moi
/mwa/
In French, moi is the pronoun used to mean 'me' or 'I'.
moi is used to refer to the speaker of a sentence. It can be used as a one-word answer to a question, such as when responding to 'Who wants chocolate?' with 'Me.'
Which one should you use?
The subject pronoun je is used as the subject of a verb, such as in 'Je mange' (I eat).
How does it change in a sentence?
moi is a disjunctive (or stressed) pronoun. It is used after prepositions or for emphasis, rather than using the subject pronoun je.
How do you pronounce it?
/mwa/
Did you know?
- French speakers often use moi to create a 'dislocated' sentence for emphasis, such as Moi, je pense que… which literally means 'Me, I think that…'.
- When a French speaker wants to say 'me too', they say moi aussi, but to say 'me neither', they use moi non plus.
- The French moi and the English 'me' are distant linguistic cousins. They both evolved from the same ancient Proto-Indo-European root *(h₁)me-.
Examples in context
- Je me suis préparé moi-même pour cette rencontre.I prepared myself for this meeting.
- Moi, j'adore la musique.I love music.
- – Qui est à l'appareil?
– C'est moi, Jean.– Who is speaking?
– It's me, Jean. - C'est moi.It is me.
- Moi, j'aime le chocolat.As for me, I love chocolate.
- C'est moi qui ai gagné !It is I who won!
- Tu penses à moi ?Are you thinking about me?
Example conversation
Two friends are deciding who will pay for the coffee.
- EmmaQui veut payer ?Who wants to pay?
- GabrielMoi, sans problème.Me, no problem.
- EmmaTu es très généreux, Gabriel.You are very generous, Gabriel.
- GabrielC'est pour toi, Emma.It is for you, Emma.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry moi, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries moi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
