he

A1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

US /ˈhiː/ UK [hiː] See IPA manual

Freq #16

Meanings

1

pron
Used to refer to a male person or animal already mentioned or known.

He took a look in the mirror.
2

noun
A male person or animal.

Is your cat a he or a she?

Thesaurus

Synonyms

one they you

Word family

Derived forms he'dhe-asshe-bitchhe-cathe-elephanthe-goathe-huckleberryhe-manhe-shehe-whorehe-wolfhefemale

Related forms herherselfhersenhershernhimhimselfhisselfhissenhishishisnimeithititselfhitselfitshisitshishits

Appears in

Tongue twisters (3)

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Amidst the Mists
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts, With barest wrists and stoutest boasts, He thrusts his fists against the posts, And still insists he sees the ghosts.

Work slowly through the final consonants in mists, wrists, fists and ghosts. Keep the final /s/ audible without inserting a vowel into th...
High Up the Hill
High up the hill he heaved a huge hoe.

Let each /h/ begin with an easy breath. Keep heaved and huge separate, and use your usual pronunciation of huge.
How Much Wood
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck If a woodchuck could and would chuck wood? He’d chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would If a woodchuck could and would chuck wood.

Alternate the rounded /w/ with the short stop-and-release of /tʃ/. Wood, would and could share /ʊ/; chuck and much use /ʌ/ in many Englis...

Etymology

From Middle English he, from Old English hē, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱís (“this”). Cognate with Scots he (“he”), North Frisian he, hi (“he”), Saterland Frisian hie (“he”), West Frisian hy (“he”), Dutch hij, ie (“he”), German Low German he (“he”), Middle High German her (“he”) Central Franconian hä (“he”), Gothic *𐌷𐌹𐍃 (*his, “this”).

he Middle English hē Old English *hiʀ Proto-West Germanic *hiz Proto-Germanic *ḱís Proto-Indo-European

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Topics

Grammar & Function Words

External links

# he

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** pron, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈhiː/
**IPA (UK):** [hiː]
**Frequency rank:** 16

## Meanings
1. Used to refer to a male person or animal already mentioned or known.
2. A male person or animal.

## Examples
- He took a look in the mirror.
- Is your cat a he or a she?

## Synonyms
- one
- they
- you

## Derived Forms
- he'd
- he-ass
- he-bitch
- he-cat
- he-elephant
- he-goat
- he-huckleberry
- he-man
- he-she
- he-whore
- he-wolf
- hefemale

## Related Forms
- her
- herselfhersen
- hershern
- him
- himselfhisselfhissen
- his
- hishisn
- ime
- ithit
- itselfhitself
- itshis
- itshishits

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: he
- Root: hē
- Root: *hiʀ
- Root: *hiz
- Root: *ḱís

## Etymology
From Middle English he, from Old English hē, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱís (“this”). Cognate with Scots he (“he”), North Frisian he, hi (“he”), Saterland Frisian hie (“he”), West Frisian hy (“he”), Dutch hij, ie (“he”), German Low German he (“he”), Middle High German her (“he”) Central Franconian hä (“he”), Gothic *𐌷𐌹𐍃 (*his, “this”).

## AI Etymology
He comes from Middle English he, from Old English hē, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱís (“this”). Cognate with Scots he (“he”), North Frisian he, hi (“he”), Saterland Frisian hie (“he”), West Frisian hy (“he”), Dutch hij, ie (“he”), German Low German he (“he”), Middle High German her (“he”) Central Franconian hä (“he”), Gothic *𐌷𐌹𐍃 (*his, “this”). In current use, the main senses are “Used to refer to a male person or animal already mentioned or known” and “A male person or animal”.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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