German personal pronouns: every case in one table
Pronouns change with case just like articles do: ich sees, but someone sees mich and gives something to mir. The most common of them all is sie, number 14 among German words, because it does three jobs: she, they, and the polite you.
The personal pronouns
Forms in the list link to their word page, with their rank among the 5,000 most common German words.
| English | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Possessive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | ich#54 | mich#207 | mir#258 | mein#526 |
| you | du#126 | dich#468 | dir#505 | dein#1,248 |
| he | er#43 | ihn#242 | ihm#262 | sein |
| she | sie#14 | sie#14 | ihr#72 | ihr#72 |
| it | es#18 | es#18 | ihm#262 | sein |
| we | wir#35 | uns#77 | uns#77 | unser#277 |
| you (plural) | ihr#72 | euch#481 | euch#481 | euer#4,245 |
| they | sie#14 | sie#14 | ihnen#113 | ihr#72 |
| you (formal) | Sie | Sie | Ihnen | Ihr |
The possessives take the endings of kein: mein Vater, meine Mutter, meinen Bruder — see the article tables.
Which pronouns you meet most
In the news and web texts behind our list, du is much rarer than ich or wir: written German addresses its readers as Sie. man — one, you, people — is the pronoun English lacks: Hier darf man nicht parken.
sie, sie or Sie?
Three meanings, one word. The verb and the capital letter tell them apart.
- Sie ist heute nicht da. She is not here today.
- Sie sind heute nicht da. They are not here today — or, formally: You are not here today.
- Können Sie mir helfen? Can you help me? (formal)
At the start of a sentence only the context can separate they from the formal you.
Reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself
Many German verbs are reflexive where English ones are not: sich freuen, sich setzen, sich erinnern. sich#16 covers er, sie, es, the plural sie and Sie; the other persons use their ordinary accusative or dative form.
| Case | Accusative | Dative |
|---|---|---|
| ich | mich#207 | mir#258 |
| du | dich#468 | dir#505 |
| er, sie, es | sich#16 | sich#16 |
| wir | uns#77 | uns#77 |
| ihr | euch#481 | euch#481 |
| sie, Sie | sich#16 | sich#16 |
- Ich wasche mich. I wash (myself).
- Ich wasche mir die Hände. I wash my hands. (dative: the hands are the object)
es when nothing does anything
German needs a subject even when there is none, and uses es: es regnet (it is raining), es gibt (there is), es geht mir gut (I am fine).
Questions
What are the German personal pronouns?
ich (I), du (you, informal), er (he), sie (she), es (it), wir (we), ihr (you, plural informal), sie (they) and Sie (you, formal). Each has an accusative and a dative form: ich, mich, mir.
How do you tell sie, sie and Sie apart?
By the verb and the capital letter. sie ist = she is; sie sind = they are; Sie sind = you are (formal), always with a capital S.
When do you use du and when Sie?
du with family, friends, children and people your age in informal settings; Sie with adults you do not know, at work and in shops. When unsure, start with Sie and let the other person offer du.
What does es gibt mean?
There is, there are. es gibt takes the accusative: Es gibt einen Park in der Nähe.
More German grammar
- The four German casesNominative, accusative, dative, genitive — and the article tables
- Prepositions and their casesDative, accusative, two-way and genitive
- Adjective endingsThree tables and a four-rule shortcut
- The perfect tense: haben or seinEvery participle in the list, sorted
- PluralsThe five endings, by gender
- Word orderVerb second, verb last, and the bracket
- Der, die or das?The endings that predict noun gender