wir

German

Alternative forms

• Wir (pluralis majestatis)
• -wa, wa (rare, colloquial)

Etymology

From Middle High German wir, from Old High German wir, from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ. Compare Low German wi, Dutch wij, English we, Danish vi, Icelandic vér, Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍃 (weis).

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA^(key): /viːɐ̯/
• Rhymes: -iːɐ̯

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• (colloquially in unstressed position) IPA^(key): /vɐ/, /mɐ/

Pronoun

wir

1. we

Declension

German personal pronouns

	singular					plural			singular and plural
	1st person	2nd person familiar1	3rd person			1st person	2nd person familiar1	3rd person	2nd person polite/formal
			m	f	n
nominative	ich	du -e2	er	sie -se2	es	wir	ihr	sie -se2	Sie Ihr3
genitive	meiner mein3	deiner dein3	seiner sein3	ihrer	seiner sein3	unser	euer	ihrer	Ihrer Euer3
dative	mir	dir	ihm	ihr	ihm	uns	euch	ihnen	Ihnen Euch3
accusative	mich	dich	ihn	sie -se2	es	uns	euch	sie -se2	Sie Euch3

¹These forms are sometimes capitalized, especially in letters.    ²enclitic, colloquial    ³archaic

• The genitive case unser is used more and more rarely in modern German.
• While the genitive of a personal pronoun does express ownership, it must not be confused with a possessive pronoun. While possessive pronouns such as unser are put in front of the noun they relate to and follow the inflection rules of adjectives, the genitive form of a personal pronoun has only one form, which is not further inflected. Additionally, personal pronouns in the genitive can be put after the word they relate to.

Further reading

• “wir” in Duden online
• “wir” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Middle High German

Etymology

From Old High German wir, from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, *wiz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wir/

Pronoun

wir

1. we: nominative plural of ich

Descendants

• Bavarian:
  • Cimbrian: biar, bar
  • Mòcheno: biar
• German: wir

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *wīraz. Cognate with Middle Low German wīre, and related to late Old Norse víravirki (“filigree work”), Old High German wiara.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wiːr/

Noun

wīr m (nominative plural wīras)

1. wire
2. (botany) myrtle

Descendants

• Middle English: wir, wyr
  • Scots: wire, weyr
  • English: wire

Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, *wiz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wiːr/

Pronoun

wir

1. we: nominative plural of ih

Descendants

• Bavarian:
  • Cimbrian: biar, bar
  • Mòcheno: biar
• German: wir

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish wir, from Proto-Slavic *virъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vir/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ir
• Syllabification: wir

Noun

wir m inan

1. vortex

   Synonyms: kłębowisko, odmęt

   wir polarny ― polar vortex

2. whirlpool

   Synonyms: topiel, odmęt

3. whirl

   Synonyms: kłębowisko, kotłowisko

4. swirl

   Synonym: trąba powietrzna

5. eddy
6. gyre

   Wir Morza Beauforta ― Beaufort Gyre

7. whirlwind

Declension

Declension of wir

	singular	plural
nominative	wir	wiry
genitive	wiru	wirów
dative	wirowi	wirom
accusative	wir	wiry
instrumental	wirem	wirami
locative	wirze	wirach
vocative	wirze	wiry

Derived terms

noun

• wir pyłowy

 

verb

• wirować

 

Further reading

• wir in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• wir in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wər/

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

wir

1. simple past tense of be

Usage notes

Wir is used with plural pronouns, and wis is used otherwise.

Etymology 2

Determiner

wir

1. Alternative form of our

References

• “wir, possess. adj.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 24 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.

Welsh

Noun

wir

1. Soft mutation of gwir.

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
gwir	wir	ngwir	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.