they

A1 CET-4 Oxf 3000 初中 FREQ #42 ★★★★★

pron. 他们, 它们

发音

US /ˈðeɪ̯/
UK /ˈðeɪ̯/
AU /ˈðæ̝ɪ̯/
其它 /ˈðə/

词形变化

theyed theys 三单 theying 现在分词 theyed 过去式 theyed 过去分词 them their 所有格 theirs 所有格 themselves themself

别名

dey thay theye thaay the

释义与例句

v.
  1. 1.

    To refer to (someone, sometimes especially someone who does not use gender-neutral pronouns) using they/them pronouns.

    及物

    I have a pin that says she/her, but I still get theyed all the time.

pron. A1 Oxf 3000
  1. 1.

    A group of entities previously mentioned.

    Fred and Jane? They just arrived.

    Dogs may bark if they want to be fed.

    Plants wilt if they are not watered.

    I have a car and a truck, but they are both broken.

  2. 2.

    A single person, previously mentioned, whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or (since 20th c.) non-binary.

    他们

    她们

    它们

    他

    佢哋

    佢

    伊各侬

    佢们

    渠们

    𪜶

    伊拉

    伊

    Somebody requested a seat at Friday's performance but didn't say if they preferred the balcony or the floor.

    Who says they care? —He himself does.

    If someone enters the restricted area, they are required to present identification.

    I asked my friend if they wanted to come, but they said no.

    One of the boys tripped over, and they hit their head on the door.

    One thing a nominee earns is the right to pick the vice president that they think will best reflect their vision of the country, and I am just glad I will have nothing to do with it.

    I'm angry that we're here again, that we have had to tell another mother that their child is dead.

  3. 3.

    People; some people; people in general; someone, excluding the speaker.

    They say it’s a good place to live.

    They didn’t have computers in the old days.

    They don't make 'em like they used to.

  4. 4.

    The authorities, the (power) elites, the powers that be, the establishment, the man, the system: government, police, employers, etc.

    They'll tax us for the air we breathe next.

    They should increase our wages.

    Ha, you believe the moon is real? That's just what they want you to think.

  5. 5.

    The opponents of the side which is keeping score.

    游戏
  6. 1.

    There (especially as an expletive subject of be).

    美国 方言
det.
  1. 1.

    The, those.

    方言

    They rooks as you see … only coom a few year agoo.

    "Bodies and souls," she cried, "if I didn't reckon to have hidden they boots safe from un in the stick-rick." "Off wi' they tight-wasted shoes o' yours, Martha."

  2. 2.

    Their.

    美国 方言 非裔美国英语

相关短语

they say 人们说, 据说, 通常认为 they hate us 'cause they ain't us they hit the Pentagon they don't make them like that anymore kick someone when they are down 落井下石 the more things change, the more they stay the same 万事变化越大，越不会变化 if pigs had wings, they would fly the bigger they are, the harder they fall as they say so they say you know what they say

词源

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tóy Proto-Germanic *þai Proto-Norse *ᚦᚨᛁᛉ (*þaiʀ) Old Norse þeirbor. Middle English þei English they From Middle English þei, borrowed in the 1200s from Old Norse þeir, plural of the demonstrative sá which acted as a plural pronoun. Displaced native Middle English he from Old English hīe — which vowel changes had left indistinct from he (“he”) — by the 1400s, being readily incorporated alongside native words beginning with the same sound (the, that, this). Used as a singular pronoun since 1300, e.g. in the 1325 Cursor Mundi. The Norse term (whence also Icelandic þeir (“they”), Faroese teir (“they”), Danish de (“they”), Swedish de (“they”), Norwegian Nynorsk dei (“they”)) is from Proto-Germanic *þai (“those”) (from Proto-Indo-European *to- (“that”)), whence also Old English þā (“those”) (whence obsolete English tho), Scots thae, thai, thay (“they; those”), Swabian dia (“they”). The origin of the determiner they (“the, those”) is unclear. The OED, English Dialect Dictionary and Middle English Dictionary define it and its Middle English predecessor thei as a demonstrative determiner or adjective meaning “those” or “the”. This could be a continuation of the use of the English pronoun they's Old Norse etymon þeir as a demonstrative meaning “those”, but the OED and EDD say it is limited to southern, especially southwestern, England, specifically outside the region of Norse contact.

来源：wiktionary