Personal pronouns in German: an overview
- Personal pronouns replace people: ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie, Sie.
- You need them in almost every sentence: to introduce yourself, greet, talk about others.
- On A1 level, focus on:
– Who am I? → ich
– Who are you? (informal / formal) → du / Sie
– Who are we, you (plural), they? → wir, ihr, sie
| English |
German (subject form) |
Use |
| I |
ich |
for yourself |
| you (informal, 1 person) |
du |
friends, family, close colleagues |
| he / she / it |
er / sie / es |
1 other person or thing |
| we |
wir |
you + at least one other person |
| you (plural, informal) |
ihr |
speaking to several people you duzen |
| they |
sie |
several other people |
| you (formal, 1 or many) |
Sie |
polite form, 1 or more people |
Step 1 – Spot the three different "sie"
German has three different words written as “sie/Sie”. Context and capital letter tell you which one it is.
| Form |
Meaning |
Verb form (example) |
Example sentence |
| sie |
she |
3rd person singular
sie arbeitet |
Sie heißt Anna. Sie arbeitet in Berlin. |
| sie |
they |
3rd person plural
sie arbeiten |
Sie sind Ingenieure. Sie arbeiten in Berlin. |
| Sie |
you (formal, 1 or many) |
3rd person plural form
Sie arbeiten |
Guten Tag, Frau Becker. Arbeiten Sie in Berlin? |
- Key visual cue: polite Sie is always written with a capital S in the middle of a sentence.
- Grammatically, polite Sie uses the same verb form as sie = they.
- “sie = she” uses the singular verb form.
Mini check (just think, no need to write):
- Sie wohnen in Berlin. → “you (formal)” or “they”? (Look at context / situation.)
- Sie wohnt in Berlin. → Verb is singular → “she”.
Step 2 – "du" or "Sie"? (formal vs informal)
In German, choosing du or Sie is very important for politeness and distance.
- du = informal, one person
- Sie = formal, one or more persons, always capital S
Typical use of du
- family, partner
- friends
- younger people you know well
- close colleagues in a “du” culture (start-ups, informal teams)
Typical use of Sie
- people you meet for the first time in a professional context
- older people you do not know well
- customers, clients, superiors
- in shops, offices, hotels, authorities
Rule of thumb
- In doubt: use Sie.
- Switch to du only when the other person offers it:
„Wollen wir du sagen?“ – „Ja, gerne.“
Step 3 – Watch the capital letter in "Sie" and "Ihnen"
In the polite form, not only Sie but also the other forms are capitalized.
| Case / function |
Informal you (du) |
Formal you (Sie) |
Example |
| Subject |
du |
Sie |
Du kommst aus Rom. / Sie kommen aus Rom. |
| Indirect object |
dir |
Ihnen |
Wie geht es dir? / Wie geht es Ihnen? |
- Always write a capital letter for polite forms: Sie, Ihnen, Ihr (your).
ihnen (lowercase) is not polite “you” in standard modern usage.
Practical tip
- If you are writing an email to a client or professor: check every Sie / Ihnen / Ihr and make sure it is capitalized.
Step 4 – Who is speaking? (ich, wir, du, ihr)
To choose the correct pronoun, ask: Who is doing the action?
- ich – only you, speaking about yourself
Ich bin neu im Team.
- wir – you + at least one other person
Wir kommen aus London.
- du – speaking to one person you know well
Du sprichst sehr gut Englisch.
- ihr – speaking to several people you use du with
Ihr arbeitet heute im Homeoffice.
Common confusion: wir / ihr / sie
- wir = we, speaker is in the group.
- ihr = you (plural informal), speaker is not in the group.
- sie = they, speaker is talking about them, not to them.
| Person |
Pronoun |
Example |
| we |
wir |
Wir haben heute viele Meetings. |
| you (plural, informal) |
ihr |
Ihr beginnt den Kurs um neun. |
| they |
sie |
Sie arbeiten schon lange zusammen. |
Step 5 – Typical office situations: which pronoun?
Imagine you are at work in Germany. Which pronoun is natural?
- New colleague, formal company culture
– Guten Morgen, Frau Becker. Wie geht es Ihnen? → Sie / Ihnen
- International start-up, everyone says du
– Hallo, ich bin Marco. Und wer bist du? → ich / du
- Speaking to your whole team (informal)
– Ihr könnt mich jederzeit fragen. → ihr
- Speaking about your team
– Wir sehen uns morgen im Büro. → wir
Self-check – decide quickly (mentally):
- Client you do not know well: du or Sie?
- Two close colleagues at lunch: speak to them with du or ihr?
- Introduce yourself in a formal meeting: start with Ich or Wir?
Step 6 – Set phrase "Wie geht es dir / Ihnen?"
This is a very frequent pattern. Learn it as a block.
| English |
Informal |
Formal |
| How are you? |
Wie geht es dir? |
Wie geht es Ihnen? |
- Only the last word changes: dir (informal), Ihnen (formal, capital I).
- Reply with mir (to me):
– Mir geht es gut, danke.
Step 7 – Quick mental checklist before you speak
Use these questions right before you choose a pronoun.
- Do I know this person well?
– yes → probably du
– no / professional distance → Sie
- Is it one person or several?
– one → du / Sie
– several informal → ihr
– several, polite → still Sie
- Am I speaking about us, you, or them?
– about myself → ich
– about us → wir
– about other people → er / sie / es / sie
What you should now be able to do
- Recognize and use ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie, Sie correctly as subjects.
- Decide between du and Sie in everyday office situations.
- Write polite forms with a capital letter: Sie, Ihnen, Ihr.
- Understand which “sie/Sie” is meant from verb form and context.
If one of these points still feels unclear, go back to the relevant table, read the examples again, and say them aloud a few times.
