Hēo/hie (pronounced "HEY-oh" and "HEE-yuh") are the Old English feminine pronouns; The equivalent of she/her in Modern English. They are considered archaeopronouns, and were commonly used sometime between c. 450 CE until c. 1150, mainly by the British Anglo-Saxons [1]. They are not officially recognized in Modern English, however, few people still use them for various reasons, the most common one being personal comfort.
The Old English masculine pronouns are hē/hine, the neuter pronouns are hit/hit, and the plural pronouns are hī/hī.
Some different variations were found. Before reading ahead, it is important to note that Old English did not have special reflexive pronouns [2] (example: herself, himself, themself/themselves), which is why there are no reflexive pronouns in the tables below. Most people who use these pronouns will make their own (Usually being hireself or hiereself, along with other Modern English counterparts).
Hēo/hie/hire/hire[]
| Type | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Hēo | Hēo went to the store to buy some chocolate.. |
| Accusative | Hie | Give the chocolate to hie, please. |
| Dative | Hire | You gave the chocolate to hire. |
| Genitive | Hire (pronounced "HEE-ruh") | The chocolate is now hire. |
Hēo/hīe/hiere/hiere[]
| Type | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Hēo | Hēo went to the store to buy some chocolate. |
| Accusative | hīe | Give the chocolate to hīe, please. |
| Dative | Hiere | You gave the chocolate to hiere. |
| Genitive | Hiere | The chocolate is now hiere. |
Hēo/hi (pronounced "HEE")/hire/hire[]
| Type | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Hēo | Hēo went to the store to buy some chocolate. |
| Accusative | Hi | Give the chocolate to hi, please. |
| Dative | Hire | You gave the chocolate to hire. |
| Genitive | Hire | The chocolate is now hire. |