z'n

See also: zn, Zn, ZN, and zN

Dutch

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /zən/
  • Audio(file)

Determiner

z'n

  1. (possessive) Contracted form of zijn.

Usage notes
  • This contracted form is seen chiefly in informal writing. Otherwise the full form zijn is written out even though the pronunciation is that of z’n.
  • However, the spelling z’n is used in formal writing in a few fixed expressions, such as met z’n drieën (“involving a group of three people”), or op z’n hoogst (“at most”). In these phrases, z’n does not have the meaning of an actual possessive adjective.

Inflection
Dutch personal pronouns
subject object possessive reflexive genitive5
singular full unstr. full unstr. full unstr. pred.
1st person ik 'k1 mij me mijn m'n1 mijne me mijner
2nd person jij je jou je jouw je jouwe je jouwer
2nd person archaic or regiolectal gij ge u – uw – uwe u uwer
2nd person formal u – u – uw – uwe zich uwer
3rd person masculine hij ie1 hem 'm1 zijn z'n1 zijne zich zijner
3rd person feminine zij ze haar h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 haar h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 hare zich harer
3rd person neuter het 't1 het 't1 zijn z'n1 zijne zich zijner
plural
1st person wij we ons – ons, onze2 – onze ons onzer
2nd person jullie je jullie je jullie je – je –
2nd person archaic or regiolectal6 gij ge u – uw – uwe u uwer
2nd person formal u – u – uw – uwe zich uwer
3rd person zij ze hen3, hun4 ze hun – hunne zich hunner
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, and in a similar vein to "you lot" or "you guys" in English, it is common to use gijlui ("you people") or gijlieden ("you people") or one of their contracted variants, and their corresponding objects, possessives and reflexives, in the plural.


Jersey Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch sīn (originally a reflexive form), from Proto-Germanic *sīnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *seyno-, ultimately a form of the reflexive pronoun *swe.

Pronoun

z'n

  1. (possessive) his, its
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