Personal Pronouns: ich, du, Sie
A1Who is who in a German sentence — and the difference between du and Sie, the most socially loaded choice in the language.
The full set
German pronouns are compact and regular. Note that 'sie' has two meanings depending on position and capitalization: 'Sie' (capital S) is formal you, 'sie' is she or they. Context and the verb ending will tell you which.
| Person | Pronoun | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | ich | I |
| 2nd sg. | du | you (informal) |
| 3rd sg. | er / sie / es | he / she / it |
| 1st pl. | wir | we |
| 2nd pl. | ihr | you all (informal) |
| formal | Sie | you (formal, singular and plural) |
| 3rd pl. | sie | they |
Beispiele — examples in context
Sie sind Herr Müller? — Ja, das bin ich.
You are Mr. Müller? — Yes, that's me.
Wir wohnen in Berlin, und sie wohnen in Wien.
We live in Berlin, and they live in Vienna.
du vs. Sie: the social minefield
Use 'du' with friends, family, children, and increasingly in startups. Use 'Sie' with strangers, officials, and anyone senior — until they offer the du ('Wir können du sagen'). If in doubt, 'Sie' never offends; the wrong 'du' can. Germans even have a verb for the switch: 'duzen'.
Beispiele — examples in context
Entschuldigung, haben Sie kurz Zeit?
Excuse me, do you have a moment?
Hey, hast du kurz Zeit?
Hey, do you have a moment?
er, sie, es — even for things
Pronouns for objects follow grammatical gender, not common sense: 'der Tisch' becomes 'er', 'die Lampe' becomes 'sie', 'das Auto' becomes 'es'. Your first instinct will be wrong about 40% of the time — that's normal, and it fades fast.
Beispiele — examples in context
Wo ist der Schlüssel? — Er liegt auf dem Tisch.
Where is the key? — It is on the table.
Ist die Milch frisch? — Ja, sie ist frisch.
Is the milk fresh? — Yes, it is fresh.
Pro tip: man, the mystery German
'man' (lowercase, one n) means 'one/people in general' and it conjugates like er/sie/es: 'Wie schreibt man das?' (How is that written?). It is everywhere in daily life and instantly makes your questions sound native — you'll hear it in every shop, class, and office.
Beispiele — examples in context
Wie sagt man das auf Deutsch?
How do you say that in German?
Hier kann man gut essen.
You can eat well here. / One eats well here.