il
/il/
The French word for "he" is il.
il is a personal pronoun used to refer to a man or a person whose gender is male. It is also used to refer to the masculine "it" when talking about inanimate objects.
Meaning: personal pronoun "he" (pron)
Which one should you use?
While il refers to a male, the feminine counterpart is elle. Additionally, if you are using informal slang, particularly among young people, you might use mec to refer to a "guy."
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The feminine counterpart to il is elle.
How do you pronounce it?
/il/
Did you know?
- When referring to a group of people that includes at least one male, French uses ils (the plural of il) even if the group consists of ninety-nine women and one man.
- In many French-speaking regions, particularly in casual speech, people often drop the il in the phrase il y a (there is/are), pronouncing it simply as y a.
- The word il is a direct descendant of the Latin word illī, meaning 'to him'.
Examples in context
- Il est ici !Here he is!This sentence shows how to use il to state someone's location.Tatoeba #10192 by sacredceltic, translation #71715 by CK
- Il a du vin.He has wine.This sentence shows how to use il to express possession.Tatoeba #4694614 by sacredceltic, translation #1764488 by CK
- Il va bien ?Is he OK?This sentence shows how to use il to ask about someone's well-being.Tatoeba #6589068 by GB3, translation #6589064 by Eccles17
- Il est mon professeur préféré.He is my favorite teacher.
- Il est mon meilleur ami.He is my best friend.
- 18802 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Chloé are talking about their friend Thomas.
- LucasIl est arrivé ?Has he arrived?
- ChloéOui, il est là.Yes, he is here.
- LucasEst-ce qu'il travaille ?Is he working?
- ChloéNon, il se repose.No, he is resting.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “he” translations and entries il, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries il, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
