How to Talk Like Shakespeare: Thou, Thee, Thy, and 30 Words to Get You Started
2026-08-11
Shakespearean English — properly called Early Modern English — is closer to today's English than most people think. Master two things and you can fake it convincingly: the thou/thee/thy system and a handful of verb endings. Everything else is vocabulary.
For instant results, our Shakespearean Translator (linked below) converts modern English into Elizabethan style and back. And if you're wondering how Shakespeare's English relates to actual Old English, our guide comparing the three historical stages untangles them.
Thou, thee, thy, thine — which one when?
These are all the informal 'you', used with friends, family, children, and social inferiors (the formal 'you' already existed and worked like today's). Rule of thumb: thou does the action, thee receives it — the same split as 'he' vs. 'him'.
| Word | Job | Modern equivalent | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| thou | subject | you | Thou art kind |
| thee | object | you | I give it to thee |
| thy | possessive (before consonant) | your | Thy sword |
| thine | possessive (before vowel) / 'yours' | your / yours | Thine eyes; the fault is thine |
The two verb endings
That's the entire grammar upgrade: 'you know' becomes 'thou knowest', and 'she has' becomes 'she hath'.
- -est goes with thou: thou knowest, thou speakest, thou hast (have), thou art (are), thou wilt (will).
- -eth goes with he/she/it: she loveth, he hath, it seemeth.
30 essential Shakespearean words
Grouped by situation, these cover most of what you'll want to say:
- Greetings & partings: good morrow (good morning), well met (nice to see you), fare thee well, anon (see you soon / right away).
- Politeness: prithee (please), pray (please), gramercy (thank you), by your leave (excuse me).
- Yes & no: ay (yes), nay (no), verily (truly), forsooth (indeed).
- Questions: wherefore (why — not where!), whence (from where), whither (to where), what say you?
- Reactions: alas / alack (sorrow), fie! (shame!), marry! (mild 'indeed!'), zounds! (strong oath), hark! (listen!), lo! (look!).
- People: sirrah (to an inferior — insulting), knave (rogue), varlet (scoundrel), wench (young woman).
- Everything else: methinks (I think), perchance (perhaps), 'tis (it is), o'er (over), e'en (even/evening), oft (often), hither (here).
The mistake everyone makes
'Wherefore art thou Romeo?' does not mean 'where are you, Romeo?' — wherefore means why. Juliet is asking why Romeo has to be Romeo, a Montague, her family's enemy. Use 'wherefore' correctly and you'll out-Shakespeare most of the internet.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Shakespearean English the same as Old English?
- No. Old English (roughly 450–1150 AD, the language of Beowulf) is unreadable without study. Shakespeare wrote Early Modern English (1500s–1600s) — the same broad stage of English we speak now, with older pronouns and spellings.
- Was 'thou' formal or informal?
- Informal. This surprises people because 'thou' survives mainly in prayers and sounds lofty today — but in Shakespeare's time, 'you' was the respectful form and 'thou' was intimate or condescending, depending on who said it to whom.
- How do I translate my sentence into Shakespearean English?
- Type it into our free Shakespeare translator — it swaps pronouns, verb endings, and vocabulary instantly, entirely in your browser, and works in reverse too.
- Did Shakespeare really invent hundreds of words?
- He's the first recorded user of many words — like 'bedazzled' and 'swagger' — but scholars caution that first citation isn't proof of invention. He certainly popularized an enormous number of words and phrases still used today.