Mij

Mij is the standard object pronoun for the first-person singular in Dutch. It functions as the grammatical object in sentences and after prepositions, and it contrasts with ik, the nominative form, and mijn, the possessive determiner. Mij remains the formal or emphatic object form in many contexts, while me is common in casual speech as an unstressed object pronoun.

In contemporary Dutch, there is a cross-usage pattern between mij and me. Me is frequently used after verbs in everyday spoken language, as in Hij ziet me. Mij tends to appear after prepositions or in formal, careful, or emphatic style, as in Voor mij is dit belangrijk or Het aan mij geven. Mij is also preferred when the speaker wishes to place emphasis on the object, such as Ziet mij eens proberen.

Typical examples illustrate its roles: Voor mij gaat dit niet vanzelf; Zij praat graag met mij; Hij gaf het aan mij. After prepositions such as voor, naar, met, or tegen, the form mij is standard. After verbs in casual speech, me is common, but both mij and me can appear in more formal writing or careful speech.

Etymology traces mij to older Dutch forms in the first-person singular object class and it is cognate with similar forms in other Germanic languages' object pronouns. In related languages such as Afrikaans, the corresponding object pronoun is my, not mij, reflecting differing evolution of pronoun systems.