oni

Oni: One, People, You in General

Level 3

Oni speaks about people in general.

How It Works

SentenceMeaning
Oni parolas Esperanton en multaj landoj.People speak Esperanto in many countries.
Kiel oni diras tion?How does one say that?
Oni alportas la tagmanĝon.Someone is bringing lunch.

Oni stands for any people, many people or a few people you cannot or do not want to name. It shows no gender and works as a subject.

Do not use ili for people in general. Ili means a group of people who were already named, and oni is the word for people in general.

Do not use oni for ni either. Say ni when you mean yourself and others. The object form onin and the possessive onia exist, but they are rare.

Examples (5)

  1. Oni parolas Esperanton en multaj landoj.

    People speak Esperanto in many countries.

    Oni stands for people in general.

  2. Kiel oni diras tion en Esperanto, Kofi?

    How does one say that in Esperanto, Kofi?

    Oni makes a general question about how people say it.

  3. Kiam oni estas riĉa, oni havas multajn amikojn.

    When one is rich, one has many friends.

    Oni can be the subject of both clauses.

  4. Oni alportas la tagmanĝon.

    Someone is bringing lunch.

    Oni hides who brings it.

  5. Ĉe la kongreso oni renkontas homojn el multaj landoj.

    At the congress you meet people from many countries.

    Oni is often the natural word where English says you.

Common Mistakes

  • Using ili for people in general.

    Ili parolas Esperanton en multaj landoj.
    Oni parolas Esperanton en multaj landoj.

    This is correct Esperanto, but ili means a group the listener already knows. For people in general, Esperanto uses oni.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

oniLevel 3Oni: One, People, You in General

Learn This First

Oni is a pronoun that takes the ordinary verb form.