ich
/ɪç/
The German phrase ich means "I" in English.
Meaning: personal pronoun (pron)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The pronoun ich changes depending on the grammatical case used in a sentence. In the accusative case, it becomes mich (me) and in the dative case, it becomes mir (me).
How do you pronounce it?
/ɪç/
Did you know?
- The pronoun ich does not have a capitalized version unless it is the first word of a sentence, unlike the English 'I' which is always capitalized.
- German speakers often use the 'dummy' word man instead of ich to make a general statement, which is similar to using 'one' or 'you' in English.
- If you were to look at the way 'I' is used in very old Germanic texts, you might see the form 'ik' instead of the modern 'ich'.
Examples in context
- Ich war oft da.I was often there.This sentence shows how to use ich to describe a past state of being.Tatoeba #970219 by Esperantostern, translation #942450 by spockofvulcan
- Ja, ich mag es.Yes, I love it.This sentence shows how to use ich to express a preference.Tatoeba #1603095 by Esperantostern, translation #924146 by Scott
- Ich aß den Käse.I ate the cheese.This sentence shows how to use ich as the subject of a past tense verb.Tatoeba #631487 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #416554 by Scott
- 19322 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maximilian and Sarah are meeting for the first time.
- MaximilianHallo, ich heiße Maximilian.Hello, my name is Maximilian.
- SarahFreut mich, ich bin Sarah.Nice to meet you, I am Sarah.
- MaximilianWoher kommst du?Where are you from?
- SarahIch komme aus Berlin.I come from Berlin.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “I” translations and entries ich, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
