How to Say “You” in German

Ways to say it

Use du when addressing a single person in an informal or familiar context, such as a close friend, a family member or a younger individual. For addressing a group of people informally, use ihr. In formal or polite contexts, use Sie to address one or more people.

Which one should you use?

du is for a single person in an informal setting, while ihr is for a group of people in an informal setting. Sie is used for both singular and plural address when a formal or polite tone is required. You can also refer to the social practice of using the formal pronoun as siezen.

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

du (and its capitalized form Du) is used for familiar and informal situations. Sie is the formal and polite version, used when addressing elders, strangers or people of authority. The standard informal pronoun du is typically not capitalized.

Related words

The individual or group spoken/written to (det): du, ihr.

To address using the more formal second-person pronoun (verb): siezen.

How does it change in a sentence?

When writing the formal pronoun Sie, it must always be capitalized. In contrast, the informal du is not capitalized.

How do you pronounce it?

/duː/

What mistakes should you avoid?

Be careful not to confuse the formal Sie (you) with the lowercase sie, which means "she" or "they".

When do people say it?

The verb siezen describes the act of using the formal Sie instead of the informal du.