he

HEE/ˈhiː/

Noun pluralhes

9 meanings of he

1
male (sex known)pronounmasculine
Used as the subject to refer to a male person or animal already mentioned or clear from the situation, including anyone who identifies as male.
My brother said he would meet us at the station.
The stallion is nervous, and he will not let anyone near.
Oppositeshe
Note
After be, the subject form can stand as well: an 1881 translation has "It was he we saw the tracks of."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The translation contains the quoted wording. fiftywordsforsnow.com
2
unknown personpronounmasculine
Used to refer to a person or animal whose sex is unknown or not stated; for people, 'they' is now more usual.
The reader will notice that he is never told the narrator's name.
A doctor must always put his patient first, whatever he may think of him.
UsageMany writers now prefer they or he or she: if a student cheats, they will be expelled. Proverbs keep he who.
Similarthey
Note
Generic he lets the masculine stand in for everyone, as in "if any student is caught cheating, he will be expelled." Defenders remain: in 2010 Tom Bingham kept it to escape the cumbrous "he or she" and a singular they he thought ungrammatical, asking to be read gender-neutrally.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The Bingham statement appeared in The Rule of Law, first published in 2010. binghamcentre.biicl.org
Bingham retained masculine pronouns to avoid cumbersome paired forms and singular they, which he considered ungrammatical. en.wiktionary.org
Bingham asked readers to understand his masculine pronouns gender-neutrally. en.wiktionary.org
3
a malenouncolloquialcountable or uncountable
A male person or animal, especially in contrast with a female.
Of the three kittens, two are hes and one's a she.
Everyone assumed the writer was a he until the interview.
UsageMostly in a he or a she, asked about a baby or animal; the plural is hes.
Similarmale
Oppositeshe, female

Less common meanings

4
object as malepronounliterarymasculine
Used of a sexless thing regarded as masculine, especially the sun, certain planets in older astronomy, or certain ships.
The sun is at his highest in June, when he stands over the tropic.
Mercury is hard to see, since he never strays far from the sun.
Oppositeshe, it
Note
Personification by pronoun: an 18th-century mathematical miscellany says Jupiter "goes round him in 11 Years," using he for the planet and him for the sun. Ships can take the masculine too, as the Bismarck does in a 2019 Sabaton lyric. The alternatives for such things are she and the neutral it.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
A Mathematical Miscellany in Four Parts was first published in 1730; 1770 is the date of its third edition. m-a.org.uk
The passage says Jupiter “goes round him in 11 Years,” with he referring to Jupiter and him to the sun. en.wiktionary.org
Sabaton's 2019 song Bismarck uses a masculine pronoun for the ship. sabaton.net
5
giggleinterjectionrarereduplication
A representation of laughter, usually doubled, lighter or more mischievous than ha ha.
He he, wait till she opens the box.
The reply was just two words, he he, and a winking face.
Similarha, hehe
Note
Written laughter, almost always doubled. A 1921 novel has a bottle that "chuckled" its "He, he! he, he!" before telling a funny tale. The sound is a chuckle or snicker rather than the open ha, and the pair can also be run together as hehe. A single he on its own is uncommon and easily misread as the pronoun.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
The novel containing the example, Norman Davey's The Pilgrim of a Smile, was first published in 1921. en.wikipedia.org
A bottle chuckles the quoted laughter and announces a funny tale. en.wiktionary.org
6
chasing gamenounUKuncountable
The chasing game tag, also known as it.
At break the whole class played he across the school field.
There was a game of he going on by the swings.
UsageTakes no article: children play he, or join a game of he.
Similartag, it
Note
The game shares its name with its chaser. Whoever must catch the others is the chaser called he, and the whole game can be called he too, just as it can name both.
7
chasernounUKcountable or uncountable
In the game of tag, the player who chases and tries to catch the others.
Nobody wanted to be he, so we drew straws.
Whoever is he has to count to twenty before chasing anyone.
UsageUsually after be, with no article: nobody wanted to be he.
Similarit
8
SayHAY/heɪ/
Hebrew letternouncountable
The name of the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and the corresponding letter of other Semitic alphabets, such as the first letter of the Old South Arabian abjad, transliterated as h.
Scribes drew the he with a small gap between its roof and its left leg.
In the Hebrew mysteries the letter he was tied to generation, Browne wrote.
Note
A borrowed letter name, unrelated to the pronoun: it transliterates the Semitic h, written 𐤄 in Phoenician, ה in Hebrew and ܗ in Syriac. Thomas Browne, in 1658, links "the Letter He, the fifth in their Alphabet" to generation in Cabalistic accounts. Its place in the alphabet carries the meaning there, though in the South Arabian alphabet the same letter stands first.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 6 facts
The letter name has a Semitic origin distinct from the English pronoun. en.wiktionary.org
The corresponding h letter is written 𐤄 in Phoenician, ה in Hebrew and ܗ in Syriac. en.wikipedia.org
Browne's relevant work, The Garden of Cyrus, was first published in 1658. penelope.uchicago.edu
Browne links He, identified as the fifth letter, with generation in Cabalistic accounts; the quoted wording is authentic. penelope.uchicago.edu
Browne's discussion connects the letter's fifth position with numerical symbolism. penelope.uchicago.edu
He is first in the Old South Arabian alphabet. en.wiktionary.org
9
determiner
In African-American Vernacular English, used as a possessive determiner meaning his.

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–4, 6–7

From Middle English he, from Old English hē, from Proto-Germanic *hiz ("this, this one"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱís ("this"). It is related to Dutch hij, West Frisian hy, and German Low German he.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

English he descends from Middle English he and Old English hē. en.wiktionary.org
Its Germanic ancestor is reconstructed as *hiz, meaning “this, this one.” en.wiktionary.org
Proto-Germanic *hiz derives from Proto-Indo-European *ḱís. en.wiktionary.org
Proto-Indo-European *ḱís means “this.” en.wiktionary.org
Dutch hij is related through the same Proto-Germanic ancestor. en.wiktionary.org
West Frisian hy is related through the same Proto-Germanic ancestor. en.wiktionary.org
German Low German he is cognate with English he. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 8

Several Semitic alphabets have a letter for the "h" sound, including Phoenician 𐤄, Hebrew ה, Classical Syriac ܗ, and Old South Arabian 𐩠, and this name is their transliteration in English letters.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

The listed Semitic scripts have the letters 𐤄, ה, ܗ, and 𐩠 representing h. en.wikipedia.org
English he originates as a transliteration of these Semitic letters. en.wiktionary.org