His in different languages

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

Afrikaanssyne
Syne is also a form of the possessive pronoun used informally in Dutch, and derived from the word "sijn".
Amharicየእሱ
The word "የእሱ" can also mean "him" or "it".
Hausanasa
The word "nasa" in Hausa can also mean "nose" or "point".
Igboya
The Igbo word "ya" also serves as the shortened form of "anya," meaning "eye."
Malagasyny
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."
Shonazvake
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)
Somaliisaga
"Isaga" in Somali can also refer to "him" or "the one who is."
Sesothohae
The word "hae" also means "her" and is used as an emphatic form of the possessive pronoun "sa" (her).
Swahiliyake
"Yake" can also mean "its" or "hers" depending on the noun it refers to.
Xhosayakhe
The Xhosa word 'yakhe' (his) is derived from the root word 'kha', meaning 'to possess'.
Yorubatirẹ
"Tìrẹ" also means "his" or "hers" in Yoruba and is derived from the root word "tì", meaning "to have".
Zuluokwakhe
As a standalone possessive pronoun, "okwakhe" may also mean "theirs".
Bambaraa
Eweeƒe
Kinyarwandaibye
Lingalaya ye
Lugandakikye
Sepedigagwe
Twi (Akan)ne

His in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicله
"له" is not only a masculine possessive pronoun but also a preposition that functions as the dative case in Classical and Modern Standard Arabic.
Hebrewשֶׁלוֹ
The Hebrew word "שֶׁלוֹ" can also mean "her" or "theirs".
Pashtoد
The Pashto word "د" ("his") is also used in compound words with various meanings, such as "belonging to" or "connected to."
Arabicله
"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

Albaniane tij
The Albanian word "e tij" also means "its" or "of him" depending on the context.
Basqueharen
The word _haren_ can also be used to convey possession, e.g. _haren etxea_ 'their house'.
Catalanseva
The word "seva" derives from the Latin word "sua", meaning "of her".
Croatiannjegova
In Croatian, the word "njegova" has feminine and neuter forms: "njena" and "njegovo".
Danishhans
In the sentence "hans bog" (his book), "hans" is the object form of "han" (he).
Dutchzijn
The word "zijn" can also mean "being" or "essence" in philosophical or spiritual contexts.
Englishhis
The possessive pronoun "his" derives from earlier forms that were applicable to both sexes, "his" or "her".
Frenchle sien
'Le sien' is also used to refer to a person's own property or belongings.
Frisiansyn
In Old Frisian, "syn" could also mean "her" but eventually came to mean "his" in Modern Frisian.
Galiciansúa
The word "súa" can also mean "her" or "its" in Galician.
Germanseine
The word "seine" in German, meaning "his", is derived from the Old High German word "sīn".
Icelandichans
In Icelandic, "hans" can also mean "her" when referring to a female antecedent, and "their" when referring to a plural antecedent.
Irisha
The Irish word "a" is derived from the Old Irish possessive pronoun "a" meaning "his" but it can also mean "her" or "their".
Italianil suo
The "suo" form of the Italian possessive adjective is used exclusively for masculine singular nouns
Luxembourgishseng
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.
Maltesetiegħu
"Tieghu" also exists in Sicilian, but as a reflexive possessive form.
Norwegianhans
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 Gaelicaige
The Gaelic word 'aige' can also mean "at his" or "in him",
Spanishsu
In Spanish, "su" is derived from the Latin "suus" and can also mean "her" or "its" when referring to third-person singular nouns.
Swedishhans
The word "hans" in Swedish can also mean "his" in a possessive sense.
Welshei
In Welsh, "ei" can also mean "their" or "of it" depending on the context and grammar.

His in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianяго
The word "яго" can also refer to a type of berry or a female name.
Bosniannjegov
The word “njegov” originates from the Proto-Slavic possessive pronoun *jego, meaning “of or belonging to him”.
Bulgarianнеговото
неговото is singular accusative form, which is also used as possessive pronoun for 3rd person masculine singular (i.e. „his”).
Czechjeho
In some dialects of Czech, "jeho" can also refer to "her" or "of it".
Estoniantema
"Tema" is related to the Finnish word "tämä" (this), but in Estonian it has become a possessive pronoun meaning "his".
Finnishhänen
The word “hänen” also means “her” or “hers” and is one of the most common Finnish words
Hungarianövé
The word "övé" can also refer to "his property" or "his belongings" in Hungarian.
Latvianviņa
The original meaning of the word "viņa" was "his or her" and the latter meaning is still preserved in set phrases.
Lithuanianjo
Jo is also used as a polite form of address in Lithuanian.
Macedonianнеговиот
In Bulgarian, the word "неговиот" also means "that which belongs to him."
Polishjego
In Polish, "jego" (his) derives from the Proto-Slavic "*jego", meaning "this one".
Romaniana lui
The Romanian word "a lui" means "his", but can also refer to an indirect object in a sentence.
Russianего
The root word
Serbianњегов
Његов is a possessive adjective in Serbian, meaning "his", but it can also refer to a person's property or belongings.
Slovakjeho
The Slovak word "jeho" is also the possessive form of the third person singular pronoun "on" and the first person dual pronoun "my".
Sloveniannjegovo
The word "njegovo" can also mean "your" in Slovenian, when addressing someone formally.
Ukrainianйого
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

Bengaliতার
The word "তার" in Bengali can also mean "her" or "its" depending on the context and the gender of the subject.
Gujaratiતેના
The word "તેના" can also refer to "her" or "its" in Gujarati.
Hindiउनके
In Hindi, "उनके" can also mean "their" or "of them" depending on the context.
Kannadaಅವನ
The word "ಅವನ" in Kannada can also mean "of him" or "belonging to him".
Malayalamഅദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ
Marathiत्याचा
The Marathi word त्याचा (his) is derived from the Sanskrit word तस्य (of him) and has alternate meanings such as 'its' or 'hers'.
Nepaliउसको
The word "उसको" can also mean "her" or "hers" in Nepali.
Punjabiਉਸ 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.
Tamilஅவரது
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.
Teluguతన
The word "తన" in Telugu can also mean "self" or "mind".
Urduاس 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).
Korean그의
The word '그의' is used to denote possession, but can also refer to a concept or idea.
Mongolianтүүний
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."
Javanesekang
In Javanese, "kang" can also be used as a prefix before male names and professions to indicate intimacy or respect.
Khmerរបស់គាត់
In Khmer, the word "his" can also be used to mean "her" or "its".
Laoລາວ
The word "ລາວ" also means "man" or "person" in Lao.
Malaymiliknya
The word "miliknya" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*milək", meaning "to possess".
Thaiของเขา
In Thai, "ของเขา" can also be used as "his/hers/theirs/its", indicating possession.
Vietnamesecủa anh ấy
Của anh ấy" can also mean "mine" in Vietnamese, as a term of endearment.
Filipino (Tagalog)kanyang

His in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanionun
The word "onun" in Azerbaijani is homophonous with the word for "ten" and the accusative case of the personal pronoun "o" (he).
Kazakhоның
The Kazakh word "оның" can also mean "its" or "hers", indicating possession.
Kyrgyzанын
The word "анын" can also be used to mean "its" or "hers" in Kyrgyz.
Tajikвай
The Tajik word "вай" ("his") is also used to refer to the third person singular masculine pronoun "he".
Turkmenonuň
Uzbekuning
The word "uning" can also refer to a possessive pronoun meaning "theirs".
Uyghurhis

His in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankāna
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.
Maoritana
Tana, meaning 'his', derives from Proto-Polynesian "*tana" (possessive pronoun for singular 3rd person masculine).
Samoanlana
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

Aymarajupana
Guaraniimba'e

His in International Languages

Esperantolia
"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.
Latineius
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

Greekτου
The word "του" can also mean "of the" or "from the" in the genitive case, or "to him" in the dative case.
Hmongnws
The Hmong word "nws" can also mean "her" or "its", depending on the context.
Kurdishbûyin
The word "bûyin" in Kurdish comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰuH- which also gave rise to the English word "be".
Turkishonun
The Turkish word "onun" can also refer to "that" or "theirs."
Xhosayakhe
The Xhosa word 'yakhe' (his) is derived from the root word 'kha', meaning 'to possess'.
Yiddishזיין
The Yiddish word "זיין" can also mean "to be" or "to exist",
Zuluokwakhe
As a standalone possessive pronoun, "okwakhe" may also mean "theirs".
Assameseতাৰ
Aymarajupana
Bhojpuriउनकर
Dhivehiއޭނަގެ
Dogriओहदा
Filipino (Tagalog)kanyang
Guaraniimba'e
Ilocanoti kukuana
Krioin
Kurdish (Sorani)ئەو
Maithiliओकर
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯃꯍꯥꯛꯀꯤ
Mizoani
Oromokan isaa
Odia (Oriya)ତାଙ୍କର
Quechuapaypaq
Sanskritतस्य
Tatarаның
Tigrinyaናቱ
Tsongaxa yena

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