German Personal Pronouns (ich, du, er, sie, es)
After this lesson you can use the right word for I, you, he, she, it, we and they.
Übungen
Eight exercises on what you just watched. Get 80% and the lesson is marked done and added to your A1 progress.
1 / 8 · Type the missing word
2 / 8 · Type the missing word
3 / 8 · Word order
Put the words in the right order.
I am Mario.
4 / 8 · Word order
Put the words in the right order.
You are very kind.
5 / 8 · Choose
Which pronoun means "I"?
6 / 8 · Choose
Which pronoun means "we"?
7 / 8 · Choose
Which is the formal "you"?
8 / 8 · Choose
Which "you" do you use for several friends?
In short
The German personal pronouns are ich (I), du (you), er/sie/es (he/she/it), wir (we), ihr (you plural) and sie/Sie (they / you formal). German has three words for "you" — du, ihr and Sie — and picking the right one matters more than any other choice here.
How it works
Pronouns are the hooks every verb ending hangs on, so it is worth spending real time here: get these wrong and every conjugation you learn afterwards lands on the wrong peg.
The complication for English speakers is that German splits "you" three ways. Du is one person you know — a friend, a relative, a child, a colleague you are close to. Ihr is more than one of those people. Sie, always capitalised, is the formal form and works for one person or many: strangers, officials, shop staff, anyone noticeably older.
The other trap is sie, which does triple duty. Lower-case sie is "she" when the verb is singular (sie ist) and "they" when the verb is plural (sie sind). Capital-S Sie is the formal "you" and always takes the plural verb form. In speech the capital is inaudible, so context and the verb ending are what tell you which one is meant. Note also that er, sie and es refer to grammatical gender, not biological: a table is er, a lamp is sie, a girl (das Mädchen) is es.
| German | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ich | I | lower-case, unlike English "I" |
| du | you | one person, informal |
| er | he / it | for der nouns |
| sie | she / it | for die nouns |
| es | it | for das nouns |
| wir | we | |
| ihr | you | more than one, informal |
| sie | they | plural |
| Sie | you | formal — always capitalised |
| Form | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| du | one friend, relative, child | Wie heißt du? |
| ihr | several friends, relatives, children | Wie heißt ihr? |
| Sie | strangers, officials, staff — one or many | Wie heißen Sie? |
| Noun | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| der Tisch | er | Er ist neu. |
| die Lampe | sie | Sie ist kaputt. |
| das Fenster | es | Es ist offen. |
| das Mädchen | es | Es ist zehn Jahre alt. |
Examples
- Ich bin Mario.I am Mario.
- Du bist sehr nett.You are very kind.
- Er kommt aus Berlin.He is from Berlin.
- Sie ist Ärztin.She is a doctor.
- Es ist kalt heute.It is cold today.
- Wir wohnen in Wien.We live in Vienna.
- Ihr seid zu spät.You are too late. (plural)
- Sie arbeiten hier.They work here.
- Wie heißen Sie?What is your name? (formal)
- Der Tisch? Er ist neu.The table? It is new.
Mistakes to avoid
✗ Ich (capitalised mid-sentence)
✓ ich
German does not capitalise "I". Only Sie, the formal you, gets a capital in the middle of a sentence.
✗ Using du with a stranger
✓ Using Sie
Being slightly too formal goes unnoticed; being too familiar reads as rude. Wait to be offered du.
✗ Calling a table "it" — es
✓ Calling it er
Der Tisch is masculine, so it is er. Pronouns follow the noun's article, not whether the thing is alive.
✗ Using ihr for one person
✓ Using du
Ihr is plural only. For a single friend it is always du.
Wortschatz
The words from this lesson.
| ich | I | |
| du | you (one, informal) | |
| er | he, it | |
| sie | she, it; they | |
| es | it | |
| wir | we | |
| ihr | you (plural, informal) | |
| Sie | you (formal) | |
| duzen | to say du to someone | |
| siezen | to say Sie to someone |
Kulturnotiz
The move from Sie to du is a small social event with its own phrase: Wir können uns duzen — "we can say du to each other". It is normally offered by the older or more senior person, and once offered it does not go back. Workplaces vary enormously: a Berlin startup will be du from the first minute, a bank or a Behörde will be Sie for years.
Common questions
+Why does German have three words for "you"?
Because it marks both number and formality. Du is one person informally, ihr is several informally, Sie is formal for any number. English lost this distinction when "thou" fell out of use.
+How do I tell sie (she), sie (they) and Sie (you) apart?
By the verb and the context. Sie ist = she is (singular verb). Sie sind = they are or you are. In writing the capital marks the formal you; in speech only context does.
+Why is a table er and not es?
Because pronouns follow the noun's grammatical gender. Der Tisch is masculine, so it is er. Das Mädchen is neuter, so a girl is es — grammar, not biology.
+When can I switch from Sie to du?
When it is offered — usually by the older or more senior person, with Wir können uns duzen. Offering it upward yourself is a misstep in traditional workplaces, though far less so in younger ones.