es
/ɛs/neuter
In German, 'it' is expressed as es, though the form depends on the gender of the object being referenced. Wiktionary also lists er and sie.
Meaning: subject, inanimate thing (pron)
Ways to say it
| German | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| es | /ɛs/ (stressed) /əs/ (unstressed) |
neuter |
| er | /eːr/ (standard) /ɐ/ (colloquial) |
masculine |
| sie | /ziː/ (standard) /zə/ (colloquial) |
feminine |
The pronoun refers to an inanimate thing as a subject. Beyond referring to specific objects, es can also be used as a dummy subject in impersonal expressions, such as Es regnet (It is raining).
Which one should you use?
While English uses 'it' for all inanimate objects, German selects a pronoun based on the grammatical gender of the noun: use er for masculine nouns, sie for feminine nouns and es for neuter nouns.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/ɛs/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use es for all inanimate objects. Instead, you must use the specific pronoun that matches the noun's grammatical gender.
Did you know?
- In German, if you refer to a 'girl' using the word Mädchen, you must use the neuter pronoun es because the noun is grammatically neuter, even though the person is female.
- Because gender is tied to the word and not the object, a table is 'he' er and a door is 'she' sie, meaning 'it' is rarely the correct pronoun for furniture or architecture.
- While English and German both use a word for 'it', the German es comes from the Proto-Germanic *it, whereas the English 'it' descends from *hit.
Examples in context
- Da ist es ja!There it is!This sentence shows how to use es to indicate location.Tatoeba #2351842 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #2259479 by _undertoad
- Es ist gut so.So be it.This sentence uses es as a subject.Tatoeba #753630 by Esperantostern, translation #703846 by Luornu
- Er gab es mir.He gave it to me.This sentence shows how er functions as a subject for a masculine noun.Tatoeba #1314715 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #297511 by CK
- Entschuldigen Sie, wie sagt man das auf Deutsch?Excuse me, how do you say that in German?
- Können Sie mir bitte sagen, wie man das auf Deutsch ausdrückt?Can you please tell me how to express that in German?
- Darf ich fragen, wie man es auf Deutsch sagt?May I ask how to say it in German?
- Könnten Sie das bitte wiederholen?Could you please repeat that?
- Entschuldigen Sie, aber ich habe das nicht verstanden.Excuse me, but I did not understand that.
- Hey, wie sagt man das auf Deutsch?Hey, how do you say that in German?
- Kannst du mir sagen, wie man das auf Deutsch sagt?Can you tell me how to say it in German?
- Weißt du, wie man das auf Deutsch ausdrückt?Do you know how to express that in German?
- Kannst du das nochmal sagen?Can you say that again?
- Sorry, das habe ich nicht verstanden.Sorry, I didn't understand that.
- Viel Glück!Good luck!
- 14023 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maximilian is looking for his new phone on the table.
- MaximilianWo ist mein Handy?Where is my phone?
- LauraSchau mal, es liegt dort!Look, it is lying there!
- MaximilianStimmt, es war fast versteckt.True, it was almost hidden.
- LauraJetzt hast du es ja.Now you have it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “it” translations and entries es, er, sie, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries er, es, sie, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
