French word

il

Pronunciation

IPA/il/

Meaning

  • pronounhe

Example

Il est arrivé.

He arrived.

Illustration for il (he)

More examples

Il dit la vérité.

He tells the truth.

Core concept

A small subject placeholder that either identifies one masculine person or supports a sentence with no concrete subject.

Common phrases

  • il est

    he is

  • il dit

    he says

  • il pense

    He thinks

Similar words

elle: A subject pronoun referring to one female person.
on: A subject pronoun referring to people in general or the speaker's group.
ils: A subject pronoun referring to multiple people.
ce: A demonstrative pronoun referring to a thing or situation.

Definition in French

Désigne généralement une personne ou un être masculin à la troisième personne du singulier et s'emploie aussi dans des tournures impersonnelles, comme « il pleut » et « il y a ».

Word origin

The form il is an inherited development from Latin ille through Old French, with impersonal constructions becoming established alongside personal use.

Usage tips

  • In il y a, rapid speech often weakens il, so the expression can sound close to y a.

Other meanings

  • itpronoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word