Dutch personal pronouns: ik, jij, hij, zij and all the rest

Pronouns are the words you use most in any language: I, you, he, she, it, we, they. Dutch has the same set, but with a twist: many pronouns have two forms, a stressed one and an unstressed one. Jij and je both mean "you"; wij and we both mean "we". This post puts every form in one table and then explains when to use which.

The master table

Where you see two forms separated by a slash, the first is stressed and the second unstressed — except for ons/onze (which depends on the noun) and hen/hun (explained below).

In speech you'll also hear reduced forms like 'k (ik), 't (het), 'm (hem), d'r (haar), m'n (mijn) and z'n (zijn). M'n and z'n are fine in informal writing; the others belong to speech and chat.

Subject pronouns

The subject pronoun is who does the action, and the verb agrees with it.

• Ik woon in Utrecht. — I live in Utrecht.
• Je werkt hard. — You work hard.
• Hij heet Tom. — His name is Tom.
• Ze is lerares. — She is a teacher.
• We gaan naar huis. — We're going home.
• Jullie zijn te laat. — You (all) are late.
• Ze wonen in Gent. — They live in Ghent.

Notice that ze can mean "she" or "they". The verb usually tells you which: ze woont (she lives) versus ze wonen (they live).

U is the polite "you", for one person or more. It takes the same verb form as hij: u woont, u werkt. With hebben and zijn, you can say u heeft or u hebt, and u bent. For when to use u, see formal and informal you. Also remember that jij/je loses its -t when it comes after the verb: Woon je hier? — Do you live here? See present tense.

Stressed or unstressed?

The unstressed forms — je, ze, we, me — are the default in normal speech and writing. Use the stressed form only when the pronoun carries emphasis:

1. Contrast.

• Ik drink koffie, en jij? — I'm having coffee, and you?
• Wij gaan, maar zij blijven thuis. — We're going, but they're staying home.

2. Standing alone or as the answer.

• Wie heeft dat gedaan? — Jij! — Who did that? — You!
• Wie wil er thee? — Ik! — Who wants tea? — Me!

3. Emphasis on the person.

• Zij heeft het gezegd, niet ik. — She said it, not me.

If you use stressed forms everywhere, your Dutch will sound a bit like you're pointing at people. Compare Heb je een fiets? (a neutral question) with Heb jij een fiets? (do you have a bike — as opposed to someone else).

Some pronouns have only one form: ik, u, hij, het and jullie. You stress them just with your voice.

Object pronouns

Object pronouns come after the verb or after a preposition.

• Kun je me helpen? — Can you help me?
• Ik bel je morgen. — I'll call you tomorrow.
• Ik ken hem niet. — I don't know him.
• We zien haar vaak. — We see her often.
• Hij wacht op ons. — He's waiting for us.
• Ik heb ze gisteren gezien. — I saw them yesterday.

The same stressed/unstressed logic applies: mij and jou when the pronoun is stressed, me and je otherwise. After a preposition, the stressed forms are very common.

• Dit cadeau is voor jou. — This present is for you.

"Them" is the tricky one. In careful written Dutch, hen is the direct object or comes after a preposition, and hun is the indirect object ("to them"). In speech, almost everyone uses ze, which is always correct as an unstressed form. One thing is definitely wrong in standard Dutch: using hun as a subject. Wrong: Hun hebben een auto. Right: Zij hebben een auto. Our post on object pronouns goes into detail.

Possessive and reflexive pronouns

Possessives mostly look like the object or subject forms. The only one that changes with the noun is "our": ons before a singular het word, onze before de words and plurals.

• Dat is mijn fiets. — That's my bike.
• Ons huis is klein. — Our house is small.
• Onze auto is oud. — Our car is old.

More in possessive pronouns.

Reflexive pronouns are used with verbs like zich vergissen (to be mistaken) or zich wassen (to wash). The key word is zich, for the third person and often for u.

• Ik vergis me. — I'm mistaken.
• Jullie vergissen je. — You're mistaken.
• Hij wast zich. — He's washing (himself).
• Vergist u zich niet? — Aren't you mistaken?

Note that jullie takes je as its reflexive. See reflexive verbs.

Hij or het for things?

English uses "it" for every object. Dutch doesn't. De words are referred to with hij (object hem); het words with het; plurals with ze.

• Waar is de sleutel? — Hij ligt op tafel. — Where's the key? — It's on the table.
• Ik heb een nieuwe fiets. Ik heb hem gisteren gekocht. — I've got a new bike. I bought it yesterday.
• Hoe is het boek? — Het is spannend. — How's the book? — It's exciting.
• Waar zijn mijn schoenen? — Ze staan bij de deur. — Where are my shoes? — They're by the door.

So het only refers back to het words. Wrong: De sleutel? Het ligt op tafel.

Two notes. First, in formal writing, some de words, especially abstract ones like de regering (the government) or de oplossing (the solution), are referred to with zij or ze; in everyday Netherlands speech, hij is the normal choice for things. Second, people are referred to by who they are, not by grammar: het meisje is a het word, but you say Het meisje? Ze is tien. — The girl? She's ten.

Het also works as a "dummy" subject, like English "it": Het regent. — It's raining. Het is koud. — It's cold. Hoe gaat het? — How are you?

Generic you: je and men

To say something about people in general, Dutch uses je, just like English "you":

• Je weet maar nooit. — You never know.
• In Nederland fiets je overal naartoe. — In the Netherlands you cycle everywhere.

The formal version is men ("one"), which takes a singular verb. It's mostly written:

• Men zegt dat het morgen gaat sneeuwen. — People say it's going to snow tomorrow.

In speech, people replace men with je, ze or mensen: Ze zeggen dat het morgen gaat sneeuwen. — They say it's going to snow tomorrow.

Quick summary

• Many pronouns have a stressed and an unstressed form: jij/je, zij/ze, wij/we, mij/me, jou/je.
• Use unstressed forms by default; stressed forms for contrast, emphasis or standing alone.
• Ze = she or they: check the verb (ze woont vs ze wonen).
• "Them": ze is always safe; never use hun as a subject.
• De words → hij/hem; het words → het; plurals → ze.
• Reflexive zich for he, she, it, they and often u; jullie takes je.
• Generic "you" is je; men is formal and mostly written.

Practise it

Introduce yourself and others with Introductions and talk about the people in your life with Family. Ready for zich? Try Reflexive verbs.