Ĝi is the foundational third-person singular pronoun for a known nonhuman referent: an object, animal, substance, sound, institution, or abstract thing understood from context. Its English translation is often “it,” but the two words are not interchangeable: Esperanto does not use ĝi as a meaningless weather or extraposition subject, and it often prefers tio for a whole fact or clause.
The ĝi family
Like the other personal pronouns, ĝi has a subject form, an accusative object form, and a possessive adjective.
| Function | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| subject | ĝi | Ĝi funkcias. |
| direct object | ĝin | Mi riparis ĝin. |
| possessive | ĝia | ĝia motoro |
Ĝi is singular and does not reveal sex. Ĝin adds the ordinary accusative -n. Ĝia behaves like an adjective and agrees with the possessed noun, not with the possessor: ĝia pordo, ĝiaj pordoj, ĝian pordon, ĝiajn pordojn.
La telefono ne funkcias, ĉar ĝi falis en akvon.
The phone doesn’t work because it fell into water.
Ĉu vi vidis mian bileton? — Jes, mi metis ĝin apud la komputilon.
Have you seen my ticket? — Yes, I put it beside the computer.
La muzeo renovigis siajn salonojn, sed ĝia ĉefa enirejo restas fermita.
The museum renovated its galleries, but its main entrance remains closed.
The museum example shows two possessive choices. Siajn refers reflexively to the clause subject la muzeo. In the coordinated second clause, ĝia points back to the museum as an ordinary previously identified referent.
Objects, abstractions, and named entities
The referent of ĝi need not be a physical object. It can be an identifiable song, language, plan, organization, illness, or other idea expressible by a noun phrase. What matters is that speaker and listener can recover one singular referent.
Mi legis la proponon dufoje, sed ĝi ankoraŭ ŝajnas malklara.
I read the proposal twice, but it still seems unclear.
Esperanto havas regulan ortografion, kaj tio faciligas ĝian lernadon.
Esperanto has a regular orthography, and that facilitates learning it.
La koncerto komenciĝis malfrue, sed ĝi valoris la atendon.
The concert began late, but it was worth the wait.
In the second example, tio points to the whole preceding fact—Esperanto’s having a regular orthography—while ĝian refers to the noun Esperanto. This is a core distinction: ĝi typically replaces a recoverable noun phrase; tio can package a proposition, event description, or entire preceding statement.
Older and literary usage sometimes lets ĝi represent a whole preceding idea. That usage is attested, including in Zamenhof, but tio is the clearest modern recommendation when no single noun phrase is the antecedent.
Animals and contextual personhood
Foundational usage freely uses ĝi for an animal, even if the animal’s sex is biologically known. Modern speakers often choose li or ŝi for a companion animal, a named animal, or a character treated as a person. This is accepted variation in viewpoint, not grammatical agreement with the noun.
Birdo enflugis tra la fenestro, sed ĝi baldaŭ trovis la eliron.
A bird flew in through the window, but it soon found the exit.
Jen mia katino Luna. Ŝi ĉiam dormas sur mia kuseno.
This is my cat Luna. She always sleeps on my pillow.
La hundo lekis sin post la pluvo.
The dog licked itself after the rain.
The minimal contrast ĝi/ŝi does not change the animal’s sex. It changes how specifically and personally the speaker presents the animal. In fables, li and ŝi are especially natural for personified characters; (literary) personification can even assign them to inanimate characters.
The Fundamento also uses ĝi for a very young child when sex is not relevant: La infano ploras, ĉar ĝi volas manĝi. That is historically and grammatically grounded. In present-day interaction, however, using ĝi for an older child or adult may sound distancing or objectifying. Use a person’s known or requested pronoun.
Singular collectives
A grammatically singular collective can take ĝi even when its members are people: la familio, la publiko, la komitato, la teamo. The pronoun tracks the group as one referent. Ili shifts attention to the individual members.
La komitato publikigis sian decidon, kaj ĝi respondos al demandoj morgaŭ.
The committee published its decision, and it will answer questions tomorrow.
La komitato alvenis aparte; ili sidiĝis ĉe malsamaj tabloj.
The committee members arrived separately; they sat at different tables.
The second sentence is a meaning-driven shift from the collective noun to its members. It resembles English variation with collective nouns, but Esperanto does not require a single mechanical choice. Use ĝi for the unit and ili when plural memberhood is active and clear.
Ĝi is not English dummy “it”
English requires “it” in “it is raining,” “it is late,” and “it is good to rest.” Esperanto does not insert an empty pronoun. Weather verbs and impersonal predicates can be subjectless: Pluvas, Estas malfrue, Estas bone ripozi.
Hodiaŭ neĝos en la montoj.
It will snow in the mountains today.
Estas tro malfrue por telefoni al ŝi.
It is too late to call her.
Estas agrable denove vidi vin.
It is nice to see you again.
Here English “it” has no referent, so Esperanto has nothing for ĝi to replace. The omission is not casual speech; it is the standard structure. See Subject Pronouns and Omission for the difference between genuinely subjectless clauses and omitted recoverable subjects.
Ĝi, ĝia, and the reflexive si
When a third-person subject acts on itself in the same simple clause, Esperanto uses si/sin/sia, not the ordinary pronoun family. This rule applies even when the subject would otherwise be referred to as ĝi.
La aparato aŭtomate malŝaltas sin post dek minutoj.
The device switches itself off automatically after ten minutes.
La firmao ŝanĝis sian nomon, sed ĝiaj klientoj restis fidelaj.
The company changed its own name, but its clients remained loyal.
Sian nomon belongs to the company that is the subject of ŝanĝis. Ĝiaj klientoj is part of the subject of the second clause, and sia cannot be used as a subject determiner. Reflexive reference is defined clause by clause, not simply by whichever noun appeared most recently.
Human ĝi in modern usage
Some speakers use ĝi as a gender-neutral human pronoun, a practice often called ĝiismo. This is attested modern usage, and historical comments by Zamenhof can be cited in its support, but the general language tradition reserved ĝi mainly for things, animals, and very young children. PMEG explicitly notes that adult-human ĝi can be perceived as objectifying, especially if applied only to nonbinary people.
The practical recommendation is therefore social as well as grammatical: use ĝi for a person who explicitly requests it, but do not assume it is a neutral replacement for every unknown person. Ri, tiu persono, la koncernulo, a repeated name, or a recast plural may be clearer depending on audience and register.
Common Mistakes
Copying English dummy “it”
❌ Ĝi pluvas ekde la mateno.
Incorrect — the weather verb pluvi is subjectless; ĝi would need a real referent.
✅ Pluvas ekde la mateno.
It has been raining since morning.
Forgetting the accusative form
❌ Mi trovis ĝi sub la sofo.
Incorrect — the found object is the direct object.
✅ Mi trovis ĝin sub la sofo.
I found it under the sofa.
Using ĝi for an entire clause where tio is clearer
❌ Ŝi rifuzis la postenon, kaj ĝi surprizis min.
Unclear — ĝi appears to refer to a singular noun rather than to the whole refusal.
✅ Ŝi rifuzis la postenon, kaj tio surprizis min.
She refused the position, and that surprised me.
Missing the reflexive
❌ La roboto ŝargas ĝian baterion.
Wrong for the intended meaning that the robot charges its own battery; ĝian points to another referent.
✅ La roboto ŝargas sian baterion.
The robot charges its own battery.
Key Takeaways
- Ĝi is a singular, sex-neutral pronoun for a known nonhuman or contextually non-personal referent.
- Use ĝin as a direct object; make ĝia agree with the possessed noun.
- Use tio rather than ĝi for a whole fact or clause in clear modern prose.
- Esperanto has no dummy ĝi in weather and impersonal expressions.
- Animals and collectives allow viewpoint-based variation; human ĝi requires social awareness and explicit contextual support.
Related Topics
- Personal Pronouns: OverviewA1 — Learn Esperanto personal pronouns as a system of person, number, accusative marking, possession, and reflexive reference.
- Accusative Personal PronounsA1 — Add -n to a personal pronoun when it is a direct object, while leaving pronouns after ordinary prepositions unmarked.
- Possessive Forms in -AA1 — Form Esperanto possessives by adding -a to personal pronouns and use them as determiner-like words before nouns.
- The Reflexive Pronoun SiA1 — Use si and sin when a third-person subject refers back to itself, and distinguish reflexive reference from ordinary third-person pronouns.
- Li, Ŝi, Ĝi, Ri, or Tiu?A2 — Choose a third-person form by animacy, gender relevance, definiteness, reflexivity, and the status of ri.