Personal Pronouns

01

Subject Pronouns List

Here are the standard forms used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence:

• I: ik
• You (informal singular): jij
• You (formal singular & plural): u
• He: hij
• She: zij
• It: het
• We: wij
• You (plural): jullie
• They: zij

02

Stressed vs. Unstressed Forms

A unique feature of Dutch is that several pronouns have two forms: an emphatic (stressed) form and a standard (unstressed) form.

The stressed forms are used when you want to emphasize exactly who is doing the action, distinguishing them from others. The unstressed forms are used in neutral, everyday speech where no specific emphasis is needed.

• jij (stressed) becomes je (unstressed)
• zij (stressed) becomes ze (unstressed)
• wij (stressed) becomes we (unstressed)
• hij (stressed) sometimes becomes ie (unstressed, spoken only)

In written text, you will see both forms frequently.

• Zij is de baas.

  She is the boss. (Emphasizing that she is the one, not someone else)

• Ze komt uit Nederland.

  She comes from the Netherlands. (Neutral statement)

• Gaan we naar huis?

  Are we going home?

03

Addressing "You": Formal vs. Informal

Dutch distinguishes between formal and informal address.

Informal (jij / je)

Use this with family, friends, children, and increasingly with colleagues or peers in casual settings.

• Ben jij moe?

  Are you tired?

• Je bent mijn vriend.

  You are my friend.

Formal (u)

Use u when speaking to strangers, people in authority, or people significantly older than you. It creates a polite distance. Unlike English, the verb conjugation for u is different from jij.

• Bent u de dokter?

  Are you the doctor?

• Heeft u een vraag?

  Do you have a question?

Plural (jullie)

When addressing a group of people informally, use jullie. If addressing a group formally, you can technically use u, but jullie is very common for groups unless the situation is extremely official.

• Zijn jullie klaar?

  Are you (guys) ready?

04

Distinguishing "She" and "They"

You may notice that zij (and its short form ze) is used for both "she" and "they". To understand the meaning, you must look at the verb conjugation in the sentence.

If the verb is singular, zij means "she". If the verb is plural, zij means "they".

• Zij loopt op straat.

  She walks on the street.

• Zij lopen op straat.

  They walk on the street.

05

Capitalization Rules

Unlike the English "I", the Dutch ik is not capitalized unless it appears at the very beginning of a sentence.

• Vandaag werk ik.

  Today I am working.

Similarly, the formal u is generally written in lowercase. You may see it capitalized as U in very old texts or when referring to a deity, but in modern standard Dutch, lowercase is preferred.