Meanings
nounfirst person (countable and uncountable, plural first persons)
plural first persons · alternative first-person · alternative 1st person · alternative Ist person
- countableuncountablegrammarForms of pronouns or verbs used for the speaker or writer of the sentence in which they occur.
"Am" is the first person singular of "to be".
1 more example
All hanar have two names. The Face Name is known to the world; the Soul Name is kept for use among close friends and relations. Hanar never refer to themselves in the first person in conversation with someone they know on a Face Name basis. To do so is considered egotistical, so instead they refer to themselves as "this one", or the impersonal "it".
2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Hanar Codex entry - countableuncountableA form of narrative writing using verbs in the first person in order to give the impression that the action is happening to the narrator.
Origin
- Ancient Greekπρῶτον πρόσωπον
- Latinprīma persōna
- Englishfirst person
Calque of Latin prīma persōna, itself a calque of Ancient Greek πρῶτον πρόσωπον (prôton prósōpon). Displaced native Old English forma had, literally, "form hade".
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek πρώτον πρόσωπον
- πρώτον πρόσωπον (prṓton prósōpon)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Arabic مُتَكَلِّم
- مُتَكَلِّم (mutakallim)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Bengali উত্তম পুরুষ
- উত্তম পুরুষ (uttom puruś)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Bulgarian пъ́рво лице́
- пъ́рво лице́ (pắrvo licé)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Catalan primera persona
- primera personathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Chinese Mandarin 第一人稱 /第一人称
- 第一人稱 /第一人称 (dìyīrénchēng)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Czech první osoba
- první osobathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Danish første person
- første personthe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Dutch eerste persoon
- eerste persoonthe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Estonian esimene pööre, esimene isik
- esimene pöörethe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
- esimene isikthe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Finnish ensimmäinen persoona
- ensimmäinen persoonathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
French première personne
- première personnethe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
German erste Person
- erste Personthe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Greek πρώτο πρόσωπο
- πρώτο πρόσωπο (próto prósopo)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Hebrew מְדַבֵּר, גּוּף רִאשׁוֹן
- מְדַבֵּר (m'dabér)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
- גּוּף רִאשׁוֹן (gúf rishón)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Hindi उत्तम पुरुष
- उत्तम पुरुष (uttam puruṣ)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Hungarian első személy
- első személythe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Icelandic fyrsta persóna
- fyrsta persónathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Indonesian orang pertama
- orang pertamathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Irish chéad phearsa
- chéad phearsathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Italian prima persona
- prima personathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Japanese 一人称
- 一人称 (ichininshō)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Korean 일인칭, 1인칭
- 일인칭 (irinching)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
- 1인칭 (1inching)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Latvian pirmā persona
- pirmā personathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Lithuanian pirmasis asmuo
- pirmasis asmuothe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Malay orang pertama
- orang pertamathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Norwegian Bokmål første person
- første personthe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Polish pierwsza osoba
- pierwsza osobathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Portuguese primeira pessoa
- primeira pessoathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Romanian persoana întâi, persoana primă
- persoana întâithe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
- persoana primăthe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Russian пе́рвое лицо́
- пе́рвое лицо́ (pérvoje licó)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Scottish Gaelic a' chiad phearsa
- a' chiad phearsathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Slovak prvá osoba
- prvá osobathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Spanish primera persona
- primera personathe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Swedish första person
- första personthe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Tagalog unang panauhan
- unang panauhanthe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Tamil தன்மை
- தன்மை (taṉmai)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Thai บุรุษที่หนึ่ง
- บุรุษที่หนึ่ง (bù-rùt-tîi-nʉ̀ng)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Turkish birinci kişi, birinci şahıs
- birinci kişithe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
- birinci şahısthe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Ukrainian пе́рша осо́ба
- пе́рша осо́ба (pérša osóba)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Urdu ضَمِیرِ مُتَکَلِّم
- ضَمِیرِ مُتَکَلِّم (zamīr-i mutakallim)the form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Vietnamese ngôi thứ nhất
- ngôi thứ nhấtthe form of a pronoun verb used when the subject of a sentence is making the statement
Cite this entry
APA
first person. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first%20person
MLA
“first person.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first%20person. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “first person,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first%20person.
Source: first person on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.