Ĉies means “everyone’s” or “belonging to every person.” It presents the possessor as universally inclusive within the relevant community. The word is invariant, normally stands before what is possessed, and itself supplies definiteness—so it takes neither agreement endings nor the article la. All unlabelled uses on this page are neutral in register.
Its Place in the 5×9 System
Esperanto’s 45 table words combine five fixed logical initials with nine fixed semantic endings. The initial ĉi- supplies universal force; the ending -es supplies a possessor or comparable de relation.
| Initial | Force | Possessor form |
|---|---|---|
| ki- | question or relative | kies — whose |
| ti- | demonstrative | ties — that one's |
| i- | indefinite | ies — someone's |
| ĉi- | universal | ĉies — everyone's |
| neni- | negative | nenies — nobody's |
The -es ending already contains the relation expressed by possessive de. Ĉies opinio corresponds to la opinio de ĉiuj. Do not add de before or after ĉies to build the basic possession.
Ĉies opinio gravas antaŭ tiel grava decido.
Everyone's opinion matters before such an important decision.
La novaĵo baldaŭ estis sur ĉies lipoj.
The news was soon on everyone's lips.
In both examples, the universal set is supplied by context: everyone in the organization, town, or conversation—not necessarily every human being alive.
An Invariant Determiner
All -es table words are invariant. Ĉies takes neither plural -j nor accusative -n, regardless of how many possessors there are, how many things are possessed, or what role the whole phrase has. Case and number appear on the possessed noun and its ordinary modifiers.
| Phrase role | Correct phrase | Marking |
|---|---|---|
| singular subject | ĉies voĉo | no ending |
| plural subject | ĉies voĉoj | -j on the noun |
| singular object | ĉies voĉon | -n on the noun |
| plural object | ĉies voĉojn | -jn on the noun |
La prezidanto aŭskultis ĉies zorgojn antaŭ ol respondi.
The chair listened to everyone's concerns before responding.
Ni notis ĉies retadreson por sendi la protokolon.
We wrote down everyone's email address in order to send the minutes.
The singular retadreson can be distributive: one address associated with each person. A plural possessed noun is used when multiple items per possessor or a collective set is intended.
La instruisto afiŝis ĉies projektojn en la koridoro.
The teacher displayed everyone's projects in the corridor.
No Article, and Normal Word Order
Ĉies is a definite determiner, like a possessive adjective. It normally precedes the possessed expression and excludes la: ĉies komuna celo, not la ĉies komuna celo. A corresponding de phrase follows the noun and normally includes the article: la komuna celo de ĉiuj.
Sekureco estas ĉies komuna respondeco.
Safety is everyone's shared responsibility.
La sekureco de ĉiuj dependas de klara komunikado.
Everyone's safety depends on clear communication.
The two constructions are both standard. Ĉies is compact and foregrounds universal possession; de ĉiuj can carry its own modifiers and works better when the possessor phrase is complex: la opinio de ĉiuj ĉeestintaj delegitoj.
Predicative use is also possible when the possessed item is already named. It is especially effective in slogans and compact public statements (formal).
La publika parko estas ĉies, do ni kune zorgu pri ĝi.
The public park belongs to everyone, so let's take care of it together.
Ĉies versus Ilia and De Ĉiuj
Ilia means “their” and refers to a particular plural group already identified. Ĉies quantifies universally: no relevant person is excluded.
La volontuloj prezentis sian planon, kaj la direktoro laŭdis ilian laboron.
The volunteers presented their plan, and the director praised their work.
Post la komuna purigado, la sukceso estis ĉies.
After the joint cleanup, the success belonged to everyone.
The first has a specific antecedent, la volontuloj. The second makes a universal distribution over the relevant participants. Replacing every English “their” with ĉies would wrongly expand the possessor set.
De ĉiuj is often equivalent, but it is syntactically more flexible. It can also refer naturally to nonhuman plural possessors, whereas established ĉies usage is normally personal.
La tegmentoj de ĉiuj domoj estis kovritaj de neĝo.
The roofs of all the houses were covered with snow.
Using ĉies tegmentoj for houses would be theoretically interpretable from the table, but it conflicts with the strong usage preference for human possessors. The recommended neutral form is la tegmentoj de ĉiuj domoj. This is a usage restriction, not a claim that nonhuman reference is structurally impossible.
Questions, Answers, and Contrasts
Question kies and universal ĉies occupy the same possessor column but have different logical force. Kies? asks; ĉies gives the all-inclusive answer.
Kies respondeco estas ordigi la kuirejon? — Ĉies; ni ĉiuj uzas ĝin.
Whose responsibility is it to tidy the kitchen? — Everyone's; we all use it.
The negative counterpart nenies excludes every possessor. With ne ĉies, only universal scope is denied: the item belongs to some people, but not everyone.
Ne ĉies nomo aperas en la unua versio de la listo.
Not everyone's name appears in the first version of the list.
Nenies nomo aperas sur la anonima formularo.
Nobody's name appears on the anonymous form.
The first permits some names; the second permits none. For internationally clear prose, keep ne immediately before ĉies when this partial negation is intended.
Possession in a Broad Sense
Like possessive pronouns and de phrases, ĉies can express more than legal ownership. It can mark an associated person, experiencer, source, or participant, provided the relation is naturally understood.
La rakonto vekis ĉies scivolemon.
The story aroused everyone's curiosity.
Post la anonco ĉies atento direktiĝis al la pordo.
After the announcement, everyone's attention turned toward the door.
These are not possessions in a legal sense. The -es relation links each person to their curiosity or attention, just as English possessive forms do.
Norm, Variation, and Usage
The foundational rules are strict: ĉies is an invariant -es determiner and excludes la. Accepted variation permits a semantically equivalent la ... de ĉiuj phrase, often with different information structure. Attested usage strongly favors people as the possessors; nonhuman universals are better expressed explicitly. The pedagogical recommendation is therefore to use ĉies for compact human universal possession and de ĉiuj + noun when the possessor set is nonhuman or structurally complex.
Common Mistakes
Adding adjective agreement
❌ La gvidanto aŭskultis ĉiesajn demandojn.
Incorrect — ĉies does not become an adjective or take -ajn.
✅ La gvidanto aŭskultis ĉies demandojn.
The guide listened to everyone's questions.
Adding the article
❌ La ĉies sekureco estas grava.
Incorrect — ĉies already makes the phrase definite.
✅ Ĉies sekureco estas grava.
Everyone's safety is important.
Confusing everyone’s with all people
❌ Mi invitis ĉies al la kunveno.
Incorrect — ĉies expresses a possessor, not the people themselves.
✅ Mi invitis ĉiujn al la kunveno.
I invited everyone to the meeting.
Using ĉies for a specific antecedent group
❌ El la kvin kandidatoj, Ana venkis, kaj ni festis ĉies sukceson.
Incorrect if only Ana's success is meant — ĉies includes every relevant person, not one specific antecedent.
✅ El la kvin kandidatoj, Ana venkis, kaj ni festis ŝian sukceson.
Of the five candidates, Ana won, and we celebrated her success.
Key Takeaways
Ĉies combines universal ĉi- with possessor -es: “everyone’s.” It is invariant, precedes the possessed expression, and excludes la. Contrast it with specific-group ilia, person-denoting ĉiuj, and the flexible postposed phrase de ĉiuj. Modern usage strongly prefers human possessors. See possessives as determiners and kies for the wider possession system.
Related Topics
- The Table-Word SystemA1 — Learn Esperanto's 45 table words as a five-by-nine meaning system for questions, demonstrations, indefinites, universals, and negatives.
- Correlative Endings and Their MeaningsA1 — Learn the nine fixed correlative endings that select identity, thing, kind, possessor, place, time, reason, manner, and quantity.
- Case and Number on CorrelativesA2 — Learn exactly which correlative families accept plural -j, object -n, or directional -n, and which remain invariant.
- Kies: The Question/Relative Possessor CorrelativeA1 — Use invariant kies to ask or state whose something is, including possession and tightly related semantic roles.
- Ties: The Demonstrative Possessor CorrelativeA2 — Use ties to point to the possessor associated with a demonstrated person or thing, without agreement or an article.
- Possessives as DeterminersA1 — How mia, via, lia, and the other possessive forms identify a noun phrase and agree with the possessed item.