What you’ll be able to do
By the end of this lesson, you will refer to yourself, one other person, and groups of people using the correct German pronoun — and you will know when to use the formal Sie instead of the informal du. You will also spot these pronouns in a real A1-level German text.
The idea
Personal pronouns are small words that replace nouns. Instead of saying “Maria is tired,” you say “She is tired.” In German, these pronouns change depending on who you are talking about and whether you are speaking to someone formally or informally.
This lesson covers the nominative case — the form you use when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence, the person doing the action. You have already seen these in earlier lessons with sein and haben. Now you will learn the full set.
German has two words for “you”: du (informal, for friends, family, children) and Sie (formal, for strangers, colleagues, officials). Choosing the wrong one can feel awkward, so this lesson explains the rule clearly.
See it in German
Here are the nominative personal pronouns with examples you can use today:
- Ich bin in Deutschland. (I am in Germany.)
- Du bist mein Nachbar. (You are my neighbour.)
- Er ist Lehrer. (He is a teacher.)
- Sie ist Ärztin. (She is a doctor.)
- Es ist mein Kind. (It is my child.)
- Wir sind aus Spanien. (We are from Spain.)
- Ihr seid meine Freunde. (You [plural informal] are my friends.)
- Sie sind in Berlin. (They are in Berlin.)
- Sie sind mein Lehrer. (You [formal] are my teacher.)
Notice that Sie (formal “you”) always takes a capital S and uses the same verb form as sie (they). Context tells you which one is meant. The informal plural ihr is used for groups of people you know well — friends, classmates, family.
The du vs Sie rule
Use Sie with anyone you would address by title and surname: your boss, a shop assistant, a police officer, a neighbour you have just met. Use du with friends, children, family members, and classmates once you know them.
In practice, the older or more senior person offers the du. A colleague might say: “Wir können uns duzen.” (We can say “du” to each other.) Until that offer comes, stay with Sie. Using du too early can feel disrespectful; staying with Sie too long can feel cold. When in doubt, start formal.
Some settings are shifting. In tech startups and among younger professionals, du is often the default from day one. In government offices, banks, and with anyone over 50 you do not know, Sie is still expected.
Read it in the wild
Now you will find these pronouns in a real German text. This site publishes every article in an A1–A2 version with a vocabulary box — that is your practice material.
Your task: Open any A1 article on this site (for example, a piece on daily life or bureaucracy). Read the first paragraph and highlight every personal pronoun you find: ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, Sie. Ask yourself: who does each one refer to? Is Sie formal or plural? Check your guesses against the context.
This is how you build the habit of reading for grammar, not just vocabulary. You already know these pronouns. Seeing them in a real paragraph makes them stick.
Common mistakes
Here are the errors learners make most often with personal pronouns:
- Using du with strangers. Saying “Du bist…” to a reception officer or a new colleague feels too familiar. Use Sie until invited to switch.
- Forgetting that Sie is capitalised. “sie ist” means “she is.” “Sie ist” means “you are” (formal) or “they are.” The capital letter matters.
- Confusing ihr (you plural) and ihr (her). “Ihr seid” = you (plural) are. “Ihr Buch” = her book. The verb form tells you which is which.
- Using es for people. Es is for things and animals, not for adults. Say “Er ist mein Bruder” (He is my brother), not “Es ist mein Bruder.”
- Skipping the Sie offer in professional settings. If a German colleague says “Duz mich bitte” (Please say “du” to me), accept it. Refusing can seem unfriendly.
Where you are now
You have just finished Lesson 10 of 49. In the previous lesson, Sein and Haben: The Two Verbs You Need First, you learned the most important German verbs. Now you can combine those verbs with the full set of personal pronouns to build real sentences. Next, in Introduce Yourself in German, you will put all of this together and say who you are, where you are from, and what you do — out loud, in German.
