünk	leseink
2nd person plural	lesetek	leseitek
3rd person plural	lesük	leseik

Derived terms

(Expressions):

• lesben áll

Verb

les

2. (transitive) to spy, peep, peek, pry
3. (transitive) to stare, goggle, eye
4. (transitive, intransitive) to cheat at a test by looking at someone else's work

Conjugation

conjugation of les

Click for archaic forms			1st person sg	2nd person sg informal	3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal	1st person pl	2nd person pl informal	3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal
Indica­tive mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	lesek	lesel	les	lesünk	lestek	lesnek
		Def.	lesem	lesed	lesi	lessük	lesitek	lesik
		2nd-p. o.	leslek	―
	Past	Indef.	lestem	lestél	lesett	lestünk	lestetek	lestek
		Def.	lestem	lested	leste	lestük	lestétek	lesték
		2nd-p. o.	lestelek	―
	Future		Future is expressed with a present-tense verb with a completion-marking prefix and/or a time adverb, or—more explicitly—with the infinitive plus the conjugated auxiliary verb fog, e.g. lesni fog.
	Archaic Preterit	Indef.	lesék	lesél	lese	lesénk	lesétek	lesének
		Def.	lesém	leséd	lesé	lesénk	lesétek	lesék
		2nd-p. o.	lesélek	―
	Archaic Past		Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala (volt), e.g. les vala, lesett vala/volt.
	Archaic Future	Indef.	lesendek	lesendesz	lesend	lesendünk	lesendetek	lesendenek
		Def.	lesendem	lesended	lesendi	lesendjük	lesenditek	lesendik
		2nd-p. o.	lesendelek	―
Condi­tional mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	lesnék	lesnél	lesne	lesnénk	lesnétek	lesnének
		Def.	lesném	lesnéd	lesné	lesnénk (or lesnők)	lesnétek	lesnék
		2nd-p. o.	lesnélek	―
	Past		Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. lesett volna
Sub­junc­tive mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	lessek	less or lessél	lessen	lessünk	lessetek	lessenek
		Def.	lessem	lesd or lessed	lesse	lessük	lessétek	lessék
		2nd-p. o.	lesselek	―
	(Archaic) Past		Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. lesett légyen
Infinitive	lesni		lesnem	lesned	lesnie	lesnünk	lesnetek	lesniük
Other forms	Verbal noun		Present part.	Past part.	Future part.	Adverbial participle		Causative
	lesés		leső	lesett	lesendő	lesve (lesvén)
The archaic passive conjugation had the same -(t)at/-(t)et suffix as the causative, followed by -ik in the 3rd-person singular (and the concomitant changes in conditional and subjunctive mostly in the 1st- and 3rd-person singular like with other traditional -ik verbs).

potential conjugation of les

Click for archaic forms			1st person sg	2nd person sg informal	3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal	1st person pl	2nd person pl informal	3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal
Indica­tive mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	leshetek	leshetsz	leshet	leshetünk	leshettek	leshetnek
		Def.	leshetem	lesheted	lesheti	leshetjük	leshetitek	leshetik
		2nd-p. o.	leshetlek	―
	Past	Indef.	leshettem	leshettél	leshetett	leshettünk	leshettetek	leshettek
		Def.	leshettem	leshetted	leshette	leshettük	leshettétek	leshették
		2nd-p. o.	leshettelek	―
	Archaic Preterit	Indef.	lesheték	leshetél	leshete	lesheténk	leshetétek	leshetének
		Def.	leshetém	leshetéd	lesheté	lesheténk	leshetétek	lesheték
		2nd-p. o.	leshetélek	―
	Archaic Past		Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala, e.g. leshet vala, leshetett vala/volt.
	Archaic Future	Indef.	leshetendek or lesandhatok	leshetendesz or lesandhatsz	leshetend or lesandhat	leshetendünk or lesandhatunk	leshetendetek or lesandhattok	leshetendenek or lesandhatnak
		Def.	leshetendem or lesandhatom	leshetended or lesandhatod	leshetendi or lesandhatja	leshetendjük or lesandhatjuk	leshetenditek or lesandhatjátok	leshetendik or lesandhatják
		2nd-p. o.	leshetendelek or lesandhatlak	―
Condi­tional mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	leshetnék	leshetnél	leshetne	leshetnénk	leshetnétek	leshetnének
		Def.	leshetném	leshetnéd	leshetné	leshetnénk (or leshetnők)	leshetnétek	leshetnék
		2nd-p. o.	leshetnélek	―
	Past		Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. leshetett volna
Sub­junc­tive mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	leshessek	leshess or leshessél	leshessen	leshessünk	leshessetek	leshessenek
		Def.	leshessem	leshesd or leshessed	leshesse	leshessük	leshessétek	leshessék
		2nd-p. o.	leshesselek	―
	(Archaic) Past		Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. leshetett légyen
Inf.	(leshetni)		(leshetnem)	(leshetned)	(leshetnie)	(leshetnünk)	(leshetnetek)	(leshetniük)
Positive adjective			leshető	Neg. adj.	leshetetlen	Adv. part.	(leshetve / leshetvén)

Derived terms

• leselkedik
• lesés

(With verbal prefixes):

• átles
• beles
• beleles
• elles
• felles
• hátrales
• keresztülles
• kiles
• leles
• megles
• ráles

Further reading

• (ambush): les 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
• (to spy): les 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

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛːs/
• Rhymes: -ɛːs

Etymology 1

Noun

les n (genitive singular less, nominative plural les)

1. (linguistics) lexeme (set of inflected forms taken by a single word)
2. (computing) lexeme (individual instance of a continuous character sequence without spaces, used in lexical analysis)

Declension

Declension of les (neuter)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	les	lesið	les	lesin
accusative	les	lesið	les	lesin
dative	lesi	lesinu	lesum	lesunum
genitive	less	lessins	lesa	lesanna

Synonyms

• (lexeme): flettiorð

Derived terms

• lesgreining
• lesgreinir

See also

• tóki

Etymology 2

Verb

les

1. first-person singular of lesa (“to read”)

   Ég les mikið af þýskum bókum.

   I read a lot of German books.

2. third-person singular of lesa (“to read”)

   Pálmi les alltaf sömu söguna, þótt hann eigi margar bækur.

   Pálmi always reads the same story, even though he has many books.

Indonesian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Dutch les (“course, lesson”), from Middle Dutch lesse, from Latin lēctiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛs]
• Hyphenation: lès

Noun

lès (plural les-les)

1. (education, colloquial) cram school, private tuition.

Verb

lès

1. (education, colloquial) to cram, to study hard, to learn at cram school.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Dutch lis (“reed”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛs]
• Hyphenation: lès

Noun

lès (plural les-les)

1. rein.

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈləs]
• Hyphenation: lês

Noun

lês (plural les-les)

1. alternative spelling of lis

Further reading

• “les” 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.

Interlingua

Pronoun

les

1. (dative) to them

Usage notes

• Precedes conjugated verbs.
• Can be of mixed gender (not just masculine).

Ladin

Etymology

Inherited from Latin illas.

Article

les f (plural)

1. the

See also

• l
• la, l'
• i

Ladino

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish les, from Latin illīs, dative plural of ille.

Pronoun

les m or f by sense (Hebrew spelling ליס)

1. dative of eyos and eyas; (to) them, (for) them [ca. 1510]
   • 19th century, Sa'adi Besalel a-Levi, chapter 42, in Aron Rodrigue, Sarah Abrevaya Stein, editors, A Jewish Voice from Ottoman Salonica: The Ladino Memoir of Sa'adi Besalel A-Levi‎^[1], Stanford University Press, published 2012, →ISBN, page 290:

     Los fraguadores les vino kolay de tomar todas las pyedras de ensima los muertos, syendo estas kevuroth eran de los primeros djidyos ke vinyeron de la Espanya.

     It came easy for the builders to take all the dead's tombstones, being that these graves belonged to the first Jews who came from Spain.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• lese, lees, leas, leasse

Etymology

Inherited from Old English lēas (“false, void, loose”).

Cognate with Middle High German lōs (“loose”), Old Swedish lø̄s (“loose”); a doublet of loos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛːs/

Adjective

les

1. false; lying; deceptive

Noun

les (uncountable)

1. falsehood; a lie
   • 15th c., “[The Creation]”, in Wakefield Mystery Plays; Re-edited in George England, Alfred W. Pollard, editors, The Towneley Plays (Early English Text Society Extra Series; LXXI), London: […] Oxford University Press, 1897, →OCLC, page 5, lines 120–121:

     He is so fayre, withoutten les, / he semys full well to sytt on des.

     He is so good, without falsehood; / (so) he's really suited to sit on a dais.

   • c. 1480, “The Creation”, in The Towneley Plays, lines 158–159:

     We held with hym ther he saide leasse / And therfor have we all unpeasse.

     We stayed with him when he uttered untruth, / and therefore we all feel discord.

   • c. 1480, “The Creation”, in The Towneley Plays, lines 193–195:

     Ye shall have joye and blis therin / Whils ye will kepe you out of syn, / I say withoutten lese.

     You'll have joy and tranquility within / if you keep yourself out of sin, / I say, without lies.

Middle French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French les, from Latin illōs m and illās f

Article

les m pl or f pl (masculine singular le, feminine singular la)

1. the

Descendants

• French: les

Norman

Norman Definite Articles
	singular	plural
masculine	le / l'	les
feminine	la / l'	les

Pronunciation

• Audio (Jersey):

  (file)

Article

les pl (singular lé, and la)

1. Alternative form of l's

   les boutons ― the nipples

   les êpices ― the spices

   les lédgeunmes ― the vegetables

   les ridgieaux ― the curtains

   • 2013 March, Geraint Jennings, “Mar martello”, in The Town Crier‎^[2], archived from the original on 13 March 2016, page 20:

     Dans les clios étout nou vait des tracteurs et des machinnes tandi qu'lé travas du fèrmyi r'prend san rhythme coumme tréjous.

     In the fields tractors and machines can be seen too as farm work picks up again as always.

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

les

1. imperative of lese

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

les

1. present tense of lesa
2. imperative of lesa

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lěsъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈlɛs/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈlɛs/

Noun

les m inan

1. forest

   Synonym: hvozd

Declension

Declension of les (hard o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	les	lesy	lesi, lesové
genitive	lesa, lesu	lesú	lesóv
dative	lesu	lesoma	lesóm
accusative	les	lesy	lesy
vocative	lese	lesy	lesi, lesové
locative	lesě, lesu	lesú	lesiech
instrumental	lesem	lesoma	lesy

This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.
See also Appendix:Old Czech nouns and Appendix:Old Czech pronunciation.

Descendants

• Czech: les

Further reading

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “les”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Old French

Etymology

Inherited from Latin illas and illos.

Article

les

1. the (feminine plural oblique definite article)
2. the (feminine plural nominative definite article)
3. the (masculine plural oblique definite article)

Inflection

Old French definite articles

	Case	masculine	feminine
singular	subject	li	la, le 1
	oblique	le 1	la 1
plural	subject	li	les
	oblique	les	les

¹ These singular forms elide to l' before a vowel or non-aspirate h.

Descendants

• Middle French: les
  • French: les

Old Irish

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [lʲesʲ]

Pronoun

les (emphatic lessom)

1. third-person singular masculine of la

Alternative forms

• less

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [l͈ʲes]

Noun

les m

1. Alternative spelling of less (“benefit, advantage”)

Mutation

Mutation of les

radical	lenition	nasalization
les also lles after a proclitic ending in a vowel	les pronounced with /l(ʲ)-/	unchanged

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

Old Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lě̑sъ. First attested in 1386.

Noun

les m inan

1. forest, woods (dense uncultivated tract of trees)

Descendants

• Pannonian Rusyn: лєс (ljes)
• Slovak: les

References

• Majtán, Milan et al., editors (1991–2008), “les”, in Historický slovník slovenského jazyka [Historical Dictionary of the Slovak Language] (in Slovak), volumes 1–7 (A – Ž), Bratislava: VEDA, →OCLC

Old Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin illīs, dative plural of ille.

Pronoun

les m or f by sense

1. dative of ellos and ellas; (to) them; (for) them
   • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 2v:

     eſtos angeles cõ q fablo abraã. vinieron a ſodoma e loth ſedia ala puerta dela cibdat. e violos e leuátos cótra elló. e omillos troa la tierra. e dixo les priego uos mios ſẽnores. Q̃ uẽgades acaſa de ur̃o ſieruo albergar.

     These angels to whom Abraham spoke came to Sodom, and Lot was at the city's gate. And he saw them and he got up to greet them and groveled with his face to the ground. And he said, “I beg you, my lords, come spend the night at your servant's house.”

Descendants

• Ladino: les, ליס
• Spanish: les

References

• Ralph Steele Boggs et al. (1946) “les”, in Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, volume II, Chapel Hill, page 303

Rohingya

Etymology

Compare with Bengali লেজ (lej).

Noun

les

1. tail

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Bulgarian лес (les).

Noun

les n (plural lesuri)

1. (Oltenia) thicket

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	les	lesul		lesuri	lesurile
genitive-dative	les	lesului		lesuri	lesurilor
vocative	lesule			lesurilor

References

• les in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lêːs/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lěsъ (“tree, forest”).

Alternative forms

• lijȇs (Ijekavian)

Noun

lȇs m (Cyrillic spelling ле̑с)

1. coffin
2. (regionally) lumber
3. (regionally) forest, woods

Declension

Declension of les

	singular	plural
nominative	lȇs	lésovi
genitive	lesa	lésōvā
dative	lesu	lesovima
accusative	les	lesove
vocative	lese	lesovi
locative	lesu	lesovima
instrumental	lesom	lesovima

Etymology 2

Derived from German Löss.

Noun

lȇs m (Cyrillic spelling ле̑с)

1. (geology) loess

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Old Slovak les, from Proto-Slavic *lěsъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ʎes]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

les m inan (relational adjective lesný, diminutive lesík or lesíček, augmentative lesisko)

1. forest, woods

Declension

Declension of les (pattern dub)

	singular	plural
nominative	les	lesy
genitive	lesa	lesov
dative	lesu	lesom
accusative	les	lesy
locative	lese	lesoch
instrumental	lesom	lesmi

Further reading

• “les”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Slovene

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lěsъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /léːs/
• Rhymes: -eːs
• Hyphenation: les

Noun

lẹ̑s m inan

at	v lesu
to	v les
from	iz lesa

1. (uncountable) wood

   Synonyms: lesovina, lesnina, lesna snov

2. (uncommon, uncountable) trees in a forest^[→SSKJ]

   Synonyms: drevo, drev

3. (usually in the plural, archaic or literary) forest, woods

   Synonyms: gozd, boršt, gmajna, gaj, gošča, gozdek, gozdič, gozdiček, gozdni labirint, hosta, lesovje, log, loza, šuma

4. (Christianity, rare) cross

   Synonyms: križ, krucifiks

Declension

First masculine declension (hard o-stem, inanimate, -ov- infix) , long mixed accent
nom. sing.	lẹ̑s
gen. sing.	lesȃ
	singular	dual	plural
nominative imenovȃlnik	lẹ̑s	lesȏva	lesȏvi
genitive rodȋlnik	lesȃ	lesóv	lesóv
dative dajȃlnik	lẹ̑su, lẹ̑si	lesȏvoma, lesȏvama	lesȏvom, lẹ̑sȏvam
accusative tožȋlnik	lẹ̑s	lesȏva	lesȏve
locative mẹ̑stnik	lẹ̑su, lẹ̑si	lesȏvih	lesȏvih
instrumental orọ̑dnik	lẹ̑som	lesȏvoma, lesȏvama	lesȏvi
(vocative) (ogȏvorni imenovȃlnik)	lẹ̑s	lesȏva	lesȏvi

• stylistically marked

First masculine declension (hard o-stem, inanimate) , fixed accent
nom. sing.	lẹ̑s
gen. sing.	lẹ̑sa
	singular	dual	plural
nominative imenovȃlnik	lẹ̑s	lẹ̑sa	lẹ̑si
genitive rodȋlnik	lẹ̑sa	lẹ̑sov	lẹ̑sov
dative dajȃlnik	lẹ̑su, lẹ̑si	lẹ̑soma, lẹ̑sama	lẹ̑som, lẹ̑sam
accusative tožȋlnik	lẹ̑s	lẹ̑sa	lẹ̑se
locative mẹ̑stnik	lẹ̑su, lẹ̑si	lẹ̑sih, lẹ̑sah	lẹ̑sih, lẹ̑sah
instrumental orọ̑dnik	lẹ̑som	lẹ̑soma, lẹ̑sama	lẹ̑si
(vocative) (ogȏvorni imenovȃlnik)	lẹ̑s	lẹ̑sa	lẹ̑si

Derived terms

• biti čez les
• biti iz drugačnega lesa
• biti malo čez les
• biti v lesu
• blagoslovjeni les
• božji les
• celulozni les
• črni les
• dišeči les
• gadov les
• jamski les
• kačji les
• les dela
• les na panju
• lesẹ̑n
• lẹ̄sən
• lesenẹ́ti
• lesnīna
• nedeljni les
• nedeljski les
• okrogli les
• olesenẹ́ti
• pasji les
• popotni les
• pozni les
• rastni les
• rodni les
• sladki les
• stoječi les
• tehnični les
• vezani les
• volčji les
• zlesenẹ́ti

Further reading

• “les”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “les”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /les/ [les]
• Rhymes: -es
• Syllabification: les

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish les, from Latin illīs, dative plural of ille.

Pronoun

les

1. dative of ellos and ellas; to them, for them

   Los chicos están hambrientos, les llevaré algo de comer.

   The boys are hungry, I'll bring them something to eat.

2. dative of ustedes; to you all, for you all (formal)

   Hijas, ¿quieren que les compre algo de la tienda?

   Daughters, do you want me to buy you all anything from the store?

3. (leísmo, dialectal) accusative of ustedes; you all (formal)

   Synonyms: los, las

   ¿Necesitan que [yo] les ayude en algo?

   Do you need me to help you all with anything?

4. (leísmo, dialectal, proscribed except in impersonal sentences with "se") accusative of ellos and ellas; them

   Synonyms: lo, la

   Se les considera unos tontos. [non-proscribed]

   They consider them fools.

   Ayer les vi cenando en un restaurante. [proscribed]

   Yesterday I saw them dining at a restaurant.

5. (gender-neutral, neologism) dative of elles; to them, for them

   Les pedí que por favor hagan silencio.

   I asked them to please be quiet.

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

Etymology 2

The gender-neutral suffix -e replaces the gendered suffixes -a and -o.

Article

les gender-neutral pl

1. (gender-neutral, neologism) the (plural)

   Les estudiantes están prestando atención a la clase.

   The students are paying attention to the class.

Further reading

• “le”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
• “leísmo” in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, segunda edición, Real Academia Española, 2023. →ISBN

Tok Pisin

Etymology

Derived from English lazy.

Adjective

les

1. lazy
2. tired, fed up

Verb

les

1. be lazy
2. be tired, be fed up

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leːs/
• Rhymes: -eːs

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English lace.

Noun

les f (plural lesau, not mutable)

1. lace (light fabric patterned with holes)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Middle English lease, from Anglo-Norman les, from Old French lais, lez (“a lease”).

Noun

les f (plural lesoedd, not mutable)

1. lease

Alternative forms

• lês (obsolete)

Derived terms

• lesddeiliad (“leaseholder”)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

les

1. Soft mutation of lles.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “les”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

Mutation

Mutated forms of lles

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
lles	les	unchanged	unchanged

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