A1-A2 Full lesson
Pronouns are the words you use most and think about least: I, me, you, him, her, us. In German, they change with the case, so “I” can be ich, mich or mir depending on its job in the sentence. This lesson gives you the complete German pronouns chart for personal pronouns in all cases, explains when to use each form, covers reflexive pronouns and the tricky question of pronoun order, and ends with practice exercises.
Quick answer
German personal pronouns change by case. Nominative (subject): ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie, Sie. Accusative (direct object): mich, dich, ihn, sie, es, uns, euch, sie, Sie. Dative (indirect object): mir, dir, ihm, ihr, ihm, uns, euch, ihnen, Ihnen. Only er changes in the accusative among the third-person forms (er → ihn).
This lesson is part of our German grammar guide. If cases are new to you, the quick version is: nominative = who does it, accusative = what/whom it’s done to, dative = to or for whom.
German pronouns chart
| English | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Reflexive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I / me | ich | mich | mir | mich / mir |
| you (informal) | du | dich | dir | dich / dir |
| he / him | er | ihn | ihm | sich |
| she / her | sie | sie | ihr | sich |
| it | es | es | ihm | sich |
| we / us | wir | uns | uns | uns |
| you all (informal) | ihr | euch | euch | euch |
| they / them | sie | sie | ihnen | sich |
| you (formal) | Sie | Sie | Ihnen | sich |
Patterns that make it easier
Accusative forms end in -ch or -n (mich, dich, ihn); dative forms end in -r or -m (mir, dir, ihr, ihm). Uns and euch are the same in both cases, and sie, es and Sie don’t change in the accusative.
Nominative pronouns
The nominative is the subject: the person or thing doing the action. These are the pronouns you learn first and use with every verb.
Ich wohne in Hamburg. Wohnst du auch hier?I live in Hamburg. Do you live here too?
du, ihr or Sie?
German has three ways to say “you”. du is one person you know well, ihr is several people you know well, and Sie (always capitalized) is formal, for one or more people. Sie takes the same verb form as “they”: Sie kommen can mean “they come” or “you (formal) come”.
sie, sie or Sie?
The same word does three jobs: sie = she, sie = they, Sie = formal you. The verb ending and the capital letter tell you which: sie kommt (she comes), sie kommen (they come), Sie kommen (you come).
er, sie, es for things
German pronouns follow grammatical gender, not “person vs thing”. A table is der Tisch, so it’s er; a lamp is die Lampe, so it’s sie. See der, die, das.
Wo ist mein Schlüssel? – Er liegt auf dem Tisch.Where is my key? – It’s on the table. (der Schlüssel → er)
Accusative pronouns
Use the accusative for the direct object (what or whom the action affects) and after accusative prepositions like für, durch, gegen, ohne, um.
Ich sehe dich morgen. Kennst du ihn?I’ll see you tomorrow. Do you know him?
Das Geschenk ist für sie.The present is for her.
Dative pronouns
Use the dative for the indirect object (the receiver), after dative prepositions like mit, bei, von, zu, aus, nach, seit, and after dative verbs such as helfen, danken, gefallen, gehören and antworten.
Kannst du mir helfen? Das gehört ihm.Can you help me? That belongs to him.
Ich gehe mit ihr ins Kino.I’m going to the cinema with her.
How to say “her” in German
“Her” has three translations, which is why it’s such a common question:
| English | German | Case | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I see her. | sie | Accusative | Ich sehe sie. |
| I help her. | ihr | Dative | Ich helfe ihr. |
| her book | ihr Buch | Possessive | Das ist ihr Buch. |
mich or mir?
This is the classic beginner mix-up. Ask: does the verb or preposition need accusative or dative? Er fragt mich (fragen + accusative) but Er antwortet mir (antworten + dative). Learning verbs together with a pronoun helps: jemanden fragen (to ask someone, accusative), jemandem helfen (to help someone, dative).
Why mich and mir get mixed up
When two forms look and sound similar, your brain stores them close together and they compete at recall. Separate them with strong anchors: one phrase per form, repeated until automatic. Ruf mich an! (call me) for mich, and Gib mir das! (give me that) for mir.
Reflexive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject: “myself”, “yourself”. They look like the accusative or dative pronouns, except in the third person and formal forms, which all use sich.
| Person | Accusative reflexive | Dative reflexive |
|---|---|---|
| ich | Ich wasche mich. | Ich wasche mir die Hände. |
| du | Du freust dich. | Du kaufst dir ein Eis. |
| er/sie/es | Er beeilt sich. | Sie wünscht sich ein Fahrrad. |
| wir | Wir treffen uns. | Wir kochen uns etwas. |
| ihr | Ihr erinnert euch. | Ihr nehmt euch Zeit. |
| sie/Sie | Sie setzen sich. | Sie merken sich das. |
Use the dative reflexive when the sentence already has another direct object (die Hände, ein Eis). Many common verbs are always reflexive: sich freuen, sich beeilen, sich erinnern, sich setzen, sich treffen.
Pronoun order
When a sentence has two objects, the order follows simple rules:
| Objects | Order | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Two nouns | Dative before accusative | Ich gebe dem Kind den Ball. |
| Two pronouns | Accusative before dative | Ich gebe ihn ihm. |
| Pronoun + noun | Pronoun first | Ich gebe ihm den Ball. / Ich gebe ihn dem Kind. |
A handy memory line: “pronouns are short, so they jump to the front; when two pronouns meet, the accusative goes first.”
The pronoun “es”
Es often has no real meaning, especially with weather and fixed phrases: Es regnet (it’s raining), Es gibt … (there is/are), Wie geht es dir? (how are you?). In speech, es shrinks to ‘s: Wie geht’s? Ich hab’s.
Practice exercises
Fill in the correct pronoun, then open the answer.
1. Kannst du ___ helfen? (me)
mir (helfen takes the dative)
2. Ich liebe ___ . (you, informal)
dich
3. Wo ist Tom? Ich sehe ___ nicht. (him)
ihn
4. Das Buch gehört ___ . (her)
ihr (gehören takes the dative)
5. Wir treffen ___ um acht. (ourselves)
uns
6. Er wäscht ___ die Hände. (himself)
sich
7. Ich gebe ___ ___ . (it = das Buch, to him)
es ihm (two pronouns: accusative first)
8. Wie geht es ___ ? (you, formal)
Ihnen
Free: German Grammar Cheat Sheet
This pronoun chart plus articles, cases, prepositions and adjective endings on two pages. Download the PDF.
FAQs
What are the German personal pronouns?
In the nominative: ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie and formal Sie. Each has accusative and dative forms (see the chart above).
When do I use mich and when mir?
Mich is accusative (direct object, after für/ohne/durch). Mir is dative (indirect object, after mit/bei/von/zu, and with verbs like helfen and gefallen).
What is the dative of sie?
Feminine singular sie (she) becomes ihr; plural sie (they) becomes ihnen; formal Sie becomes Ihnen.
Do German pronouns have a genitive?
Yes (meiner, deiner, seiner, ihrer, unser, euer, ihrer), but they’re rare and sound formal. You’ll mostly meet possessive words like mein and dein instead.
Why is a table “he” in German?
Because der Tisch is grammatically masculine. Pronouns follow the noun’s grammatical gender, not whether it’s a person.
Memorize the chart one column at a time (nominative first, then accusative, then dative), learn verbs with their case, and remember the order rule for two pronouns. With these, you can handle pronouns in almost any sentence.
Sources and further reading: German pronouns on Wikipedia and example sentences in DWDS.
Next lesson → German adjective endings (Adjektivdeklination) made simple
