she (3rd person singular feminine)
Takes a singular verb: sie ist, sie hat.
Sie ist meine Schwester.
She is my sister.
Sie kommt morgen.
She is coming tomorrow.
#4 · Pronoun · PRON
In German, sie means “she (3rd person singular feminine)”. It’s the #4 most frequently used German word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
One of the trickiest German words: sie means "she", "they", AND — capitalized as Sie — the formal "you". You tell them apart by the verb ending and, for formal you, the capital letter. Getting this right is essential for polite German.
neutralTakes a singular verb: sie ist, sie hat.
She is my sister.
She is coming tomorrow.
Takes a plural verb: sie sind, sie haben. Same word as "she", disambiguated only by the verb.
They are my friends.
They live in Berlin.
The polite address for strangers, officials, older people. Uses the same plural verb form as "they" (Sie sind, Sie haben) but is always written with a capital S.
What is your name? (formal)
Can you help me? (formal)
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken German. The top form cover about 100% of everyday use — learn these first.
| Nominative — she / they / you(formal) | sie / sie / Sie | form is identical; verb + capital disambiguate |
|---|---|---|
| Accusative | sie / sie / Sie | her / them / you |
| Dative | ihr / ihnen / Ihnen | (to) her / (to) them / (to) you |
vs. sie (she) vs sie (they)
Same word — the VERB tells you which: singular verb = she, plural verb = they.
Sie ist da. / Sie sind da.
She is here. / They are here.
vs. du (informal you)
Sie (capital) is formal/polite; du is for friends, family, children. Choosing wrong can sound rude or over-familiar.
Wie geht es Ihnen? / Wie geht es dir?
How are you? (formal) / How are you? (informal)
Sie liebt Musik.
She loves music.
Sie - singular verb "liebt" → "she"
Sie spielen Fußball.
They play football.
Sie - plural verb "spielen" → "they"
Kommen Sie bitte herein.
Please come in. (formal)
Sie - capital Sie + plural verb → formal "you"
Ich gebe ihr das Buch.
I give her the book.
ihr - dative of "she" → ihr
| ihr | (to) her; also "her/their" and informal-plural "you" | dative (she) / possessive |
|---|---|---|
| ihnen | (to) them | dative plural |
| Ihnen | (to) you (formal) | dative formal |
sie = she (singular verb), sie = they (plural verb), Sie = you (capital + plural verb). The verb ending is your key; the capital letter marks the polite "you".