Pronouns are case-marked. Knowing the case = knowing the pronoun.
German has five pronoun families — personal, possessive, reflexive, demonstrative, and indefinite. Every family follows the same underlying rule: the pronoun form is determined by the grammatical case of its role in the sentence. Once you can read the case, you can look up the pronoun mechanically.
TL;DR
Person + Case → Pronoun. The personal pronouns table (9 rows × 3 columns) is the centerpiece — learn it and you know the direct and indirect object forms too. du vs. Sie: informal vs. formal; when in doubt, use Sie. mein/dein/sein: the ending depends on the case and gender of the possessed noun, not the owner. sich: the unique 3rd-person reflexive form — all others reuse mich/mir, dich/dir, uns, euch.
Five families, one pattern
German pronouns are not five separate grammar topics — they are five variants of the same underlying logic. Every German pronoun inflects for grammatical case, and knowing the person plus the case tells you the exact form to use. That makes pronouns more systematic than they first appear: instead of memorising isolated forms, you build one lookup table per family.
The five families and what they do:
- Personal pronouns (ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie, Sie) — inflect across Nominativ, Akkusativ, Dativ, and (rarely) Genitiv.
- Possessive pronouns (mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, ihr/Ihr) — show ownership; the ending reflects the case and gender of the possessed noun.
- Reflexive pronouns (mich/mir, dich/dir, sich, uns, euch) — used when the verb's object is the same person as the subject. Full treatment at reflexive verbs.
- Demonstrative pronouns (dieser/diese/dieses, der/die/das as pronouns) — point to a specific thing; decline like definite articles with strong endings.
- Indefinite pronouns (man, jemand, niemand, etwas, nichts, alle, jeder) — refer to unspecified people or things; most are invariable or have optional endings.
If cases are unfamiliar, read the Cases overview first — it makes every table on this page immediately readable.
The consolidated reference tables
The block below contains personal, possessive (Nominativ base forms), and reflexive pronouns in a single component. Use it as your lookup reference while reading the deep-dive sections that follow — you will not see this component a second time.
Personal Pronouns
| Person | Nominativ | Akkusativ | Dativ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | ich | mich | mir |
| 2nd sg. (informal) | du | dich | dir |
| 3rd sg. masc. | er | ihn | ihm |
| 3rd sg. fem. | sie | sie | ihr |
| 3rd sg. neut. | es | es | ihm |
| 1st pl. | wir | uns | uns |
| 2nd pl. (informal) | ihr | euch | euch |
| 3rd pl. / formal | sie / Sie | sie / Sie | ihnen / Ihnen |
Possessive Pronouns (Nominativ)
Possessive pronouns take the same endings as indefinite articles (ein/eine/ein). The table shows the base forms — add endings for case and gender.
| Person | Base Form | + Masc. | + Fem. | + Neut. | + Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich | mein | mein | meine | mein | meine |
| du | dein | dein | deine | dein | deine |
| er / es | sein | sein | seine | sein | seine |
| sie (sg.) | ihr | ihr | ihre | ihr | ihre |
| wir | unser | unser | unsere | unser | unsere |
| ihr | euer | euer | eure | euer | eure |
| sie / Sie | ihr / Ihr | ihr / Ihr | ihre / Ihre | ihr / Ihr | ihre / Ihre |
Reflexive Pronouns
| Person | Akkusativ | Dativ |
|---|---|---|
| ich | mich | mir |
| du | dich | dir |
| er / sie / es | sich | sich |
| wir | uns | uns |
| ihr | euch | euch |
| sie / Sie | sich | sich |
Note: Only the 3rd person (er/sie/es, sie/Sie) has a unique reflexive form sich. All other persons reuse the regular accusative/dative pronouns.
A word on Genitiv personal pronouns
Genitiv personal pronoun forms exist — meiner, deiner, seiner, ihrer, unser, eurer — but they have almost disappeared from modern German. You encounter them only in archaic fixed phrases (Erbarme dich meiner) and literary texts. In everyday speech and writing, Germans replace the genitive personal pronoun with von + Dativ: von mir, von dir, von ihm, von ihr, von uns, von euch, von ihnen. If you are at A1–B1 level, you can safely skip the Genitiv column of the personal pronoun table and return to it at B2 or above.
du vs. Sie — the formality decision
This is the most commonly asked question about German pronouns. The rule is simple; the social context is not.
du vs. Sie
Both mean 'you' — the choice is about formality, not number.
Friends, family, peers, children, casual contexts
Kommst du heute Abend?
Are you coming tonight?
Strangers, shops, offices, formal writing — when in doubt
Haben Sie einen Moment Zeit?
Do you have a moment?
ihr is the informal plural 'you' (addressing two or more people you each call du). Young Germans and start-up culture increasingly default to du; traditional offices and official letters still use Sie.
Capitalisation rule
Sie (formal "you") is always capitalised in writing — it is the only pronoun that is. This applies in all its case forms: Sie (Nom./Akk.), Ihnen (Dat.), Ihr/Ihre (possessive). Lowercase sie means "she" or "they" — a capitalized Sie in the middle of a sentence is always formal "you".
Das Du anbieten — when a German speaker explicitly offers the informal form ("Darf ich du sagen?"), they are inviting a closer relationship. Accepting moves the conversation permanently to du. Offering it too early can be presumptuous; never offering it in a collegial setting can feel stiff.
Possessive pronouns — the most common beginner stumble
The possessive table in the reference block above shows the Nominativ base forms only. The full picture is more useful: a possessive pronoun carries two pieces of information — who owns the thing (the base form) and the grammatical case and gender of the noun being possessed (the ending). The base form never changes; only the ending does.
All possessives — dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, ihr/Ihr — follow exactly the same ending pattern as mein. Learn the mein column; the rest are free.
Full declension of mein (applies to all possessives)
TABLE| Case | Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | mein | meine | mein | meine |
| Akkusativ | meinen | meine | mein | meine |
| Dativ | meinem | meiner | meinem | meinen |
| Genitiv | meines | meiner | meines | meiner |
Endings match ein-word declension. All other possessives (dein/sein/ihr/unser/euer/Ihr) follow the same pattern.
Three worked examples
Mein Bruder ist groß. → Ich sehe meinen Bruder.
Nominativ masculine → Akkusativ masculine: the possessive ending changes from -∅ to -en because the noun shifts from subject to direct object.
Ich gebe meiner Schwester ein Geschenk.
Dativ feminine: the ending -er signals dative feminine. "I give my sister a gift" — Schwester is the indirect object (Dativ).
Das ist das Haus meines Vaters.
Genitiv masculine: ending -es. Genitiv possession is more common in written German; speech often uses das Haus von meinem Vater instead.
Predicative form: when a possessive pronoun stands alone without a noun after a linking verb, the neuter form adds -s: Das Buch ist meins (not mein). The same pattern applies to all persons: deins, seins, ihres, unsers, euers.
Reflexive pronouns — a preview
A reflexive pronoun appears when the verb's object refers back to the same person as the subject — "I wash myself", "she hurts herself". In German, this means the direct or indirect object slot is filled by the reflexive form instead of a regular object pronoun.
The key fact: only the 3rd person uses the distinct form sich. For all other persons, the reflexive pronoun is the same as the regular Akkusativ or Dativ pronoun:
- 1st sg.: Ich wasche mich (Akk.) / Ich wasche mir die Hände (Dat.)
- 2nd sg.: Du wäschst dich (Akk.) / Du wäschst dir die Hände (Dat.)
- 3rd sg./pl.: Er/sie/es wäscht sich / Sie waschen sich — sich for both Akk. and Dat.
- 1st pl.: Wir waschen uns
- 2nd pl.: Ihr wascht euch
The reflexive table in the consolidated reference block above highlights sich in amber — that is the only form that is unique to the reflexive paradigm.
Demonstrative pronouns — dieser, diese, dieses
Demonstrative pronouns point to a specific person or thing. German has two main sets: dieser/diese/dieses (this/these) and the demonstrative use of der/die/das (that one / the one). Both decline with strong endings that closely follow the definite article.
Declension of dieser/diese/dieses
TABLE| Case | Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | dieser | diese | dieses | diese |
| Akkusativ | diesen | diese | dieses | diese |
| Dativ | diesem | dieser | diesem | diesen |
| Genitiv | dieses | dieser | dieses | dieser |
dieser declines like a der-word (strong endings). jener/jene/jenes follows the same pattern but is largely archaic in spoken German.
der/die/das (demonstrative) vs. dieser/diese/dieses
Both are demonstratives — the register and emphasis differ.
Refers emphatically to something just mentioned or visible — very common in speech
Den kenne ich.
That one I know. / Him I know.
"This one specifically" — more explicit, preferred in writing
Diesen Film habe ich noch nicht gesehen.
This film I have not yet seen.
The demonstrative der/die/das has different genitive forms from the definite article: dessen (masc./neut. gen.), deren (fem./pl. gen.). jener/jene/jenes ('that/those') follows the same declension as dieser but is largely archaic in speech — native speakers use der/die/das with a pointing gesture instead.
Special uses of es
Beyond referring to a neuter noun, es plays three structural roles in German that English learners frequently stumble over.
Es regnet.
It is raining. — es is required; there is no other subject.
Es gibt viele Möglichkeiten. — There are many possibilities.
Es freut mich, dass du kommst.
It pleases me that you are coming. — es anticipates the dass-clause.
If the real subject clause comes first, es disappears: Dass du kommst, freut mich.
Ich weiß es.
I know it — es refers to the whole preceding situation, not a specific noun.
Compare: Ich kenne ihn (I know him — a person) vs. Ich weiß es (I know it — a fact).
Indefinite pronouns
Indefinite pronouns refer to unspecified people or things. Most are invariable or only optionally inflected.
Essential indefinite pronouns
LISTInvariable; always 3rd-person singular verb. Formal/written register. Man spricht hier Deutsch. (German is spoken here.)
Optional case endings: jemandem (Dat.), jemanden (Akk.). Colloquial speech often drops them. Jemand hat angerufen.
Same optional endings as jemand: niemandem (Dat.), niemanden (Akk.). Niemand war zu Hause.
Invariable. Following adjective takes a weak neuter ending: etwas Schönes (something beautiful).
Invariable. Same adjective rule: nichts Neues (nothing new). Use alone for negation — do not add nicht.
alle declines like a der-word in plural only. alles is neuter invariable: Alles ist gut.
Declines like a der-word, singular only (no plural). Jeder weiß das. (Everyone knows that.)
German does not use double negatives — niemand or nichts alone negates the sentence. Adding nicht too creates an ungrammatical double negation.
man vs. generic du
Formal German uses man for generic "one/you": Man isst gerne Bratwurst in Deutschland. (One eats Bratwurst gladly in Germany.) But colloquial spoken German increasingly uses a generic du instead: Wenn du nach München kommst, musst du unbedingt Weißwurst frühstücken.
Both are grammatical. man is the safer choice in formal writing, academic essays, and official communication. Generic du sounds natural in conversation and informal writing, but can sound odd in formal contexts.
Note: man cannot be used in the Akkusativ or Dativ as a full pronoun — Germans use einen (Akk.) and einem (Dat.) for these cases in formal register: Das macht einen müde. (That makes one tired.)
Common mistakes
Using du with a stranger or elder
Using du with an adult stranger is perceived as rude or dismissive. Start with Sie and let the other person offer the switch.
Mixing ihn (Akk.) with ihm (Dat.)
ihn is Akkusativ (direct object): Ich sehe ihn. ihm is Dativ (indirect object): Ich gebe ihm das Buch.
Using sein (his) when the subject is feminine
sein refers back to a masculine or neuter subject (er/es). ihr refers back to a feminine subject (sie). The possessive agrees with the owner's grammatical gender, not the gender of the thing possessed.
Using sich when the subject is 1st or 2nd person
sich is only for 3rd-person subjects (er/sie/es, sie/Sie). For ich use mich/mir; for du use dich/dir.
Relative pronouns — a quick preview
German relative pronouns look like the definite articles — der/die/das — but they introduce a subordinate clause describing a noun that was just mentioned. The forms are almost identical to the definite article, with two important exceptions: the Genitiv forms (dessen, deren, dessen, deren) and the Dativ plural (denen) differ from their article counterparts.
A more formal alternative is welcher/welche/welches, which declines like a der-word. It is more common in formal writing and avoids the ambiguity between the demonstrative and relative use of der/die/das.
The relative pronoun page covers the full declension table, which subordinate clause rules apply (verb-final), and the common trap of confusing the demonstrative der/die/das with the relative der/die/das.