ihn

ihn is the German personal pronoun in the accusative masculine singular form, translating to "him" in English. It corresponds to er in the nominative case and to ihm in the dative case. Pronouns in German change form according to case, gender, and number, and ihn is specifically used when the masculine singular is the direct object of a verb or of a preposition that requires the accusative.

Usage guidance: ihn is used as the direct object, for example in Ich sehe ihn (I see him) or Wir kennen ihn seit Jahren (We have known him for years). It also appears after prepositions that govern the accusative, such as für, durch, and ohne (e.g., Für ihn, Durch ihn, Ohne ihn). Prepositions that require the dative take ihm instead (e.g., mit ihm, bei ihm).

Grammatical notes: The form ihn is distinct from the nominative er and the dative form ihm. Like other pronouns, ihn does not have gender or number variations beyond masculine singular; it is used to refer to a specific male person previously mentioned or understood from context. The possessive counterpart for “his” is sein(e), and possessive pronoun forms depend on the noun they modify rather than on the pronoun itself.

See also: In German, pronoun choice and word order can affect emphasis and sentence flow. Positioning of pronouns relative to verbs follows conventions that prefer placing pronouns earlier or later depending on stress and clarity, but the form of ihn remains confined to the accusative masculine singular usage.