ze

or zie

[ zee ]

pronoun

1. the person being discussed or last mentioned (used as a neopronoun in place of the gendered pronouns he and she ):

   My friend didn't want to go to the party, but ze got up and danced when hir favorite song came on!

2. Rare. a generic or unspecified person previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context (used as a neopronoun):

   If any employee has questions, ze should contact HR.

Gender Note

Gender-neutral pronouns were proposed as far back as the mid-1800s, especially in connection with progressive ideas about women’s rights. More recently, the coinage and use of ze and other gender-neutral pronouns has been motivated by discussions about gender identity. Some individuals, such as nonbinary, genderqueer, and gender-nonconforming people, feel uncomfortable being referred to as he or she. Even so, use of ze as a gender-neutral singular third-person pronoun is quite limited, partly because of a general resistance to replacing English pronouns. Pronouns belong to a small, closed class of words whose membership is relatively fixed. they.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ze¹

First recorded in 1970–75; based on the German pronoun sie

Example Sentences

"There was a lot of hype around when Vinicius made his debut, so it took him a bit of time to adapt to this new challenge and show what we all expected - but he did it," Ze Ricardo, his first Flamengo coach in senior football, remembered.

From BBC

The indigenous chief, Ze Bajaga, says that the majority of these fires are arson, set by people who “no longer want the wellbeing of humanity, or nature”.

From BBC

Though their plan goes sideways, Lao She and Judge Dee form a bond that carries them into the murder investigation of Ma Ze Ren, a Chinese national and shop owner who served with the Chinese Labour Corps in France during WWI.

From Los Angeles Times

My criticism of the left is not meant to excuse the Zionist movement and Israel's degrading treatment of Palestinians since at least the 1930s, when leaders such as Ze’ev Jabotinsky were unapologetically racist, or since 1967, when Israel conquered and occupied Gaza and the West Bank.

From Salon

LSU closed within 38-28 with six minutes left, but Texas answered with a 10-2 run to increase its lead to 18 on a layup by Ze’rik Onyema with four minutes remaining in the first half.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• he
• I
• it
• she
• sie
• they
• ve
• xe
• you
• zie