Expressing Politeness with 'Sie'

01

When to Use 'Sie'

The choice between the informal du and the formal Sie depends on the relationship between the speakers.

• Strangers and Service: Use Sie with adult strangers, shop assistants, waiters, police officers, and doctors.
• Professional Settings: Use Sie with colleagues, clients, and supervisors unless invited to use du.
• Age: While younger people (students and young adults) often use du with each other immediately, it is standard to address older people with Sie.

If you are unsure, Sie is the safer option. Using du inappropriately can be perceived as rude or overly familiar.

• Entschuldigung, können Sie mir helfen?

  Excuse me, can you help me?

• Haben Sie einen Moment Zeit?

  Do you have a moment?

02

Grammar and Conjugation

Grammatically, the formal Sie behaves exactly like the third-person plural sie (meaning they). This means the verb conjugation almost always ends in -en.

• Sie trinken Wasser.

  You are drinking water.

• Sie sind sehr freundlich.

  You are very friendly.

Unlike the informal forms, which distinguish between one person (du) and multiple people (ihr), Sie is used for both singular and plural. You use the exact same word and verb form whether you are talking to one boss or a room full of clients.

• Herr Schmidt, kommen Sie bitte her.

  Mr. Schmidt, please come here. (Singular)

• Meine Damen und Herren, kommen Sie bitte her.

  Ladies and gentlemen, please come here. (Plural)

03

Capitalization Rules

In written German, Sie is always capitalized. This is the only way to distinguish it from sie (she) and sie (they) in writing.

• Was machen sie?

  What are they doing?

• Was machen Sie?

  What are you doing?

04

Object Forms and Possessives

When Sie is not the subject of the sentence, or when you need to say your, the forms change. However, the capitalization rule remains in effect to mark formality.

Dative Case (to you)

The dative form of Sie is Ihnen. Note the capital 'I'.

• Wie geht es Ihnen?

  How are you doing?

• Ich danke Ihnen.

  I thank you.

Possessive (your)

The possessive adjective is Ihr. The ending of Ihr will change depending on the gender and case of the noun that follows, but the first letter is always capitalized.

• Ist das Ihr Auto?

  Is that your car?

• Ich habe Ihre E-Mail erhalten.

  I received your email.