German personal pronouns: ich, mich, mir and the rest
English has I, me and my. German has the same idea with one more case, so I is ich, me is mich or mir, and you can be du, ihr or Sie. Here is the full chart, the subject pronouns with audio, real sentences, and the reflexive and possessive forms that go with them.
The subject pronouns
These are the nominative forms, the ones that do the action. Sie appears three times: she, they, and polite you.
ich
Say it: IKH
I
Lower case, unlike English I.
du
Say it: DOO
you (one person you know well)
er
Say it: AYR
he; it, for a masculine noun
sie
Say it: ZEE
she; it, for a feminine noun
es
Say it: ES
it; for a neuter noun
wir
Say it: VEER
we
ihr
Say it: EER
you (several people you know well)
sie
Say it: ZEE
they
Same word as she: the verb tells them apart (sie ist, sie sind).
Sie
Say it: ZEE
you (polite, one person or several)
Always with a capital S, and always with the they-form of the verb: Sie sind.
Personal pronouns chart: all four cases
| English | Nom.Nominative | Acc.Accusative | Dat.Dative | Gen.Genitive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | ich | mich | mir | meiner |
| you (informal) | du | dich | dir | deiner |
| he | er | ihn | ihm | seiner |
| she | sie | sie | ihr | ihrer |
| it | es | es | ihm | seiner |
| we | wir | uns | uns | unser |
| you (plural) | ihr | euch | euch | euer |
| they | sie | sie | ihnen | ihrer |
| you (formal) | Sie | Sie | Ihnen | Ihrer |
The accusative is the direct object (Ich sehe dich, I see you); the dative is the indirect object and follows dative verbs and prepositions (Ich helfe dir, I help you; mit dir, with you). The genitive column is mostly for reference: it is rare in modern German.
Pronouns in real sentences
The pronoun usually sits right after the verb. Listen for the short words: dir, ihn, ihm and euch are easy to miss at full speed.
Kannst du mir helfen?
Say it: KANST doo meer HEL-fen
Can you help me?
helfen takes the dative: mir, not mich.
Ich rufe dich morgen an.
Say it: ikh ROO-fuh DIKH MOR-gen AN
I'll call you tomorrow.
Wie geht es dir?
Say it: vee GAYT es DEER
How are you?
Ich kenne ihn nicht.
Say it: ikh KEN-nuh EEN nikht
I don't know him.
Gib ihm das Buch!
Say it: GIP EEM das BOOKH
Give him the book!
Ich schreibe ihr eine Nachricht.
Say it: ikh SHRAI-buh EER AI-nuh NAKH-rikht
I'm writing her a message.
Das gefällt uns.
Say it: das guh-FELT UNS
We like that.
Ich sehe euch später.
Say it: ikh ZAY-uh OYKH SHPEH-ter
I'll see you all later.
Das Haus gehört ihnen.
Say it: das HOWS guh-HURT EE-nen
The house belongs to them.
Wir danken Ihnen.
Say it: veer DAN-ken EE-nen
We thank you. (polite)
Du, ihr or Sie?
German has three words for ‘you’. Du is for one person you know well: family, friends, children, and often colleagues of your own age. Ihr is its plural, for a group of them. Sie, always with a capital, is polite and works for one person or many: strangers, shop staff, officials, anyone you would call Herr or Frau.
Switching from Sie to du is a small event. The older or more senior person usually offers it, and then you stay on du. Young people, students and many workplaces use du from the start.
He, she or it? Pronouns follow the noun
German has no separate word for ‘it’ with things. The pronoun copies the gender of the noun it replaces: der Tisch becomes er, die Lampe becomes sie, das Buch becomes es. So Wo ist der Schlüssel? Er ist hier. means Where is the key? It is here.
Reflexive pronouns: mich, dich, sich
For actions you do to yourself. They match the personal pronouns, except that every third person, and polite Sie, uses sich.
| Subject | Accusative | Dative |
|---|---|---|
| ich | mich | mir |
| du | dich | dir |
| er, sie, es | sich | sich |
| wir | uns | uns |
| ihr | euch | euch |
| sie, Sie | sich | sich |
Ich wasche mich (I wash myself) uses the accusative; when there is another object, the reflexive moves to the dative: Ich wasche mir die Hände (I wash my hands).
Possessives: mein, dein, sein
Each personal pronoun has a possessive. They take the same endings as ein: mein Bruder, meine Schwester, mein Kind.
| Pronoun | Possessive | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | mein | my |
| du | dein | your |
| er | sein | his |
| sie | ihr | her |
| es | sein | its |
| wir | unser | our |
| ihr | euer | your (plural) |
| sie | ihr | their |
| Sie | Ihr | your (formal) |
Euer drops its middle e when it takes an ending: eure Kinder, not euere. The case endings are in the German cases chart.
Questions
What are the German personal pronouns?
In the nominative: ich (I), du (you), er (he), sie (she), es (it), wir (we), ihr (you, plural), sie (they) and Sie (you, polite). Each one changes in the accusative and dative: ich, mich, mir.
What is the difference between du, ihr and Sie?
Du is for one person you know well: family, friends, children, and usually colleagues your own age. Ihr is the plural of du. Sie is the polite form for one person or several, used with strangers, in shops and offices, and with anyone you would call Herr or Frau. When in doubt, use Sie and let the other person offer du.
When do I use mich and when mir?
Mich is accusative, the direct object: Siehst du mich? (Do you see me?). Mir is dative, the indirect object, and comes after dative verbs and prepositions: Gib mir das Buch, Kannst du mir helfen?, mit mir.
How can I tell sie (she), sie (they) and Sie (you) apart?
By the verb and the capital letter. Sie ist means she is; sie sind means they are; Sie sind, with a capital S, means you are (polite). At the start of a sentence, where every word has a capital, only the context tells sie sind from Sie sind.
Why can 'it' be er or sie in German?
German pronouns follow grammatical gender, not whether something is alive. Der Tisch is masculine, so the table is er: Wo ist der Tisch? Er ist in der Küche. Die Lampe is sie, das Buch is es.
Are the genitive pronouns meiner, deiner still used?
Rarely. They survive in a few fixed phrases and formal writing. To say whose something is, German uses the possessives instead: mein Buch, dein Auto, ihr Haus.
What does man mean?
Man is the general 'one', 'you' or 'people': Hier spricht man Deutsch, German is spoken here. It takes the er-form of the verb. Its accusative is einen and its dative is einem.
Keep going
The course practises pronouns case by case, with audio, drills and a quiz in every lesson. The first three lessons are free.