34. The 3 Words for 'You' in German

34.  The 3 Words for 'You' in German  

It may come as a surprise to you but German has 3 basic words for 'you'. It is not uncommon to find multiple words for 'you' in a language. English is just a whole lot simpler.

In German, basically, a distinction is made between an informal word du [dooh]and a polite word Sie [zee].

Du , first of all, is always singular and used to address relatives, friends, children, students & sometimes work colleagues. The latter came as quite a surprise to me when a much older colleague said to me on my first day at work: Graham [grar hum!],  sag mir 'du' ( say 'du' to me).

Sie, on the other hand, is the polite form of 'you'. So, primarily when meeting adult strangers,  Sie will be the appropriate form of address. It is important to know as well that Sie can be both singular and plural.

The third word for 'you' is ihr [ear] which is simply the plural of 'du'. So when addressing a group of relatives or friends etc.,  ihr will be the right word to use.

So....there are several questions here of a cultural nature.

1.   When does a child become an adult?  At about 16 when young German teenagers go into a shop, for example, they might notice salespeople start using 'Sie' to them. This is a sure sign that they are fast approaching adult status. Children will still use 'du' to older relatives and vice versa.

2.  What happens when young man meets young woman? Given that students at school or college will use the informal 'du' to each other, this can be a tricky situation in a more or less formal situation. The basic answer is the young lady gets to initiate the 'du' and not the young man if he is polite. A 25 year old female friend of mine returning to Hamburg from Australia some time back became most irate when a young man of similar age addressed her on the train with 'du'. Elke quickly put him in his place.

An interesting cultural and linguistic point here is German has a special verb meaning 'to use du' The word is 'duzen'. Equally the word 'siezen' exists meaning to use 'Sie'.

3.  What happens in senior school in Germany? Apparently, I am told, teachers, by law, are supposed to ask new senior students if he /she should now start using 'Sie' to them or continue to use 'du' as has previously been the practice in their junior classes. Often 'du' is still the preferred choice.

4. How is using the informal 'du' regarded when used in the wrong social context? If in doubt, stick with 'Sie! People who do not know you are a foreigner, may think you rude. I upset an old Bavarian on a bus once when I used the 'du' form' accidentally by way of greeting. I was wearing Lederhosen at the time and he thought I was a local and should not have used the greeting commonly used at work.

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