мене ме

Emphatic Doubled Pronouns

Level 4Sounds Like mene me

To stress a person, put the full pronoun first and repeat it with the short form: Мене ме е страх. (As for me, I am afraid.) На мене ми харесва. (I like it, at least.)

How It Works

1. The pairs. Each full pronoun has a short partner, and the two must agree:

  • Direct object: мене (мен) ме, тебе (теб) те, него го, нея я, нас ни, вас ви, тях ги
  • Indirect object: на мене ми, на тебе ти, на него му, на нея ѝ, на нас ни, на вас ви, на тях им

The forms мене and тебе are colloquial; мен and теб are neutral. See full object pronouns.

2. Why double? The full pronoun at the start makes the person the topic, often in contrast with someone else:

  • Него го познавам, а нея не. (Him I know, but not her.)
  • Нас ни поканиха, а тях не. (We were invited, but they were not.)

3. Feeling and state expressions. In страх ме е, боли ме and студено ми е, the short form is always required, in speech and in writing. Adding the full pronoun makes the person stand out: Мене ме боли главата, а него го боли гърлото. (I have a headache, and he has a sore throat.) With харесва ми, a full pronoun placed first is normally repeated too: На мене ми харесва.

4. The case must match. Verbs like харесва take the indirect forms (на мене ми); expressions like страх ме е and боли ме take the direct forms (мене ме). Pick the short form the expression uses and match the full pronoun to it.

5. Register. This emphatic doubling is natural in conversation. Formal writing usually keeps only the short form: Страх ме е. For doubling of nouns, as in Книгата я прочетох, see doubling the object.

Examples (6)

  1. Мене ме е страх от кучета.

    As for me, I'm afraid of dogs.

    Страх ме е takes the direct form ме; мене adds emphasis.

  2. На мене ми харесва, а на тебе?

    I like it. What about you?

    Харесва takes the indirect form ми, so the full form is на мене.

  3. Него го познавам, а нея не.

    Him I know, but not her.

  4. Тебе те търсеше един човек.

    Someone was looking for you.

  5. Нас ни поканиха, а тях не.

    We were invited, but they were not.

  6. На нея ѝ е студено, а на мене ми е топло.

    She is cold, and I am warm.

Common Mistakes

  • Mixing direct and indirect forms.

    На мене ме харесва.
    На мене ми харесва.

    Харесва takes the indirect short form ми, so the doubled form is на мене ми.

  • Using the subject pronoun аз as the full form.

    Аз ме е страх.
    Мене ме е страх.

    In страх ме е the person is an object, not a subject. The full partner of ме is мене (or мен), never аз.

  • Dropping the short form from a feeling expression.

    Мене боли главата.
    Мене ме боли главата.

    With боли, страх ме е, студено ми е and similar expressions, the short pronoun cannot be left out, even when the full form is present.

How It Connects

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мене меLevel 4Emphatic Doubled Pronouns

Learn This First

Emphatic doubled pronouns build on object doubling.

Words in This Pattern

менеменегогоми