The pattern
Use the short, unstressed form by default. Use the long, stressed form especially when you want to contrast or highlight that person.
- jij / je: you as the subject (the one who does something)
- jou / je: you as the object (the one something happens to)
- wij / we: we
- zij / ze: she, and also they
- mij / me: me
- ik, hij, jullie and the polite u have no separate short form in standard writing (more on u in U or jij).
Examples
| Je woont in Utrecht, toch? | You live in Utrecht, right? |
| Jij woont in Utrecht, en Daan woont in Delft. | You live in Utrecht, and Daan lives in Delft. |
| We gaan met de trein. | We are going by train. |
| Wij nemen de trein, jullie fietsen. | We are taking the train, you are cycling. |
| Sanne belt me morgen. | Sanne is calling me tomorrow. |
| Sanne belt mij, niet Bas. | Sanne is calling me, not Bas. |
| Ze werkt bij de gemeente. | She works for the municipality. |
| Zij werkt bij de gemeente, hij werkt thuis. | She works for the municipality, he works from home. |
| Ik zie je zaterdag! | I'll see you on Saturday! |
| Ik zie jou, maar ik zie Yara niet. | I see you, but I don't see Yara. |
Why it works this way
Think of the long form as a pointing finger. In Jij hebt gelijk, niet ik, you point at the other person and away from yourself. In Je hebt gelijk, nobody points: you simply agree.
English shows this with the voice alone: YOU are right. Dutch also swaps the word, because a short form like je or we cannot carry stress. So a pronoun that stands on its own, as in En jij?, is always the long form. If you speak Spanish or Arabic, this will feel familiar: there you often leave the pronoun out and add it mainly for emphasis or contrast.
In writing, nobody hears your voice, so the word itself shows the stress. Write jij and the reader hears extra weight. That is why je is usually the right choice in messages and emails. This is a strong tendency, not an iron law: people do write Heb jij zin? to sound a little more personal.
One more clue for ze: when it is the subject, the verb tells you if it means she or they. Ze werkt is she, ze werken is they.
Remember: if you would not point at the person, use the short form.
Watch out
NotJe hebt gelijk, niet ik.
SayJij hebt gelijk, niet ik.
contrast needs the stressed form
NotIk zie jij morgen.
SayIk zie je morgen.
the object form is je or jou
NotGoed, en met je?
SayGoed, en met jou?
the pronoun carries the stress here
NotDit is me fiets.
SayDit is mijn fiets.
mijn is my; its spoken short form is written m'n, not me
Quick check
- Choose: Ik heb honger. En (jij / je)?
- Choose: Ik bel (jij / je) morgen, oké?
- Fix the sentence: Geef het aan me, niet aan Joris.
- In Ze fietsen naar de supermarkt, does ze mean she or they?
Show the answers
- jij (a pronoun on its own carries the stress)
- je (no contrast, and the object form is je or jou)
- Geef het aan mij, niet aan Joris. (the contrast with Joris needs the stressed form)
- They (for she, the verb would be fietst)
Use it today
Send a short Dutch message to a friend, neighbour or colleague with the short form, for example Heb je morgen tijd? Then add one contrast with the long form, like Ik neem de trein. En jij?