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
Grammatical analysisBase form ichCaseNominativ (nominative)NumberSingular (singular)Person1st person singular (ich)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form seinPerson1st person singular (ich)TensePräsens (present)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form derCaseNominativ (nominative)Gendermaskulin (masculine)NumberSingular (singular)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form VaterCaseNominativ (nominative)Gendermaskulin (masculine)NumberSingular (singular)Checked deterministically before build.
I am the father.
Grammatical analysisBase form duCaseNominativ (nominative)NumberSingular (singular)Person2nd person singular (du)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form seinPerson2nd person singular (du)TensePräsens (present)Checked deterministically before build mein Freund.
You are my friend.
Sie Grammatical analysisBase form seinPerson3rd person singular (er/sie/es)TensePräsens (present)Checked deterministically before build die Mutter.
She is the mother.
Sind Sie der Lehrer?
Are you (formal) the teacher?
Grammatical analysisBase form wirCaseNominativ (nominative)NumberPlural (plural)Person1st person plural (wir)Checked deterministically before build 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.