The shortest reliable distinction is this: use en for a relation built with de, for movement from somewhere, and for an omitted indefinite or quantified noun; use hi for most complements built with a, en, amb, or per, and for a place at, to, or through which an event occurs. English often translates both pronouns as “it,” “there,” “of it,” or nothing at all, so the English surface form cannot make the decision.
Both are invariable weak pronouns. They do not encode the antecedent's gender or number. Instead, they preserve the antecedent's syntactic relation and discourse status—the key reason they cannot be learned as two competing words for “it.”
The decision tree
Work through these questions in order.
| Question | Choice | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Is an indefinite or quantified noun omitted? | en | Tinc tres entrades → En tinc tres. |
| Does the governing word select de? | en | Parlo del contracte → En parlo. |
| Is the place a source, “from there”? | en | Surto de l'arxiu → En surto. |
| Is it a static place, destination, or path? | hi | Vaig a l'arxiu → Hi vaig. |
| Does the governing word select a, en, amb, or per? | hi | Penso en el contracte → Hi penso. |
| Is a previously mentioned manner or state resumed? | hi | Va arribar cansat → Hi va arribar. |
If none of these describes the phrase, the answer may be another pronoun altogether. A definite direct object normally uses el, la, els, or les; a proposition used as a direct object often uses ho; a personal indirect object uses li or els.
De-complements take en; other governed complements take hi
Compare two verbs that English translates with “about”: parlar de and pensar en. Their Catalan prepositions point to different pronouns.
Hem parlat del nou horari i en tornarem a parlar divendres.
We have talked about the new schedule, and we'll talk about it again on Friday.
He pensat en el nou horari, però ara no hi vull pensar més.
I've thought about the new schedule, but now I don't want to think about it anymore.
The same split appears where English uses “on,” “of,” or no preposition:
| Catalan frame | Weak pronoun | English overlap |
|---|---|---|
| dependre de | en depèn | depend on it |
| insistir en | hi insisteix | insist on it |
| estar orgullós de | n'està orgullós | be proud of it |
| estar interessat en | hi està interessat | be interested in it |
| comptar amb | hi compta | count on it |
| optar per | hi opta | choose it |
L'èxit depèn del finançament i en dependrà fins al final del projecte.
Success depends on the funding and will depend on it until the end of the project.
No estava interessada en la plaça, però després de l'entrevista s'hi va interessar.
She wasn't interested in the position, but after the interview she became interested in it.
There is no honest way to derive every lexical preposition from the English verb. Learn dependre de and insistir en as complete frames. Once the frame is known, however, the en/hi contrast is regular.
Source takes en; destination, location, and path take hi
Spatial en profiles an origin introduced by de: movement begins inside or at the antecedent and proceeds away from it. Spatial hi profiles a goal, static setting, or route.
Demà anirem a l'arxiu: hi entrarem a les nou i en sortirem cap a les onze.
Tomorrow we'll go to the archive: we'll enter it at nine and leave it around eleven.
Viu a Manresa, hi treballa i gairebé mai no en surt entre setmana.
She lives in Manresa, works there, and hardly ever leaves it during the week.
Vam passar pel túnel a poc a poc perquè hi havia obres; ara ja no hi passarem més.
We went through the tunnel slowly because there were roadworks; now we won't go through it anymore.
English “there” hides the distinction: both “I am going there” and “I am coming from there” contain there. Catalan distinguishes the direction inside the clitic: hi vaig but en vinc. The relevant preposition is the one required by the spatial relation, not necessarily a word repeated in the pronominal clause.
Partitive en is not spatial and does not mean “of there”
Partitive en resumes an indefinite noun or the noun inside a quantity expression. It may have no overt de in the full direct object: Tinc tres carpetes → En tinc tres. The underlying idea is selection from a kind or set, not location.
Quantes carpetes necessites? —En necessito dues, però no en queda cap de blava.
How many folders do you need? —I need two, but there aren't any blue ones left.
De les dotze candidatures, ja n'hem revisat vuit i avui volem revisar-ne dues més.
Of the twelve applications, we have already reviewed eight, and today we want to review two more.
Contrast a complete definite object: Tens les claus? —Sí, les tinc. Use en only if the noun is indefinite or a quantity remains: Tens claus? —Sí, en tinc dues. The pronoun never carries the number by itself.
Sometimes both pronouns are necessary
The decision is not always “one or the other.” In existential haver-hi, hi is lexicalized. If an existential noun is then omitted under a quantity, partitive en joins it.
Hi ha sis gots nets a l'armari. → N'hi ha sis.
There are six clean glasses in the cupboard. → There are six.
Here n' resumes gots and hi belongs to haver-hi. The order is fixed: n'hi ha, never hi n'ha. More complex cases belong on en and hi together.
The pronouns can also refer to different phrases in the same clause: De la reunió, en parlarem quan hi arribem—en means “about the meeting,” while hi means “at the meeting.” Their coexistence proves that they encode relations rather than being interchangeable translations of “it.”
People and strong forms
Both pronouns can resume a topical human referent in suitable governed frames: Parles de l'Aina? —Sí, en parlo sovint; Penses en l'Aina? —Sí, hi penso sovint. But en and hi cannot show person, gender, or contrast. Keep the strong prepositional phrase when identity is focused: Parlo d'ella, no d'ell; Penso en tu, no en la proposta.
—Parlàveu de l'Ona o pensàveu en el seu projecte? —Parlàvem d'ella; en el projecte, encara no hi havíem pensat.
Were you talking about Ona or thinking about her project? —We were talking about her; we hadn't thought about the project yet.
Do not confuse a governed a-complement with a direct or indirect personal object. Veig la Joana → La veig and Escric a la Joana → Li escric do not select hi. The strong prepositional pronouns page develops the focused alternatives.
Position and spelling
Before a finite verb, both pronouns precede it. En becomes n' before a vowel or silent h; hi never elides.
| Environment | En | Hi |
|---|---|---|
| before consonant | en parlo | hi penso |
| before vowel or silent h | n'he parlat | hi he pensat |
| after infinitive | parlar-ne | pensar-hi |
| after vowel-final imperative | parla'n | pensa-hi |
No en parlis davant dels clients, però pensa-hi abans de prendre una decisió.
Don't talk about it in front of the clients, but think about it before making a decision.
With a reflexive or personal weak pronoun, that pronoun comes first: me'n recordo, se'n queixa, m'hi acostumo, s'hi interessa. In attached position: recordar-me'n, queixant-se'n, acostumar-m'hi, interessar-s'hi.
A dialogue that activates all three meanings
—Ja has anat a l'arxiu a buscar els expedients? —Sí, hi he anat, n'he sortit fa deu minuts i n'he portat dos.
Have you been to the archive to get the files yet? —Yes, I went there, left ten minutes ago, and brought two of them.
The first pronoun is goal hi (a l'arxiu), the second is source en (de l'arxiu), and the third is partitive en (dos expedients). The same place and event can therefore trigger different forms because each pronoun has a different function.
Regional perspective
The core contrast belongs to contemporary IEC and AVL standards. (regional: Valencian, informal) some speakers use fewer productive instances of en and hi than the general written standard, especially when the reference is obvious, while Balearic and much Central usage preserve them very robustly. Northwestern, Northern, and Alguerese varieties differ in individual verbs and clitic combinations, not in a rule that makes de generally select hi. In formal pan-regional writing, maintain the distinction described here.
Common Mistakes
1. Omitting en or hi because English omits the complement.
❌ Ja hem comentat el pressupost; demà tornarem a parlar.
Incorrect for 'we'll talk about it again' — the known de-complement requires en.
✅ Ja hem comentat el pressupost; demà en tornarem a parlar.
We've discussed the budget; tomorrow we'll talk about it again.
2. Choosing from the English preposition “on.”
❌ El calendari depèn del proveïdor i hi dependrà fins al juny.
Incorrect — Catalan dependre selects de, so the pronoun is en.
✅ El calendari depèn del proveïdor i en dependrà fins al juny.
The schedule depends on the supplier and will depend on it until June.
3. Importing Spanish personal a and then selecting the wrong pronoun.
❌ Conec a tres candidates i hi entrevistaré dues demà.
Incorrect — ordinary Catalan has no personal a here, and a quantified noun requires partitive en.
✅ Conec tres candidates i n'entrevistaré dues demà.
I know three candidates and will interview two of them tomorrow.
4. Reversing a two-pronoun cluster.
❌ Hi m'acostumaré, al soroll, i en me recordaré d'aquest consell.
Incorrect — personal or reflexive pronouns precede hi and en.
✅ M'hi acostumaré, al soroll, i me'n recordaré, d'aquest consell.
I'll get used to the noise, and I'll remember this advice.
5. Mixing full, elided, and attached forms.
❌ En he parlat i ara no vull pensar hi.
Incorrect — en elides before he, and postverbal hi attaches with a hyphen.
✅ N'he parlat i ara no vull pensar-hi.
I've talked about it, and now I don't want to think about it.
Key Takeaways
Choose en for de-complements, spatial sources, and omitted indefinite or quantified nouns. Choose hi for static places, destinations, paths, most complements in a/en/amb/per, and resumed states or manners. Reconstruct the full Catalan phrase, not its English translation. Remember that both can coexist when they perform different jobs, as in n'hi ha.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- En as a Partitive PronounB1 — Use partitive en to resume indefinite nouns, mass nouns, and counted sets while keeping quantities and agreement visible.
- En for De-ComplementsB1 — Use en to replace complements selected by de after verbs, adjectives, and nouns, while respecting focus and extraction limits.
- Locative EnB1 — Use locative en for places of origin introduced by de, and distinguish this productive source use from lexicalized pronominal verbs.
- Hi for LocationsB1 — Use hi for static places, destinations, and paths, and keep obligatory hi in the existential verb haver-hi.
- Hi for Prepositional ComplementsB1 — Use hi to resume known complements governed by a, en, amb, or per without confusing them with direct and indirect objects.
- En and Hi TogetherB1 — Distinguish genuine en-plus-hi clusters from existential and dialectal n'hi, and avoid duplicating a single complement.