Its in Different Languages
Discover 'Its' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'its' may seem simple, but it carries great significance in the English language as a possessive determiner. It's the little word that helps us indicate ownership or association of a noun, such as 'the cat licked its paw.'
Throughout history, 'its' has been a topic of debate among grammarians, with some arguing for the use of 'his' or 'her' instead. However, the use of 'its' as a gender-neutral possessive pronoun has been widely accepted and used in the English language for centuries.
Understanding 'its' in different languages can offer fascinating insights into cultural nuances and language evolution. For instance, in Spanish, 'its' translates to 'su' (masculine) or 'suya' (feminine), depending on the gender of the noun. Meanwhile, in Japanese, 'its' is expressed through the use of the particle 'no' or 'ga'.
Join us as we explore the translations of 'its' in various languages, from French to Mandarin, and discover the unique ways different cultures express possession and association.
Its
Its in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | sy | ||
| The word "sy" in Afrikaans can also mean "she" or "her" in some contexts. | |||
| Amharic | የእሱ | ||
| The Amharic word "የእሱ" (its) also means "his" or "hers" when used to refer to objects. | |||
| Hausa | ta | ||
| In Hausa, 'ta' can also refer to 'theirs' for a group of people. | |||
| Igbo | ya | ||
| In certain northern Igbo dialects, "ya" can also refer to "his" or "her". | |||
| Malagasy | ny | ||
| The word "ny" in Malagasy can also mean "his" or "her" depending on the context. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | zake | ||
| The word "zake" can also mean "his" or "hers" in Nyanja (Chichewa). | |||
| Shona | zvayo | ||
| "Zvayo" also means "its" in the sense of "his/her/their" in phrases like "zvayo" imba (his/her/their house). | |||
| Somali | ay | ||
| In Somali, the word "ay" can also mean "him" or "her" depending on the context. | |||
| Sesotho | ea eona | ||
| The Sesotho word "ea eona" can also mean "his" or "her" in certain contexts. | |||
| Swahili | yake | ||
| This term, 'yake', may also be found in other expressions such as 'kwenye nyumba yake' ('in its house') or 'mtoto wake' ('its child'). | |||
| Xhosa | yayo | ||
| Yayo can also mean 'in order to' and 'after' in Xhosa. | |||
| Yoruba | rẹ | ||
| The word "rẹ" (its) in Yoruba also means "him, her" in the third person singular. | |||
| Zulu | its | ||
| The word "its" is often used in Zulu to indicate the possessive form of a noun, but it can also be used to refer to the third person singular object pronoun. | |||
| Bambara | a | ||
| Ewe | enye | ||
| Kinyarwanda | yayo | ||
| Lingala | eza | ||
| Luganda | kili | ||
| Sepedi | ke | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɛyɛ | ||
Its in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | انها | ||
| 'انها' is also short for 'انها ل...' (Surely...)} | |||
| Hebrew | שֶׁלָה | ||
| In Hebrew grammar, שֶׁלָה ("its") also functions as a prepositional phrase meaning "of," "belonging to." | |||
| Pashto | د | ||
| The Pashto word "د" ("its") originates from the Proto-Indo-European root "*is-o," meaning "belonging to"} | |||
| Arabic | انها | ||
| 'انها' is also short for 'انها ل...' (Surely...)} | |||
Its in Western European Languages
| Albanian | e saj | ||
| The Albanian possessive pronoun "i saj" is also used in the sense of the pronoun "her" in contexts where there is a third-person feminine subject. | |||
| Basque | bere | ||
| The Basque word "bere" can also mean "his" or "her", depending on the context. | |||
| Catalan | la seva | ||
| 'La seva' can refer to 'his', 'her' or 'its' in Catalan depending on context. | |||
| Croatian | svoje | ||
| The word "svoje" in Croatian also means "own" or "belonging to oneself". | |||
| Danish | dens | ||
| In Danish, "dens" is an antiquated form of the possessive pronoun "dets", meaning "its" or "its own". | |||
| Dutch | haar | ||
| In some Dutch dialects "haar" can also refer to a woman's hair | |||
| English | its | ||
| The possessive pronoun 'its' derives from Middle English "his," which was originally both the genitive and possessive of 'he' and 'it' before becoming 'his' during the early modern English period. | |||
| French | ses | ||
| The word "ses" in French can also be used to mean "his" or "her" in the plural, and it is derived from the Latin word "suus". | |||
| Frisian | its | ||
| In Frisian, "its" can also mean "its own" or "of it." | |||
| Galician | a súa | ||
| In Galician, "a súa" can also mean "her" or "his" in the singular form. | |||
| German | es ist | ||
| Es ist is an archaic genitive form of es and the third-person singular form of the verb sein. | |||
| Icelandic | þess | ||
| The form "þess" used in possessive pronouns is derived from the neuter of the Old Norse demonstrative pronoun "þessi" | |||
| Irish | a | ||
| The Irish word 'a', meaning 'its', can also mean 'of it' or 'from it'. | |||
| Italian | suo | ||
| The Italian word "suo" also means "his" or "her" in cases where the gender of the subject is unspecified. | |||
| Luxembourgish | seng | ||
| The word "seng" in Luxembourgish also means "since" and "ago". | |||
| Maltese | tagħha | ||
| The Maltese word "tagħha" can also be used as a possessive form of the personal pronoun "hi" (she, her). | |||
| Norwegian | det er | ||
| Det er also means 'the matter is' in Norwegian, e.g. "det er klart" ("it is clear"). | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | está | ||
| In some varieties of Brazilian Portuguese "está" can also be used to replace "ele", "ela", and "você", which means "he", "she", and "you" respectively. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | a | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "a" can also mean "he," "she," or "it". | |||
| Spanish | sus | ||
| In Latin, "sus" means "pig," and in old Spanish, it meant "up" | |||
| Swedish | dess | ||
| "Dets" is a more formal version of "dess" and is still used to some extent in written Swedish. | |||
| Welsh | ei | ||
| The Welsh word "ei", meaning "its", derives from the Old Welsh word "hi", meaning "he" or "she". | |||
Its in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | яго | ||
| It is believed that "яго" is derived from the Slavic root "jь", meaning "he","she" or "it". Later, in Old Belarusian, the word "его" was used meaning "him", "her" or "it", while "яго" was used when referring to something inanimate. | |||
| Bosnian | svoje | ||
| The word "svoje" can also mean "own" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | си | ||
| The word "си" ("its") in Bulgarian is also a reflexive pronoun, indicating that the action of a verb is directed towards the subject. | |||
| Czech | své | ||
| Své' also means 'his' and 'her' and is used when referring to a masculine or feminine third person singular noun. | |||
| Estonian | selle | ||
| The Estonian word "selle" is derived from the Proto-Uralic word "*tälä", and it has cognates in other Uralic languages such as "tämä" in Finnish and "этот" in Russian. | |||
| Finnish | sen | ||
| The word "sen" can also mean "you" in the singular, when used in the possessive form in the 3rd person singular. | |||
| Hungarian | annak | ||
| The Hungarian word "annak" (its) can also mean "to that" or "for that" depending on context. | |||
| Latvian | tā | ||
| "Tā" in Latvian is derived from the Old Prussian "tan" and the Proto-Baltic "tā\i". It shares a root with the Lithuanian "ta" meaning "it" as well as with the Slavic "ta". | |||
| Lithuanian | jos | ||
| The word "jos" also means "if" in Lithuanian. | |||
| Macedonian | нејзините | ||
| In the Slavic languages its form is the same as the possessive pronoun of the third person singular feminine gender, her, but in the other Indo-European languages it is a different form. | |||
| Polish | jego | ||
| The word "jego" can also mean "him" or "his" and is declined according to the grammatical case. | |||
| Romanian | este | ||
| The Romanian word "este" also means "is" in Romanian. | |||
| Russian | его | ||
| Russian "его" derives from Old East Slavic "егоже" which has the same meaning but in addition refers to "him" (dat.) and "him, that" (gen.). | |||
| Serbian | његово | ||
| The Serbian word "његово" has a secondary meaning of "his", and is often used when referencing an object as masculine and singular. | |||
| Slovak | jeho | ||
| The Slovak word 'jeho' can also refer to the reflexive pronoun 'himself' or the possessive pronoun 'his'. | |||
| Slovenian | svoje | ||
| The word "svoje" can also refer to "own" or "beloved" in Slovenian. | |||
| Ukrainian | його | ||
| The word "його" can also be used in the sense of "his" or "hers" when referring to a male or female antecedent. | |||
Its in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | এটি | ||
| The word "এটি" can also be used to refer to a particular part of something or to emphasize the importance of something. | |||
| Gujarati | તેના | ||
| The Gujarati word "તેના" is also used to denote possession and may translate to "his," "her," or "their" in English. | |||
| Hindi | आईटी इस | ||
| In Hindi, "आईटी इस" can also refer to "this". | |||
| Kannada | ಅದರ | ||
| It originates from the Sanskrit word 'asya', which refers to belonging or ownership. | |||
| Malayalam | അതിന്റെ | ||
| In Malayalam, “അതിന്റെ” can mean “to that” and “concerning that” in addition to “its”. | |||
| Marathi | त्याचा | ||
| त्याचा means "its" in Marathi, and derives from the Sanskrit word "tasya". | |||
| Nepali | यसको | ||
| It also means "mine" when used in the sense of possession, such as "यो मेरो यसको छ" (this is mine). | |||
| Punjabi | ਇਸ ਨੂੰ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | එය | ||
| In addition to meaning "its", "එය" also means "that" and "there." | |||
| Tamil | அதன் | ||
| The word 'அதன்' in Tamil can also mean 'that which' or 'the one that' when used in certain contexts. | |||
| Telugu | దాని | ||
| దాని is a possessive pronoun that can also mean "there" or "then". | |||
| Urdu | اس کے | ||
| In Urdu, اس کے does not only mean "its," but also "of him/her/it" or "of this/that." | |||
Its in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 它的 | ||
| 它 (Simplified) can also refer to an abstract idea or an inanimate object as the subject or object of a sentence, similar to the English "it". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 它的 | ||
| In Chinese, 它 can also refer to a person's appearance, such as facial features or overall demeanor. | |||
| Japanese | その | ||
| The word "その" can also refer to "that", "this", or "the one in question" depending on the context. | |||
| Korean | 이것의 | ||
| "이것의" can also mean "this one's" or "the one of this". | |||
| Mongolian | түүний | ||
| In Mongolian, "түүний" has two meanings: "its" and "his/her." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | င်း | ||
Its in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | -nya | ||
| -nya is also a possessive pronoun with a neutral gender (neither "he/she"/"his/her" nor "it" but combining all). | |||
| Javanese | sawijining | ||
| "Sawiijining" can also mean "one of them" in Javanese. | |||
| Khmer | របស់វា | ||
| របស់វា can also refer to the subject's property, or the subject itself. | |||
| Lao | ຂອງມັນ | ||
| In Lao the word "ຂອງມັນ" can also mean "of theirs" or "of that person's" depending on context. | |||
| Malay | itu | ||
| The word "itu" in Malay can also mean "that" or "it is" | |||
| Thai | ของมัน | ||
| The Thai word "ของมัน" literally means "thing of it", where "มัน" (it) can refer to a specific person, animal, or thing. | |||
| Vietnamese | nó là | ||
| Besides its primary meaning, "nó là" can also be used as a pronoun meaning "they are." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | nito | ||
Its in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | onun | ||
| The word "onun" in Azerbaijani can also mean "his" or "her" in some contexts. | |||
| Kazakh | оның | ||
| "Оның" (its) also means "of him/her" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | анын | ||
| "Анын" may also refer to "his" or "her" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | он | ||
| In Tajik, "он" can also mean "there" or "that", and it is derived from the Proto-Iranian "*hâ-na". | |||
| Turkmen | bu | ||
| Uzbek | uning | ||
| "Uning" in Uzbek also means "his/her/their" and "of it, of him, of her, of them". | |||
| Uyghur | its | ||
Its in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kāna | ||
| Kāna can also mean 'belonging to', 'pertaining to', or 'that which belongs to'. | |||
| Maori | ona | ||
| "Ona" in Maori, the passive form in transitive verbs like "ki te tangata e whakarite" (it is being prepared by the person). | |||
| Samoan | ana | ||
| The word “ana”, meaning “its” in Samoan, can also mean “theirs” and “his”/“hers” depending on context. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | nito | ||
| In the ancient Tagalog numbering system, the word "nito" meant "one thousand." | |||
Its in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jupana | ||
| Guarani | ha'e | ||
Its in International Languages
| Esperanto | ĝia | ||
| The word "ĝia" in Esperanto can also refer to "of him" or "of her". | |||
| Latin | eius | ||
| The Latin word "eius" can refer to a possessive, an objective, or a dative case with several different meanings depending on the context. | |||
Its in Others Languages
| Greek | του | ||
| Το "του" μπορεί να αναφέρεται σε αντικείμενα που ανήκουν σε αρσενικά όντα καθώς και σε αντικείμενα που ανήκουν σε ουδέτερα όντα (π.χ. το σπίτι του, η ώρα του). | |||
| Hmong | nws | ||
| The word "nws" in Hmong can also mean "his" or "her". | |||
| Kurdish | xwe | ||
| 'Xwe' also means 'self' or 'own' in Kurdish. | |||
| Turkish | onun | ||
| "Onun" can also mean "his" or "her" in Turkish, depending on the context. | |||
| Xhosa | yayo | ||
| Yayo can also mean 'in order to' and 'after' in Xhosa. | |||
| Yiddish | זייַן | ||
| The Yiddish word "זייַן" ("its") is derived from the Hebrew word "שֶׁלָּהּ" ("shellah") and can also mean "hers" or "his" when used with a feminine or masculine noun, respectively. | |||
| Zulu | its | ||
| The word "its" is often used in Zulu to indicate the possessive form of a noun, but it can also be used to refer to the third person singular object pronoun. | |||
| Assamese | ইয়াৰ | ||
| Aymara | jupana | ||
| Bhojpuri | इसका | ||
| Dhivehi | އެއީ | ||
| Dogri | एहदा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | nito | ||
| Guarani | ha'e | ||
| Ilocano | dayta ket | ||
| Krio | i na | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ئەو | ||
| Maithili | इ अछि | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯁꯤ | ||
| Mizo | chu chu | ||
| Oromo | inni ...dha | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଏହାର | ||
| Quechua | its | ||
| Sanskrit | अयं अस्ति | ||
| Tatar | аның | ||
| Tigrinya | ናቱ | ||
| Tsonga | i | ||