you

/ju/

you means the individual or group spoken or written to.

you is pronounced /ju/.

Why “you” is a great word

The second-person pronoun used to refer to the person or people being addressed. From Middle English *you, yow*, from Old English *ēow* (dative case of *ġē* "you"), from Proto-West Germanic *iwwi, from Proto-Germanic *iwwiz* (dative case of *jīz*), from Proto-Indo-European *yúHs* ("you", plural). Unlike "thou," the singular, intimate address now fossilized in prayer and poetry, or "ye," the archaic nominative subject, "you" has subsumed them both, becoming the universal, undifferentiated vessel for another. It is the warmth of a hand brushing yours across a café table, the chill of a nurse calling your name in a sterile corridor, the silent weight of an unsent letter held too long in the palm—a testament to the profound and lonely human need to be heard by someone other than oneself.

Etymology

From Middle English you, yow, ȝow (object case of ye), from Old English ēow (“you”, dative case of ġē), from Proto-West Germanic *iwwi (“you”, dative case of *jiʀ), from Proto-Germanic *iwwiz (“you”, dative case of *jīz), the Western form of Proto-Germanic *izwiz (“you”, dative case of *jūz), from Proto-Indo-European *yúHs (“you”, plural). Cognate with Scots you (“you”), Saterland Frisian jou (“you”), West Frisian jo (“you”), Low German jo, joe and oe (“you”), Dutch jou and u (“you”), German euch (“you”), Middle High German eu, iu (“you”, object pronoun), Latin vōs (“you”), Avestan 𐬬𐬋 (vō, “you”), Ashkun yë̃ (“you”), Kamkata-viri šo (“you”), Sanskrit यूयम् (yūyám, “you”). See usage notes. Ye, you and your are cognate with Dutch jij/je, jou, jouw; Low German ji, jo/ju, jug and German ihr,

det

The individual or group spoken or written to.e.g.“Have you gentlemen come to see the lady who fell backwards off a bus?”
Used before epithets, describing the person being addressed, for emphasis.e.g.“You idiot!”
Your.e.g.“Tell me about ’e barber who shaved you hair so close,—was he kind to you?” — 1899 August, E[lizabeth] Stuart Phelps [Ward], “Loveliness: A Story”, in The Atlantic Monthly, volume LXXXIV, number DII, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the

pron

The people spoken, or written to, as an object.e.g.“Both of you should get ready now.”
(To) yourselves, (to) yourself.e.g.“If I may counsaile you, some day or two / Your Highnesse shall repose you at the Tower [...].” — c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[
The person spoken to or written to, as an object. (Replacing thee; originally as a mark of respect.)e.g.“I charge you, as ye woll have my love, that ye warne your kynnesmen that ye woll beare that day the slyve of golde uppon your helmet.” — c. 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VIII:
The people spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Replacing ye.)e.g.“You are all supposed to do as I tell you.”
The person spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Originally as a mark of respect.)e.g.“You are right, Fanny, to protest against such an office, but you need not be afraid.” — 1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter IX, in Mansfield Park: […], volume II, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 208:
A person's favorite sports team.e.g.“I get that you're from Southeast Michigan, but I'm still surprised that you're a Detroit Lions fan. You have been on the receiving end of losing seasons for a while now.”
Anyone, one; an unspecified individual or group of individuals (as subject or object).e.g.“The ascent is precipitous, but the path is cut into continual and short windings, which enable you to surmount the perpendicularity of the mountain.” — 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter II, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume II, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavo
A dummy pronoun used in certain constructions, usually with verbs of receiving (such as get or find) or sensing (such as see or hear), typically stating the existence or typicality of something.e.g.“You get a lot of rude people in London.”

verb

To address (a person) using the pronoun you (in the past, especially to use you rather than thou, when you was considered more formal).e.g.“Youing consists in relating everything in the conversation to the person you wish to flatter, and introducing the word “you” into your speech as often as possible.” — 1930, Barrington Hall, Modern Conversation, Brewer & Warren, page 239:

name

A surname from Chinese
A former prefecture of China.
Synonym of Youzhou, one of the Nine Provinces of Chinese legend.

noun

The name of the Latin script letter U/u.e.g.“‘Eff. You. En,’ said Mr Banstead. ‘Fun![…]’” — 1969, Michael Feld, The Sabbatical Year, London: Alan Ross Ltd, page 301:

Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Words closest in meaning

By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.

vouvoy 62% match — To address (someone) in French using the formal second-person pronoun vous. vs you →
tutoyer 62% match — To address (someone) in French using the familiar second-person pronoun tu; to thou. vs you →
yowe 52% match — A ewe; a female sheep. vs you →
youth 51% match — The quality or state of being young. vs you →
sayee 50% match — The person to whom something is said; the addressee of spoken words. vs you →
tutoy 50% match — To address by the informal French pronoun tu (“you”). vs you →
usee 47% match — One who or that which is used. vs you →
doee 45% match — The person to whom, or the thing to which, something is done (by a doer). vs you →