Dutch

Pronoun

wie

1. (interrogative and relative) who

Derived terms

• wiens
• wier

Anagrams

• wei

German

Etymology

From Old High German hweo, hwio, instrumental case of hwer, hwaz, itself from Proto-Germanic *hwaz, *hwat. Compare Yiddish ווי ‎(vi), English why.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /viː/
• Rhymes: -iː

Adverb

wie

1. how

   Wie groß bist du?

   How tall are you?

   Ich weiß nicht, wie die Katze hereingekommen ist.

   I don't know how the cat got in.

   Wie wunderbar!

   How wonderful!

Related terms

• wieso
• wie dem auch sei
• wie geht es

Conjunction

wie

1. like

   Freunde sind wie Sterne in der Nacht.

   Friends are like stars in the night.

2. as

   Wie ihr wisst, bin ich in Dortmund aufgewachsen.

   As you know, I grew up in Dortmund.

   Ich bin so schnell wie du.

   I’m as fast as you are.

3. (colloquial, nonstandard) than

   Der Junge ist größer wie sein Vater.

   The boy is taller than his father.

4. (chiefly colloquial) when (referring to the past)

   Ich hab ihn gesehen, wie ich in Köln war.

   I saw him when I was in Cologne.

   Wie ich zur Tür herauskomme, steht da mein alter Schulfreund.

   When I came out the door, my old school-day friend was standing in front of me.

Synonyms

• (when, than): als (more properly standard)

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch wie, from earlier wē, *hwē, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wiə/, /wi/

Pronoun

wie

1. who

Descendants

• Dutch: wie

Middle Low German

Pronunciation

• Stem vowel: ê⁴
  • IPA^(key): /wiə/, /wiɛ/

Pronoun

wie

1. (interrogative pronoun) Alternative form of wê.
2. (personal pronoun) Alternative form of wî.

Old Dutch

Alternative forms

• uuie
• wē

Etymology

From earlier wē, *hwē, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz.

Pronoun

wie

1. we

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: wie
  • Dutch: wie

Plautdietsch

Pronoun

wie

1. we

   Wäa wie sent.

   Who we are.

Antonyms

• ekj (I)

See also

• wäa (who)
• wieda (further)
• ons (our)
• dü (you, thou)
• hee (he)
• see (she)
• jie (you)
• see (they)

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [vʲjɛ]

Verb

wie

1. third-person singular present of wiedzieć