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

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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# 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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