du

See also: Appendix:Variations of "du"

Languages (68)

Abinomn • Äiwoo • Albanian • Alemannic German • Amanab • Ashkun • Bambara • Basque • Bavarian • Breton • Burushaski • Catalan • Cimbrian • Cornish • Danish • Dena'ina • Dutch • Elfdalian • Esperanto • Fala • French • Gaikundi • German • Gothic • Gun • Hunsrik • Ido • Jamaican Creole • Japanese • Kalasha • Lithuanian • Lower Sorbian • Luxembourgish • Mandarin • Middle Dutch • Middle English • Middle High German • Middle Low German • Mòcheno • Mokilese • Norman • North Frisian • Northern Kurdish • Northern Sami • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Nupe • Obokuitai • Old French • Old High German • Old Irish • Pennsylvania German • Pite Sami • Plautdietsch • Romagnol • Romanian • Saterland Frisian • Scots • Sranan Tongo • Sumerian • Swedish • Tlingit • Tregami • Venetan • Vietnamese • Welsh • White Hmong • Yoruba

Page categories

Abinomn

Noun

du

name

Äiwoo

Determiner

du

all

References

Ross, M. & Næss, Å. (2007) “An Oceanic origin for Äiwoo, the language of the Reef Islands?”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 46, number 2. Cited in: "Äiwoo" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.

Albanian

Verb

du

Dialectal form of dua

Alemannic German

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /du/

Pronoun

du

thou, you

Declension

Alemannic German personal pronouns

		nominative	accusative	dative	possessive m
1st person singular		ich, i	mich, mi	mir, mier, mer	min, miin
2nd person singular	familiar	du	dich, di	dir, dier, der	din, diin
2nd person singular	polite	Si		Ine, Ene, -ne	Ire
3rd person singular	m	er	in, en	im	sin, siin
	f	si		ire
	n	es, 's, -s		im	sin, siin
1st person plural		mir, mer	üs, öis, ois, eus		üse, öise, oise, euse
2nd person plural		ir, ier	öi, eu		öie, eure
3rd person plural		si		ine, ene, -ne	ire

Amanab

Noun

du

a kind of bird

Ashkun

**Ashkun cardinal numbers**
< 1	2	3 >
Cardinal : du

Etymology

From Proto-Nuristani *dū, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dwáH, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdu/

Numeral

du (Sanu)^[1]

two

References

^ Strand, Richard F. (2016) “d′u”, in Nûristânî Etymological Lexicon‎^[1]

Bambara

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [dúù]

Noun

du

household

References

2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Basque

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /du/ [d̪u]
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -u
Hyphenation: du

Verb

du

Third-person singular (hark), taking third-person singular (hura) as direct object, present indicative form of izan.

Usage notes

Linguistically, this verb form can be seen as belonging to the reconstructed citation form edun instead of izan.

Bavarian

Etymology

Cognate with German du.

Pronoun

du

you (nominative, singular)

Breton

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdyː/

Adjective

du

Mutation

Mutation of du
	unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard
simple form	du	zu	never occurs	never occurs
comparative	duoc'h	zuoc'h	never occurs	-	superlative	duañ	zuañ	unchanged	tuañ

Derived terms

dua

Noun

du m

black

Mutation

^{The template Template:br-noun-mutation does not use the parameter(s): g=m
Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.}

Mutation of du
unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard
du	zu	unchanged	tu

Verb

du

third-person singular present indicative of duañ

Mutation

^{The template Template:br-verb-mutation does not use the parameter(s): g=m
Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.}

Mutation of du
unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed
du	zu	unchanged	tu	tu

Burushaski

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [d̪u]

Noun

du (plural duwants)

yew

References

Sadaf Munshi (2015) “Word Lists”, in Burushaski Language Documentation Project‎^[3].

Catalan

Verb

du

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

Cimbrian

Etymology

From Middle High German du, from Old High German dū, from Proto-West Germanic *þū, from Proto-Germanic *þū. Cognate with German du, archaic English thou (modern dialectal tha).

Pronoun

du

(Luserna, Sette Comuni) you (thou, singular familiar)
Bobrall du geast, gedenkhte ber du pist. ― Wherever you go, remember who you are.

Inflection

Sette Comuni:

Cimbrian personal pronouns

		nominative	accusative	dative
1st person singular		ich	mich	miar
2nd person singular	familiar	du	dich	diar
2nd person singular	polite	iart	ach	òich
3rd person singular	m	èar, ar	in, en	iime
	f	zi, ze		iar
	n	es, is	es, 's	iime
1st person plural		bar, bandare	zich	izàndarn
2nd person plural		iart, iartàndare, artàndare	òich, ach	ogàndarn
3rd person plural		ze, zòi, zandare	zich	innàndarn

Luserna:

Personal pronouns
	singular	plural
1st person	i	biar
2nd person	du	iar
3rd person	er, si, 'z	se

References

“du” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Cornish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

du

black

Mutation

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

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Danish thu, from Old Norse þú, from Proto-Germanic *þū, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂ (“you”). Cognate with English thou, Latin tū, Sanskrit त्वम् (tvam), Avestan 𐬙𐬏𐬨 (tūm), Russian ты (ty).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈd̥u], [d̥u]

Pronoun

du (objective dig)

thou, you (2nd person singular subject pronoun, informal)

Etymology 2

From Old Danish dughæ, from Old Norse duga, from Proto-Germanic *duganą (“to be useful”), cognate with Swedish duga, German taugen, Gothic 𐌳𐌿𐌲𐌰𐌽 (dugan).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈd̥uːˀ]

Verb

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

be good
be fit

Conjugation

Inflection of du

	present	past
simple	duer or dur	duede
perfect	har duet	havde duet
passive	—	—
participle	-	duet
imperative	du	—
infinitive	du	—
auxiliary verb	have	—
gerund	—	—

Dena'ina

Particle

du

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

Dutch

Alternative forms

dou (obsolete, Holland)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dy/
Hyphenation: du
Rhymes: -y

Pronoun

du

(obsolete or dialectal) Second-person singular informal pronoun; thou
- 1620, Jacob Cats, Velt-teycken, alle eerbare jonge lieden toegeeygent:
  Sy roept, du bist een slaef, in mijne dienst gebonden
  She calls, thou art a slave, bound to my service
- 1625, Joost van den Vondel, Wiech-liedt:
  Soo leyt dyn memmetje dy in dyn wiechje te rust.
  So thy mama lays thee to rest in thy cradle.

Usage notes

Du was already falling out of general use in early modern Dutch. It was still relatively common in the oblique cases, in vocatives or close to vocative appositions and when indicating contempt.
The corresponding verbal ending was -st. The present form of zijn was bist, for hebben the present forms hebst and hest were in use. When the nominative directly followed the verb, contraction usually occurred: -stu; bistu, hebstu.

Declension

Nominative: du, dou, douw
Oblique: dij, dy
Possessive: dijn, dyn

Elfdalian

Etymology

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

Pronoun

du

you (singular), thou

Esperanto

**Esperanto numbers ^(edit)**
	20
← 1	2	3 →
Cardinal: du Ordinal: dua Adverbial: due Multiplier: duobla, duopa Fractional: duona, duono

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /du/
Audio: (file)

Numeral

du

two (2)

Derived terms

duo
dupunkto (“colon”)

Fala

Alternative forms

do (Mañegu)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese do, equivalent to de (“of”) +‎ u (masculine singular definite article).

Contraction

du m sg (plural dus, feminine da, feminine plural das)

(Lagarteiru, Valverdeñu) of the

References

Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎^[4], 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French del. The expected modern form would be *deau, but it underwent stronger contraction. Akin to Galician do, Portuguese do, Sicilian dû, Italian and Spanish del.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dy/
Audio: (file)
(Quebec) IPA^(key): [d͡zy], [d͡zʏ]
Homophones: dû, due, dues, dus, dût

Contraction

du

Contraction of de + le (“of the”)
« Eussent » est la troisième personne du pluriel de l’imparfait du subjonctif de « avoir ».
"Eussent" is the third-person plural imperfect subjunctive [form] of "avoir."
- 1802, Charles Brillat, Pierre Bazaine, Métrologie française, page 249:
  Le bouge donne 9 [neuf] litres plus que le point qui correspond à celui du diamètre des fonds indiqué par la jauge […]
  The bulge gives 9 [nine] liters more than the point which corresponds to that of the diameter of the base indicated by the gauge […]

Usage notes

Only used before nouns (or nominalized forms of other parts of speech, most often adjectives) that begin with consonants; before vowel-initial words, the form de l’ is used, e.g., as seen above, de l'imparfait.

Related terms

duquel

Article

du m sg (feminine singular de la, plural des)

Forms the partitive article.
Il mange du pain. ― He eats bread. / He eats some bread.

Usage notes

The partitive article is used with uncountable nouns instead of the indefinite article (which is only used with countable nouns). English and most other European languages do not use any article in such cases.
Like the indefinite article, the partitive article becomes simple de with grammatical objects in negated sentences: Il ne mange pas de pain. (“He doesn't eat bread.”)
After the actual preposition de (“of, from”), the partitive article is deleted. So one can never say *de du or *de de la.

Gaikundi

Noun

du

man

German

Alternative forms

Du

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

(stressed) IPA^(key): /duː/

Audio: (file)
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -uː

(unstressed, standard) IPA^(key): /du/
(unstressed, colloquial) IPA^(key): /də/
After the second person singular verb ending -st, the /d/ is generally lost when the pronoun is unstressed. Thus hast du is pronounced [ˈhast‿u] even in purposefully enunciated speech.
In colloquial speech, chiefly of northern and central Germany, the /d/ can be lost after any preceding coronal. Thus wenn du may be pronounced [ˈvɛn‿u] or [ˈvɛn‿ə].

Pronoun

du

you (singular familiar), thou

Usage notes

Du is the informal second person pronoun. In formal speech, the third person plural Sie (always capitalised) is used instead.
A general rule of thumb is that du is used to address one's friends, relatives, and those under about 16 years of age. Du is always used to address children and non-human beings.
Usage also depends on the setting: two unacquainted, middle-aged persons are likely to use du when they meet at social gatherings, but much less so when they happen on each other in the street. People under 30 often use du among each other, but they still use Sie when one of them is at work, e.g. in a shop (some cafés and most pubs are an exception).
There is also a great deal of (often subtle) regional variation throughout the German-speaking world.

Declension

German personal pronouns

	1st person	2nd person familiar¹	3rd person			1st person	2nd person familiar¹	3rd person	2nd person polite/formal
	singular					plural			singular and plural
	1st person	2nd person familiar¹	m	f	n	1st person	2nd person familiar¹	3rd person	2nd person polite/formal
nominative	ich	du -e²	er	sie -se²	es	wir	ihr	sie -se²	Sie Ihr³
genitive	meiner mein³	deiner dein³	seiner sein³	ihrer	seiner sein³	unser	euer	ihrer	Ihrer Euer³
dative	mir	dir	ihm	ihr	ihm	uns	euch	ihnen	Ihnen Euch³
accusative	mich	dich	ihn	sie -se²	es	uns	euch	sie -se²	Sie Euch³

¹These forms are sometimes capitalized, especially in letters. ²enclitic, colloquial ³archaic

Derived terms

duzen
Du n

Gothic

Romanization

du

Romanization of 𐌳𐌿

Gun

Alternative forms

ɖù (Benin)

Etymology

From Proto-Gbe *ɖu. Cognates include Fon ɖù, Saxwe Gbe ɖù, Adja ɖù, Ewe ɖu

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɖù/

Verb

dù (Nigeria)

to eat
to bite
Àgọ̀sú hò àvún dàhó dé bọ̀ àvún wá dù ví étọ̀n ― Agosu bought a certain big dog and the dog eventually bit his child
to win

Derived terms

dù gbẹ́ (“to enjoy life”)
dù gán (“to become a chief”)
dù hwè (“to celebrate”)
dù kwẹ́ (“to spend money”)
dù nùgò (“to boast”)
dù nú (“to eat something”)
dù wìyán (“to be ashamed”)
dù yà (“to suffer”)
dù àdì (“to be angry”)
dù àxọ́ (“to go bankrupt/have debt”)
núdùdù (“food”)
vòdùtọ́ (“candidate”)

Hunsrik

Alternative forms

tuu (Wiesemann spelling)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tuː/, /tə/

Pronoun

du

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

Inflection

Hunsrik personal pronouns

	nominative		accusative		dative
	Proclitic	Enclitic	str.	unstr.	str.	unstr.
1st person singular	ich eich	-ich	mich meich		meer	mer m'r
2nd person singular (informal)	du dau/Dau	-du, -de -Dau, -De	dich deich/Deich		deer	der d'r/D'r
3rd person singular (m.)	er; där	-er	ihn	en	ihm	em
3rd person singular (f.)	sie; die	-se	sie / ihns	se	eer ehr	re
3rd person singular (n.)	es; das et, 't	's	es et	-et, -'t	ihm	em
1st person plural	meer	mer	uns uhs
2nd person plural	deer Ehr, Dehr	der	eich Auch
3rd person plural	sie; die	-se	sie	se	denne

Ido

**Ido numbers ^(edit)**
	20
← 1	2	3 →
Cardinal: du Ordinal: duesma Adverbial: dufoye Multiplier: duopla Fractional: duima

Etymology

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

Numeral

du

two (2)

Jamaican Creole

Etymology

Derived from English do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /du/

Verb

du

to do
Shi aks im fi du sitn fi ar.
She asked him to do something for her.

Singin muotaim du ina gruup a ada myuuzishan
Singing is often done in a group of other musicians
- 2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Filipiyan 4:13:
  Mi kyan du eniting, kaaz Krais Jiizas gi mi di powa fi du it.
  I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength [to do it].

Japanese

Romanization

du

The katakana syllable ドゥ (du) in Hepburn-like romanization.

Kalasha

Etymology

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

Numeral

du

two (2)

Lithuanian

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *d(u)u̯ō, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Compare Latvian divi. Cognate to Latin duo.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [d̪ʊ]

Numeral

**Lithuanian cardinal numbers**
< 1	2	3 >
Cardinal : du Ordinal : antras

dù m (feminine dvì)

two (2)

Declension

Declension of du

	masculine	feminine
nominative	dù	dvì
genitive	dviejų̃	dviejų̃
dative	dvíem	dvíem
accusative	dù	dvì
instrumental	dviẽm	dviẽm
locative	dviejuosè	dviejosè

Forms of du

	masculine	feminine
quantitative	du	dvi
plural	dveji	dvejos
collective	dvejetas	dvejeta
ordinal	antras	antra

Lower Sorbian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /du/

Verb

du

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

Synonyms

(first-person singular): źom

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *þū.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /du/, [du(ː)]

Pronoun

du

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

Declension

Luxembourgish personal pronouns

		nominative		accusative		dative		reflexive
		str.	unstr.	str.	unstr.	str.	unstr.	reflexive
1st person singular		ech	—	mech	—	mir	mer	like dat. and acc.
2nd person singular (informal)		du	de	dech	—	dir	der	like dat. and acc.
2nd person singular (formal)		Dir	Der	Iech	Iech [əɕ]	Iech	Iech [əɕ]	Iech
3rd person singular	m	hien	en	hien	en	him	em	sech
	f	si	se	si	se	hir	er	sech
	n	hatt	et ('t)	hatt	et ('t)	him	em	sech
1st person plural		mir	mer	eis (ons)	—	eis (ons)	—	eis (ons)
2nd person plural		dir	der	iech	iech [əɕ]	iech	iech [əɕ]	iech
3rd person plural		si	se	si	se	hinnen	en	sech

Mandarin

Romanization

du

Nonstandard spelling of dū.
Nonstandard spelling of dú.
Nonstandard spelling of dǔ.
Nonstandard spelling of dù.

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.

Middle Dutch

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dyː/, /dy/
(Limburg) IPA^(key): /duː/, /du/

Pronoun

du

thou, you (singular, informal)
Synonym: gi

Usage notes

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

Inflection

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

Descendants

Dutch: (obsolete) du, dou, douw
Limburgish: doe

Middle English

Adjective

du

Alternative form of dewe (“due”)

Middle High German

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German dū, from Proto-West Germanic *þū, from Proto-Germanic *þū, whence also Old English þū, Old Norse þú, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂.

Pronoun

du or dû

(personal) you (thou, singular familiar)

Inflection

Middle High German personal pronouns
Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Singular	First		ich	mīn	mir	mich
	Second		du, dū	dīn	dir	dich
	Third	Masculine	ër CG hë(r)	sīn	im(e)	in
		Feminine	siu	ir(e)	ir(e)	sie
		Neuter	ëȥ CG iȥ, it	es	im(e)	ëȥ CG iȥ, it
Plural	First		wir	unser	uns	uns, unsich
	Second		ir	iuwer	iu, iuch	iuch
	Third	Masculine	sie	ir(e)	in	sie
		Feminine	sie			sie
		Neuter	siu			siu
The distinction of the forms siu and sie as shown above is typical of earlier Upper German texts, but was never general. The forms sī and si existed additionally and all four were increasingly used without differentiation.

Descendants

Alemannic German: du
Swabian: dau, d
Bavarian:
Cimbrian: du

Mòcheno: du
Central Franconian: du, dou
Hunsrik: du

Kölsch: do
German: du
Luxembourgish: du
Rhine Franconian:
Palatine German: du

Pennsylvania German: du
Yiddish: דו (du)

Middle Low German

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /duː/

Pronoun

dû

thou, you (second person singular nominative)

Declension

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)		ēme, em (ȫme, en)	sîn (sîner)
	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, ēnen, ȫnen)	ēre, ēr (ērer, ȫrer)
For an explanation of the forms in brackets see here.

Descendants

du

Mòcheno

Etymology

From Middle High German du, from Old High German dū, from Proto-West Germanic *þū, from Proto-Germanic *þū. Cognate with German du, archaic English thou (modern dialectal tha).

Pronoun

du

you (thou, singular familiar)

Inflection

Personal pronouns
	singular	plural
1st person	i	biar
2nd person	du	ir
3rd person	er, si, s	sei

References

“du” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

Mokilese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdu/

Verb

du

(intransitive) to sink

Derived terms

kadu

Norman

Etymology

From Latin dux, ducem.

Noun

du m

duke

Related terms

duchie

North Frisian

Alternative forms

düünj (Mooring)
dö (Sylt)

Etymology

From Old Frisian dwā, from Proto-Germanic *dōną. Cognates include West Frisian dwaan, English do.

Verb

du

(Föhr-Amrum) to do
(Föhr-Amrum) to give

Conjugation

Conjugation of du (Föhr-Amrum dialect)

	present	past
infinitive I	du
infinitive II	(tu) dun
past participle	den
imperative singular	du
imperative plural	du’m
1st singular	du	ded, diad
2nd singular	deest	dedst, diadst
3rd singular	dee	ded, diad
plural	du	ded, diad
	perfect	pluperfect
1st singular	haa den	hed den
2nd singular	heest den	hedst den
3rd singular	hee den	hed den
plural	haa den	hed den
	future (skel)	future (wel)
1st singular	skal du	wal du
2nd singular	skääl du	wääl du
3rd singular	skal du	wal du
plural	skel du	wel du

Northern Kurdish

Etymology

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

Numeral

Central Kurdish	دوو (dû)

du

two (2)

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

(Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈtuː/

Pronoun

dū

accusative/genitive of don

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dʉː/, [dÿː]
Audio: (file)

Pronoun

du (objective case deg)

thou, you (second person, singular)

Derived terms

due (“to say 'you' to someone”)

Verb

du

imperative of due

References

“du” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse þú, from Proto-Germanic *þū, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂. Akin to English thou.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dʉː/

Pronoun

du (objective case deg)

you, thou (second person, singular)

References

“du” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Nupe

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dū/

Verb

du

to boil
Musa dàdà á nakàn du ― Musa quickly boiled the meat
to brew

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dù/

Verb

dù

(of rain) to fall
Ele è dù à ― It's not raining (literally, “Rain is not falling”)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dū/

Verb

du

to shake

Obokuitai

Noun

du

bird

Old French

Alternative forms

del

Contraction

du

contraction of de + le (of the)

Old High German

Alternative forms

thū, ᛞᚢ (du)

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *þū, from Proto-Germanic *þū, whence also Old English þū, 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.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /duː/

Pronoun

dū

thou, you (second-person singular pronoun)
- 6th-7th century, inscription on the Bülach fibula:
  ᚠᚱᛁᚠᚱᛁᛞᛁᛚ / ᛞᚢ / ...
  frifridil / du / […]
  frifridil / du / ...
  frifridil / du / […]
  [my] beloved, you / […]

Usage notes

Some speakers of Old High German appear to have contrasted the "polite" singular (plural forms) with the regular, informal singular (singular forms), as in New High German (Modern German) Sie versus du. This distinction is however not well-attested, and may have been regional, genre-dependent, or only in Late Old High German.

Inflection

Old High German personal pronouns
Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Singular	First		ih (ihha, ihcha)	mīn	mir	mih
	Second		dū	dīn	dir	dih
	Third	Masculine	er (her)	(sīn)	imu, imo	inan, in
		Feminine	siu; sī, si	ira (iru, iro)	iru, iro	sia
		Neuter	iz	es, is	imu, imo	iz
Plural	First		wir	unsēr	uns	unsih
	Second		ir	iuwēr	iu	iuwih
	Third	Masculine	sie	iro	im, in	sie
		Feminine	sio	iro	im, in	sio
		Neuter	siu	iro	im, in	siu
Polite form	Second		ir	iuwēr	iu	iuwih

Descendants

Middle High German: du
- Alemannic German: du
  Swabian: dau, d
- Bavarian:
  Cimbrian: du
  
  Mòcheno: du
- Central Franconian: du, dou
  Hunsrik: du
  
  Kölsch: do
- German: du
- Luxembourgish: du
- Rhine Franconian:
  Palatine German: du
  
  Pennsylvania German: du
- Yiddish: דו (du)

References

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)

Old Irish

Preposition

du

Alternative form of do

Mutation

Mutation of du
radical	lenition	nasalization
du	du pronounced with /ð(ʲ)-/	ndu

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

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

Compare German du, English thou, Swedish du.

Pronoun

du

you, thou

Declension

Pennsylvania German personal pronouns

	1st person	2nd person familiar	2nd person polite/formal	3rd person			1st person	2nd person	3rd person
	singular						plural
	1st person	2nd person familiar	2nd person polite/formal	m	f	n	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
nominative	ich	du de¹	dihr der¹ Sie	er	sie se¹	es	mir mer¹	dihr der¹	sie
dative	mir mer¹	dir der¹	eich Ihne Ne¹	ihm em¹	ihre re¹	ihm em¹	uns	eich	ihne ne¹
accusative	mich	dich	eich Sie	ihn en¹	sie se¹	es	uns	eich	sie

¹unstressed

Pite Sami

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tu/

Pronoun

du

those

References

Joshua Wilbur (2014) A grammar of Pite Saami, Berlin: Language Science Press

Plautdietsch

Pronoun

du (oblique die)

you (singular)

Romagnol

**Romagnol numbers ^(edit)**
	20
^{[a], [b]} ← 1	2	3 → ^{[a], [b]}
Cardinal: du Ordinal: șgónd Multiplier: dópi Fractional: mëẓ

Etymology

From Latin dŭo (“two”).

Pronunciation

(Central Romagnol): IPA^(key): [ˈduː]

(Ville Unite):

Numeral

du (feminine dó)

two

References

Masotti, Adelmo (1996) Vocabolario Romagnolo Italiano [Romagnol-Italian dictionary] (in Italian), Bologna: Zanichelli, pages 189, 194

Romanian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [du]

Verb

du

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

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian thū, from Proto-West Germanic *þū.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /du/
Hyphenation: du
Rhymes: -u

Pronoun

du (oblique die)

thou, you

Usage notes

du is at times omitted when used with a verb.

References

Marron C. Fort (2015) “du”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Scots

Pronoun

du (objective case dee, vocative dee, possessive determiner dines)

Northern Isles form of thou (“thou”)

Sranan Tongo

Etymology 1

From English do.

Verb

du

to do

Noun

du

deed, action

Etymology 2

Probably from Ewe ɖú (“dance”), Fon ɖùwè (“dance”).^[1]

Noun

du

(archaic) dance performance

References

^ Norval Smith (2009) “A preliminary list of probable Gbe lexical items in the Surinam Creoles”, in P. Muysken, N. Smith, editors, Surviving the Middle Passage: The West Africa-Surinam Sprachbund, Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, →ISBN, page 465.

Sumerian

Romanization

du

Romanization of 𒁺 (du)

Swedish

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:

du

Wikipedia ^sv

Alternative forms

dhu, thu, tu, tv (obsolete)

Dialects

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dʉː/, [d̪ʉː], (unstressed) /dɵ/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ʉː

Pronoun

du

you (subjective case, singular)
Nisse, du är en liten groda
Nisse, you are a small frog
- 1981, X Models (lyrics and music), “Två av oss [Two of us]”‎^[5]:
  Det finns bara en av mig och det är jag. Det finns bara en av dig och det är du. Det finns bara två av oss, och det är vi.
  There is only one of me and that is I. There is only one of you [object] and that is you [subject]. There are only two of us, and that is us [we – subject]. [Swedish has some of the same subject/object fuzziness as English, but a standalone "Det är <pronoun>" idiomatically (through intuition rather than being taught) uses the subject form]
1. thou (if fitting for the context)
  - 1649, Jacobus Petri Chronander, Bele-Snack, Eller Een Ny Comœdia, act I, scene IV, page 40:
    TV Konstrijke Mästare, godt rådh giff,
    Skall man nu skona thenna skelmens lijff?
    THOU artful Master, good counsel give,
    Should one now spare this scoundrel's life?
Used as a vocative to get someone's attention; hey
Du Nisse, har du matat katten?
Hey Nisse, have you fed the cat?

Du, skulle du kunna räcka mig skeden?
Hey, could you hand me the spoon?

Jo du, jag kom precis på en till grej vi måste göra
Oh, by the way [roughly – literally, "yeah you," or "listen you" or the like – see jo], I just remembered another thing we need to do
- 1984, “Vargsången [The wolf song]”, Astrid Lindgren (lyrics), Björn Isfält (music)‎^[6]performed by Lena Nyman:
  Vargen ylar i nattens skog. Han vill men kan inte sova. Hungern river hans vargabuk, och det är kallt i hans stova. Du varg, du varg, kom inte hit. Ungen min får du aldrig.
  The wolf howls in the forest of the night. He wants to sleep but cannot. ["He wants to but cannot sleep" – "He wants to X" is "Han vill X"] [The] hunger tears his wolf's belly, and it is cold in his stove [archaic, dialectal, in the dated English sense]. Hey wolf, hey wolf, do not come here [hither, to here]. My child you will never have.

Usage notes

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 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.

Declension

Swedish personal pronouns

Number	Person	Type	Nominative	Oblique	Possessive
Number	Person	Type	Nominative	Oblique	common	neuter	plural
singular	first	—	jag	mig, mej³	min	mitt	mina
	second	—	du	dig, dej³	din	ditt	dina
	third	masculine (person)	han	honom, han², en⁵	hans
		feminine (person)	hon	henne, na⁵	hennes
		gender-neutral (person)¹	hen	hen, henom⁷	hens
		common (noun)	den	den	dess
		neuter (noun)	det	det	dess
		indefinite	man or en⁴	en	ens
		reflexive	—	sig, sej³	sin	sitt	sina
plural	first	—	vi	oss	vår, våran²	vårt, vårat²	våra
	second	—	ni	er	er, eran², ers⁶	ert, erat²	era
	second	archaic	I	eder	eder, eders⁶	edert	edra
	third	—	de, dom³	dem, dom³	deras
	third	reflexive	—	sig, sej³	sin	sitt	sina

¹Neologism. Usage has increased since 2010, though it remains limited.

²Informal

³Colloquial pronunciation spelling.

⁴Dialectal, also used lately as an alternative to man, to avoid association to the male gender.

⁵Informal, somewhat dialectal

⁶Formal address

⁷Discouraged by the Swedish Language Council

Derived terms

dua
duskål

References

Anagrams

UD

Tlingit

Pronoun

du

his/her

Tregami

**Tregami cardinal numbers**
< 1	2	3 >
Cardinal : du

Etymology

From Proto-Nuristani *dū, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dwáH, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdu/

Numeral

du (Gambir)^[1]

two

References

^ Strand, Richard F. (2016) “d′u”, in Nûristânî Etymological Lexicon‎^[2]

Venetan

Etymology

Compare Italian due

Numeral

du m

two

Synonyms

dó

Vietnamese

Etymology

Both characters below depict a single etymology. 遊 (MC yuw) also has a less common reading do, now seen only in do thám.

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zu˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [jʊw˧˧]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [jʊw˧˧]

Romanization

du

Sino-Vietnamese reading of 遊
Sino-Vietnamese reading of 游

Derived terms

Welsh

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

(North Wales) IPA^(key): /dɨː/
(South Wales) IPA^(key): /diː/
Homophone: dŷ; (South Wales) di
Rhymes: -ɨː

Adjective

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

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

Derived terms

du a gwyn (“black and white; piebald”)
twll du (“black hole”)
tyngu'r du yn wyn (“to swear black is white”)

Related terms

düwch

Mutation

Mutated forms of du
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
du	ddu	nu	unchanged

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

White Hmong

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /du˧/

Adjective

du

smooth

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dù/

Verb

dù

to scramble for, to compete
wọ́n du oúnjẹ ― They scrambled for food

Usage notes

du before a direct object

Derived terms

ìdu
ìjàdù (“scramble; struggle”)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dū/

Verb

du

(Lagos, intransitive) to run, to sprint
Synonym: sá

Derived terms

ìdu

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dú/

Verb

dú

(intransitive, of a person or animal) to bleed
Synonyms: dújẹ̀, ṣẹ̀jẹ̀

Derived terms

ìdú (“the act of bleeding”)

Etymology 4

Cognate with Igala dú

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dú/

Verb

dú

to be black, to be dark
Antonym: fun

ó dú láwọ̀ ― Her skin is dark

Derived terms

Adú (“A Yoruba nickname for someone who is dark in complextion”)
adú (“something that is black”)
dú láwọ̀ (“to have a black skin color”)
dúdú (“black”)
igbódú (“dark or dense forest”)
Ilẹ̀ Adúláwọ̀ (“Africa”)
ilẹ̀dú (“dark, nutrient rich soil”)
èédú (“coal, charcoal”)
òdú (“the plant American black nightshade”)

[NEL-1] Strand, Richard F. (2016) “d′u”, in Nûristânî Etymological Lexicon‎^[1]

[2] Norval Smith (2009) “A preliminary list of probable Gbe lexical items in the Surinam Creoles”, in P. Muysken, N. Smith, editors, Surviving the Middle Passage: The West Africa-Surinam Sprachbund, Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, →ISBN, page 465.

[NEL-3] Strand, Richard F. (2016) “d′u”, in Nûristânî Etymological Lexicon‎^[2]

[1]

[1]

[1]

gwenn	louet	du
ruz	orañjez, melen-ruz; gell	melen
	gwer, glas
cyan		glas
	magenta; glasruz	roz

gwynn	loos, glas	du
rudh; kogh	rudhvelyn; gell, gorm	melyn
	gwyrdh, glas
		glas
glasrudh, purpur	majenta; purpur, glasrudh	gwynnrudh, kigliw

person	first person	second person	reflexive	third person
case	singular			singular masculine	singular feminine	singular neuter
nominative	eg, je¹	du		han	ho	det, dat²
accusative	meg	deg	seg	han, honom²	ho, henne²	det, dat²
dative²	meg	deg	seg	honom	henne	di²
genitive	min	din	sin	hans	hennar, hennes¹	dess³
case	plural
nominative	me, vi	de, dokker			dei
accusative	oss, okk	dykk, dokker	seg		dei, deim²
dative	oss, okk	dykk, dokker	seg		deim²
genitive	vår, okkar	dykkar, dokkar	sin		deira, deires¹

	singular	plural
Proximal	dát	dá
Distal	dat	da
Remote	dut	du

gwyn	llwyd	du
coch; rhudd	oren, melyngoch; brown	melyn; melynwyn
melynwyrdd	gwyrdd
gwyrddlas; glaswyrdd	asur, gwynlas	glas
fioled, rhuddlas; indigo	majenta; porffor	pinc, rhuddwyn

		nominative		accusative		dative
		stressed	unstressed	stressed	unstressed	stressed	unstressed
1^st person singular		i	—	mi	—	mia (mir)	ma
2^nd person singular (informal)		du	—	di	—	dia (dir)	da
2^nd person singular (formal)		Sie	—	Eahna	—	Eahna	—
3^rd person singular	m	er	a	eahm	'n	eahm	'n
	n	es, des	's	des	's	eahm	'n
	f	se, de	's	se	's	ihr	—
1^st person plural		mia (mir)	ma	uns	—	uns	—
2^nd person plural		eß, ihr	—	enk, eich	—	enk, eich	—
3^rd person plural		se	's	eahna	—	eahna	—

	singular					plural
	1st	2nd	3rd m	3rd f	3rd n	1st	2nd	3rd
stressed	iek	du	hie	ju	dät	wie	jie	jo
unstressed	iek	du	er	ze	et	wie	jie	ze
objective	mie	die	him	hier	dät	uus	jou	hier

Number	Person	Type	Nominative	Oblique	Possessive
Number	Person	Type	Nominative	Oblique	common	neuter	plural
Singular	First	–	jeg	mig	min	mit	mine
	Second	modern / informal	du	dig	din	dit	dine
	Second	formal	De	Dem	Deres
	Third	masculine (person)	han	ham	hans
		feminine (person)	hun	hende	hendes
		common(noun)	den		dens
		neuter(noun)	det		dets
		reflexive	–	sig	sin	sit	sine
Plural	First	modern	vi	os	vores
	First	archaic / formal	vi	os	vor	vort	vore
	Second	–	I	jer	jeres
	Third	–	de	dem	deres
	Third	reflexive	–	sig	deres