Questions
Who are you?
German has different ways to say you, depending on who you’re talking to! You say du to friends and family. But with strangers, people older than you, and authority figures, you’ll say Sie. Using Sie indicates respect, while using du indicates friendliness.
Du you Sie?
The different forms of you use different verb forms!
| subject | verb (sein) |
| ich | bin |
| du | bist |
| Sie | sind |
| er / sie | ist |
Three’s a crowd
In German, Frau can mean woman, wife, or Ms. What a great three‑for‑one deal!
Die Frau ist Ärztin.
The woman is a doctor.
Meine Frau ist klug.
My wife is smart.
Frau Merkel, Sie leben in Deutschland.
Ms. Merkel, you live in Germany.
Kein pain, kein gain!
In English, we say I don’t speak English, but in German, you’ll say I speak no English.
Ich spreche kein Englisch.
I speak no English.