# ze
## English
### Etymology 1
#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ziː/, /zʌ/
* (unstressed) IPA: /zə/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Rhymes: -iː, -ʌ

#### Article

ze
* Nonstandard spelling of the (usually signifying a foreign accent, often French or German).
    Synonym: za
** 1992, Tristan Jones, Adrift, page 257:Then one French-American sous-chef, still in his white kitchen gear, climbed down from the cockpit, where he had been inspecting the cabin, peering inside, murmuring, "wonderfool–wonderfool, ze workmansheep!"
** 2000 July 8, J. K. Rowling [pseudonym; Joanne Rowling], “The Yule Ball”, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter; 4), London: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 364:At ze Palace of Beauxbatons, we ’ave ice sculptures all around ze Dining Chamber at Chreetsmas. Zey do not melt, of course … zey are like ’uge statues of diamond, glittering around ze place.

### Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ziː/
* Rhymes: -iː

#### Pronoun

ze
* (rare, nonstandard) a gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun, equivalent to singular they, and coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she.
** 1996 June, Caitlin Sullivan with Bornstein, Kate, Nearly Roadkill: an Infobahn erotic adventure‎, New York: Serpent's Tail, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, LCC PS3569.U3449 N43 1996, page 10:But I do know what sex ze is. It used to influence me. But now I talk to hir like a normal person. I mean, without thinking about what ze is.
** 1997 December 18, Kate Bornstein, My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely, London, New York: Routledge, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, LCC HQ1075.B69 1998, page 130:A case in point is Tula, a transgendered woman who for years lived well as a model and actress until ze was outed in both national and international media.
** 2006 March 22, Leslie Feinberg, Drag King Dreams, New York: Carroll & Graf, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, LCC PS3556.E427 D73 2006, page 205:Ze takes my right hand in hirs and folds it into a fist.
** 2010 October 12, Erika Lopez, The Girl Must Die: A Monster Girl Memoir, Hicken, Jeffrey, San Francisco: Monster Girl Media, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 143:Ze changed hir name to one of those New Testament names, and re-fashioned hirself into a soft, puffy, half-finished hermaphrodite nicknamed, The Pop n' Fresh Doe.
** 2011 March 15, M. J. Locke, Up Against It, New York: Tor, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, LCC PS3612.O249 U7 2011, page 361:Hir face was implacable, but ze dashed away in tears.

##### Usage notes

* The genderqueer community is the primary proponent of ze. One refers to a person with ze and hir or zir typically (a) when their gender is unknown, and one wishes to avoid assuming their gender, or (b) when they are neither male nor female in gender, making he and she (and also either/or terms like s/he or (s)he) inappropriate and potentially hurtful.

##### Synonyms

* see Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns

##### Coordinate terms

* hir, hirs, hirself
* zir, zirs, zirself

#### See also

* other attested gender-neutral pronouns

### Etymology 3
#### Noun

ze (plural zes)
* The name of the Cyrillic script letter З / з.

### Anagrams

* EZ, Ez.

## Albanian
### Etymology

A Gheg dialect word, of unclear origin.

### Noun

ze f (plural ze, definite zeja, definite plural zejet)
* soul

#### Related terms

* zemër

## Aukan
### Etymology

From Dutch zee (“sea”).

### Noun

ze
* the sea, the ocean

### References

* Aukan-English Dictionary (SIL)

## Azerbaijani
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [zeː]

### Noun

ze
* The name of the Latin-script letter Z/z.

### See also

* (Latin-script letter names) hərf; a, be, ce, çe, de, e, ə, fe, ge, ğe, he, xe / iks, ı, i, je, ke / ka, qe / kü, el, em, en, o, ö, pe, er, se, şe, te, u, ü, ve, ye / iqrek, ze / zet

## Basque
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /s̻e/ [s̻e]
* IPA: (most dialects) /s̻e/ [s̻e]
* IPA: (Biscayan) /s̺e/ [s̺e]
* Rhymes: -e
* Hyphenation: ze

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish ce.

#### Noun

ze inan
* The name of the Latin-script letter C/c.

##### Derived terms

* ze hautsi (“cee with cedilla”)

##### See also

* (Latin-script letter names) a, be, ze, de, e, efe, ge, hatxe, i, jota, ka, ele, eme, ene, eñe, o, pe, ku, erre, ese, te, u, uve, uve bikoitz, ixa, i greko, zeta

### Etymology 2
#### Conjunction

ze
* (Biscayan) because
    Synonyms: zergatik, zeren
** 1596, Joseba Lakarra, editor, Refranes y sentencias [Sayings and sentences] (Euskararen Lekukoak; 19)‎, Bilbao: Eusklatzaindia, published 1996, →ISBN, page 248:Adi adi ce Jaungoycoa dagoc adi.[Adi adi, ze Jaungoikoa dagok adi.]Be careful, because God is watching.
* (obsolete) than
** 1596, Joseba Lakarra, editor, Refranes y sentencias [Sayings and sentences] (Euskararen Lekukoak; 19)‎, Bilbao: Eusklatzaindia, published 1996, →ISBN, page 262:Nayago dot to bat, çe amaui emon deyat.[Naiago dot to bat, ze amabi emon deiat.]I prefer a "take one" over twelve "I'll give you one".
* (Biscayan, Gipuzkoan) Introduces a subordinate clause expressing a result, consequence or effect; that
    Synonym: ezen
** c. 1567, Joan Perez de Lazarraga, “Doncellachoa, orain çaoz...”, in Lazarraga Eskuizkribuaren edizioa eta azterketa. II. Testua, EHU Press, published 2020, →ISBN:Ala çara mudaduco, ce / ez çau inorc eçautuco[Ala zara mudaduko, ze / ez zau inork ezautuko]You'll change so much that / nobody will recognize you
* (archaic, possibly obsolete) Introduces a clause that is the subject or object of a verb; that

### Etymology 3
#### Determiner

ze (preposed, interrogative)
* Colloquial form of zer (“what”)

#### Pronoun

ze (interrogative)
* Colloquial form of zer (“what”)

### Further reading

* “ze”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
* “ze”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

## Central Nahuatl
### Etymology

Cognate to Classical Nahuatl ce

### Numeral

ze
* one.

## Cimbrian
### Etymology 1

From Middle High German si(e) (“they”), merged from Old High German sie m pl, sio f pl, siu n pl, from Proto-Germanic *īz m, *ijôz f, *ijō n, the nominative plural forms of *iz. Cognate with German sie, Dutch zij.

#### Pronoun

ze
* (Sette Comuni) they
    Synonym: zandare

##### Alternative forms

* se (Luserna)
* zòi

### Etymology 2
#### Pronoun

ze
* Alternative form of zi (“she”)

### References

* “ze” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo

## Czech
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈzɛ]
* Audio:(file)

### Preposition

ze [with genitive]
* Alternative form of z (“from, out of”)

#### Usage notes

* The more usual form is z, while ze is used before words starting with s, z and certain consonant clusters.

### Further reading

* “ze”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
* “ze”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

## Dutch
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /zə/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: ze
* Rhymes: -ə

### Pronoun

ze
* unstressed form of zij (feminine singular subject)
    Daar zit ze. ― There she is sitting.
* unstressed form of zij (plural subject)
    Daar zitten ze. ― There they are sitting.
* unstressed form of haar (feminine singular object)
    Ik zie ze. ― I see her.
* unstressed form of hen, hun (plural object)
    Ik zie ze. ― I see them.

#### Usage notes

* In the Netherlands, ze is used as a reduced form of haar chiefly when referring to feminine inanimate things:
       Ik wist de waarheid niet en ik wilde ze ook niet weten.I didn’t know the truth and didn’t wish to know it either.
    It is often avoided by using the reduced form h'r or the masculine form hem or the neuter form het or, in formal style, the full form haar.
* In Belgium, ze is usual as a reduced form of haar even when referring to persons (as in the example further above).
* Ze is used in certain short and idiomatic phrases in the imperative wishing one good luck, the most common by far being werk ze (“good luck at work!”).

#### Declension

| | subject | subject | object | object | possessive | possessive | possessive | reflexive | genitive$^5$ |
| singular | full | unstr. | full | unstr. | full | unstr. | pred. | | |
| 1st person | ik | 'k$^1$ | mij | me | mijn | m'n$^1$ | mijne | me | mijner, mijns |
| 2nd person | jij | je | jou | je | jouw | je | jouwe | je | jouwer, jouws |
| 2nd person archaic or regiolectal | gij | ge | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u | uwer, uws |
| 2nd person formal | u | – | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u, zich$^7$ | uwer, uws |
| 3rd person masculine | hij | ie$^1$ | hem | 'm$^1$ | zijn | z'n$^1$ | zijne | zich | zijner, zijns |
| 3rd person feminine | zij | ze | haar | h'r$^1$, 'r$^1$, d'r$^1$ | haar | h'r$^1$, 'r$^1$, d'r$^1$ | hare | zich | harer, haars |
| 3rd person neuter | het | 't$^1$ | het | 't$^1$ | zijn | z'n$^1$ | zijne | zich | zijner, zijns |
| plural | | | | | | | | | |
| 1st person | wij | we | ons | – | ons, onze$^2$ | – | onze | ons | onzer, onzes |
| 2nd person | jullie | je | jullie | je | jullie | je | – | je | – |
| 2nd person archaic or regiolectal$^6$ | gij | ge | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u | uwer, uws |
| 2nd person formal | u | – | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u, zich$^7$ | uwer, uws |
| 3rd person | zij | ze | hen$^3$, hun$^4$ | ze | hun | – | hunne | zich | hunner, huns |
| $^{1)}$ Not as common in written language. $^{2)}$ Inflected as an adjective. $^{3)}$ In prescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative). $^{4)}$ In prescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative). $^{5)}$ Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions. $^{6)}$ To differentiate from the singular gij, gelle (object form elle) and variants are commonly used colloquially in Belgium. Archaic forms are gijlieden and gijlui ("you people"). | $^{1)}$ Not as common in written language. $^{2)}$ Inflected as an adjective. $^{3)}$ In prescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative). $^{4)}$ In prescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative). $^{5)}$ Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions. $^{6)}$ To differentiate from the singular gij, gelle (object form elle) and variants are commonly used colloquially in Belgium. Archaic forms are gijlieden and gijlui ("you people"). | $^{1)}$ Not as common in written language. $^{2)}$ Inflected as an adjective. $^{3)}$ In prescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative). $^{4)}$ In prescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative). $^{5)}$ Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions. $^{6)}$ To differentiate from the singular gij, gelle (object form elle) and variants are commonly used colloquially in Belgium. Archaic forms are gijlieden and gijlui ("you people"). | $^{1)}$ Not as common in written language. $^{2)}$ Inflected as an adjective. $^{3)}$ In prescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative). $^{4)}$ In prescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative). $^{5)}$ Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions. $^{6)}$ To differentiate from the singular gij, gelle (object form elle) and variants are commonly used colloquially in Belgium. Archaic forms are gijlieden and gijlui ("you people"). | $^{7)}$ Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronoun u, e.g. Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronoun u is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g. U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Only u can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g. Meld u aan! 'Log in!', where u is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, both u and zich are equally possible, e.g. U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.' | $^{7)}$ Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronoun u, e.g. Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronoun u is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g. U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Only u can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g. Meld u aan! 'Log in!', where u is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, both u and zich are equally possible, e.g. U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.' | $^{7)}$ Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronoun u, e.g. Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronoun u is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g. U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Only u can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g. Meld u aan! 'Log in!', where u is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, both u and zich are equally possible, e.g. U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.' | $^{7)}$ Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronoun u, e.g. Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronoun u is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g. U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Only u can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g. Meld u aan! 'Log in!', where u is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, both u and zich are equally possible, e.g. U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.' | $^{7)}$ Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronoun u, e.g. Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronoun u is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g. U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Only u can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g. Meld u aan! 'Log in!', where u is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, both u and zich are equally possible, e.g. U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.' | $^{7)}$ Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronoun u, e.g. Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronoun u is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g. U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Only u can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g. Meld u aan! 'Log in!', where u is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, both u and zich are equally possible, e.g. U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.' |

#### Derived terms

* werk ze

#### Descendants

* Javindo: se
* Jersey Dutch: zê, sê

## Gun
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /zé/

### Verb

zé
* to take

## Haitian Creole
### Etymology

From French œufs (“eggs”). In French, the plural form œufs is commonly preceded by a determiner- such as aux, les or mes- whose final s or x is pronounced /z/ before vowels (and is otherwise silent). As a result, œufs was reanalyzed in Haitian Creole as beginning with /z/.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ze/

### Noun

ze
* egg

## Ido
### Etymology

From z +‎ -e.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ze/, /zɛ/

### Noun

ze (plural ze-i)
* The name of the Latin script letter Z/z.

#### See also

* Latin script letter names: literi: a · be · ce · che · de · e · fe · ge · he · i · je · ke · le · me · ne · o · pe · que · re · se · she · te · u · ve · we · xe · ye · ze

## Japanese
### Romanization

ze
* The hiragana syllable ぜ (ze) or the katakana syllable ゼ (ze) in Hepburn romanization.

## Juba Arabic
### Etymology

From Sudanese Arabic زي (zay), probably from Arabic زِيّ (ziyy, “clothing, way of dressing, appearance”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈze/, [ˈze]

### Preposition

ze
* like, as
** (Can we date this quote?), “Halawa”, performed by Dynamq, River Nile Entertainment:banaat mutu ashan umon ma ze itaGirls die because they’re not like you

### References

* Ian Smith, Morris Timothy Ama (1985) A Dictionary of Juba Arabic & English‎, 1st edition, Juba: The Committee of The Juba Cheshire Home and Centre for Handicapped Children, page 181

## Kashubian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈzɛ/
* Rhymes: -ɛ
* Syllabification: ze

### Preposition

ze
* Alternative form of z.

## Lower Sorbian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /zɛ/

### Preposition

ze
* Alternative form of z (both meanings; used before sibilants and certain consonant clusters)
    Stej bratš ze sotšu. ― They are brother and sister (literally, “brother with sister”)

## Luxembourgish
### Alternative forms

* zu (for the adverb, when stressed)

### Etymology

From Middle High German ze, from Old High German zi, from Proto-Germanic *ta, reduced form of *tō, whence Luxembourgish zu and zou.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tse/, [t͡sə]
* Audio:(file)

### Preposition

ze
* to (with a following infinitive)
    De Kaffi ass ze waarm fir ze drénken.The coffee is too hot to drink.

### Adverb

ze
* too (more than enough, when unstressed)
    De Kaffi ass ze waarm fir ze drénken.The coffee is too hot to drink.

## Mandarin
### Romanization

ze
* Nonstandard spelling of zē.
* Nonstandard spelling of zé.
* Nonstandard spelling of zè.
* Nonstandard spelling of zê̄.

#### Usage notes

* Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

## Middle English
### Etymology

From Old English sǣ.

### Noun

ze
* Alternative form of see (“sea”)

#### Descendants

* English: sea

## Middle High German
### Preposition

ze (+ dative)
* Alternative form of zuo

## Northern Qiang
### Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *rəj.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tsə/

### Noun

ze
* water

### References

Zhou Facheng, Sun Hongkai (2010) 汉羌词典 [Chinese–Qiang dictionary]‎, Beijing: 中国文联出版社, →ISBN

## Old Czech
### Pronunciation

* IPA: (13th CE) /ˈzɛ/
* IPA: (15th CE) /ˈzɛ/

### Preposition

ze
* Alternative form of z.

## Old Polish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: (10th–15th CE) /zɛ/
* IPA: (15th CE) /zɛ/

### Preposition

ze
* Alternative form of z

## Polish
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish z, from Proto-Slavic *jьz.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈzɛ/
* Audio 1:(file)
* Audio 2:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛ
* Syllabification: ze
* Homophone: ze-

### Preposition

ze
* Alternative form of z

### Particle

ze
* (colloquial) Alternative form of z

### Usage notes

See z.

### Further reading

* ze in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* ze in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Saterland Frisian
### Etymology

From Old Frisian [Term?], from Proto-West Germanic *sī. Cognates include West Frisian sy and German sie.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /zə/

### Pronoun

ze
* unstressed form of ju (“she”)
* unstressed form of jo (“they”)

#### See also
### References

* Marron C. Fort (2015) “ze”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

## Silesian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈzɛ/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛ
* Syllabification: ze

### Preposition

ze
* Alternative form of z

## Turkish
### Etymology 1
#### Noun

ze (definite accusative zeyi, plural zeler)
* The name of the Latin-script letter Z/z.

##### See also

* (Latin-script letter names) harf; a, be, ce, çe, de, e, fe, ge, yumuşak ge, he, ı, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, ö, pe, re, se, şe, te, u, ü, ve, ye, ze

### Etymology 2

From Arabic زَاي (zāy).

#### Noun

ze
* Letter of the Arabic alphabet: ز

## Turkmen
### Noun

ze (definite accusative [please provide], plural [please provide])
* The name of the Latin-script letter Z/z.

## White Hmong
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ʐe˧/

### Adjective

ze
* near, close by, around

## Xhosa
### Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

### Relative

-ze$^?$
* naked
    Synonym: -ntswempu

#### Inflection
## Yola
### Verb

ze
* Alternative form of zee (“to see”)

### References

* Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 81

## Zazaki
### Adverb

ze
* same

## Zulu
### Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

#### Pronunciation

IPA: /zé/

#### Relative

-zé
* empty
* naked

##### Derived terms

* ize
* ubuze

### Etymology 2

From -za (“to come”).

#### Pronunciation

IPA: /ze/

#### Verb

-ze
* (auxiliary, in positive) until [with subjunctive]
    Sizolinda baze bafike.We will wait until they arrive.
    Sakhuluma waze wafika uthisha.We talked until the teacher arrived.
* (auxiliary, in positive, past) used in exclamations [with subjunctive clause]
    Waze wamuhle umakoti!Oh how beautiful the bride is!
* (auxiliary, in negative, present) never [with potential]
    Angize ngingadla inyama.I never eat meat.
* (auxiliary, in negative, past) never [with subjunctive]
    Akazange agibele ihhashi.He has never ridden a horse.

##### Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

### References

C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “-ze”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “-ze”