Learn about the difference between German pronouns
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| Michael: What's the difference between the pronouns du and Sie? |
| Anja: And what about dir and Ihnen? |
| Michael: At GermanPod101.com, we hear these questions often. |
| Imagine the following situation. Sasha Lee, got lost during a school trip. Her teacher, Tanja Tannenberg, calls her and asks: |
| "Where are you?" |
| Tanja Tannenberg: Wo bist du? |
| Tanja Tannenberg: Wo bist du? |
| Sasha Lee: Am Alexanderplatz. Wo sind Sie? |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Tanja Tannenberg: Wo bist du? |
| Michael: "Where are you?" |
| Sasha Lee: Am Alexanderplatz. Wo sind Sie? |
| Michael: "At Alexanderplatz. Where are you?" |
| Michael: You probably have noticed that when asking the question, "Where are you?" the teacher and Sasha used a different pronoun to say "you." |
| Anja: du |
| Michael: is the informal pronoun "you," and is written in all lowercase letters. It is usually used when talking to family or friends, or children and young adults under the age of 16. In more formal situations, such as an official meeting or a business transaction, and when talking to people we need to show respect to, it is best to instead use the formal pronoun |
| Anja: Sie |
| Michael: just as Sasha did when addressing her teacher. |
| Unlike "du," |
| Anja: Sie |
| Michael: is written with a capital "S." |
| Michael: How about |
| Anja: dir |
| Michael: and |
| Anja: Ihnen? |
| Michael: The pronouns |
| Anja: dir |
| Michael: and |
| Anja: Ihnen |
| Michael: are the equivalent of the pronouns |
| Anja: du |
| Michael: and |
| Anja: Sie |
| Michael: just inflected for the dative case. In other words, |
| Anja: dir |
| Michael: is "you" as the informal indirect object and |
| Anja: Ihnen |
| Michael: is "you" as the formal indirect object. For example, if you wanted to ask your friend the question "Can I help you?," where "you" is the indirect object, you would say, |
| Anja: Kann ich dir helfen? |
| Michael: but if you would like to ask the same question to a stranger, your boss, or a teacher, you would use the formal indirect object pronoun "Ihnen," |
| Anja: Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen? |
| Michael: Let's summarize what we have learned so far. "Du" is the informal way to say "you," and "Sie" is its formal counterpart. "Dir" is "du" inflected for the dative case, and it fulfills the role of an informal indirect pronoun. Similarly, "Ihnen" is "Sie" inflected for the dative case, and it fulfills the role of a formal indirect pronoun. Now, let's consider some examples. |
| Michael: Our first example is |
| Anja: |
| Du bist wunderbar. (enunciated). |
| Du bist wunderbar. |
| Michael: "You are wonderful." This uses the informal personal pronoun, |
| Anja: du. |
| Michael: You could say this, for example, to your friend. |
| A more formal version of this would be |
| Anja: |
| Sie sind wunderbar (enunciated). |
| Sie sind wunderbar. |
| Michael: "You are wonderful." This uses the formal pronoun, |
| Anja: Sie, |
| Michael: and could be used, for example, by an excited child to tell their teacher how much they appreciate the lesson. |
| Anja: |
| Ich danke Dir. (enunciated). |
| Ich danke Dir. |
| Michael: |
| "[I] thank you." This uses the informal indirect object pronoun |
| Anja: dir, |
| Michael: and could be used to thank someone you are close to or have met informally. |
| Anja: |
| Ich danke Ihnen (enunciated). |
| Ich danke Ihnen. |
| Michael: |
| "[I] thank you." This uses the formal indirect object pronoun, |
| Anja: Ihnen |
| Michael: and could be used to thank someone like a professor or a supervisor, or during a formal speech. |
| Michael: Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the German speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how the teacher, TANJA TANNENBERG says, |
| "Where are you?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anja: Wo bist du? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Anja: Wo bist du? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anja: Wo bist du? |
| Michael: And do you remember how SASHA LEE said, |
| "Where are you?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anja: Wo sind Sie? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Anja: Wo sind Sie? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anja: Wo sind Sie? |
| Michael: Now, one last insider hint. If you are unsure which one to use, opt for "Sie." It is considered more polite to use this pronoun, and if the other person finds it too formal, they will usually suggest switching to "du." |
| Michael: Now you know the difference between the four pronouns |
| Anja: du, Sie, dir, |
| Michael: and |
| Anja: Ihnen. |
| Michael: Great job! Be sure to download the lesson notes for this lesson at GermanPod101.com — and move onto the next lesson! |
Comments
Hide