# we

> English word · Pronoun · IPA /wiː/ · frequency rank #29

## Definitions
1. Two or more people including or consisting of the speaker(s)/writer(s).
2. Two or more people including or consisting of the speaker(s)/writer(s).
3. The institution which the speaker/writer is acting for. (This is the editorial we, used by writers and others when speaking with the authority of their publication or organisation.)
4. Any other entity that the speaker is a part of or identifies with, such as place of employment or education, nation, region, language, etc.
5. People in general.
6. The sovereign alone in his or her capacity as monarch. (This is the royal we. The reflexive case of this sense of we is ourself.)
7. Everyone being addressed.
8. An individual being addressed; used especially to a person in the speaker's care, or to whom advice or instruction is being given. (Sometimes called the nurse's we or the doctor's we.)
9. Used to refer to a third person, especially someone in the speaker's care.
10. Used to connect to or include readers or listeners.
11. Used to connect to or include readers or listeners.
12. Used when talking to oneself to refer to oneself.
13. Us.
14. The side which is keeping score.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *wéyder.
Proto-Germanic *wīz
Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ
Old English wē
Middle English we
English we
From Middle English we, from Old English wē (“we”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, *wiz (“we”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéy (“we (plural)”). Cognate with Scots wee, we (“we”), North Frisian we (“we”), West Frisian wy (“we”), Low German wi (“we”), Dutch we, wij (“we”), German wir (“we”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian vi (“we”), Icelandic vér, við (“we”), Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬨 (vaēm), Sanskrit वयम् (vayám).

## Easily confused with
- **wi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wi)
- **Wu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wu)
- **wo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wo)
- **wt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wt)
- **WS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-ws)
- **WV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wv)
- **WL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wl)
- **wy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wy)
- **WF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wf)
- **who** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-who)
- **why** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-why)
- **win** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-win)
- **won** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-won)
- **wow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wow)
- **web** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-web)
- **wet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wet)
- **WTF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wtf)
- **WWE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wwe)
- **wit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wit)
- **wee** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wee)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/we