wir
/viːɐ̯/
The English word "we" is translated into German as wir. Wiktionary also lists mia and mir.
Meaning: generic we (the speaker and at least one other person, regardless of whether it's the person being addressed) (pron)
Ways to say it
| German | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| wir | /viːɐ̯/ (standard) /vɐ/ (colloquial) |
|
| mia | [ˈmiːa] (narrow) | |
| mir | /miːɐ̯/ (standard) /mɐ/ (colloquial) |
Alemannic German |
wir refers to a generic "we", meaning the speaker and at least one other person, regardless of whether the person being addressed is included in that group. In colloquial settings, you can use the phrase wir zwei to mean "the two of us".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Alemannic German, the form mir is used.
How does it change in a sentence?
The accusative form of wir is uns.
How do you pronounce it?
/viːɐ̯/
Did you know?
- The dialect form mir for 'we' actually grew out of a grammatical mistake where the ending of a verb was accidentally merged with the word wir.
- In many German dialects, the word mir is used to mean 'we', which sounds identical to the standard German word for 'me'.
- In high-level formal German, the 'royal we' is sometimes used by monarchs or in legal texts, though this is extremely rare in daily conversation.
Examples in context
- So, da wären wir!There we are!Tatoeba #740906 by Dejo, translation #738761 by Darkmaster
- Sind wir bald da?Will we be there soon?Tatoeba #969370 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #2546886 by CK
- Wir sind im Wald.We are in the forest.Tatoeba #1098357 by mhr, translation #1098356 by cntrational
- Wir möchten Ihnen unsere neuen Produkte vorstellen.We would like to present our new products to you.
- Wir sind sehr stolz auf unsere Arbeit.We are very proud of our work.
- Wir sind der Meinung, dass Ihre Firma viel Potenzial hat.We are of the opinion that your company has great potential.
- Wir möchten uns bei Ihnen bedanken.We would like to thank you.
- Wir alle freuen uns auf den Ausflug.All of us are looking forward to the trip.
- Wir zwei möchten gerne eine Pizza bestellen.The two of us would like to order a pizza.
- Wir hatten heute einen tollen Tag am Strand!We had a great day at the beach today!
- 18999 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hannah and Felix are planning their weekend trip.
- HannahWir können am Samstag fahren.We can go on Saturday.
- FelixDas passt mir gut.That suits me well.
- HannahWollen wir mit dem Zug fahren?Do we want to go by train?
- FelixJa, wir fahren mit dem Zug.Yes, we are going by train.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “we” translations and entries wir, mir, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Pronunciation from the Wiktionary entry Mia.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mir, wir, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
