German Subject Pronouns: ich, du, er/sie/es — and du vs Sie
Learn the German nominative personal pronouns used as subjects, why sie/Sie has three meanings, and when to say the informal du versus the formal Sie.
German subject pronouns replace the person or thing doing the action. Here is the full set:
| Pronoun | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich | I |
| du | you (informal, one person) |
| er / sie / es | he / she / it |
| wir | we |
| ihr | you (informal, plural) |
| sie | they |
| Sie | you (formal) |
The tricky form is sie/Sie. Lower-case sie means she (singular) or they (plural); capitalised Sie means the polite you. The verb tells them apart: sie ist = she is, but sie sind = they are, and Sie sind = you (formal) are.
The du vs Sie choice matters socially. Use du with family, friends, and children. Use Sie with strangers, older people, and in shops or offices. Unlike English, which has one you, German forces you to choose the right level of respect.
Note: ich is only capitalised at the start of a sentence, but Sie (formal you) is always capitalised.
Examples
Ich bin der Vater.
I am the father.
Du bist mein Freund.
You are my friend.
Sie ist die Mutter.
She is the mother.
Sind Sie der Lehrer?
Are you (formal) the teacher?
Wir sind eine Familie.
We are a family.
Common mistakes
For an informal 'you' (one friend), use du, not Sie. Also, du takes bist, while Sie takes sind.
At the start of a sentence, ich must be capitalised like any first word. (In mid-sentence ich stays lower-case, unlike the always-capital Sie.)
'They' (plural sie) needs the plural verb sind, not the singular ist.
Related topics
Practice
Woher kommst ___? — Aus Berlin, sagt meine Freundin Anna.
Herr Meier, ___ sind sehr freundlich. Vielen Dank!
Das ist Tom. ___ ist mein Bruder und wohnt in Köln.