ego
[ˈɛ.ɡoː]
I in Latin is ego.
ego is the Latin word for I, the speaker. Latin verb endings already show who is speaking, so ego is often left out. It is used when the speaker wants to stress that it is I, and not someone else, who does something.
Meaning: personal pronoun (pron)
Which one should you use?
Saying ego sum instead of only sum puts extra weight on the speaker.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
ego is the subject form. As a direct object it becomes me, and for to me or for me it becomes mihi.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers tend to put ego in every sentence, because English needs I. In Latin, leave it out unless you want to stress the speaker.
Did you know?
- English adopted the word 'ego' from Latin to describe the conscious self in psychology.
- In early Latin, the word for 'I' was written as eco before it shifted to ego.
- Because Latin is a pro-drop language, an English speaker using ego in every sentence would sound repetitive and strangely insistent to a native ear.
Examples in context
- 4th century, St Jerome, Vulgate, Tobit 3:19And either I was unworthy of them, or they perhaps were not worthy of me: because perhaps thou hast kept me for another manThis passage comes from the Latin Bible of St Jerome, written in the 4th century.
- Ego te non novi.I don't know you.Ego stresses the speaker, as in I myself do not know you.Tatoeba #13744808 by soridsolid, translation #252916 by CK
- Ego sum, qui sum.I am who I am.Ego sum means I am, and the line repeats sum for I am who I am.Tatoeba #1339757 by al_ex_an_der, translation #1339771 by CM
- Ego edoI eat
- Ego amo veritatemI love truth
- 364 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucius and Julia are discussing their roles in a classroom activity.
- LuciusEgo hoc disco.I am learning this.
- JuliaEgo te adiuvabo.I will help you.
- LuciusGratias tibi ago.I thank you.
- JuliaNihil est.It is nothing.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “I” translations and entries ego, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ego, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0, Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
