hu
Translingual
English
Etymology
Clipping of human, first offered for usage by Mikhail Epstein, professor of cultural theory at Emory University (in 2003).[1]
Pronoun
hu (third-person singular, nominative case, reflexive huself) (epicene, nonstandard)
- (neologism) they (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun, coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she.
- 2002 January 3, McMahon, Bryan T., quoting Sasha Newborn, “A terrible book”, in The Ponchatoula Times, page 7:
- Hu is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, of hieroglyphics; exhibiting in hus solutions of each and all a degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension preternatural.
- 2003 October 14, Epstein, Mikhail, “"Hu," from "human," as a gender-neutral pronoun”, in (Usenet), message-ID <f732cdb7.0310141153.6c715df8@posting.google.com>:
- When the lecturer arrives, hu will be speaking on the topic of anonymity.
- 2007 November 29, Epstein, Mikhail, “hu”, in International Society for Universal Dialog:
- It's the vice-president's job to support the president and take hus place when hu is away.
- 2008 March, Hitz, Christoph, “Hu, Me?”, in Mother Jones, →ISSN:
- Maybe, but if his/herstory's any guide, hu has hu work cut out for hu.
-
- (neologism) them (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular object pronoun, coordinate with gendered pronouns him and her.
- 2006, Anderson, Perry; Burgess, Glenn, DeLuna, D. N., editor, The Political Imagination in History: Essays Concerning J.G.A. Pocock, Owlworks, →ISBN, page 175:
- One of his favorite metaphors for the historian, drawn from the "Preface" to Hegel's Philosophy of Right, likens hu to the owl of Minerva, whose flight at dusk provided the setting for mature reflection on the day that had passed.
-
- (neologism) their (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular possessive adjective, coordinate with his and her.
Derived terms
- huself
See also
- other attested gender-neutral pronouns
References
Anagrams
Abau
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hu/
References
- transnewguinea.org, citing D. C. Laycock, Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea (1968), Oceanic Linguistics, 7 (1): 36-66
Akan
Pronunciation
- Tone: L[1]
References
- Kotey, Paul A. (1998). Twi-English/English-Twi Dictionary. New York: Hippocrene Books. →ISBN
- Christaller, Johann Gottlieb (1881), “hũ”, in A Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tshi (Chwee, Tw̌i), Basel, pages 192–193
Albanian
Etymology
From Proto-Albanian *skuna < *skuja + *-na, from Proto-Indo-European *skuy-os < *skwey-.
Compare Norwegian/Faroese skon (“snout”)), from Proto-Indo-European *skewd-.[1] More at hedh.
Noun
hu m (indefinite plural hunj, definite singular huri, definite plural hunjtë)
Related terms
References
- Adam Hyllested, “Albanian hundë ‘nose’ and Faroese, SW Norwegian skon ‘snout’”, in Proceedings of the 23rd Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference (Bremen: Hempen, 2012), 73-81.
Chamorro
Etymology
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)aku. Cognates include Javanese aku and Indonesian aku.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hu/
Usage notes
- hu is used solely as a subject of a transitive verb, while yoʼ is used either as a subject of an intransitive verb or an object of a transitive verb.
See also
hu-type pronouns | |||
---|---|---|---|
singular | plural inclusive | plural exclusive | |
1st person | hu | ta | in |
2nd person | un | en | |
3rd person | ha | ma | |
yoʼ-type pronouns | |||
singular | plural inclusive | plural exclusive | |
1st person | yoʼ | hit | ham |
2nd person | hao | hamyo | |
3rd person | gueʼ | siha | |
emphatic pronouns | |||
singular | plural inclusive | plural exclusive | |
1st person | guahu | hita | hami |
2nd person | hagu | hamyo | |
3rd person | guiya | siha |
Chibcha
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hu/
References
- Gómez Aldana D. F., Análisis morfológico del Vocabulario 158 de la Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia. Grupo de Investigación Muysccubun. 2013.
Danish
Etymology 1
From Old Norse hugr, from Proto-Germanic *hugiz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈhuˀ]
Derived terms
- hukommelse
- husvale
- ihukomme
- komme i hu
References
“hu,2” in Den Danske Ordbog
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈhuˀ]
Etymology 3
Onomatopoetic.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈhuː]
References
“hu,1” in Den Danske Ordbog
Esperanto
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [hu]
- Hyphenation: hu
Interjection
hu
German
Hungarian
Etymology
An onomatopoeia.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈhu]
- Rhymes: -hu
Interjection
hu
Further reading
- (frightening someone or expressing horror): hu in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
- (imitating a dog): hu in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
Lower Sorbian
Maltese
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /u/ (between consonants)
- IPA(key): /w/ (before or after a vowel)
- IPA(key): /uː/ (when strongly stressed)
- Homophone: u
Mandarin
Romanization
hu
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 Dutch
Middle English
Norwegian Bokmål
Alternative forms
Norwegian Nynorsk
References
- “hu” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *hwō. Cognate with Old Frisian hū, Old Saxon hū (Dutch hoe), Old High German wuo.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /xuː/, [huː]
Adverb
hū
- how, in all senses, including:
- to what degree
- Hū eald is þīn dohtor?
- How old is your daughter?
- Hū miċel gold hæfst þū on þē?
- How much gold do you have on you?
- in what manner
- Hū sæġþ man þæt on Englisċ?
- How do you say that in English?
- Hū færest þū?
- How are you? (Literally: "How are you faring?")
- in what state
- Hū wæs þīn dæġ?
- How was your day?
- Þū canst Ælfrēd cyning? Hū is hē?
- You know King Alfred? What is he like?
- used in exclamations
- c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English
- Ēalā hū gōd mann!
- Oh, what a good person!
- c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English
- used to introduce negative rhetorical questions
- late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy
- Hū, ne eart þū sē mann þe on mīnre scōle wǣre āfēded and ġelǣred?
- Aren't you the person who was raised and taught in my school?
- late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy
- to what degree
Descendants
Conjunction
hū
- how, in all senses:
- in what manner
- Iċ leornode hū man wæġn ġebētt.
- I learned how to repair a wagon.
- Hīe āscodon hū hīe helpan meahten.
- They asked how they could help.
- that, the fact that (introducing direct statements)
- Iċ him sæġde hū iċ wǣre æt hām ealne dæġ and ne ġehīerde nāwiht.
- I told them how I'd been at home all day and hadn't heard a thing.
- Þæt is tō wundriġenne hū hīe þā bryċġe swā hrædlīċe ġefyldon.
- It's amazing how they completed the bridge so quickly.
- in what manner
Old French
Etymology
Onomatopoeic.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hy/
Interjection
hu
- a shouting noise made when pursuing someone or something
References
- Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (hu)
- hu on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub
Sumerian
Zou

Etymology
From Proto-Kuki-Chin *khuu, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kəw-n/t. Cognates include Chinese 荤 (hūn) and Burmese ခိုး (hkui:).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hu˧/
References
- Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 40