His in Different Languages
Discover 'His' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'his' is a small but significant part of the English language, often used as a possessive pronoun to indicate ownership or association with a male individual. Its cultural importance is evident in literature, music, and everyday conversation, where it helps to convey meaning and context. But did you know that the concept of possession, as indicated by 'his' and similar pronouns, can vary greatly across different languages and cultures?
For instance, in some languages, the concept of gender is not as rigidly defined as it is in English, leading to different ways of expressing possession. In languages like Chinese and Vietnamese, there are no gender-specific pronouns, so 'his' would simply be translated as 'his/her/its' or a gender-neutral alternative. Meanwhile, in languages like Arabic and Hebrew, nouns and pronouns are gendered, leading to different translations of 'his' depending on the context.
Understanding the translation of 'his' in different languages can provide valuable insights into the cultural nuances and linguistic differences that make each language unique. Here are some sample translations of 'his' in a few different languages:
His
His in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | syne | ||
| Syne is also a form of the possessive pronoun used informally in Dutch, and derived from the word "sijn". | |||
| Amharic | የእሱ | ||
| The word "የእሱ" can also mean "him" or "it". | |||
| Hausa | nasa | ||
| The word "nasa" in Hausa can also mean "nose" or "point". | |||
| Igbo | ya | ||
| The Igbo word "ya" also serves as the shortened form of "anya," meaning "eye." | |||
| Malagasy | ny | ||
| The word "ny" in Malagasy can have other meanings such as "of" or "by". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | ake | ||
| The word "ake" in Nyanja (Chichewa) can also mean "of him" or "concerning him." | |||
| Shona | zvake | ||
| Zvake is also the past tense of the verb 'kuzva' (to hear), or the present habitual form meaning 'that which is heard' (e.g. zvake zvakaipa / that which is heard is bad) | |||
| Somali | isaga | ||
| "Isaga" in Somali can also refer to "him" or "the one who is." | |||
| Sesotho | hae | ||
| The word "hae" also means "her" and is used as an emphatic form of the possessive pronoun "sa" (her). | |||
| Swahili | yake | ||
| "Yake" can also mean "its" or "hers" depending on the noun it refers to. | |||
| Xhosa | yakhe | ||
| The Xhosa word 'yakhe' (his) is derived from the root word 'kha', meaning 'to possess'. | |||
| Yoruba | tirẹ | ||
| "Tìrẹ" also means "his" or "hers" in Yoruba and is derived from the root word "tì", meaning "to have". | |||
| Zulu | okwakhe | ||
| As a standalone possessive pronoun, "okwakhe" may also mean "theirs". | |||
| Bambara | a | ||
| Ewe | eƒe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ibye | ||
| Lingala | ya ye | ||
| Luganda | kikye | ||
| Sepedi | gagwe | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ne | ||
His in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | له | ||
| "له" is not only a masculine possessive pronoun but also a preposition that functions as the dative case in Classical and Modern Standard Arabic. | |||
| Hebrew | שֶׁלוֹ | ||
| The Hebrew word "שֶׁלוֹ" can also mean "her" or "theirs". | |||
| Pashto | د | ||
| The Pashto word "د" ("his") is also used in compound words with various meanings, such as "belonging to" or "connected to." | |||
| Arabic | له | ||
| "له" is not only a masculine possessive pronoun but also a preposition that functions as the dative case in Classical and Modern Standard Arabic. | |||
His in Western European Languages
| Albanian | e tij | ||
| The Albanian word "e tij" also means "its" or "of him" depending on the context. | |||
| Basque | haren | ||
| The word _haren_ can also be used to convey possession, e.g. _haren etxea_ 'their house'. | |||
| Catalan | seva | ||
| The word "seva" derives from the Latin word "sua", meaning "of her". | |||
| Croatian | njegova | ||
| In Croatian, the word "njegova" has feminine and neuter forms: "njena" and "njegovo". | |||
| Danish | hans | ||
| In the sentence "hans bog" (his book), "hans" is the object form of "han" (he). | |||
| Dutch | zijn | ||
| The word "zijn" can also mean "being" or "essence" in philosophical or spiritual contexts. | |||
| English | his | ||
| The possessive pronoun "his" derives from earlier forms that were applicable to both sexes, "his" or "her". | |||
| French | le sien | ||
| 'Le sien' is also used to refer to a person's own property or belongings. | |||
| Frisian | syn | ||
| In Old Frisian, "syn" could also mean "her" but eventually came to mean "his" in Modern Frisian. | |||
| Galician | súa | ||
| The word "súa" can also mean "her" or "its" in Galician. | |||
| German | seine | ||
| The word "seine" in German, meaning "his", is derived from the Old High German word "sīn". | |||
| Icelandic | hans | ||
| In Icelandic, "hans" can also mean "her" when referring to a female antecedent, and "their" when referring to a plural antecedent. | |||
| Irish | a | ||
| The Irish word "a" is derived from the Old Irish possessive pronoun "a" meaning "his" but it can also mean "her" or "their". | |||
| Italian | il suo | ||
| The "suo" form of the Italian possessive adjective is used exclusively for masculine singular nouns | |||
| Luxembourgish | seng | ||
| Although "seng" is mostly used by men to replace the more formal or female "säin", it does also mean "their" but is rarely used that way because "hir" exists for that. | |||
| Maltese | tiegħu | ||
| "Tieghu" also exists in Sicilian, but as a reflexive possessive form. | |||
| Norwegian | hans | ||
| The word "hans" in Norwegian can also mean "a glove" or "a mit". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | dele | ||
| "Dele" can also mean "from him," "of him," or "to him." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | aige | ||
| The Gaelic word 'aige' can also mean "at his" or "in him", | |||
| Spanish | su | ||
| In Spanish, "su" is derived from the Latin "suus" and can also mean "her" or "its" when referring to third-person singular nouns. | |||
| Swedish | hans | ||
| The word "hans" in Swedish can also mean "his" in a possessive sense. | |||
| Welsh | ei | ||
| In Welsh, "ei" can also mean "their" or "of it" depending on the context and grammar. | |||
His in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | яго | ||
| The word "яго" can also refer to a type of berry or a female name. | |||
| Bosnian | njegov | ||
| The word “njegov” originates from the Proto-Slavic possessive pronoun *jego, meaning “of or belonging to him”. | |||
| Bulgarian | неговото | ||
| неговото is singular accusative form, which is also used as possessive pronoun for 3rd person masculine singular (i.e. „his”). | |||
| Czech | jeho | ||
| In some dialects of Czech, "jeho" can also refer to "her" or "of it". | |||
| Estonian | tema | ||
| "Tema" is related to the Finnish word "tämä" (this), but in Estonian it has become a possessive pronoun meaning "his". | |||
| Finnish | hänen | ||
| The word “hänen” also means “her” or “hers” and is one of the most common Finnish words | |||
| Hungarian | övé | ||
| The word "övé" can also refer to "his property" or "his belongings" in Hungarian. | |||
| Latvian | viņa | ||
| The original meaning of the word "viņa" was "his or her" and the latter meaning is still preserved in set phrases. | |||
| Lithuanian | jo | ||
| Jo is also used as a polite form of address in Lithuanian. | |||
| Macedonian | неговиот | ||
| In Bulgarian, the word "неговиот" also means "that which belongs to him." | |||
| Polish | jego | ||
| In Polish, "jego" (his) derives from the Proto-Slavic "*jego", meaning "this one". | |||
| Romanian | a lui | ||
| The Romanian word "a lui" means "his", but can also refer to an indirect object in a sentence. | |||
| Russian | его | ||
| The root word | |||
| Serbian | његов | ||
| Његов is a possessive adjective in Serbian, meaning "his", but it can also refer to a person's property or belongings. | |||
| Slovak | jeho | ||
| The Slovak word "jeho" is also the possessive form of the third person singular pronoun "on" and the first person dual pronoun "my". | |||
| Slovenian | njegovo | ||
| The word "njegovo" can also mean "your" in Slovenian, when addressing someone formally. | |||
| Ukrainian | його | ||
| The word "його" ("his") in Ukrainian is also used as a pronoun to refer to a male person previously mentioned. | |||
His in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | তার | ||
| The word "তার" in Bengali can also mean "her" or "its" depending on the context and the gender of the subject. | |||
| Gujarati | તેના | ||
| The word "તેના" can also refer to "her" or "its" in Gujarati. | |||
| Hindi | उनके | ||
| In Hindi, "उनके" can also mean "their" or "of them" depending on the context. | |||
| Kannada | ಅವನ | ||
| The word "ಅವನ" in Kannada can also mean "of him" or "belonging to him". | |||
| Malayalam | അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ | ||
| Marathi | त्याचा | ||
| The Marathi word त्याचा (his) is derived from the Sanskrit word तस्य (of him) and has alternate meanings such as 'its' or 'hers'. | |||
| Nepali | उसको | ||
| The word "उसको" can also mean "her" or "hers" in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਉਸ ਦਾ | ||
| ਉਸ ਦਾ can also mean "his" in Punjabi when referring to a personified object. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ඔහුගේ | ||
| In Sinhala, the word "ඔහුගේ" can also mean "of him" or "his own" depending on the context. | |||
| Tamil | அவரது | ||
| The word "அவரது" (avaratu) in Tamil is derived from the Proto-Dravidian root *avar-, meaning "that person" or "he". It can also be used as a respectful way to address someone. | |||
| Telugu | తన | ||
| The word "తన" in Telugu can also mean "self" or "mind". | |||
| Urdu | اس کی | ||
| This pronoun can also mean its (of something). | |||
His in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 他的 | ||
| "他的" in Chinese can also mean "his (possessive pronoun)" or "his (possessive adjective)" in English. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 他的 | ||
| "他的" is formed by combining "他" (third-person singular masculine) and "的" (possessive marker). It can also mean 'him' or 'he' in certain contexts. | |||
| Japanese | 彼の | ||
| "彼" means "he" but can also mean "that" in formal writing or "her" when used alongside "彼女" (girlfriend). | |||
| Korean | 그의 | ||
| The word '그의' is used to denote possession, but can also refer to a concept or idea. | |||
| Mongolian | түүний | ||
| The word “түүний” also means “hers” and “its” in Mongolian, depending on the context. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | သူ | ||
| In the Burmese language, "သူ" not only means "his" but can also denote possession or ownership in general. | |||
His in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | -nya | ||
| The suffix "-nya" can also emphasize possession, like "that's my book" or "his car is red." | |||
| Javanese | kang | ||
| In Javanese, "kang" can also be used as a prefix before male names and professions to indicate intimacy or respect. | |||
| Khmer | របស់គាត់ | ||
| In Khmer, the word "his" can also be used to mean "her" or "its". | |||
| Lao | ລາວ | ||
| The word "ລາວ" also means "man" or "person" in Lao. | |||
| Malay | miliknya | ||
| The word "miliknya" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*milək", meaning "to possess". | |||
| Thai | ของเขา | ||
| In Thai, "ของเขา" can also be used as "his/hers/theirs/its", indicating possession. | |||
| Vietnamese | của anh ấy | ||
| Của anh ấy" can also mean "mine" in Vietnamese, as a term of endearment. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kanyang | ||
His in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | onun | ||
| The word "onun" in Azerbaijani is homophonous with the word for "ten" and the accusative case of the personal pronoun "o" (he). | |||
| Kazakh | оның | ||
| The Kazakh word "оның" can also mean "its" or "hers", indicating possession. | |||
| Kyrgyz | анын | ||
| The word "анын" can also be used to mean "its" or "hers" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | вай | ||
| The Tajik word "вай" ("his") is also used to refer to the third person singular masculine pronoun "he". | |||
| Turkmen | onuň | ||
| Uzbek | uning | ||
| The word "uning" can also refer to a possessive pronoun meaning "theirs". | |||
| Uyghur | his | ||
His in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kāna | ||
| Kāna can also mean "his" but refers to the third person singular possessive form used only when the noun begins with a guttural consonant or a semivowel. | |||
| Maori | tana | ||
| Tana, meaning 'his', derives from Proto-Polynesian "*tana" (possessive pronoun for singular 3rd person masculine). | |||
| Samoan | lana | ||
| The word "lana" in Samoan is derived from the Proto-Polynesian word "*lana", meaning "his" or "hers". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | ang kanyang | ||
| Ang kanyang may alternate meanings that are not possessive. When put before a noun (e.g. ang kanyang libro, his book), it means "his", but when put before a verb (e.g. ang kanyang pag-ibig, his love), it means "his/her/their" and has a more subjective (and often emotional) implication. | |||
His in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jupana | ||
| Guarani | imba'e | ||
His in International Languages
| Esperanto | lia | ||
| "Lia" is derived from the Latin possessive pronoun "illius", meaning "his, her, its", and originally had an additional feminine form "lia". In some Esperanto dialects, "lia" is still used as a third-person possessive pronoun for all genders. | |||
| Latin | eius | ||
| The Latin "eius" means "his," but it is also used to mean "her" or "its," and is the genitive singular form of the third person pronoun "is." | |||
His in Others Languages
| Greek | του | ||
| The word "του" can also mean "of the" or "from the" in the genitive case, or "to him" in the dative case. | |||
| Hmong | nws | ||
| The Hmong word "nws" can also mean "her" or "its", depending on the context. | |||
| Kurdish | bûyin | ||
| The word "bûyin" in Kurdish comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰuH- which also gave rise to the English word "be". | |||
| Turkish | onun | ||
| The Turkish word "onun" can also refer to "that" or "theirs." | |||
| Xhosa | yakhe | ||
| The Xhosa word 'yakhe' (his) is derived from the root word 'kha', meaning 'to possess'. | |||
| Yiddish | זיין | ||
| The Yiddish word "זיין" can also mean "to be" or "to exist", | |||
| Zulu | okwakhe | ||
| As a standalone possessive pronoun, "okwakhe" may also mean "theirs". | |||
| Assamese | তাৰ | ||
| Aymara | jupana | ||
| Bhojpuri | उनकर | ||
| Dhivehi | އޭނަގެ | ||
| Dogri | ओहदा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kanyang | ||
| Guarani | imba'e | ||
| Ilocano | ti kukuana | ||
| Krio | in | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ئەو | ||
| Maithili | ओकर | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯍꯥꯛꯀꯤ | ||
| Mizo | ani | ||
| Oromo | kan isaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ତାଙ୍କର | ||
| Quechua | paypaq | ||
| Sanskrit | तस्य | ||
| Tatar | аның | ||
| Tigrinya | ናቱ | ||
| Tsonga | xa yena | ||