# מי הוא/היא / מי זה/זאת



## Sidjanga

,שלום​​ How or in what situations do/would you use מי זה/זאת  or מי הוא/היא, respectively, or is there a difference in how they sound? (e.g., more or less polite)

In two different (autodidactic) courses I've come across these two different expressions, without further explanation.


תודה רבא​


----------



## Mjolnir

There isn't much of a difference (זה - it, but can also refer to people).

מי זה _may_ sound less polite than מי הוא but they're basically the same.

When someone rings your door bell, you answer "מי זה?", and it's not considered "less polite" or "not polite".


----------



## Sidjanga

Many thanks!


----------



## scriptum

Mjolnir said:


> There isn't much of a difference (זה - it, but can also refer to people).
> 
> מי זה _may_ sound less polite than מי הוא but they're basically the same.
> 
> When someone rings your door bell, you answer "מי זה?", and it's not considered "less polite" or "not polite".


Asking מי זה, you imply that you know absolutely nothing about the person in question; you don't know its sex and sometimes you are not so sure he / she exists at all.
Asking מי הוא you imply that you know something about the man (you know at least that he exists and that he is a man) and want to hear additional information about him.
Needless to say, if you ask מי זה about somebody you actually know, the question is meant to express scorn.


----------



## Mjolnir

scriptum said:


> Asking מי זה, you imply that you know absolutely nothing about the person in question; you don't know its sex and sometimes you are not so sure he / she exists at all.
> Asking מי הוא you imply that you know something about the man (you know at least that he exists and that he is a man) and want to hear additional information about him.



Correct. הוא and זה follow 'he' and 'it', though you can say מי זה even if you know the person ringing your door bell is a man. You can even ask that if you know him personally (I'll write more about this below).



scriptum said:


> Needless to say, if you ask מי זה about somebody you actually know, the question is meant to express scorn.



Not always. If you see someone you haven't seen in a long time, you can ask him (or the people around you) מי זה. That would be an ironic question, it isn't meant to scorn him. You can also ask your friend מי זה, and mean it in a friendly and welcoming manner.


----------



## scriptum

Mjolnir said:


> You can also ask your friend מי זה, and mean it in a friendly and welcoming manner.


Of course. But then everything could be meant in a friendly and welcoming manner. Even "I'll kill you".


----------



## Mjolnir

scriptum said:


> Of course. But then everything could be meant in a friendly and welcoming manner. Even "I'll kill you".



That's actually quite common


----------



## cfu507

Mjolnir said:


> When someone rings your door bell, you answer "מי זה?", and it's not considered "less polite" or "not polite".


 

Mjolnir, I thought about the same example 

Any way, in this ring bell situation, you can't even say מי הוא when you want to ask who is behind the door.


----------



## cfu507

scriptum said:


> Asking מי זה, you imply that you know absolutely nothing about the person in question; you don't know its sex and sometimes you are not so sure he / she exists at all.
> Asking מי הוא you imply that you know something about the man (you know at least that he exists and that he is a man) and want to hear additional information about him.
> Needless to say, if you ask מי זה about somebody you actually know, the question is meant to express scorn.


 
We sometimes say מי זה even when we know that we are talking to a women. For example: your intercom is ringing.
You answer: כן?  (yes?)
The woman: תוכל לפתוח לי את הדלת? (would you mind to open the door?)
And you ask: מי זה?

It would be more correct to say מי זו, but people mostly ask מי זה for both gender.


----------



## Sidjanga

Thanks very much to all of you; very interesting.

So, if I understand you right,  "מי זה?" is considered a (more or less) neutral form (at least genderwise) and answering the intercom. 


> It would be more correct to say מי זו, ...


What would be the difference between מי זו and מי זאת? (asking a woman who she is)


----------



## Mjolnir

Sigianga said:


> What would be the difference between מי זו and מי זאת? (asking a woman who she is)



The short answer: no difference.

The slightly longer answer: it's like asking "who is it" or "who is that".

The conclusion: it doesn't really matter


----------



## Sidjanga

Thank you, Mjolnir!


----------

