{"id":94511,"date":"2023-12-14T15:15:24","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T20:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/you-in-german\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T10:53:01","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T14:53:01","slug":"you-in-german","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/you-in-german\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Say &#8220;You&#8221; in German"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Unlike English, German has three different ways to say &#8220;you.&#8221; How do you know which ones to use? It depends on the situation and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/informal-german\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">who you&#8217;re talking to.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-pronouns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mastering these pronouns<\/a> is crucial, since they indicate the level of formality and respect you intend to convey.<\/p>\n<p>In this blog post, I&#8217;ll show you the various ways to say &#8220;you&#8221; in German: <em>du, ihr\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>Sie<\/em>, and explain when they&#8217;re used.<\/p>\n<p>[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n<h2>3 Ways to Say &#8220;You&#8221; in German<\/h2>\n<p>In German, there are three ways to say &#8220;you&#8221;: <strong><em>du<\/em><\/strong>, <strong><em>Sie<\/em><\/strong> and <strong><em>ihr<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Du<\/em> is used when talking to <strong>one person in informal situations<\/strong>, such as a friend or family member.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><em>Ihr\u00a0<\/em>is also informal, but is used <strong>for more than one person<\/strong>, similar to &#8220;you all&#8221; or &#8220;y&#8217;all&#8221;.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><em>Sie<\/em> is the <strong>formal way to address someone,<\/strong> commonly used in professional or respectful settings. This is used for<strong> just one person <\/strong>as well as<strong> groups of people.<\/strong>\n<p>When in doubt, especially in more formal or professional settings, it&#8217;s often safer to use the formal <em>Sie<\/em> until a more familiar tone is established.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So when choosing which pronoun to use, you need to think about your level of familiarity with the person or people you&#8217;re addressing and whether you&#8217;re talking to just one person or multiple people.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>How to Use the 3 Forms of &#8220;You&#8221; in German<\/h2>\n<h3>How and When to Use <em>d<\/em><em>u<\/em><\/h3>\n<p><em>Du<\/em> is the <strong>informal singular form of addressing someone.<\/strong> It&#8217;s used when speaking to a friend, family member, person of the same age group, child or someone with whom you have a close and familiar relationship.<\/p>\n<p>In casual or informal settings, like at a party or a social gathering, using <em>du<\/em> with everyone would be appropriate.<\/p>\n<p>If you have a close and friendly relationship with your colleagues, or even just a casual work environment, you might also use <em>du<\/em> in the workplace.<\/p>\n<p>When using\u00a0<em>du\u00a0<\/em>you need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-present-tense\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">conjugate your verbs accordingly<\/a>, so be sure to use the\u00a0<em>du\u00a0<\/em>form of the verb. In the present tense, this means an <em>-st\u00a0<\/em>ending:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Du komm<strong>st<\/strong>, du sieh<strong>st<\/strong>, du sieg<strong>st<\/strong>.<\/em> (You come, you see, you conquer.)<\/p>\n<p>Here are some more examples of using <em>du<\/em>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Hast <strong>du<\/strong> Hunger?<\/em>\u00a0(Are you hungry?)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Hast <strong>du<\/strong> Lust, heute Abend auszugehen?<\/em>\u00a0(Do you feel like going out tonight?)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Kannst <strong>du<\/strong> mir kurz helfen?<\/em>\u00a0(Can you help me quickly?)<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re unsure, there&#8217;s a specific verb you can use to ask if someone would be okay with using the informal &#8220;you&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>K\u00f6nnen wir uns <strong>duzen<\/strong>?<\/em>\u00a0(Can we use <em>du<\/em> with each other?)<\/p>\n<h3>How and When to Use <em>ih<\/em><em>r<\/em><\/h3>\n<p>So,\u00a0<em>du\u00a0<\/em>is just for when talking to one person informally.<\/p>\n<p>But what if you&#8217;re texting a couple of pals to see if they want to grab brunch; asking several family members at thanksgiving if they want extra gravy; telling the whole cast of your thespian peers at college that you just loved their three-hour musical epic?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Well, that&#8217;s where\u00a0<em>ihr\u00a0<\/em>comes in. It&#8217;s exactly the same as\u00a0<em>du\u00a0<\/em>in terms of informality. The only difference is in the number\u2014<strong>if you&#8217;re talking to more than one person, use <em>ihr.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This difference is very much not an optional thing you can ignore\u2014if you use <em>du<\/em> with a group of people, it will sound very odd, and might even invite confusion as to who you&#8217;re talking to. It can help to not think of <em>ihr\u00a0<\/em>as &#8220;you,&#8221; but rather roll out some southern flair and think of it as translating to an informal &#8220;y&#8217;all.&#8221; This way, you&#8217;re less likely to get confused. Yeehaw!<\/p>\n<p>Just as with\u00a0<em>du<\/em>, the main thing to focus on is getting your verb conjugations right.\u00a0<em>Ihr\u00a0<\/em>has its own conjugation pattern in the present tense, usually ending in <em>-t <\/em>and ignoring any of those pesky vowel changes so common in the\u00a0<em>du<\/em> form:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Ihr leb<strong>t<\/strong>, ihr lach<strong>t<\/strong>, ihr lieb<strong>t<\/strong>.<\/em> (Y&#8217;all live, y&#8217;all laugh, y&#8217;all love.)<\/p>\n<p>Here are some more examples:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Was macht <strong>ihr<\/strong> heute Abend?<\/em> (What are y&#8217;all doing tonight?)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>K\u00f6nnt <strong>ihr<\/strong> mir beim Umzug helfen?<\/i> (Can you guys help me with moving?)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>Habt <strong>ihr<\/strong> Lust, am Samstag ins Kino zu gehen?<\/i> (Do y&#8217;all fancy going to the movies on Saturday?)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Wie kommt <strong>ihr<\/strong> zur Party?<\/em> (How are you guys getting to the party?)<\/p>\n<h3>The difference between <em>Ihr<\/em> and <em>ihr<\/em><\/h3>\n<p>As discussed above,\u00a0<em>ihr\u00a0<\/em>is the informal &#8220;you&#8221; for a group of people.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But be careful not to unnecessarily capitalize it, as this creates a whole different meaning!\u00a0Capitalized <em>Ihr\u00a0<\/em>is the formal version of &#8220;your&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Wir bitten um <strong>Ihr<\/strong> Verst\u00e4ndis. <\/em>(We ask for your understanding.)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So if you mean to say &#8220;you&#8221; informally to a group, unless it&#8217;s at the beginning of a sentence, you should never capitalize it:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>Wo wohnt <strong>ihr<\/strong>?<\/i> (What are y&#8217;all doing tonight?)<\/p>\n<p>The word\u00a0<em>ihr\u00a0<\/em>is particularly tricky in German, as it can have even more meanings:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lower case <em>ihr<\/em> is the third person plural possessive pronoun\u2014 equivalent to \u201ctheir.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The feminine third person singular possessive pronoun\u2014equivalent to \u201cher.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The feminine third person singular personal pronoun in the dative case, the German equivalent of \u201cher\u201d as an indirect object.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In one\u00a0<em>ihr\u00a0<\/em>and out the other? Don&#8217;t fret, we&#8217;ve got a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-ihr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">whole article on the word\u00a0<em>ihr<\/em><\/a> to set you right!<\/p>\n<h3>How and When to Use <em>Sie<\/em><\/h3>\n<p><em>Sie<\/em> in German serves as <strong>the formal equivalent of &#8220;you&#8221; in English.<\/strong> This form of address is characterized by its use in more formal or polite contexts, such as when interacting with strangers, elders or in professional settings.<\/p>\n<p>When using the capitalized <em>Sie<\/em> as the formal pronoun, the accompanying verb is conjugated in the third person plural form,\u00a0 with an &#8211;<em><strong>en <\/strong><\/em>ending, like this:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><strong>K\u00f6nnen<\/strong> <strong>Sie<\/strong> mir bitte helfen?<\/em>\u00a0(Can you please help me?)<\/p>\n<p>Luckily, in the present tense, this is always the same as the <strong>infinitive <\/strong>(how you&#8217;ll find the verb in the dictionary) so no extra verb conjugations to learn here.<\/p>\n<p>You can use\u00a0<em>Sie\u00a0<\/em>as both singular and plural, similar to &#8220;all of you&#8221; or &#8220;you all&#8221; when addressing a group of people in a formal context.<\/p>\n<p>The choice between the informal <em>du<\/em> and the formal <em>Sie<\/em> depends on the level of familiarity and the social context, with <em>Sie<\/em> generally being the preferred and more respectful option in formal or professional interactions.<\/p>\n<p>Basically, if you don&#8217;t know a person well, it&#8217;s best to err on the safe side and use <em>Sie.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>And if you&#8217;re really unsure, just as with\u00a0<em>du<\/em>, there&#8217;s a specific verb you can use to ask:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Sollten wir den Chef <strong>siezen<\/strong><\/em><em>?<\/em> (Should we use <em>Sie <\/em>with the boss?)<\/p>\n<div>Here are some more examples of where to use\u00a0<em>Sie<\/em>:<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Kommen <strong>Sie<\/strong> zum Meeting?<\/em> (Are you coming to the meeting?)<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>M\u00f6chten <strong>Sie<\/strong> etwas zu trinken?<\/em> (Would you like something to drink?)<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>K\u00f6nnen <strong>Sie<\/strong> uns ein gutes Restaurant empfehlen?<\/em> (Can you recommend us a good restaurant?)<\/div>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Wissen <strong>Sie<\/strong>, wo die Bibliothek ist?<\/em>\u00a0(Do you know where the library is?)<\/p>\n<h4>The difference between <em>Sie<\/em> and <em>sie&#8221;<\/em><\/h4>\n<p>Just like with <em>ihr<\/em> and <em>Ihr<\/em>, you need to watch out for your capitals with <em>Sie <\/em>and <em>sie.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The words might look the same, but they have two very different meanings:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>sie<\/em> (pronoun, third person singular): This form of <em>sie<\/em> is a third person singular pronoun, meaning &#8220;she&#8221; in English.\n<p>For example: <em>Ich habe <strong>sie<\/strong> gestern im Park gesehen.<\/em> (I saw <strong>her<\/strong> in the park yesterday.)<\/li>\n<li><em>Sie<\/em> (pronoun, formal second person, singular and plural): As we&#8217;ve seen above, when capitalized, <em>Sie<\/em> becomes the formal &#8220;you.&#8221; Look what happens to the meaning of our example sentence when we add a capital:\u00a0\n<p>For example: <em>Ich habe <strong>Sie<\/strong> gestern im Park gesehen.<\/em> (I saw\u00a0<strong>you\u00a0<\/strong>(formal) in the park yesterday.)\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What a difference a capital makes! Of course, when speaking, we can&#8217;t hear capitals, so you just have to use context to figure out which one is meant. Luckily, this is usually quite obvious.<\/p>\n<p>In summary, <em>sie<\/em> without capitalization is &#8220;she,&#8221; while <em>Sie<\/em> with a capital &#8220;S&#8221; is the formal way to say &#8220;you&#8221; to both one person and groups.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>How <em>du, ihr <\/em>and <em>Sie\u00a0<\/em>Change in Different Cases<\/h2>\n<p>To get familiar with how they&#8217;re used, so far we&#8217;ve just looked at examples of each of these different &#8220;you&#8221;s in<strong> the nominative case.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But in German, pronouns like <em>du, Sie<\/em> and <em>ihr<\/em> change based on what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/\">they&#8217;re grammatically &#8220;doing&#8221; in the sentence<\/a>. This is called what &#8220;case&#8221; they&#8217;re in, of which there are four\u2014<strong>the nominative, accusative, dative and genitive.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Luckily, with pronouns, we only need to worry about the first three!<\/p>\n<p>So if these pronouns are\u00a0<em>du, ihr\u00a0<\/em>and <em>Sie <\/em>in the nominative case, what about the accusative and dative? Let&#8217;s have a look at any changes below:<\/p>\n<h3>Accusative Case<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><em>du<\/em> \u2192 <em>dich<\/em>\n<p>Example: <em>Ich liebe <strong>dich<\/strong>!<\/em> (I love <strong>you<\/strong>!)<\/li>\n<li><em>ihr<\/em> \u2192 <em>euch<\/em>\n<p>Example: <em>Ich vermisse <strong>euch<\/strong>!<\/em> (I miss <strong>y&#8217;all<\/strong>!)<\/li>\n<li><em>Sie<\/em> \u2192 <em>Sie<\/em> (no change)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Example: <em>Ich habe <strong>Sie<\/strong> heute Morgen angerufen, Herr Scholz.<\/em> (I called <strong>you<\/strong> this morning, Mr Scholz.)<\/p>\n<h3>Dative Case<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><em>du<\/em> \u2192 <em>dir<\/em>\n<p>Example: <em>Ich gebe <strong>dir<\/strong> meinen Schl\u00fcssel.<\/em> (I&#8217;ll give you my key.)<\/li>\n<li><em>ihr<\/em> \u2192 <em>euch<\/em>\n<p>Example: <i>Ich koche <strong>euch<\/strong> was Leckeres!<\/i> (I&#8217;m cooking something tasty for y&#8217;all!)<\/li>\n<li><em>Sie<\/em> \u2192 <em>Ihnen<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Example: Ich helfe <strong>Ihnen<\/strong> gerne, Frau M\u00fcller!<\/em> (I&#8217;ll gladly help <strong>you<\/strong>, Mrs Muller!)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Understanding these changes is crucial for constructing grammatically correct sentences in German and ensuring that the pronouns align with the respective cases in various contexts.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Hey you, you and you! You now know which form of German &#8220;you&#8221; to use in any situation, no matter who you&#8217;re talking to.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>And One More Thing...<\/h2>\r\n<p>\r\nWant to know the key to learning German effectively?\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nIt's using the right content and tools, <strong><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">like FluentU has to offer<\/a><\/strong>! Browse hundreds of videos, take endless quizzes and master the German language faster than you've ever imagine! \r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2005\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/German-5.jpg\" alt=\"learn-german-with-videos\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nWatching a fun video, but having trouble understanding it? <strong>FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive subtitles.<\/strong>\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2006\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/German-2.jpg\" alt=\"learn-german-with-interactive-videos\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nYou can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don't know, you can add it to a vocabulary list.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2007\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/German-6.jpg\" alt=\"learn-conversational-german-with-subtitled-dialogue\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nAnd FluentU isn't just for watching videos. It's a complete platform for learning. It's designed to effectively teach you all the vocabulary from any video. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you're on.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2008\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/German-7.png\" alt=\"practice-german-with-adaptive-quizzes\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nThe best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you're learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it\u2019s time to review what you\u2019ve learned.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nStart using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unlike English, German has three different ways to say &#8220;you.&#8221; How do you know which ones to use? It depends on the situation and who you&#8217;re talking to. Mastering these&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":251145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"How to Say \"You\" in German | FluentU German Blog","description":"How do you use the different forms of \"you\" in German? Mastering the German pronouns \"du,\" \"Sie\" and \"ihr\" is essential for navigating German conversations. Use our guide to the German \"you\" to figure out how to use these small but important words correctly in formal and informal settings."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[525,530,532],"tags":[],"coauthors":[169],"class_list":["post-94511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-german","category-grammar","category-parts-of-speech-grammar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94511"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254452,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94511\/revisions\/254452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94511"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=94511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}