Mi identifies the current speaker; ni identifies the speaker together with one or more other people. Neither pronoun marks gender. Their object forms (min, nin) and possessives (mia, nia) follow the same productive patterns as the rest of the pronoun system.
Mi: the speaker
Mi is always singular. It is the normal subject form whether the speaker is a woman, man, or person of another gender.
Mi loĝas proksime al la universitato kaj laboras en la urbocentro.
I live near the university and work downtown.
Mi ne komprenas la lastan demandon; ĉu vi povas ripeti ĝin?
I don't understand the last question; can you repeat it?
Esperanto verbs do not mark the subject's person. Laboras alone does not tell the listener “I,” “you,” or “they,” so mi is normally explicit at the beginning of an independent clause. It can be omitted from a coordinated verb phrase when the first occurrence still clearly supplies the shared subject: Mi eniris, demetis la mantelon kaj sidiĝis.
Mi eniris, demetis la mantelon kaj sidiĝis apud la fenestro.
I came in, took off my coat, and sat down by the window.
This is ellipsis under one continuing subject, not general permission to omit mi.
Ni: the speaker plus others
Ni is plural in meaning. It may represent two people or a much larger group, but the speaker is always included.
Ni du renkontiĝis en lingva kurso antaŭ kvin jaroj.
The two of us met in a language course five years ago.
Ni ĉiuj devas forlasi la konstruaĵon antaŭ la sesa.
We all have to leave the building before six.
Post la kunveno ni restos por ordigi la ĉambron.
After the meeting, we'll stay to tidy the room.
English “we” behaves similarly, but it is worth making the logic explicit: ni is not simply a pluralized mi in the sense of several copies of the speaker. It means “I plus someone else.”
Predicative adjectives therefore take plural -j with ni:
Ni estas pretaj, sed la aliaj ankoraŭ ne alvenis.
We're ready, but the others haven't arrived yet.
Inclusive and exclusive ni
Esperanto has no separate basic pronouns for inclusive “we” (speaker + addressee) and exclusive “we” (speaker + others, not the addressee). Context usually makes the intended group clear.
Ĉu ni iru kune al la stacidomo?
Shall we go to the station together? (inclusive: you and I/we)
Ni jam decidis; nun ni volas aŭdi vian opinion.
We've already decided; now we want to hear your opinion. (exclusive: our group, not you)
When inclusion matters, name the group rather than expecting ni alone to encode it: ni du, ni ĉiuj, ni kun la infanoj, mia kolego kaj mi.
Ni kun la infanoj venos sabate, sed Petro restos hejme.
The children and I will come on Saturday, but Petro will stay home.
The phrase ni kun la infanoj has ni as its core and adds the accompanying members. In especially formal or precise prose, la infanoj kaj mi is even more explicit.
Min and nin as direct objects
Add accusative -n when the first-person pronoun is a direct object.
Ana vokis min hieraŭ, sed mi ne aŭdis la telefonon.
Ana called me yesterday, but I didn't hear the phone.
La gastiganto renkontos nin antaŭ la hotelo.
The host will meet us in front of the hotel.
Because -n marks the object, Esperanto can front it for contrast:
Min ŝi invitis, sed mian fraton ŝi ne invitis.
She invited me, but she didn't invite my brother.
After an ordinary preposition, use the basic form: kun mi, por ni, al mi, de ni. Do not add -n merely because English grammar calls the following pronoun an object of a preposition.
Ĉu vi volas veni kun ni? — Jes, dankon pro la invito.
Do you want to come with us? — Yes, thanks for the invitation.
First-person reflexive meaning repeats the pronoun
The reflexive si is third-person only. When mi or ni acts on the same person or group, repeat min or nin.
Mi vidis min en la spegulo kaj rimarkis farbon sur mia vizaĝo.
I saw myself in the mirror and noticed paint on my face.
Ni defendos nin, se iu atakos nin.
We will defend ourselves if someone attacks us.
Likewise, use mia/nia, never sia, for the speaker's own possessions: Mi prenis mian sakon; Ni vendis nian aŭton. The form si cannot refer back to first person, even though English uses the special words “myself” and “ourselves.”
Mia and nia: possessive stems
Mia identifies the speaker as possessor or associated person; nia identifies the speaker's group. Their final -j and -n agree with the possessed noun phrase, not with the number of possessors.
| Possessor | Possessed phrase | Form |
|---|---|---|
| one speaker | one book | mia libro |
| one speaker | several books | miaj libroj |
| speaker's group | one room | nia ĉambro |
| speaker's group | several rooms as object | niajn ĉambrojn |
Mia pasporto estas en la sako, sed miaj biletoj estas en la poŝo.
My passport is in the bag, but my tickets are in the pocket.
La hotelo kontrolis nian rezervon kaj portis niajn valizojn supren.
The hotel checked our reservation and carried our suitcases upstairs.
Do not add la before a possessive with an expressed noun: nia ĉambro, not la nia ĉambro. The article appears in independent la nia (“ours/the one belonging to us”).
The complete agreement pattern is covered in Possessive Agreement.
Ni in institutional and authorial voices
In (formal) and (academic) prose, an organization may use ni for its collective voice: Ni informas vin, ke... A single author may also use authorial ni to include readers or present an argument less personally.
En la sekva ĉapitro ni ekzamenos tri eblajn klarigojn.
In the next chapter, we will examine three possible explanations. (academic)
This is accepted stylistic usage, but it can obscure agency. If one person made a decision, mi decidis is often clearer than institutional-sounding ni decidis. In everyday conversation, ni normally refers to a real plural group.
Common Mistakes
Omitting mi because the English meaning feels obvious
❌ Loĝas ĉi tie de tri jaroj.
Incorrect as a complete neutral sentence — the verb does not identify the speaker.
✅ Mi loĝas ĉi tie de tri jaroj.
I have lived here for three years.
Using si for first-person reflexive meaning
❌ Mi preparis sin por la intervjuo.
Incorrect — si cannot refer to a first-person subject.
✅ Mi preparis min por la intervjuo.
I prepared myself for the interview.
Adding accusative after a preposition
❌ La instruisto parolis kun nin post la leciono.
Incorrect — kun requires the basic pronoun form.
✅ La instruisto parolis kun ni post la leciono.
The teacher spoke with us after the lesson.
Matching the possessive to the possessor's number
❌ Ni montris al ŝi niaj domon.
Incorrect — the single possessed house requires nia.
✅ Ni montris al ŝi nian domon.
We showed her our house.
Key Takeaways
- Mi means the speaker alone; ni means the speaker plus at least one other person.
- Ni does not itself distinguish inclusive from exclusive reference.
- Use min/nin as direct objects and basic mi/ni after ordinary prepositions.
- First-person reflexive meaning repeats min/nin and mia/nia; it never uses si/sia.
- Possessive endings agree with the possessed phrase, not with the number of possessors.
Related Topics
- Personal Pronouns: OverviewA1 — Learn Esperanto personal pronouns as a system of person, number, accusative marking, possession, and reflexive reference.
- Vi for Singular and PluralA1 — Use vi for one or several addressees, clarify number through context and agreement, and form vin and via regularly.
- 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.
- Subject Pronouns and OmissionB1 — Know when Esperanto requires an explicit subject, permits shared-subject ellipsis, or forms a genuinely subjectless clause.
- Pronouns in Reported SpeechB1 — Shift personal and possessive pronouns according to the current reporter and listener while preserving clause-bound reflexive reference.