2.1 The words for "I, you, he, she, we, they"
2 · Pronouns · a plain-language guide to Assyrian (Sureth) grammar
These are the standalone personal pronouns — the words that stand on their own, e.g. answering "who did it?" with just "me." (When you actually say "I am, you are," a second little word — the copula — joins in; that's Chapter 3. Here we're only learning the pronouns themselves.)
| person | word | notes |
|---|---|---|
| I | ana | |
| you (familiar, one person) | at | longer variant aten — same meaning |
| you (polite / plural) | akhtun | also heard: akhtokhun, akhnokhun |
| he | av | longer variant avun |
| she | ay | longer variant ayen |
| we | akhnan | |
| they | ani |
Why some forms have two versions. The pairs like at / aten and av / avun are the same pronoun — the longer one just carries a little grammatical "augment" tacked on the end. Don't overthink it: pick either, you'll be understood, and you'll absorb which one sounds natural by ear.
The two "you"s — the one thing here you must internalize
Assyrian has two words for "you," exactly like French tu vs. vous or Persian to vs. shoma:
- at — the familiar "you." Kids, friends, family, anyone you're relaxed with. In real conversation in these communities, singular people are addressed with at almost all the time.
- akhtun — literally "you all," but also the polite single "you." Use it to show respect: an elder you've just met, a formal exchange, someone you want to honor.
Getting this wrong is socially loud. Using at with a respected elder can sound overly familiar; using akhtun with a close friend can sound stiff or distancing. When in doubt with someone older or unfamiliar, akhtun is the safe default — you can always relax to at once you're close.
Pronunciation aside: av (and a few of these) are pronounced with a "heavy," throaty coloring spread across the whole word — Khan marks it with a +, but you'll pick it up by ear. It never changes how we spell it here.---