Register: du vs Sie

Two ways to say «you»: German has two ways to address someone: «du» is informal, for friends, peers, family and (usually) other young people; «Sie» is formal, for strangers, elders, people in authority and business. This is called register — the level of formality you choose for who you're talking to. Two German points to fix now: «Sie» is always Capitalised, and it takes the «sie» (they / plural) verb form — e.g. «Sie haben», «Sie können» — not its own ending.

das Register / die Anrede

register — the level of formality (formal vs informal)

du

informal you — friends, peers, family, young people

Sie (immer groß)

formal you — strangers, elders, authority, business; always capitalised

ihr

informal you (plural) — speaking to several friends/peers

jemanden duzen

to address someone with «du» (informally)

jemanden siezen

to address someone with «Sie» (formally)

It's a band descriptor: Choosing the right register and keeping it consistent is a marked criterion. A formal letter that slips into «du», or a message to a friend that turns stiffly to «Sie», costs marks. Decide the register from the audience before you write the first word.

What changes with each: Switching register changes more than the pronoun. «Sie» borrows the «sie» (they / plural) verb form and swaps the possessives and object pronouns. Get the whole set right and your register stays consistent.

Sie = the sie/they form: The single most useful rule: «Sie» uses exactly the same verb form as «sie» (they) — «Sie haben», «Sie können», «Sie wohnen» — which is just the infinitive. It pairs with «Ihr/Ihre» and «Ihnen», never «dein» or «dir». If you can do «sie» (they), you can do «Sie».

Read the audience and the text type: The register comes from who you're addressing and what kind of text it is. A letter to a company is formal; a message to a friend is informal. Here are the cues that tell you which to pick, each with a German example.

Decide before you start: Pick the register from the task instructions before writing: ein formeller Brief signals «Sie»; eine Nachricht an deinen Freund signals «du». Once you've chosen, you must keep it the whole way through — that's where the next section comes in.

The same request, two registers: Here is the same favour written twice — once informally to a friend (du), once formally to a company (Sie) — so the contrast is visible side by side. Watch the verb form, the possessive («deine/Ihre») and the pronoun («dir/Ihnen») all shift together. Tap Übersetzung anzeigen or 🔊 to hear it.

Change all three together: When you switch from du to Sie, change everything at once: the verb (kannst → können), the possessive (deine → Ihre) and the pronoun (dir → Ihnen). Changing only one is the classic slip that breaks consistency. And remember: capitalise Sie, Ihr and Ihnen.

The slips to watch for: The three biggest register mistakes are mixing du and Sie in one text (you must stay consistent), using the singular «er/sie/es» verb form with «Sie» (it needs the plural «haben/können», not «hat/kann»), and forgetting to capitalise «Sie / Ihr / Ihnen». Compare the right version with the typical mistake.

Pick one register and stay there: Before you hand in: scan the whole text and check every verb, possessive and pronoun matches the same register. If you started formal, there should be no «du», «dein» or «dir» anywhere, every formal verb is the plural form, and Sie/Ihr/Ihnen are capitalised — and vice versa. Consistency is what the marker is checking.