Du or Sie? How German Formal and Informal Address Works

German has two basic ways to address one person: du is informal and Sie is formal. Which one fits depends on the relationship, the setting and the culture around you.

If you do not know an adult yet and the situation is formal or professional, Sie is usually the safer starting point. In many teams, cafés, cultural spaces and younger companies, du is completely normal. The important thing is not a rigid rule but the social signal of the situation.

Du, ihr or Sie?

The formal pronoun Sie is capitalised and works for both one person and several people.

When do Germans use du?

Du is normal among friends, family members and people who know each other well. Children are generally addressed with du. It is also common in many leisure, creative, digital and informal work environments.

One useful warning: using someone’s first name does not automatically mean that you are on du terms. Some professional settings combine first names with Sie.

Listen to how people address you and pay attention to the culture of the specific place.

When should you use Sie?

Sie creates more formal distance. It is common with new contacts, in official situations and in many professional contexts.

If you are unsure, starting with Sie is usually a safe choice. Moving from Sie to du later is easy. Starting with an uninvited du in a formal setting can feel too familiar.

That does not mean Sie is cold or unfriendly. It can simply be the appropriate form of respect.

How do you switch from Sie to du?

German even has a phrase for this: das Du anbieten – offering to use du.

Common ways to do it include:

Wollen wir uns duzen? – Shall we use du?
Wir können uns gern duzen. – We can use du if you like.
Du kannst gern du zu mir sagen. – Feel free to call me du.

If someone offers the du, a simple response works:

Gerne! Ich bin Anna. – Gladly! I’m Anna.

At work, the change depends heavily on company culture. Some teams use du from day one; others keep Sie for years.

What do duzen and siezen mean?

German turns the two forms of address into verbs:

• jemanden duzen = to address someone as du
• jemanden siezen = to address someone as Sie

For example:

Wir duzen uns. – We use du with each other.
Er siezt seine Kundin. – He addresses his client as Sie.
Seit gestern sind wir per Du. – Since yesterday, we’ve been on du terms.

How do verbs work with du and Sie?

With du, use the second-person singular form:

du kommst
du arbeitest
du bist
du hast

With Sie, use the third-person plural verb form:

Sie kommen
Sie arbeiten
Sie sind
Sie haben

For many verbs this looks identical to the infinitive – kommen, arbeiten – but grammatically it is the third-person plural form. Sein makes the difference obvious: Sie sind, not Sie sein.

Should du be capitalised in writing?

In ordinary text, du, dir, dich and dein are normally lower-case.

In letters, emails and similar direct correspondence, German spelling rules also allow these informal address pronouns to be capitalised:

Danke für deine/Deine Nachricht.
Ich schicke dir/Dir die Unterlagen morgen.

The formal address Sie and related forms such as Ihnen and Ihr are capitalised.

Five common situations

In a café

Many cafés – especially in Berlin – use du. If a server says Was möchtest du?, you can naturally answer in the same register. If the interaction begins with Sie, follow that instead.

At a government office

In public offices and other clearly official situations, Sie is normally the appropriate choice.

In a new job

First observe the team culture. If everyone explicitly welcomes you with du, the answer is clear. If not, it is perfectly normal to start with Sie.

With neighbours

There is no universal rule. Age, the building community and how well you know each other all play a role. Wollen wir uns duzen? solves the question quickly.

In a language class

Many language courses use du between learners and teachers. As always, the local group culture decides.

What should a German learner do?

You do not need to master every social nuance before you open your mouth. Three habits will get you through most situations:

1. Start with Sie in clearly formal situations. 2. Pay attention to the form the other person uses. 3. If you are unsure, ask politely.

That does not make you distant. It makes you attentive.

And once the form of address is settled, you can focus on what matters most: the conversation itself.