pronoun

Sie (höflichskeitform)

you

Dieses Wort benutzt man, wenn man höflich mit einer Person spricht oder wenn man über mehrere Menschen redet.

Definition & meaning

The word Sie has two primary functions in the German language:

Formal pronoun of address: It is the formal way to address one or more persons (equivalent to "you"). It is always capitalized regardless of its position in a sentence to distinguish it from the third-person pronoun.
Third-person feminine singular pronoun: It is the pronoun used to refer to a female person or a feminine noun (equivalent to "she" or "it").

In addition, when capitalized at the start of a sentence, the third-person pronoun "sie" (she) is also written as Sie, which can sometimes lead to ambiguity. Context is required to determine if the speaker is addressing someone formally or referring to a female subject.

Grammar & Word origin

Grammar:
- As the formal "you," Sie is treated with third-person plural verb conjugations (e.g., Sie sind - You are).
- As the pronoun "she," Sie is treated with third-person singular verb conjugations (e.g., Sie ist - She is).
Word origin:
- The formal "Sie" developed from the older courtly habit of addressing individuals using third-person plural pronouns (Ihr/Euch), which eventually evolved into the formal address "Sie" in the 18th century.
- The third-person "sie" stems from the Old High German si, referring to a female entity.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms for the formal address "Sie":

Du (Informal singular, used for friends/family)
Ihr (Informal plural, used for friends/family)

Synonyms for the third-person "sie":

Diese (This one/that one)

Antonyms: There are no direct antonyms, as these are functional pronouns rather than descriptive words. However, in terms of social register, Du acts as the antonym to the formal Sie .