hvem

Danish

Etymology

Originally, the dative of archaic hvo, from Old Danish hwa, hwo, oblique hwem, genitive hwes. In Old West Norse, the nominative and accusative of this pronoun has been replaced by another pronoun, hverr, but the dative and genitive are still extant: hveim, hves. From Proto-Germanic *hwaz (“who”), cognate with English who, German wer, Gothic 𐍈𐌰𐍃 (ƕas). The pronoun goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kʷos, *kʷís.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɛmˀ/, [ˈʋemˀ]
• North Jutland: IPA^(key): [ʍemˀ]
• Rhymes: -ɛmˀ

Pronoun

hvem (neuter hvad, genitive hvis)

1. (interrogative) who

   Hvem er du?

   Who are you?

   Hun ved godt, hvis cykel det er

   She knows whose bike it is

2. (relative) who, that

   De mennesker, for hvem livet indebærer hårdt arbejde

   The people for whom life is hard work

   Han er i en by, hvis navn han ikke kan udtale

   He is in a town, the name of which he cannot pronounce

References

• “hvem” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “hvem” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

PIE word
*kʷís

Inherited from Old Norse hveim (“whom”), originally a dative singular interrogative pronoun whose nominative form is uncertain, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hwaz (“who”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos (“who”), from the interrogative pronominal root Proto-Indo-European *kʷ-. The form later merged with hvern, the accusative singular of hverr (“which; who among several”).

Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk kven, Danish hvem and Swedish vem (“who; whom”), with the dative forms Gothic 𐍈𐌰𐌼𐌼𐌰 (ƕamma) and German wem (“to whom”), and with English whom.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋɛm/, [ʋɛmː]
• Rhymes: -ɛm
• Hyphenation: hvem

Pronoun

hvem (genitive hvis)

1. who, whom; asks about the identity of a person or other living being in a direct question

   Hvem kommer på besøk? ― Who is coming to visit?

   Hvem snakket du med? ― Who did you speak to?

   In the expression hvem i all verden: “who on earth”. Hvem i all verden er det? ― Who on earth is that?

   • 1872, Henrik Ibsen, Kongs-Emnerne‎^[1], page 18:

     hvem taler du om?

     whom are you talking about?

   • 1873, Henrik Ibsen, Kejser og Galilæer‎^[2], page 133:

     altså du eller jeg! Men hvem af os?

     so, you or I! But which of us?

   • 1879, Henrik Ibsen, Et dukkehjem‎^[3], page 39:

     hvem var den mand?

     who was that man?

   • 1882, Henrik Ibsen, En folkefiende‎^[4], page 23:

     Et brev! Fra hvem?

     A letter! From whom?

   • 1892, Henrik Ibsen, Bygmester Solness‎^[5], page 87:

     han også? Hvem andre da?

     him too? Who else, then?

   • 1896, Henrik Ibsen, John Gabriel Borkman‎^[6], page 115:

     hvem er det, som banker?

     who is that knocking?

   • 1992, Dag Solstad, Ellevte roman, bok atten‎^[7], page 137:

     hvem var han, Bjørn Hansen? Som satt (frivillig) i rullestol?

     who was he, Bjørn Hansen? Who sat (voluntarily) in a wheelchair?

   1. whose; in the construction hvem sin, chiefly in speech, asking about possession, with or without a following noun

      Hvem sin jakke er dette? ― Whose jacket is this?

      Hvem sin er den? ― Whose is it?

      • 2005, Tore Renberg, Kompani Orheim‎^[8]:

        hvem sin skyld er det?

        whose fault is it?

      • 2008, Marit Opeide, Øyeblikk av øst:

        [han] vet ikke engang hvem sin seng han ligger i

        [he] does not even know whose bed he is lying in

      • 2019, Kaja Schjerven Mollerin, Historien om Mor Godhjerta, page 85:

        hvilken sak er det jeget [i diktet] har i tankene …? Og hvem sin kamp?

        what cause does the speaker [in the poem] have in mind …? And whose struggle?

   2. who; used rhetorically to imply that nobody, or nobody else, meets the description

      Hvem kunne ha visst det? ― Who could have known that?

      • 1873, Henrik Ibsen, Kejser og Galilæer‎^[9], page 55:

        har du lønligt eftersporet mine veje, så sig det! Hvem anden skulde det være?

        if you have secretly tracked my movements, say so! Who else could it be?

      • 2012, Lars Saabye Christensen, Sluk:

        hvem ville slå seg ned her? Det måtte i så fall være noen det var noe muffens med

        who would settle here? If anyone did, there would have to be something fishy about them

      • 2012, Britt Karin Larsen, Før snøen kommer:

        hvem andre enn henne ville kjøpt så dyre bøker uten selv å kunne lese?

        who but her would have bought such expensive books without being able to read herself?

   3. in the expression hvem vet, expressing uncertainty or a reservation: “who knows”

      Hvem vet, kanskje hun kommer tilbake. ― Who knows, perhaps she will come back.

      • 1873, Henrik Ibsen, Hærmændene på Helgeland‎^[10], page 33:

        Sigurd: «Det skal du lidet agte.» – Ørnulf: «Ja, ja, hvem ved!»

        Sigurd: “You should pay little heed to that.” – Ørnulf: “Well, well, who knows!”

      • 1881, Henrik Ibsen, Gengangere‎^[11], page 79:

        hvem ved, om det nu er så bra’ alligevel

        who knows whether it is such a good thing after all

      • 1895, Henrik Ibsen, Lille Eyolf‎^[12], page 156:

        hvem véd, hvad der kan ské i mellemtiden?

        who knows what may happen in the meantime?

      • 2002, Christopher Friis-Baastad Grøndahl and Arne Svingen, Ayatollah highway‎^[13]:

        hvem vet, snart får han kanskje familie å ta vare på

        who knows, perhaps he will soon have a family to look after

   4. in the expression hvem ellers, indicating that the person already mentioned is the obvious or only possible one: “who else”

      Det var selvfølgelig Lars. Hvem ellers? ― It was Lars, of course. Who else?

      • 1999, Tormod Haugen, Luftvandreren‎^[14], page 45:

        det er meg, svarte han … hvem ellers skulle det være?

        it is me, he replied … who else could it be?

      • 2009, Jørgen Gunnerud, Byen med det store hjertet:

        Henriksen, selvfølgelig. Hvem ellers?

        Henriksen, of course. Who else?

2. who, whom; introduces an indirect question about someone's identity

   Jeg vet ikke hvem som ringte. ― I do not know who called.

   Hun spurte hvem jeg ventet på. ― She asked whom I was waiting for.

   • 1909, Henrik Ibsen, Efterladte Skrifter‎^[15], volume I, page 361:

     spørger du, hvem Alfhild er

     do you ask who Alfhild is

   • 1886, Henrik Ibsen, Rosmersholm‎^[16], page 15:

     kan De se, hvem der sidder her?

     can you see who is sitting here?

   • 1886, Henrik Ibsen, Rosmersholm‎^[17], page 134:

     det kan være ligegyldigt, hvem jeg har det fra

     it does not matter whom I heard it from

   • 1992, Dag Solstad, Ellevte roman, bok atten‎^[18], page 94:

     hvorfor forteller han aldri hvem han har vært på tur sammen med?

     why does he never say whom he has been on a trip with?

   1. in hvem er hvem or hvem som er hvem, distinguishing the identities of different people: “who is who”

      Tvillingene ligner hverandre så mye at jeg ikke vet hvem som er hvem. ― The twins look so alike that I do not know who is who.

      • 1997, Arild Linneberg, Far og barn i moderlandet‎^[19]:

        husker barna hvem som er hvem da, hvem som er faren til trillingene [og hvem] som er halvsøsken til broren

        do the children remember who is who, then, who is the father of the triplets [and who] is the brother’s half-sibling

3. whoever, whomever; introduces a free relative clause referring to an unspecified person, often with enn or nå

   Du kan invitere hvem du vil. ― You can invite whomever you like.

   Hvem han enn er, må han vente. ― Whoever he is, he must wait.

   Hun kunne måle seg med hvem det skulle være. ― She could hold her own against anyone.

   • 1873, Henrik Ibsen, Hærmændene på Helgeland‎^[20], page 108:

     lad falde hvem der vil

     let whoever may fall, fall

   • 1885, Henrik Ibsen, Brand‎^[21], page 98:

     lægg sligt et mål på hvem du vil, og se om nogen strækker til

     set such a standard for whomever you like, and see whether anyone measures up

   • 1896, Henrik Ibsen, John Gabriel Borkman‎^[22], page 182:

     jeg kan ikke vie mit liv til soning for nogen anden. Hvem denne anden så end måtte være

     I cannot devote my life to atoning for someone else. Whoever that other person may be

   • 1899, Henrik Ibsen, Når vi døde vågner‎^[23], page 197:

     vær for mig, hvem og hvad du vil!

     be whoever and whatever you like, as far as I am concerned!

   • 2013, Roy Jacobsen, De usynlige:

     det får du spørre andre om, hvem det nå skulle være

     you will have to ask other people about that, whoever they may be

   • 2012, Benedicte Meyer Kroneberg, En rettferdig krig:

     ordføreren, eller hvem det nå var, klippet det røde båndet

     the mayor, or whoever it was, cut the red ribbon

   • 2004, Arne Lygre, Tid inne‎^[24], page 102:

     [han] var klar til å ta imot slag fra hvem det måtte være

     [he] was ready to take blows from whoever it might be

   In the expression hvem som helst: anyone, anybody. Hvem som helst kan delta. ― Anyone can take part.

4. (rare) whom; introduces a relative clause referring to a person, as an object or the complement of a preposition

   Han er en mann for hvem ære betyr alt. ― He is a man for whom honour means everything.

   • 1874, Henrik Ibsen, De unges forbund‎^[25], page 61:

     [han] er en mand, hvem jeg skylder overmåde meget

     [he] is a man to whom I owe a very great deal

   • 1875, Henrik Ibsen, Catilina‎^[26], page 70:

     til fører valgte vi en ven, på hvem, vi mente, trygt vi turde bygge

     as our leader we chose a friend on whom, we thought, we could safely rely

   • 1882, Alexander L. Kielland, Skipper Worse‎^[27], page 72:

     der gik Endre Egeland, om hvem det blev sagt, at han lokkede bondepigerne ned paa søhuset

     there went Endre Egeland, of whom it was said that he lured the farm girls down to the waterfront warehouse

   • 1885, Henrik Ibsen, Brand‎^[28], page 104:

     de folk, for hvem De nu er ordets tolk

     the people for whom you now interpret the Word

   • 1907, Nils Collett Vogt, September-Brand‎^[29], page 93:

     en høiagtet borger af byen, hvem næringsorg plager

     a highly respected citizen of the town, whom financial worries plague

   • 1989, Liv Køltzow, Dagbøker i utvalg 1964–2008, published 2021, page 230:

     Dag [Solstad], med hvem jeg alltid har delt flyskrekk

     Dag [Solstad], with whom I have always shared a fear of flying

   • 2008, Toril Brekke, Gullrush:

     Oskars hustru hadde to søskenbarn i St. Paul med hvem hun korresponderte

     Oskar's wife had two cousins in St. Paul with whom she corresponded

5. (obsolete) who, whoever; introduces a relative clause as its subject

   Følg meg, hvem der vil! ― Follow me, whoever wishes to!

   • 1872, Henrik Ibsen, Kongs-Emnerne‎^[30], page 185:

     følg mig, hvem der vil berge livet

     follow me, whoever wants to save their life

6. (dialectal) which; which thing or one, including in reference to things or abstract concepts

   Du kan velge mellom to bøker. Hvem vil du ha? ― You can choose between two books. Which do you want?

   • 1838, Jørgen Moe, Fra det nationale gjennembruds tid: Breve fra Jørgen Moe til P. Chr. Asbjørnsen og andre‎^[31], published 1915, page 157:

     jeg har tvende til dagstiderne forskjellige alvorer, og hvem af dem der tilsidst bli’er det alvorligste, veed nok endnu ingen uden den Altseende

     I have two kinds of earnestness, differing with the time of day, and which of them will ultimately prove the more earnest, no one yet knows except the All-Seeing One

Usage notes

Hvem has the same form as a subject and an object, and can refer to one person or several people. Unlike English who and whom, it does not distinguish these grammatical roles.

In an indirect question, som follows hvem when the latter is the subject: Jeg vet hvem som kommer. ― I know who is coming. When another word is the subject, this som is absent: Jeg vet hvem du møtte. ― I know whom you met.

The traditional genitive is hvis (“whose”). Possession is also expressed with hvem + sin, especially in speech. The possessive agrees with the thing possessed: Hvem sin jakke er dette? ― Whose jacket is this? Hvem sitt hus er det? ― Whose house is it? Hvem sine bøker er dette? ― Whose books are these?

For ordinary relative clauses, som is generally used: Det er kvinnen som hjalp oss. ― That is the woman who helped us. Relative hvem survives chiefly in formal writing, particularly after a preposition.

Determiner

hvem (indeclinable)

1. (dialectal) which; asks which person or thing is intended

   Hvem buss skal du ta? ― Which bus are you taking?

   • 1911, Sigrid Undset, Jenny‎^[32], page 311:

     Sig naar du reiser og hvem vei

     tell me when you are leaving and which way

   • 2017, Zeshan Shakar, Tante Ulrikkes vei, page 425:

     «Hvem tog skal du ta?» sier jeg. «Skien», sier hun

     “Which train are you taking?” I say. “Skien,” she says

Usage notes

This use corresponds to standard hvilken, hvilket or hvilke, according to the gender and number of the noun.

Coordinate terms

• hva (“what”)
• hvi (“why”) (archaic or poetic)
• hvilken (“which”)
• hvis (“whose”)
• hvo (“who”) (archaic)
• hvor (“where; how”)
• hvordan (“how”)
• hvorfor (“why”)
• hvorfra (“from where; whence”) (formal or literary)
• hvorledes (“how; in what manner”) (literary)
• hvornår (“when”) (rare, literary)
• hvortil (“to what; to where”) (literary or dated)
• hvorvidt (“whether”)
• når (“when”)

References

• “hvem” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “hvem” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (NAOB).

Swedish

Pronoun

hvem (genitive hvems, plural hvilka)

1. archaic spelling of vem