Alternative spellings

• ye
• ya, yah, yer, y'
• -cha
• -ja
• u
• yoo
• eu, iow, yew, yewe, yo, yoow, youe, yow, yowe, yu, yw, ȝewe, ȝhow, ȝhu, ȝo, ȝou, ȝoue, ȝow, ȝowe

Etymology

you, yow, ȝow, (object case of ye) from / (dat. case of gē) < West < .
See usage notes. , and are cognate with Dutch jij/je, jou, jouw; German , and respectively. is also cognate with Low German jie and archaic Swedish . The presence of final -r in the German form is from an earlier -z in Germanic, and is mirrored by the final -r’s in German , , and , whereas English , and lack the -r; Dutch and Scandinavian follow English in this respect (cf Dutch me, mij "me"; we, wij "we").

Pronoun

1. The person spoken to, or written to, as a subject.

   You must do as I tell you.

2. The person spoken to or written to, as an object.

   We’ll go with you to the game.

   You must do as I tell you.

3. The group of persons spoken, or written to, as a subject.

   You are all supposed to do as I tell you.

4. The group of persons spoken, or written to, as an object.

   You are all supposed to do as I tell you.

5. Anyone, one; an unspecified individual.

   You have to be at least 36 inches high to go on this ride.

   They don’t smile at you when they serve you in this store.

Usage notes

was originally a formal form used when addressing strangers or to show deference, with the singular being when talking to friends or family. (This usage echoed German usage of "Sie" for polite conversation, and "du" for informal, friendly conversation.) gradually came to be generalized to the singular in all circumstances. was the plural form used to address groups. The original nominative form was , whilst was the objective (accusative and dative) form, but with time came to represent any plural form. Today the absence of a plural has led to slang expressions such as , , or (all are considered colloquial).

• Early Modern English works use these archaic meanings. For example the King James Bible uses when referring to groups, to display politeness or deference, and to represent a close personal relationship (such as with God). may be used imperatively to issue a permission ("You go right ahead") or a command ("You stay out of it").
• See Wiktionary:English inflection for other personal pronouns.

Synonyms

: thou , ye, yer : all of you , ye, yer , you’s , y’all , you all , you + number : thee , ye, to you, to thee, to ye: ye, to you, to ye, to you all: one, people, they, them

Determiner

1. The individual or group spoken or written to.

   Have you gentlemen come to see the lady who fell backwards off a bus?

2. Used before epithets for emphasis.

   You idiot!