thou
gb/ðˈaʊ/ us/ðˈaʊ/
C1
English
~ 25600
te, ezer
C1
ARCHAIC
1
te
A1
Usage pattern:
thou [verb]
Thou art my closest friend, and I trust thee with all my heart.
Te vagy a legjobb barátom, és teljes szívemből bízom benned.
If thou wilt listen, I shall tell thee the whole tale.
Ha meghallgatsz, elmesélem neked az egész történetet.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me.
What seekest thou in this desolate place?
Learner examples
Thou art very kind to me.
Nagyon kedves vagy hozzám.
Thou shalt not steal is a famous line from the Bible.
A „Ne lopj!” a Biblia egyik híres mondata.
In this old poem, a man says to his love, “Thou art fair.”
Some people still say thou when they pray.
My teacher showed us how thou means you in old English.
Common mistake:
Learners often think “thou” is just a poetic version of “you” that can be used in modern speech, but in normal contemporary English it sounds wrong or joking. They may also confuse “thou” (subject) with “thee” (object), and forget that verbs often take special endings with “thou” (e.g., “thou art,” “thou hast,” “thou shalt,” not *“thou are” or *“thou have”).
Meaning
archaic singular subject 'you'
Collocations
thou art
|thou shalt
|thou hast
|thou wilt
|thou didst
|thou knowest
Synonyms
you (Modern, normal form for both singular and plural; unlike “thou,” it is not archaic.)
Antonyms
I (Refers to the speaker, not the person spoken to, so it contrasts with second-person “thou/you.”)
Themes
language
|religion
|literature
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Definition
An old word that means “you” when speaking to one person, used as the subject of the verb.
An archaic and literary subject pronoun used to address one person informally, corresponding to modern “you.”
NOUN
C1
INFORMAL
2
ezer
A1
Usage pattern:
[number] thou
He put ten thou into the business and hoped it would grow.
Tízezret fektetett a vállalkozásba, és remélte, hogy növekedni fog.
The car cost me about fifteen thou, which was more than I planned.
Az autó körülbelül tizenötezerbe került, ami több volt, mint amennyit terveztem.
She said she wouldn’t take a job for less than thirty thou a year.
They lost a few thou on that bad investment.
I can lend you two thou until next month if you really need it.
Learner examples
He earns thirty thou a year in his new job.
Az új állásában évi harmincezret keres.
The ring is worth at least five thou.
A gyűrű legalább ötezret ér.
They saved ten thou to buy a house.
She borrowed two thou from her parents.
I don’t have a spare thou to spend on a new phone.
Common mistake:
Learners may think “thou” here still means the old pronoun “you.” In this sense it is a noun and is usually written after a number to mean “thousand,” mainly for money. It is informal and is not used in careful writing.
Meaning
informal word for a thousand
Collocations
twenty thou
|a few thou
|earn [number] thou a year
|drop a couple of thou
|owe him five thou
Synonyms
thousand (Standard and neutral; unlike “thou,” it is not slangy or restricted to money talk.)
Antonyms
zero (Represents no money at all, the opposite end of amount compared with “a thousand.”)
Themes
money
|daily life
|finance
|business
|core_vocabulary
Definition
A short, casual way to say “one thousand,” usually about money.
An informal abbreviation for “thousand,” especially a thousand units of money such as pounds or dollars.
Grammar
Dictionary form
thou
IPA
GB/ðˈaʊ/
US/ðˈaʊ/
Syllables & stress
thou (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (thou)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: thou
- Plural: thous
Word family
Forms
thous
noun
Expressions
holier than thou
1/hˈoʊliɚ ðən ðˈaʊ/
idiom
informal
acting morally superior to others
To behave as if you are better or more moral than other people, in a way that annoys them.
Examples
- I can’t stand his holier than thou attitude about recycling.
- She sounded so holier than thou when she criticized everyone’s lifestyle choices.
- Stop being holier than thou; nobody is perfect.
thee and thou
1/ðˈi ˈænd θˈaʊ/
fixed phrase
literary
old-style second-person pronouns
A phrase used to talk about very old forms of English where people said “thee” and “thou” instead of “you.”
Examples
- The play is written in full thee and thou style.
- Some people find all the thee and thou in old Bibles hard to understand.
- The teacher said the poet used thee and thou to sound more intimate and old-fashioned.
thou shalt not
1/ðˈaʊ ʃˈælt nˈɑt/
fixed phrase
archaic
strongly forbidding something
A very old-fashioned way to say that something is strongly not allowed, often used jokingly or when talking about religious rules.
Examples
- In the Ten Commandments, many rules begin with “Thou shalt not.”
- Around here, thou shalt not speak during the movie is the first rule.
- He pointed to the sign as if it were a modern thou shalt not for the office.