Ways to say it
| German |
|---|
| ich vermisse dich |
| du fehlst mir |
Both phrases express the feeling of missing someone, but they carry different emotional weights. du fehlst mir is often considered more profound or emotional, while ich vermisse dich can sometimes be used in a more casual way.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase du fehlst mir literally translates to "you are missing to me", where fehlen means "to be missing" or "to be lacking".
Which one should you use?
While both mean "I miss you", ich vermisse dich uses a transitive verb (to miss someone), whereas du fehlst mir uses an intransitive construction where the person being missed is the subject.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Bavarian dialect, you can say Es foid mia bleed, dass'd ned do bist. to mean "I miss you".
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase ich vermisse dich, the person feeling the loss is the subject (ich) and the person being missed is in the accusative case (dich).
Did you know?
- In some German contexts, fehlen is used in a formal setting to report an employee's absence from work.
- The word mir in some German dialects can actually mean 'we' instead of 'me'. This is a result of an old way of contracting the words 'wir' and 'wir' after a verb.
- In the phrase du fehlst mir, the verb fehlen can also be used to describe a missing piece of a puzzle or a missing tool.
Examples in context
- Du fehlst mir sehr.I miss you badly.This sentence uses du fehlst mir.Tatoeba #527924 by Manfredo, translation #18051 by Zifre
- Du fehlst mir auch.I miss you, too.Tatoeba #6643907 by Felixjp, translation #3819144 by CK
- Ich vermisse dich sehr.I miss you very much.This sentence uses ich vermisse dich.Tatoeba #607221 by virgil, translation #18053 by CK
- Ich vermisse dich so sehr! Unsere gemeinsamen Abenteuer fehlen mir.I miss you so much! I miss our adventures together.
- Es foid mia bleed, dass'd ned do bist, Oma.I miss you, Grandma. Bavarian dialect
- 27 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maximilian and Julia are talking on the phone while living in different cities.
- MaximilianHallo Julia, ich vermisse dich.Hello Julia, I miss you.
- JuliaIch vermisse dich auch, Maximilian.I miss you too, Maximilian.
- MaximilianWann sehen wir uns wieder?When will we see each other again?
- JuliaSchon bald, mein Schatz.Very soon, my darling.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “i miss you” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
