It’s time to get to know “you”! Saying “you” in German is slightly more complicated than in English, but what an important word it is.
It won’t surprise you that the word “you”’ is one of the most commonly used words in English. It’s equally as common in German, but there are seven different ways to say “you”.
The Coffee Break German Show is a podcast series of bite-sized, friendly conversations, in which we demystify tricky German language topics. In the latest episode, Mark and Thomas look at how to say “you” when you are in conversation with a German speaker.
Continue reading to find out more and why not listen to the podcast as you go?
The 7 ways to say “you”
First things first, what are the seven forms of “you” in German?
You might know about du, Sie and ihr. However, another four arise because of the different cases in German. These are: dir, dich, euch and Ihnen.
What is the formal “you” in German?
The formal forms of “you” are Sie (nominative), Sie (accusative) and Ihnen.
Note that this formal form of “you” always has a capital S-, or capital I- for Ihnen. It can be distinguished from the word for “she” and “they”, sie, which always has a lower case s- (apart from at the beginning of a sentence).
Sie – nominative
Sie can be used as the subject of a sentence, in the nominative case. Here are some example sentences:
Möchten Sie etwas trinken?
Would you like to have something to drink?
Sie sprechen sehr gut Deutsch.
You speak German very well.
Sie – accusative
Sie is also used as an object of a sentence, in the accusative case. For example:
Ich kann Sie gut verstehen.
I can understand you well.
Darf ich Sie etwas fragen?
Can I ask you something?
Ihnen – dative
Ihnen is used as an indirect object, in the dative case. Here are some examples:
Wie geht es Ihnen?
How are you?
Kann ich Ihnen helfen?
Can I help you?
When to use the formal “you”
There are general rules you can follow so you know when to use the correct form of “you” with German speakers (du, Sie or ihr).
The formal form of “you” should be used with:
- people you don’t know very well
- people in the workplace
- people in a position of authority, such as the police
- people who are older than you
Note that there can be some regional differences. Thomas explains in the podcast that in Austria and in southern Germany the du form is more commonly used.
Let’s look at an example context. Imagine you go into an ice cream shop and ask for help. The correct and polite way to address someone in that situation is with the formal form:
Können Sie mir helfen?
Can you help me?
However, if the shop assistant was clearly younger than you, and since it is a relatively informal setting, it would be normal to use du when speaking to the assistant. Indeed, it can be seen as a compliment to someone to address them as du, depending on the setting.
Moving from formal to informal
Once you’ve known someone a little while or the situation has changed to become less formal, you may use the following expression in the transition from Sie to du:
das Du anbieten
to offer the informal “you”
Let’s see this phrase in context in some examples:
Mein Chef hat mir das Du angeboten.
My boss offered that I call him by the informal “you”.
Ich biete dir das Du an. Wir sind gute Freunde.
I am offering that you call me by the informal “you”. We are good friends.
Duzen and siezen
The verb duzen can also be used after das Du anbieten. Duzen means “to use the du form of “you”. For example:
Wir duzen uns.
We are using the informal “you”.
Wir können uns duzen.
We can use the informal “you” with one another.
There is also the verb siezen, which means “to use the Sie form of “you”. Here are some examples:
Sie siezen sich.
They use the formal form of “you”.
Hier in der Arbeit siezen sich alle.
Here at work, everyone uses the formal form of “you”.
A visual summary
We hope that you found this short overview of how and when to use the formal “you” in German useful. If you still have any doubts, the most important thing is not to worry about this – German speakers will still understand you regardless of which form of “you” you use and you will be sure to get more used to this cultural nuance the more you speak the language.
If you found this post interesting, make sure to listen to the full episode with Mark and Thomas on The Coffee Break German Show. This is the series in which we look at a range of topics for German learners, so make sure to subscribe to our podcast feed or our channel on YouTube.
Plus! To get regular free German lessons in your inbox, you can sign up for our short (coffee-break-sized) email lessons that will help you improve your German. You will also hear from Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, giving advice for language learners at any level. Sign up below!
Happy Coffee Breaking!
