Personal pronouns and formal Sie

In brief

German personal pronouns name who is doing something: ich (I), du (you, one person), er (he), sie (she), es (it), wir (we), ihr (you, several people), and sie (they). Use capitalized Sie to address someone politely, whether one person or several. Unlike English you, German distinguishes familiar du and ihr from formal Sie.

Form

Subject + matching verb: ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist, wir sind, ihr seid, sie/Sie sind.

Usage

• Use du with one person you know well, and ihr with several people you know well.
• Use Sie in polite or professional situations; its verb has the same form as sie meaning ‘they’.
• Capital letters distinguish formal Sie from sie (‘she’ or ‘they’) except at the beginning of a sentence, where context helps.

Examples

• Ich bin neu hier. — I’m new here.
• Er wohnt in Berlin. — He lives in Berlin.
• Wir lernen Deutsch. — We’re learning German.
• Sind Sie Frau Müller? — Are you Ms. Müller?

Common mistake

❌ Sie bist müde.

✅ Sie sind müde.

Formal Sie takes a plural-form verb, even when you are speaking to just one person.

Remember

Formal Sie is always capitalized and pairs with the same verb form as sie meaning ‘they’.