"he" in seven languages
Meaninghe
Spanish
él
/el/
inherited
With an accent; el without one is the article.
French
il
/il/
inherited
Italian
lui
/lui/
inherited
From the dative *ILLUĪ; egli (from ILLE) is literary.
Portuguese
ele
/ˈeli/
inherited
Romanian
el
/jel/
inherited
Catalan
ell
/eʎ/
inherited
English
he
/hi/
native English · Old English hē
English → ItalianheluiNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
ILLE‘that one (over there)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin had no word for 'he'; the pointing word ILLE 'that one' filled the gap — and also gave the definite articles el, le, il.
Learn it
In a sentence
- esÉl es mi hermano.
- frIl est mon frère.
- itLui è mio fratello.
- ptEle é meu irmão.
- roEl e fratele meu.
- caEll és el meu germà.
- enHe is my brother.