Definify.com
Definition 2024
zich
zich
Dutch
Pronoun
zich
- himself, herself, itself, oneself, themselves; (polite form) yourself, yourselves
- Hij wast zich. — He washes himself.
- Hij wast zich het gezicht. — He washes his face.
- Vergist u zich niet? — Aren't you mistaken? (polite)
- Ieder voor zich. — Every man for himself.
- expresses an unintended result with many otherwise non-reflexive, even ergative verbs
- Hij viel zich een ongeluk — He fell and this resulted in an accident.
- Hij lachte zich een bult — He laughed so severely that it left him a hunchback.
Usage notes
- Zich can be used whether the reflexivity of the verb is optional or mandatory. Optionally reflexive verbs can also take zichzelf as reflexive pronoun.
- As in English (but unlike German and French), Dutch reflexive pronouns do not express reciprocity, except dialectally. Arguably reciprocal senses may occur in fixed verb constructions, however. For example: Ze hebben zich verloofd. (“They have got engaged.”)
Inflection
Dutch personal pronouns
| subject | object | possessive | reflexive | genitive5 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | full | unstr. | full | unstr. | full | unstr. | pred. | ||
| 1st person | ik | 'k1 | mij | me | mijn | m'n1 | mijne | me | mijner |
| 2nd person | jij | je | jou | je | jouw | je | jouwe | je | jouwer |
| 2nd person archaic or regiolectal | gij | ge | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u | uwer |
| 2nd person formal | u | – | u | – | uw | – | uwe | zich | uwer |
| 3rd person masculine | hij | ie1 | hem | 'm1 | zijn | z'n1 | zijne | zich | zijner |
| 3rd person feminine | zij | ze | haar | h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 | haar | h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 | hare | zich | harer |
| 3rd person neuter | het | 't1 | het | 't1 | zijn | z'n1 | zijne | zich | zijner |
| plural | |||||||||
| 1st person | wij | we | ons | – | ons, onze2 | – | onze | ons | onzer |
| 2nd person | jullie | je | jullie | je | jullie | je | – | je | – |
| 2nd person archaic or regiolectal6 | gij | ge | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u | uwer |
| 2nd person formal | u | – | u | – | uw | – | uwe | zich | uwer |
| 3rd person | zij | ze | hen3, hun4 | ze | hun | – | hunne | zich | hunner |
| 1) Not as common in written language. 2) Inflected as an adjective. 3) In prescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative). 4) In prescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative). |
5)Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions. 6) To differentiate from the singular gij, and in a similar vein to "you lot" or "you guys" in English, it is common to use gijlui ("you people") or gijlieden ("you people") or one of their contracted variants, and their corresponding objects, possessives and reflexives, in the plural. |
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Derived terms
- See Category:Dutch reflexive verbs