on

See also: Appendix:Variations of "on"

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English

Pronunciation

(UK, Australia, Eastern New England) enPR: ŏn, IPA^(key): /ɒn/
- Audio (UK): (file)
- Audio (General Australian): (file)
(Southern US, Midland US, Philadelphia, Baltimore) IPA^(key): /ɔn/
(Southern US) IPA^(key): /ɔʊn/
(Northern US or cot–caught merger) enPR: än, IPA^(key): /ɑn/
- Audio (US); /ɑn/: (file)
(Canada) IPA^(key): [ɒːn ~ ɔːn]
Rhymes: -ɒn, -ɔːn
Homophone: awn (Midland American English, Southern American English, Cot-Caught merger)

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-West Germanic *ana

Old English on

Middle English on

English on

From Middle English on, from Old English on, an (“on, upon, onto, in, into”), from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on, at”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-.

Cognate with North Frisian a (“on, in”), Saterland Frisian an (“on, at”), West Frisian oan (“on, at”), Dutch aan (“on, at, to”), Low German an (“on, at”), German an (“to, at, on”), Swedish å (“on, at, in”), Faroese á (“on, onto, in, at”), Icelandic á (“on, in”), Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana), Ancient Greek ἀνά (aná, “up, upon”), Albanian në (“in”); and from Old Norse upp á: Danish på, Swedish på, Norwegian på, see upon.

Adjective

on (not comparable)

In the state of being active, functioning or operating.
Antonym: off

All the lights are on, so they must be home.
Happening; taking place; being or due to be put into action.
We had to ration our food because there was a war on.

Some of the cast went down with flu, but the show's still on.

That TV programme that you wanted to watch is on now.

This is her last song. You're on next!

Are we still on for tonight?

Mike just threw coffee onto Paul's lap. It's on now.

England need a hundred runs, with twenty-five overs remaining. Game on!
1. (informal) Of a person, used to express agreement to or acceptance of a proposal or challenge made by that person; most commonly with subject "you" (see you're on).
  "Five bucks says the Cavs win tonight." ―"You're on!"
  
  If he wants a fight, he's on!
Fitted; covering or being worn.
Your feet will soon warm up once your socks are on.

I was trying to drink out of the bottle while the top was still on!
(postpositive) Of a stated part of something, oriented towards the viewer or other specified direction.
The photograph shows the UFO side on.

edge on, side on, end on, face on
(chiefly UK, informal, usually negative) Acceptable, appropriate.
You can't do that; it's just not on.
- 1998 May 22, Phoenix Gamma, “If I was owned Nintendo...”, in alt.games.video.nintendo-64 (Usenet):
  This kind of over-packaging of goods is completely not on.
- 2003 August 12, DAB sounds worse than FM, “Gerg Dyke's Speech at Radio Festival”, in alt.radio.digital (Usenet):
  so Simon Nelson saying on Feedback "we'd prefer it if everybody listened to digital radio via DAB" is completely not on at all.
(often negative) Possible; capable of being successfully carried out.
He'd like to play the red next to the black spot, but that shot isn't on.
(Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (informal) Destined; involved, doomed.
(baseball, informal) Having reached a base as a runner and being positioned there, awaiting further action from a subsequent batter.
- 2019 February 24, Chris Kennedy, “Aggies Earn Series Win Over Yale in Sunday Finale”, in New Mexico State University Athletics‎^[2]:
  With one out and no men on, Tristen Carranza belted a ball to the opposite field for a solo home run to put the NM State deficit at just 2-1.
- 2019 April 6, Daniel Martinez-Krams, “Baseball Falls Short in Game 2 of UCLA Series”, in The Stanford Daily‎^[3]:
  Although Stanford was outhit 15-6, the Cardinal stranded eight runners to UCLA's three, hitting just 3-15 with runners on compared to the Bruin's 9-22.
(cricket) Within the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs; the left side for a right-handed batsman.
Synonym: leg Antonym: off

The captain moved two fielders to the on side.

Ponsonby-Smythe hit a thumping on drive.
(snooker, postpositive) Of a ball, being the next in sequence to be potted, according to the rules of the game.
If the player fails to hit the ball on, it's a foul.
(acting, drama, roleplaying games) Acting in character.
(informal, of a person) Performative or funny in a wearying manner.
He always has to be on, it's so exhausting.
(euphemistic) Menstruating.
- 2011, Hollie Smith Netmums, You and Your Tween: Managing the years from 9 to 13, Hachette, →ISBN:
  It still gets in the way of her doing things like swimming, and she avoids sleepovers when she's "on".

Synonyms

(baseball: positioned at a base): on base (not informal)

Translations

in the state of being active, functioning or operating

Armenian: միացրած (miacʻrac)
Asturian: encendíu
Czech: zapnuto
Dutch: aan (nl), op (nl), actief (nl)
Estonian: sees (et)
Finnish: päällä (fi), -lla (fi), -llä (fi) (adessive case)
French: allumé (fr)
Galician: acendido m, prendido m
German: an (de), ein (de), eingeschaltet (de), angeschaltet (de)
Greek: ανοικτό (el) n (anoiktó)
Hungarian: bekapcsolva
Icelandic: kveiktur
Italian: acceso (it)
Persian: روشن (fa) (rowšan), فعال (fa) (faâl)
Polish: włączony
Portuguese: ligado (pt)
Russian: вклю́ченный (ru) (vkljúčennyj), вкл. (vkl.) (abbreviation)
Scottish Gaelic: air
Slovak: zapnuté
Spanish: encendido (es), conectado (es)
Swedish: på (sv), igång (sv)
Zazaki: de (diq)

destined

Danish: på (da)
Finnish: no equivalent term in Finnish, but see olla menoa
French: parti (fr)
Greek: periphrastically
Italian: dentro (it)
Swedish: för (sv), på (sv)

Adverb

on (not comparable)

For idiomatic meanings of phrasal verbs, such as carry on, hang on, have on, try on, etc., please see the individual entries.

To an operating state.
turn the television on
So as to cover or be fitted.
The lid wasn't screwed on properly.

Put on your hat and gloves.
Along, forwards (continuing an action).
drive on, rock on
- 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport‎^[4]:
  He met Luis Suarez's cross at the far post, only for Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to show brilliant reflexes to deflect his header on to the bar. Carroll turned away to lead Liverpool's insistent protests that the ball had crossed the line but referee Phil Dowd and assistant referee Andrew Garratt waved play on, with even a succession of replays proving inconclusive.
In continuation, at length.
and so on

He rambled on and on.
(obsolete in the US) Later.
Ten years on, nothing had changed in the village.
Of betting odds, denoting a better-than-even chance. See also odds-on.
Antonym: against

That horse is twenty-to-one on, so you need to stake twenty pounds just to win one pound.

Synonyms

(later): after, afterward/afterwards, later, subsequently, thence

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “active, functioning, operating”): off
(antonym(s) of “to an operating state”): off

Translations

to an operating state

Dutch: aan (nl)
Finnish: päälle (fi)
German: an (de), ein (de)
Greek: periphrastically
Italian: not used in Italian
Norwegian:
Norwegian Bokmål: på (no)

Norwegian Nynorsk: på
Persian: روشن (fa) (rowšan)
Swedish: på (sv)

continuing an action

Finnish: edelleen (fi)
French: encore (fr)
German: weiter (de)
Greek: periphrastically
Italian: not used in Italian
Slovak: ďalej
Swedish: på (sv), vidare (sv)

along, forwards (continuing an action)

Finnish: edelleen (fi)
French: encore (fr)
German: an (de)
Greek: periphrastically
Italian: ancora (it)
Slovak: ďalej
Swedish: vidare (sv)

cricket: in, or towards the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs

Finnish: on-puolella

Preposition

A green pepper on (with its position being the upper surface of) a box

on

Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above.
A vase of flowers stood on the table.

Please lie down on the couch.

The parrot was sitting on Jim's shoulder.
- 1845, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Bridge:
  I stood on the bridge at midnight.
Positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to.
He had a scar on the side of his face.

There is a dirty smudge on this window.

The painting hangs on the wall.

The fruit ripened on the trees.
Covering.
He wore old shoes on his feet.
Expressing figurative placement, burden, or attachment.
All of the responsibility is on him.

I put a bet on the winning horse.
Denoting physical contact or interaction with an object, such as impact or application of force.
1. With verbs describing an action of pushing, pulling, pressing, etc., designates the thing to which force is applied.
  tug on the rope; push hard on the door
2. With verbs describing an action of hitting, rubbing, scratching, binding against, etc., designates the thing impacted or contacted.
  I stubbed my toe on an old tree stump.
  
  I caught my fingernail on the door handle.
  
  The rope snagged on a branch.
3. Denoting performance or action by contact with the surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by means of; with.
  to play on a violin or piano
At or in (a certain region or location).
The lighthouse that you can see is on the mainland.

The suspect is thought to still be on the campus.
1. Denoting relative position or position within the whole.
  We live on the edge of the city.
  
  on the left, on the right, on the side, on the bottom
2. (UK) To be ranked thus.
  The Tories are on twenty-five percent in this constituency.
Near; adjacent to; alongside; just off.
The fleet is on the American coast.

Croton-on-Hudson, Rostov-on-Don, Southend-on-Sea
Supported by (the specified part of itself).
A table can't stand on two legs.

After resting on his elbows, he stood on his toes, then walked on his heels.
Aboard (a mode of transport, especially public transport, or transport that one sits astride or uses while standing).
on a bus, on a train, on a plane, on a ferry, on a yacht

on a bicycle, on a motorbike, on a horse, on a scooter
At the date or day of.
Born on the 4th of July.

On Sunday I'm busy. I'll see you on Monday.

Can I see you on a different day?
(UK, especially in sports reporting) At a given time after the start of something; at.
Smith scored again on twelve minutes, doubling Mudchester Rovers' lead.
- 2011 September 24, Aled Williams, “Chelsea 4-1 Swansea”, in BBC Sport:
  The Spain striker had given Chelsea the lead on 29 minutes but was shown a straight red card 10 minutes later for a rash challenge on Mark Gower.
Dealing with the subject of; about; concerning.
I was reading a book on history.

The city hosted the World Summit on the Information Society

I have no opinion on this subject.
- 1869 May, Anthony Trollope, “Lady Milborough as Ambassador”, in He Knew He Was Right, volume I, London: Strahan and Company, […], →OCLC, page 85:
  [...] I received a note from that gentleman on a most trivial matter. I answered it as trivially.
(informal) In the possession of.
I haven't got any money on me.
Because of; due to; upon the basis of (something not yet confirmed as true).
to arrest someone on suspicion of bribery

to contact someone on a hunch
(also often 'upon') At the time of (and often because of).
On Jack's entry, William got up to leave.

On the addition of ammonia, a chemical reaction begins.
(also often 'upon') Arrived or coming into the presence of.
I need to get my planting done, as the season will soon be on us.

Before we knew it, the forest was on us, and the air grew colder and damper.
Paid for by.
The drinks are on me tonight, boys.

The meal is on the house.

I paid for the airfare and meals for my family, but the hotel room was on the company.
Indicating a means or medium.
I saw it on television.

Can't you see I'm on the phone?

My favorite shows are on BBC America.

The Beatles' appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show is on YouTube.

The film was released on DVD.
Indicating the target of, or thing affected by, an event or action.
They planned an attack on London.

The soldiers mutinied and turned their guns on their officers.

Her words made a lasting impression on my mind.

What will be the effect on morale?
Toward; for; indicating the object of an emotion.
Have pity or compassion on him.
(especially Ireland) Indicating the person experiencing an emotion, cold, thirst, hunger, etc.
- 2013 February 27, Rosemary Sutcliff, The Shining Company, Random House, →ISBN:
  ' […] the hunger is on me to carry my sword in distant places.' Mynyddog bowed his head.
- 2017 January 24, Ruth Gilligan, Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan, Tin House Books, →ISBN:
  “Christ, the thirst on me.” “Sure, it's serious work, all that talk of independence.” The theater's stained-glass doors had first flung open in 1904, all in the hope of “rewriting the Irish identity,” of using culture in the fight […]
- 2017 August 29, Ralph Peters, Judgment at Appomattox: A Novel, Forge Books, →ISBN, page 18:
  “I've got the hunger on me, I do.” Riordan snorted. Hardly a man knew hunger as he did. The prison rations at Point Lookout, spare enough, had been a feast compared to the black years in Ireland. […]
Indicating the position that one has reached in a sequence.
I'm on question four.
Indicating a means of subsistence.
They lived on ten dollars a week.

The dog survived three weeks on rainwater.
Engaged in or occupied with (an action or activity).
He's on his lunch break.

I'm on nights all this week.

on vacation; on holiday; on a mission; on the job; on the fiddle
Regularly taking (a drug).
You've been on these antidepressants far too long.
Under the influence of (a drug, or something that is causing drug-like effects).
He's acting crazy because he's on crack right now.
In addition to; besides; indicating multiplication or succession in a series.
heaps on heaps of food

mischief on mischief; loss on loss
Indicating dependence or reliance.
I depended on them for assistance.

He will promise on certain conditions.
Serving as a member of.
He is on the jury; I am on the committee.
By virtue of; with the pledge of.
He affirmed or promised on his word, or on his honour.
1. (informal, chiefly in set phrases) Ellipsis of I swear on: on my life, on God, on everything, etc.
To the account or detriment of; denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon.
On us be all the blame.

A curse on him!

Please don't tell on her and get her in trouble.

He turned on her and has been her enemy ever since.

He went all honest on me, making me listen to his confession.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 27:25:
  His blood be on vs, and on our children.
(especially when numbers of combatants or competitors are specified) Against; in opposition to.
The fight was three on one, and he never stood a chance.
(philosophy, logic) According to, from the standpoint of; expressing what must follow, whether accepted or not, if a given premise or system is assumed true.
- 2021, Gavin Ortlund, Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn't: The Beauty of Christian Theism, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, →ISBN:
  On naturalism, it is therefore difficult to find a ground for ultimate moral hope.
(snooker) In a position of being able to pot (a given ball).
All the way around the table, off four cushions, and ... and he's on the black!
(mathematics) Having as identical domain and codomain.
a function on $\mathbb {R}$
(mathematics) Having $V^{n}$ as domain and V as codomain, for the specified set V and some integer n.
an operator on $\mathbb {Z}$
(mathematics) Generated by.
the free group on four letters
(mathematics, uncommon) Divided by.
Synonym: over

Twenty on three.
(obsolete or dialect, regional) Of.
I never seen 'im, and that's the truth on it.
- 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
  Be not jealous on me.
- c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
  Or have we eaten on the insane root / That takes the reason prisoner?
(obsolete) At the peril of, or for the safety of.
- a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The First Book of Homer’s Ilias”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 415:
  Hence on thy life: the captive maid is mine; / Whom not for price or pray'rs I will reſign: [...]

Synonyms

(dealing with the subject of): about, apropos, as for; See also Thesaurus:about
(because of): by dint of, due to; See also Thesaurus:because of

Derived terms

Related terms

depend (on)
put on airs

Translations

positioned at the upper surface of

Albanian: mbi (sq) (+ acc.)
Arabic: عَلَى (ar) (ʕalā)
Egyptian Arabic: على (ʕala)
Armenian: վրա (hy) (vra)
Asturian: sobre (ast)
Azerbaijani: üzərində, üstündə
Bakhtiari: سر (sar)
Bashkir: тураһында (turahında)
Belarusian: на (na)
Belizean Creole: pahn
Bengali: উপর (bn) (upor)
Bhojpuri: ऊपर (ūpar)
Breton: war (br)
Bulgarian: на (bg) (na)
Burmese: မှာ (my) (hma), ၌ (my) (hnai.), အပေါ် (my) (a.pau)
Catalan: sobre (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: ……上 (zh) (... shàng)
Chuukese: won
Cornish: war
Czech: na (cs)
Dalmatian: saupra
Danish: på (da)
Dutch: op (nl)
Esperanto: sur (eo)
Estonian: peal (et) (or adessive case)
Finnish: päällä (fi)
French: sur (fr)
Galician: sobre (gl), encol de (gl), en (gl)
Ge'ez: ላዕለ (laʿlä)
Georgian: -ზე (-ze)
German: auf (de)
Gothic: 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana) (+ dative)
Greek: πάνω (el) (páno), σε (el) (se)
Ancient Greek: ἐπί (epí) (+ dative), ἐν (en)
Guaraní: ári
Hebrew: עַל (he) (al), על פני
Hindi: ... पर (hi) (... par)
Hungarian: -n (hu), -on (hu), -en (hu), -ön (hu) (superessive case)
Icelandic: á (is)
Ido: sur (io)
Indonesian: di atas (id), atas (id)
Interlingua: super (ia), sur (ia)
Irish: ar
Italian: su (it), sopra (it)
Japanese: …の上に (ja) (… no ue ni)
Kazakh: үстінде (üstınde)
Khmer: នៅលើ (nɨv ləə)
Korean: ...위에 (...wie)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: لەسەر (leser), لە سەر (le ser)

Northern Kurdish: ser (ku)
Kyrgyz: үстүнө (üstünö), үстүндө (ky) (üstündö)
Lao: ເທິງ (thœng), ບົນ (bon)
Latin: in (la), super (la), suprā (la), ab (la), a (la)
Latvian: uz (lv)
Ligurian: in sce
Lithuanian: ant (lt)
Livonian: pǟl (postposition)
Macedonian: на (na)
Malay: atas (ms), di atas
Maltese: fuq
Mbyá Guaraní: áry
Mirandese: subre
Mongolian: дээр (mn) (deer)
Navajo: bikááʼ (bɪkʰáːʔ), bąąh
Neapolitan: ngoppe
Norwegian: på (no)
Norwegian Bokmål: på (no)

Norwegian Nynorsk: på
Occitan: sobre (oc)
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: на (na)
Old East Slavic: на (na)
Old Occitan: sobre
Pashto: پر (ps) (për), باندې (ps) (bânde)
Persian: روی (fa) (ru-ye), بر (fa) (bar)
Polish: na (pl)
Portuguese: na (pt), no (pt), sobre (pt)
Romagnol: adòs
Romanian: deasupra (ro), pe (ro)
Russian: на (ru) (na)
Scottish Gaelic: air
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: на

Roman: na (sh)
Sicilian: supra (scn), sùpira (scn)
Slovak: na (sk)
Slovene: na (sl)
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: na
Spanish: en (es), sobre (es)
Swedish: på (sv), ovanpå (sv), å (sv), upp å
Tajik: ба (tg) (ba), рӯи (rü-yi), бар (tg) (bar)
Thai: บน (th) (bon)
Tibetan: སྒང་ལ (sgang la)
Turkish: üstünde (tr)
Turkmen: üstünde
Ukrainian: на (uk) (na)
Urdu: ... پر (... par)
Uyghur: ئۈستىدە (üstide)
Uzbek: ustiga (uz)
Vietnamese: trên (vi)
Volapük: su (vo)
Walloon: so (wa), dissu (wa)
Welsh: ar (cy)
Yiddish: אויף (oyf)
Zazaki: sero m, sera f

covering

Arabic: عَلَى (ar) (ʕalā)
Armenian: վրա (hy) (vra)
Burmese: မှာ (my) (hma), ၌ (my) (hnai.)
Dutch: over (nl)
Esperanto: sur (eo)
Finnish: päällä (fi), yllä (fi)
French: sur (fr), au-dessus (fr)
German: über (de)
Greek: πάνω (el) (páno)
Hebrew: מכסה (he)
Hungarian: -n (hu), -on (hu), -en (hu), -ön (hu) (superessive case)
Italian: su (it), a (it)
Latin: in (la), super (la), suprā (la)
Pashto: په (ps) (pë)
Persian: روی (fa) (ru-ye)
Polish: na (pl)
Portuguese: em (pt)
Russian: на (ru) (na)
Scottish Gaelic: air, mu (dated)
Slovak: na (sk)
Slovene: na (sl)
Spanish: en (es), sobre (es)
Swedish: på (sv)

at the date of

Ancient Greek: (dative case of noun), ἐν (en) (+ dative)
Arabic: فِي (ar) (fī)
Armenian: -ի ն (-in)
Burmese: မှာ (my) (hma), ၌ (my) (hnai.)
Czech: dne (cs)
Dutch: op (nl)
Esperanto: je (eo)
Finnish: -na (fi), -nä (fi) (essive case)
French: not used in French
German: an (de)
Greek: articles, σε (el) (se) + articles
Hebrew: בתאריך
Hungarian: -n (hu), -on (hu), -en (hu), -ön (hu) (superessive case)
Italian: not used in Italian
Japanese: …に (ja) (…ni)
Latin: in (la)
Malay: pada (ms)
Maltese: fi
Pashto: په (ps) (pë)
Persian: در (fa) (dar)
Polish: (genitive case of noun)
Portuguese: na (pt), no (pt)
Romanian: pe (ro) (of regular days), de (ro) (of festive days)
Russian: в (ru) (v), -го (ru) (-vo) (genitive numeral suffix)
Scottish Gaelic: not used in Scottish Gaelic
Slovak: dňa (sk)
Slovene: na (sl)
Spanish: (the definite article is used before the time period)
Swedish: på (sv) (not always used), under (sv)

some time during the day of

Arabic: فِي (ar) (fī)
Burmese: မှာ (my) (hma), ၌ (my) (hnai.)
Finnish: -na (fi), -nä (fi) (essive case)
French: not used in French
Greek: articles
Icelandic: á (is)
Italian: di (it) (used only with nouns of the week days: "di lunedì" - "on Monday", "di martedì" - "on Tuesday", ...; not always used), in (it) (used only with generic days, as in "in un giorno differente" - "on a different day"; not always used)
Khmer: នៅ (km) (nɨw)
Lao: ໃນ (nai)
Ngazidja Comorian: not used in Ngazigja Comorian
Pashto: په (ps) (pë)
Persian: در (fa) (dar)
Polish: (genitive case of noun), w (pl)
Scottish Gaelic: not used in Scottish Gaelic
Slovak: počas (sk)
Spanish: (the definite article is used before the time period)
Swedish: på (sv), under (sv)
Thai: ใน (th) (nai)
Tibetan: ལ (la)
Vietnamese: vào (vi)
Zazaki: miyan (diq)

dealing with the subject of

Arabic: فِي (ar) (fī)
Armenian: մասին (hy) (masin), վերաբերյալ (hy) (veraberyal)
Asturian: sobre (ast)
Catalan: sobre (ca)
Czech: o (cs)
Dutch: over (nl)
Esperanto: pri (eo)
Finnish: -sta (fi), -stä (fi) (elative case)
French: sur (fr), à propos de (fr), au sujet de (fr)
Galician: sobre (gl), acerca de (gl)
German: über (de)
Greek: πάνω (el) (páno)
Ancient Greek: περί (perí) (+ genitive)
Hebrew: בנושא
Italian: su (it), di (it)
Latin: de (la), super (la), supra (la)
Pashto: په (ps) (pë)
Persian: در (fa) (dar), اندر (fa) (andar)
Polish: o (pl)
Portuguese: na (pt), no (pt)
Romanian: despre (ro)
Scottish Gaelic: air
Slovak: o (sk)
Slovene: na (sl)
Spanish: sobre (es) acerca de (es)
Swedish: om (sv), angående (sv)

touching; hanging from

Arabic: عَلَى (ar) (ʕalā)
Armenian: վրա (hy) (vra)
Czech: na (cs)
Dutch: bij (nl) (on me), aan (nl) (on a tree)
Esperanto: sur (eo)
Finnish: -lla (fi), -llä (fi) (adessive case)
French: sur (fr)
German: an (de), bei (de)
Greek: πάνω (el) (páno)
Hebrew: נוגע, תלוי על
Hungarian: -n (hu), -on (hu), -en (hu), -ön (hu) (superessive case)
Italian: su (it), a (it)
Latin: in (la), super (la), supra (la)
Pashto: پورې (ps) (pore)
Persian: روی (fa) (ru-ye)
Polish: na (pl)
Portuguese: na (pt), no (pt)
Slovak: na (sk)
Slovene: na (sl)
Spanish: en (es), sobre (es)
Swedish: på (sv)
Tibetan: ལྡེབས་ལ (ldebs la)
West Frisian: oan, by (fy)
Zazaki: naser

mathematics: having V as both domain and codomain

Finnish: -lle (fi) (allative case); -lla (fi), -llä (fi) (adessive case)
Italian: in (it)
Latin: in (la)
Polish: przy (pl)
Swedish: av (sv)

mathematics: having Vⁿ as domain and V as codomain

Finnish: -lle (fi) (allative case); -lla (fi), -llä (fi) (adessive case)
Italian: in (it)
Latin: in (la)
Polish: na (pl)
Swedish: av (sv)

because of, or due to something

Dutch: wegens (nl)
Finnish: takia (fi), vuoksi (fi), -sta (fi), -stä (fi) (elative case), perusteella (fi), johdosta (fi), seurauksena
French: pour (fr), à propos de (fr)
German: wegen (de), aufgrund (de)
Greek: periphrastically
Italian: con (it)
Latin: in (la)
Pashto: په (ps) (pë)
Slovak: pre
Swedish: på grund av (sv)

paid for by

Arabic: عَلَى حِسَابِهِ (ʕalā ḥisābihi)
Finnish: (not applicable; different structures used)
German: auf (de)
Greek: periphrastically
Latin: in (la)
Pashto: په (ps) (pë)
Persian: با (fa) (bâ)
Russian: с (ru) (s) (с меня, с тебя...), за счёт (za sčot)
Slovak: na (sk)
Swedish: är på

used to indicate means or medium

Finnish: (use the inessive and adessive cases)
French: avec (fr), grâce à (fr)
German: in (de), an (de)
Greek: periphrastically
Italian: in (it), a (it)
Latin: in (la)
Pashto: په (ps) (pë)
Persian: در (fa) (dar)
Spanish: en (es)
Swedish: på (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Dutch: ^{(please verify)} van (nl)
French: ^{(please verify)} de (fr)
Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} -tól (hu)/^{(please verify)} -től (hu)
Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} av (no) (7)
Swedish: ^{(please verify)} på (sv), ^{(please verify)} av (sv), ^{(please verify)} på grund av (sv)

Verb

on (third-person singular simple present ons, present participle oning or onning, simple past and past participle oned or onned)

(Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Nigeria, transitive, colloquial) To switch on.
Synonym: turn on

Can you on the light?

Etymology 2

From Old Norse ón, án (“without”), from Proto-Germanic *ēnu, *ēno, *ino (“without”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḗnu (“without”). Cognate with North Frisian on (“without”), Middle Dutch an, on (“without”), Middle Low German āne (“without”), German ohne (“without”), Gothic 𐌹𐌽𐌿 (inu, “without, except”).

Unlikely to be related to Ancient Greek ἄνευ (áneu, “without”), which likely akin to Proto-Germanic *sundraz instead (whence sunder).

Alternative forms

ohn

Preposition

on

(UK dialectal, Scotland) Without.(Can we add an example for this sense?)

Usage notes

Usually followed by a present participle, as being, having, etc.

Etymology 3

From Japanese 音読み (on'yomi, literally “sound reading”).

Noun

on

In the Japanese language, a pronunciation, or reading, of a kanji character that was originally based on the character's pronunciation in Chinese, contrasted with kun.
Most kanji have two kinds of reading, called "on" and "kun".

Related terms

kun

References

“on”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

Nº, NO, No, No., N.O., no, no.

Azerbaijani

**Azerbaijani numbers ^(edit)**
		100
← 1	← 9	10	11 →	20 →
		1
Cardinal: on Ordinal: onuncu

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ōn (“ten”).^[1] Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰆𐰣 (on, “ten”).

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

Numeral

Other scripts
Cyrillic		он
Abjad		اوْن

on

ten

References

^ Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*ōn”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎^[1], Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

Basque

Etymology

From Proto-Basque *bon.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /on/ [õn]
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -on
Hyphenation: on

Adjective

on (comparative hobe, superlative onen or hoberen, excessive onegi)

good
useful, convenient

Declension

Declension of on (adjective, ending in consonant)

		indefinite	singular	plural
absolutive		on	ona	onak
ergative		onek	onak	onek
dative		oni	onari	onei
genitive		onen	onaren	onen
comitative		onekin	onarekin	onekin
causative		onengatik	onarengatik	onengatik
benefactive		onentzat	onarentzat	onentzat
instrumental		onez	onaz	onez
inessive	anim.	onengan	onarengan	onengan
inessive	inanim.	onetan	onean	onetan
locative	anim.	—	—	—
locative	inanim.	onetako	oneko	onetako
allative	anim.	onengana	onarengana	onengana
allative	inanim.	onetara	onera	onetara
terminative	anim.	onenganaino	onarenganaino	onenganaino
terminative	inanim.	onetaraino	oneraino	onetaraino
directive	anim.	onenganantz	onarenganantz	onenganantz
directive	inanim.	onetarantz	onerantz	onetarantz
destinative	anim.	onenganako	onarenganako	onenganako
destinative	inanim.	onetarako	onerako	onetarako
ablative	anim.	onengandik	onarengandik	onengandik
ablative	inanim.	onetatik	onetik	onetatik
partitive		onik	—	—
prolative		ontzat	—	—

Catalan

Alternative forms

ahont, hon, hont (archaic)
ont

Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan on (“whence”), from Latin unde (“whence”). Compare Occitan ont, Old French ont (French dont), Spanish onde.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈon]
Audio: (file)

Adverb

on

where

References

“on” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
“on”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
“on” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
“on” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Central Franconian

Alternative forms

un (widely in free variation)
en (some western dialects)

Etymology

The native form in most dialects was Old High German indi, whence the variant en. In parts of the Eifel, this indi regularly becomes on (compare Luxembourgish an). In southern and eastern dialects, on the other hand, on may have been inherited from the Old High German variant unde (unti). From these two groups of dialects, the form will have spread, without doubt under influence of German und.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /on/

Conjunction

on

and
Salz on Päfer
salt and pepper

Classical Nahuatl

Pronoun

on, ōn

(demonstrative) that; those

Related terms

in

References

Michel Launey with Christopher Mackay (2011) An Introduction to Classical Nahuatl, Amazon Kindle: Cambridge University Press, page Loc 1408

Cornish

Noun

on m (plural en)

lamb

Crimean Tatar

**Crimean Tatar numbers ^(edit)**
		100
← 1	← 9	10	11 →	20 →
		1
Cardinal: on Ordinal: onuncı Distributive: onar

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ōn.

Numeral

on

ten

References

“on”, in Luğatçıq (in Russian)

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech on, from Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈon]
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -on

Pronoun

on m

he (third person personal singular)

Declension

Declension of on (sg-only masculine pronoun)

	singular
	stressed	clitic
nominative	on
genitive	jeho, jej, něho¹, něj¹	ho, jej
dative	jemu, němu¹	mu
accusative	jej, něj¹, jeho², něho²	jej, ho, -ň¹
vocative	—
locative	něm¹
instrumental	jím, ním¹

¹After a preposition.
²Animate.

Derived terms

Related terms

Czech personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person		já	my
2nd person	familiar	ty	vy
2nd person	polite	vy	vy
3rd person	m	on	oni*
	f	ona	ony
	n	ono	ona
reflexive		sebe, se (clitic)
* animate referents only, for inanimate ones ony is used.

Dutch

Adverb

on

rarely used as shorthand for oneven (odd), the prefix on- means not (corresponds to English un-)

Estonian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈonː/, [ˈonː] (stressed)
IPA^(key): /on/, [on] (unstressed)
Rhymes: -onː, -on
Hyphenation: on

Verb

on

third-person singular present indicative of olema
third-person plural present indicative of olema

Finnish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈon/, [ˈo̞n]
Rhymes: -on
Syllabification^(key): on

Verb

on

third-person singular indicative present of olla
Se on tuolla.
It is there.

Se on ollut tuolla.
It has been there.

Anagrams

no

French

Alternative forms

l’on (formal)

Etymology

Inherited from Old French hom, om (nominative form), from Latin homō (“human being”) (compare homme from the Old French oblique form home, from the Latin accusative form hominem). Its pronominal use is of Germanic origin. Compare Old English man (“one, they, people”), reduced form of Old English mann (“person”); Catalan hom; German man (“one, they, people”); Dutch men (“one, they, people”). In the second sense, meaning "we", also compare the development Malay kita orang (“we (incl.) + person”) and also dialectal kitorang, kitong, torang.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔ̃/, (before a vowel) /ɔ.n‿/
Audio: (file)
Homophone: ont

Pronoun

on

(indefinite) one, people, you, someone (an unspecified individual)
Synonyms: quelqu’un (in some contexts), l’on (formal)
- 2003, Natasha St. Pier, L’instant d’après (album), Quand on cherche l’amour (song)
  Quand on cherche l’amour…
  When one searches for love…
On ne peut pas pêcher ici ― You can’t fish here
(personal, informal) we
Synonym: nous (in some contexts)
- 2021, Zaz, Tout là-haut:
  On oublie nos certitudes
  We forget our certainties
On s’est amusés. ― We had fun.

Usage notes

In informal and standard conversational French, on has almost completely replaced the pronoun nous (“we”) to indicate that a sentence or clause has a first-person plural as its subject. However, nous is still favored in formal writing and speech, and is still used colloquially as a disjunctive reinforcing nominative on, as well as to indicate direct and indirect objects. It may be used for reflexive objects, but as this is potentially ambiguous, these are also indicated with the reflexive pronoun se — especially with reinforcement from disjunctive nous, which clarifies that the speaker means "we" and not "one," i.e. a generalized indefinite subject. This clarification can also be achieved by the use of tous.
On est toujours là. ― We're still here.

Nous, on s’y fait. ― We get used to it.

On connait tous la chanson qu’elle chante. ― We all know which song she is singing.

Nous, on l’a tous vu. ― We all saw it.
The verb is always conjugated in the third-person singular, but if the pronoun refers to a first-person plural, the attribute agrees in gender and number.
On est venu ici. ― One came here.

On y est allés / allées. ― We went there.

On est prêts / prêtes. ― We are ready.
The variant l’on is used in more formal or literary contexts. Some use it especially after que (que l'on) to avoid the contraction qu’on, which is homophonous with the vulgar word con.

Related terms

French personal pronouns

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative (subject)	Accusative (direct complement)	Dative (indirect complement)	Locative (at)	Genitive (of)	Disjunctive (tonic)
Singular	First	—	je, j’	me, m’		—	—	moi
	Second	—	tu	te, t’		—	—	toi
	Third	Masculine	il	le, l’	lui	y	en	lui
		Feminine	elle	la, l’	lui	y	en	elle
		Indeterminate	on¹	—	—	—	—	—
		Reflexive	—	se, s’⁴		—	—	soi⁴
Plural	First	—	nous	nous		—	—	nous
	Second	—	vous²	vous²^,3		—	—	vous²
	Third	Masculine	ils³	les	leur	y	en	eux³
	Third	Feminine	elles	les	leur	y	en	elles

¹ Also used as the first person plural.

² Also used as the polite singular form.

³ Also used when a group has both men and women.

⁴ Also used as third person plural reflexive.

Descendants

→ Esperanto: oni
- → Ido: onu

Anagrams

NO, nô

German

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

Adjective

on (indeclinable, predicative only)

(Internet slang, especially video games) Clipping of online.
Coordinate term: off

hab lust auf ne runde zocken, kommst du on?
im down to game 4 a bit, are u coming on?

German Low German

Conjunction

on

(in several dialects, including Low Prussian) Alternative form of un (and)
Melk on Brot
milk and bread

Guerrero Nahuatl

Noun

on

the

Ido

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /on/, /ɔn/

Pronoun

on

Apocopic form of onu; one, someone, they (indefinite personal pronoun)

Interlingua

Pronoun

on

one (indefinite personal pronoun)

Japanese

Romanization

on

Rōmaji transcription of おん

Juǀ'hoan

Pronunciation

The nasal vowel IPA^(key): /õ/

Letter

on (upper case On)

A letter of the Juǀ'hoan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Karaim

Etymology 1

From Proto-Turkic *ōn. Compare to Crimean Tatar on, Karachay-Balkar он (on), Kumyk он (on), Urum он (on), etc.

Numeral

on

ten

Etymology 2

From Proto-Turkic *oŋ. Compare to Crimean Tatar oñ, Karachay-Balkar онг (oñ), Kumyk онг (oñ), Urum он (on), etc.

Noun

on

right

References

N. A. Baskakov, S.M. Šapšala, editor (1973), “on”, in Karaimsko-Russko-Polʹskij Slovarʹ [Karaim-Russian-Polish Dictionary], Moscow: Moskva, →ISBN

Karelian

Verb

on

third-person singular indicative present of olla

Lombard

Alternative forms

vun

Etymology

From Old Lombard un, from Latin ūnus, from Old Latin oinos.

Pronunciation

(Milanese) IPA^(key): /un/

Article

on m (feminine ona, plural di)

a

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English on, an, from Proto-West Germanic *an, from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on, at”).

Preposition

on

on, in

Adverb

on

on

Alternative forms

(preposition): one, onne, hon, ane; an (before initial h or vowel); æn (Early Middle English)
(adverb): one, onne, an

Descendants

English: on
Scots: an, on
Yola: on

References

“on, prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
“on, adv.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Numeral

on

Alternative form of oon

Pronoun

on

Alternative form of oon

Adverb

on

Alternative form of oon

Determiner

on

(Early Middle English) Alternative form of a (indefinite article)

Etymology 3

Verb

on

(Early Middle English) first/third-person singular present of unnen

Etymology 4

Noun

on (uncountable)

Alternative form of wone (“course”)

Etymology 5

Noun

on (uncountable)

Alternative form of oven

Northern Sami

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

(Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈoːn/

Adverb

ōn

again

Occitan

Alternative forms

ond

Pronunciation

Audio (Gascony): (file)

Adverb

on

(Gascony) where

References

Patric Guilhemjoan, Diccionari elementari occitan-francés francés-occitan (gascon), 2005, Orthez, per noste, 2005, →ISBN, page 99.

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈon/
IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈon/

Pronoun

on m sg (third person)

he (masculine singular)

Declension

Declension of the third-person pronouns (around AD 1300)

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	on	ona	ono
Genitive	jeho, (j)ho, ň(e)ho	jie, nie	jeho, (j)ho, ň(e)ho
Dative	jemu, (j)mu, ňemu	jí, jiej, ní, niej	jemu, (j)mu, ňemu
Accusative	jej, jen, ji, jeho, (j)ho -ň, ňej, ňen, ni, ň(e)ho	ju, ňu	je, ňe + later masculine
Locative	ňem	ní, niej	ňem
Instrumental	jím, ním	jú, ňú	jím, ním

Possessive	jeho	(je)jie, její^later	jeho
Dual	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ona	oně
Genitive	jú, ňú
Dative	jima, nima
Accusative	jě, ně	ji, ni
Locative	ňú
Instrumental	jima, nima

Possessive	(je)jú
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	oni	ony	ona
Genitive	jich, nich
Dative	jim, nim
Accusative	jě, ně
Locative	nich
Instrumental	jimi, nimi

Possessive	(je)jich

Descendants

Czech: on

Pronoun

on

Alternative form of onen

References

Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “on”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Old English

Alternative forms

an, a
ᚩᚾ (ón) — Ruthwell Cross

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /on/

Preposition

on

on, in, at, among [with accusative or dative or instrumental]
On þæm huse
In the house
- late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans
  ...and ðā syndon swȳþe fæġere and lustsumlīce on tō sēonne...
  ...and those are very beautiful and pleasant to look at...
- Early 11th c., Defensor's translation of Liber Scintillarum
  ...nā besēoh þū on wīfes hiw...
  ...do not look at a woman's appearance...
on, during [with accusative]
On midne winter
In mid-winter
onto, into (to express allative motion or a change of state) [with accusative]
On þæt hus
Into the house

Heo awende þa boc on Englisc
She translated the book into English

Adverb

on

(with verbs of taking or depriving) from

Descendants

Middle English: an, on, one, onne, hon, ane, an (before initial h or vowel), æn (Early Middle English), one, onne, an
- English: on
- Scots: an, on
- Yola: on

Old French

Alternative forms

hon

Etymology

See hom, om.

Pronoun

on

one (gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun)

Descendants

French: on

Old Frisian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *an, from Proto-Germanic *an (“on”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- (“up”). Cognates include Old English on, Old Saxon ana and Old Dutch ana.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /on/

Preposition

on

on

Descendants

North Frisian: a
Saterland Frisian: an, oun
West Frisian: oan

References

Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN

Old Irish

Pronoun

on

Alternative spelling of ón

Article

on

Alternative spelling of ón

Old Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *onъ. First attested in the 14th century.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /ɔn/
IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ɔn/

Pronoun

on

he (for animate nouns), it (for inanimate nouns)
this (demonstrative)

Declension

This pronoun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

Polish: on
Silesian: ôn

References

B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “on”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish on. The oblique case forms come from Proto-Slavic *jь.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɔn/

(Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈɔn/, /ˈon/

Audio 1: (file)
Audio 2: (file)
Audio 3: (file)
Rhymes: -ɔn
Syllabification: on
Homophone: -on

Pronoun

on m (feminine ona, neuter ono)

he (for animate nouns), it (for inanimate nouns)

Declension

Declension of on

	singular
nominative	on
genitive	jego/go/niego
dative	jemu/mu/niemu
accusative	jego/go/niego
instrumental	nim
locative	nim
vocative	—

Pronoun

on

(dated, demonstrative) this

Declension

Declension of on (irregular)

singular					plural
	masculine animate	masculine inanimate	feminine	neuter	virile (= masculine personal)	non-virile
nominative	on		ona	ono	oni	one
genitive	onego		onej	onego	onych
dative	onemu		onej	onemu	onym
accusative	onego	on	oną	ono	onych	one
instrumental	onym		oną	onym	onymi
locative	onym		onej	onym	onych

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), on is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 1477 times in scientific texts, 677 times in news, 976 times in essays, 1957 times in fiction, and 1617 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 6650 times, making it the 8th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.^[1]

References

^ Ida Kurcz (1990) “on”, in Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej [Frequency dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), volume 1, Kraków, Warszawa: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Języka Polskiego, page 333

Romani

Alternative forms

jon, jone

Pronoun

on

they^[1]^[2]^[3]

References

^ Boretzky, Norbert, Igla, Birgit (1994) “on”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten [Romani-German-English dictionary for the Southern European region] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 201a
^ Marcel Courthiade (2009) “on B-ćham: len”, in Melinda Rézműves, editor, Morri angluni rromane ćhibǎqi evroputni lavustik = Első rromani nyelvű európai szótáram : cigány, magyar, angol, francia, spanyol, német, ukrán, román, horvát, szlovák, görög [My First European-Romani Dictionary: Romani, Hungarian, English, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak, Greek] (overall work in Hungarian and English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, page 260b
^ Yaron Matras and Evangelina Adamou (2020) “Romani and Contact Linguistics”, in Yaron Matras, Anton Tenser, editors, The Palgrave Handbook of Romani Language and Linguistics, →DOI, →ISBN, page 341

Romansch

Alternative forms

onn (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Surmiran)
an (Puter)

Etymology

From Latin annus.

Noun

on m (plural ons)

(Sutsilvan, Vallader) year

Salar

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ōn.

Numeral

on (3rd person possessive [please provide], plural [please provide])

ten

Sedang

Etymology

From Proto-Bahnaric *ʔuɲ. Cognate with Bahnar ŭnh and Hrê ùnh.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʔɔn/

Noun

on

fire

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ôːn/

Pronoun

ȏn (Cyrillic spelling о̑н)

he

Declension

Inflection of 3rd-person pronouns

	Singular			Plural
	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
nominative	ȏn	òna	òno	òni	òne	òna
genitive	njȅga, ga	njȇ, je	njȅga, ga	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih
dative	njȅmu, mu	njȏj, joj	njȅmu, mu	njȉma, im	njȉma, im	njȉma, im
accusative	njȅga, ga, nj	njȗ, ju, je	njȅga, ga, nj	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih
vocative	—	—	—	—	—	—
locative	njȅm, njȅmu	njȏj	njȅm, njȅmu	njȉma	njȉma	njȉma
instrumental	njȋm, njíme	njȏm, njóme	njȋm, njíme	njȉma	njȉma	njȉma

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos; inflected forms from Proto-Slavic *jь, from Proto-Indo-European *éy.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔn/

Pronoun

on m

he, it (third-person singular pronoun)

Declension

Declension of on

	singulare tantum
nominative	on
genitive	ho／jeho／neho
dative	mu／jemu／nemu
accusative	ho／jeho／neho
locative	ňom
instrumental	ním

Related terms

Slovak personal pronouns

		substantive		possessive
		singular	plural	singular	plural
1st person		ja	my	môj	náš
2nd person	familiar	ty	vy	tvoj	váš
2nd person	polite	vy		váš
3rd person	m	on	oni*／ony	jeho	ich
	f	ona		jej
	n	ono		jeho
reflexive		seba, sa (clitic)		svoj
* masculine animate only, ony otherwise.

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔ́n/

Pronoun

ȍn

he
(obsolete) onkanje form^{[→SS, p. 389]}

Usage notes

The second binding singular form (-enj) is used when the prefix ends in a consonant:

zȃnj (za- + -nj)
skọ̑zenj (skoz- + -enj)

Inflection

Fourth masculine declension (adjectival endings, animate), fixed accent, highly irregular Stressed ("naglasne") forms
nominative imenovȃlnik	ȍn	ónadva, onȃdva	óni, onȋ
genitive rodȋlnik	njéga	njȋju, njȉh, njȗ	njȉh
dative dajȃlnik	njému	njȋma	njȉm
accusative tožȋlnik	njéga	njȋju, njȉh, njȗ	njȉh, njẹ̑
locative mẹ̑stnik	njém, njému	njȋju, njȉh	njȉh
instrumental orọ̑dnik	njím	njȋma	njȋmi
(vocative) (ogȏvorni imenovȃlnik)	ȍn	ȏnadva, onȃdva	ȏni, onȋ

Unstressed ("naslonske") forms
	singular	dual	plural
genitive rodȋlnik	ga	ju, jih	jih
dative dajȃlnik	mu	jima	jim
accusative tožȋlnik	ga	ju	jih

Binding ("navezne / predložne") accusative forms
	singular	dual	plural
unstressed	-nj, -ənj	-nju	-nje
stressed	–	–	njẹ̑, njȉh

Anagrams

No., No, no., Nº, no, NO, N.O.

Southeastern Tepehuan

Etymology

From Proto-Uto-Aztecan *ona.

Noun

on

salt

References

R. de Willett, Elizabeth, et al. (2016) Diccionario tepehuano de Santa María Ocotán, Durango (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 48)‎^[6] (in Spanish), electronic edition, Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 140

Swedish

Noun

on

indefinite plural of o

Anagrams

NO, no.

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English on.

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔon/ [ˈʔon̪]
Rhymes: -on
Syllabification: on

Adjective

on (Baybayin spelling ᜂᜈ᜔)

(slang) in a relationship with someone

Derived terms

mag-on

Anagrams

no, 'no

Turkish

**Turkish numbers ^(edit)**
		100
← 1	← 9	10	11 →	20 →
		1
Cardinal: on Ordinal: onuncu Distributive: onar

Etymology

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish اون (on), from Proto-Turkic *ōn (“ten”). Compare Old Turkic 𐰆𐰣 (un¹ /⁠on⁠/, “ten”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /on/
Audio: (file)

Numeral

on

ten

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	on
Definite accusative	onu
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	on	onlar
Definite accusative	onu	onları
Dative	ona	onlara
Locative	onda	onlarda
Ablative	ondan	onlardan
Genitive	onun	onların

Turkmen

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ōn (“ten”).

Numeral

**Turkmen cardinal numbers**
< 9	10	11 >
Cardinal : on Ordinal : onunji

on

ten

Venetan

Article

on m sg

a, an

Usage notes

Variant of un

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from French on.

Pronoun

on

it
(obsolete, indefinite personal pronoun) one

Declension

declension of on

	singular	plural
nominative	on	ons
genitive	ona	onas
dative	one	ones
accusative	oni	onis

Votic

Pronunciation

(Luutsa, Liivtšülä) IPA^(key): /ˈon/, [ˈon]
Rhymes: -on
Hyphenation: on

Verb

on

third-person singular indicative present of õllõ

Walloon

Alternative forms

onk

Etymology

From Latin ūnum.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔ̃/

Article

on (masculine before a vowel: in-, feminine: ine)

an, a
on tchin ― a dog

in-åbe ― a tree

ine minte ― a lie

Numeral

on

one

Yola

Alternative forms

an
ana (before consonant)
a (unstressed)

Etymology

From Middle English on, an, from Old English on.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔn/, /an/, /anə/, /ə/

Preposition

on

on
- 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page 94:
  An a priesth o' parieshe on his lhaung-tyel garraane.
  And the priest of the parish on his long tail pony.
- 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2, page 94:
  An a priesth o parieshe on his garrane baun,
  The priest of the parish on his white pony,
- 1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 5, page 104:
  Mizluck mye lhygt on Tam Busheare;
  Bad luck may light on Tom Busheare;
- 1867, DR. RUSSELL ON THE INHABITANTS AND DIALECT OF THE BARONY OF FORTH, page 131:
  Fad didn'st thou cum t' ouz on zum other dey?
  [Why didn't you come to us on some other day?]

References

Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 94

[1] Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*ōn”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎^[1], Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

[2] Ida Kurcz (1990) “on”, in Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej [Frequency dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), volume 1, Kraków, Warszawa: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Języka Polskiego, page 333

[3] Boretzky, Norbert, Igla, Birgit (1994) “on”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten [Romani-German-English dictionary for the Southern European region] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 201a

[4] Marcel Courthiade (2009) “on B-ćham: len”, in Melinda Rézműves, editor, Morri angluni rromane ćhibǎqi evroputni lavustik = Első rromani nyelvű európai szótáram : cigány, magyar, angol, francia, spanyol, német, ukrán, román, horvát, szlovák, görög [My First European-Romani Dictionary: Romani, Hungarian, English, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak, Greek] (overall work in Hungarian and English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, page 260b

[5] Yaron Matras and Evangelina Adamou (2020) “Romani and Contact Linguistics”, in Yaron Matras, Anton Tenser, editors, The Palgrave Handbook of Romani Language and Linguistics, →DOI, →ISBN, page 341

[1]

[1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Accusative	Dative	Locative	Ablative	Instrumental	Possessive
Singular	First	—	me	man	manqe	manθe	manθar	mança	miro, -i, -e
	Second	—	tu	tut	tuqe	tuθe	tuθar	tuça	tiro, -i, -e
	Reflexive third	—	—	pes	pesqe	pesθe	pesθar	peça	pesqero, -i, -e
	Third	Masculine	ov	les	lesqe	lesθe	lesθar	leça	lesqero, -i, -e
	Third	Feminine	oj	la	laqe	laθe	laθar	laça	laqero, -i, -e
Plural	First	—	amen		amenqe	amenθe	amenθar	amença	amaro, -i, -e
	Second	—	tumen		tumenqe	tumenθe	tumenθar	tumença	tumaro, -i, -e
	Reflexive third	—	—	pen	penqe	penθe	penθar	pença	penqero, -i, -e
	Third	—	on	len	lenqe	lenθe	lenθar	lença	lenqero, -i, -e

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Accusative (long and short forms)	Dative	Locative	Ablative	Instrumental	Possessive
Singular	First	—	me	man, ma	mánge	mánde	mándar	mánsa	múrro m, múrri f, múrre pl
	Second	—	tu	tut, tu	túke	túte	tútar	túsa	tíro m, tíri f, tíre pl
	Reflexive third	—	—	pês, pe	pêske	pêste	pêstar	pêsa	pêsko m, pêski f, pêske pl
	Third	Masculine	wo	lês, le	lêske	lêste	lêstar	lêsa	lêsko m, lêski f, lêske pl
	Third	Feminine	woi	la, la	láke	láte	látar	lása	láko m, láki f, láke pl
Plural	First	—	ame	amên, ame	amênge	amênde	amêndar	amênsa	amáro m, amári f, amáre pl
	Second	—	tume	tumên, tume	tumênge	tumênde	tumêndar	tumênsa	tumáro m, tumári f, tumáre pl
	Reflexive third	—	—	pên, pe	pênge	pênde	pêndar	pênsa	pêngo m, pêngi f, pênge pl
	Third	—	won	lên, le	lênge	lênde	lêndar	lênsa	lêngo m, lêngi f, lênge pl

			singular	dual	plural
1st person		m	jaz	midva	mi
1st person		f or n	jaz	medve, midve	me

2nd person	familiar tikanje	m	ti	vidva	vi
2nd person	familiar tikanje	f or n	ti	vedve, vidve	ve

3rd person		m	on	onadva	oni
		f	ona	onedve, onidve	one
		n	ono	onedve, onidve	ona

Polite forms (not differentiated in dual and plural)					singular
polite vikanje – instead of 2nd person, binds with forms for 2rd person plural masculine					vi, Vi
very polite onikanje – instead of 2nd or 3rd person, binds with forms for 3rd person plural masculine (archaic)					oni
hyper polite onokanje – instead of 2nd person, binds with forms for 3rd person singular neuter (obsolete)					ono
patriarchal onkanje – instead of 2nd person, binds with forms for 3rd person singular masculine (obsolete)					on

		Singular			Plural
		Nominative	Possessive		Nominative	Possessive
		Nominative	Singular	Plural	Nominative	Singular	Plural
First person		me	mea	mei	ni	nia	nii
Second person	Formal	vu	vua	vui	vi	via	vii
Second person	Familiar	tu	tua	tui	vi	via	vii
Third person	Masculine	ilu, il	ilua	ilui	ili	ilia	ilii
	Feminine	elu, el	elua	elui	eli	elia	elii
	Neuter	olu, ol	olua	olui	oli	olia	olii
	Common	lu	lua	lui	li	lia	lii
	Reflexive	su	sua	sui	su	sua	sui
Indefinite		onu, on	onua	onui	onu, on	onua	onui
Notes
The possessive plurals are seldom used.
The shortened forms are preferred.
The pangendered forms are preferred to the gendered or neuter forms in most scenarios.

on

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Adjective

Synonyms

Translations

Adverb

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

Preposition

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Preposition

Usage notes

Etymology 3

Noun

Related terms

See also

References

Anagrams

Azerbaijani

Etymology

Pronunciation

Numeral

References

Basque

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Declension

Further reading

Catalan

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adverb

References

Central Franconian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Conjunction

Classical Nahuatl

Pronoun

Related terms

References

Cornish

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

Numeral

References

Czech

Etymology

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

Dutch

Adverb

Estonian

Pronunciation

Verb

Finnish

Pronunciation

Verb

Anagrams

French