jego

Jego is a Polish third-person possessive determiner and pronoun meaning his or its, used to indicate ownership by a male or by a neuter noun’s subject. In standard usage it precedes the noun: jego samochód (his car), jego dom (his house), or jego okno (its window). For feminine nouns, the corresponding possessive form is jej, as in jej książka (her book). The possessive forms decline by case and number, so their appearance changes with the sentence’s grammatical role.

Jego can also function as a standalone pronoun meaning “his” or “his own,” as in To jest jego (That is his). In contrast to its non-reflexive use, Polish distinguishes the reflexive possessive swój, which refers back to the subject of the clause, as in Zobaczyłem swój samochód (I saw my own car).

Etymology and cognates: jako a Slavic origin, jego is cognate with similar forms in other Slavic languages, such as Russian его and Czech jeho, reflecting a shared historical development of third-person possessives.

Usage notes: Swój emphasizes ownership by the subject of the sentence, while jego does not. Misunderstandings can arise in complex clauses about multiple people; clarity is improved by using swój when the speaker intends reflexive possession. Common examples from everyday Polish include jego imię (his name), jej mieszkanie (her apartment), ich zwierzęta (their animals).

See also: possessive pronouns in Polish, swój, its.