German has nine personal pronouns, and three of them are spelled almost identically. Sie sind can mean "they are," "you are" said politely to one stranger, or "you are" said politely to a whole room — and in speech there is no visible capital letter to help you.
It sounds like a problem. In practice it's one of the easiest things in the language, because context does nearly all the work and the verb tells you the rest. Here's the whole system.
The Nine Pronouns
I
ich
you (one person, informal)
du
he
er
she
sie
it
es
we
wir
you (several people, informal)
ihr
they
sie
you (polite, one or many)
Sie
Practice these words
ich
Quick notes:
- Ich is only capitalised at the start of a sentence — unlike English "I." Sie in the polite sense is capitalised always, wherever it sits.
- Ihr means "you lot." It's what a teacher says to a class or you say to two friends. It is not the plural of Sie; polite Sie already covers one person or twenty.
- German has no equivalent of "you guys" that's safe in an office. If you're addressing several colleagues you don't know well, it's Sie.
The Three Uses of sie
This is the only genuinely confusing part, and it takes one table to clear up.
| Form | Meaning | The verb that follows |
|---|---|---|
sie | she | ist, hat, kommt (singular) |
sie | they | sind, haben, kommen (plural) |
Sie | you (polite) | sind, haben, kommen (plural) |
Quick notes:
- The verb separates "she" from "they" instantly: sie ist can only be "she is," sie sind can only be "they are" or "you are."
- Written German removes all doubt with the capital letter. In email, getting this wrong is noticeable — Ich habe sie gesehen is "I saw her," Ich habe Sie gesehen is "I saw you."
- Polite Sie always takes the same verb form as "they." Learn one, get both.
- The related possessives follow the same pattern: ihr (her/their), Ihr (your, polite). Ihre Unterlagen on a letter from the Amt means your documents.
When a Table Is a "He"
In English, objects are "it." In German, objects take the pronoun that matches their article — and since every noun has a gender, a table can be a "he" and a girl can be an "it."
| Noun | Article | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
Tisch (table) | der | er | Der Tisch? Er ist neu. |
Lampe (lamp) | die | sie | Die Lampe? Sie ist kaputt. |
Auto (car) | das | es | Das Auto? Es ist alt. |
Mädchen (girl) | das | es | grammatically es, though people often say sie |
Quick note: this is the practical reason German gender is worth learning — not for the article alone, but because the pronoun follows it through the whole conversation. Our definite article lesson covers which nouns take der, die and das.
Pronouns in Real Sentences
Pronouns change shape when they're on the receiving end of an action. You don't need the grammar behind that yet — you need these sentences, which you'll hear on your first day.
How are you? (informal)
Wie geht es dir?
How are you? (polite)
Wie geht es Ihnen?
Can you help me?
Kannst du mir helfen?
I don't understand you.
Ich verstehe Sie nicht.
I'll call you later.
Ich rufe dich später an.
It's cold. (literally: to me it is cold)
Mir ist kalt.
Give me two, please.
Geben Sie mir bitte zwei.
I love you.
Ich liebe dich.
Practice these words
Wie geht es dir?
Quick note: mir, dir, mich, dich, Ihnen are the forms hiding behind those phrases. Learn them as whole sentences first — you'll pick the pattern up faster from use than from a grammar table, and these eight cover most daily situations.
du or Sie?
The short version: Sie with anyone you'd address by surname, du with friends, family, children, and colleagues who've offered it.
Use Sie at the Bürgeramt, the bank, the doctor's desk, with your landlord, with shop staff and with new colleagues. Use du with people your own age in casual settings, in most startups and creative offices, and with anyone who says wir können uns duzen — that's the invitation, and it's usually the older or more senior person who offers it.
Getting it wrong in the polite direction costs nothing. Calling your Hausverwaltung du costs a little goodwill you may want later.
Three Mistakes to Avoid
Writing sie when you mean Sie. In emails to an Amt, a landlord or a customer, the lowercase version says "her" or "them." It's the most common mistake in written German by non-natives, and spellcheck won't catch it.
Using es for every object. Wo ist mein Schlüssel? — Es ist in der Tasche sounds wrong to a German ear. It's der Schlüssel, so it's er.
Reaching for ihr as the plural of Sie. Ihr is the informal plural. In a meeting with three clients, it's Sie, no matter how many people are in the room.