Phrase guide

vocative case

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

case of address, case used for a noun identifying the person or thing being addressed. It corresponds to the archaic English particle "O" as used in solemn or poetic address e.g.: Hear me, O Albion! Languages that regularly employ the vocative include Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Czech, Georgian, Greek, Hawaiian, Hindi-Urdu, Irish, Latin, Latvian, Lithuanian, Ojibwe, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Ruthenian/Rusyn, Sanskrit, Scottish Gaelic, Serbo-Croatian, Slovak, Tamil and Ukrainian.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the case (in some inflected languages) used when the referent of the noun is being addressed

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: vocative

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: oblique, oblique case

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

68 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: نِدَاء (nidāʔ) — case of address
  • Armenian: կոչական հոլով (kočʻakan holov) — case of address
  • Azerbaijani: çağırış halı — case of address
  • Belarusian: клі́чны склон (klíčny sklon) — case of address
  • Bengali: সম্বোধন (śombōdhon) — case of address
  • Bulgarian: зва́телен паде́ж (zvátelen padéž) — case of address
  • Carpathian Rusyn: вокатів (vokativ) — case of address
  • Chinese Mandarin: 呼格 (hūgé) — case of address
  • Czech: vokativ — case of address
  • Czech: pátý pád — case of address
  • Danish: vokativ — case of address
  • Dutch: aanspreekvorm — case of address
  • Dutch: vocatief — case of address
  • Esperanto: vokativo — case of address
  • Faroese: vokativ — case of address
  • Finnish: vokatiivi — case of address
  • French: vocatif — case of address
  • Middle French: vocatif — case of address
  • Georgian: წოდებითი ბრუნვა (c̣odebiti brunva) — case of address
  • Georgian: წოდებითი (c̣odebiti) — case of address
  • Georgian: ვოკატივი (voḳaṭivi) — case of address
  • German: Vokativ — case of address
  • German: Anredefall — case of address
  • Greek: κλητική (klitikí) — case of address
  • Ancient Greek: κλητική (klētikḗ) — case of address
  • Hebrew: יַחֲסַת פְּנִיָּה (yakhasát p'niyá) — case of address
  • Hindi: संबोधन (sambodhan) — case of address
  • Hungarian: megszólító eset — case of address
  • Icelandic: ávarpsfall — case of address
  • Irish: gairmeach — case of address
  • Irish: tuiseal gairmeach — case of address
  • Italian: vocativo — case of address
  • Japanese: 呼格 (kokakú) — case of address
  • Korean: 호격 (hogyeok) — case of address
  • Northern Kurdish: rewşa bangkirin — case of address
  • Latin: casus vocātīvus — case of address
  • Latvian: vokatīvs — case of address
  • Lithuanian: šauksmininkas — case of address
  • Malayalam: സംബോധിക (sambōdhika) — case of address
  • Malayalam: സംബോധനാ വിഭക്തി (sambōdhanā vibhakti) — case of address
  • Mongolian: дуудахын тийн ялгал (duudaxyn tiin jalgal) — case of address
  • Norwegian: vokativ — case of address
  • Polish: wołacz — case of address
  • Portuguese: vocativo — case of address
  • Romanian: vocativ — case of address
  • Romanian: cazul vocativ — case of address
  • Russian: зва́тельный паде́ж (zvátelʹnyj padéž) — case of address
  • Scottish Gaelic: tuiseal gairmeach — case of address
  • Serbo-Croatian: вокатив — case of address
  • Serbo-Croatian: vokativ — case of address
  • Slovak: piaty pád — case of address
  • Slovak: vokatív — case of address
  • Slovene: zvalnik — case of address
  • Slovene: vokativ — case of address
  • Spanish: caso vocativo — case of address
  • Spanish: vocativo — case of address
  • Swedish: vokativ — case of address
  • Tamil: விளி (viḷi) — case of address
  • Tamil: விளி வேற்றுமை (viḷi vēṟṟumai) — case of address
  • Tamil: எட்டாம் வேற்றுமை (eṭṭām vēṟṟumai) — case of address
  • Telugu: సంబోధనా ప్రథమా విభక్తి (sambōdhanā prathamā vibhakti) — case of address
  • Turkish: vokatif — case of address
  • Turkish: seslenmelik — case of address
  • Ukrainian: кли́чний відмі́нок (klýčnyj vidmínok) — case of address
  • Urdu: پتہ (patā) — case of address
  • Volapük: kimofal — case of address
  • Volapük: vokatif — case of address
  • Welsh: cyfarchol — case of address