Sie vs du — German politeness in translation
English one word “you” maps to German du (informal), Sie (formal), or ihr (plural). Free translators often guess wrong. Dinglish shows a learner note and course examples so you pick the right register.
Quick rules
Use Sie + verb forms for strangers, officials, and most workplace first contact. Use du with friends, children, and many classmates once invited. Capital S in Sie is always polite “you”; du is lowercase unless starting a sentence.
Try both in the translator
Type an English sentence with “you” and translate to German, then read the learner note. Rephrase with “formal” or “informal” in English (e.g. “Could you help me?” vs “Can you help me?”) and compare outputs. Always verify with your teacher or situation.
Hindi learners
Similar issue: आप (polite) vs तुम (informal). Our Hindi grammar ebook explains postpositions and polite forms alongside German study.
FAQ
- Does the translator choose Sie or du automatically? Machine translation guesses from context. It can be wrong for school vs shop vs email. Use Dinglish learner tips and chapter dialogues for the register your textbook teaches.
- How do I ask someone to use du? Common phrase: „Wir können uns duzen.“ — only after the other person agrees. Our German courses include dialogue in realistic settings.
- Is ihr the same as du? ihr addresses several people informally (y’all). Sie can also mean formal plural “you”. Context matters — see our German grammar ebook on pronouns.