irgendwer

Irgendwer is a German indefinite pronoun that means someone or somebody. It is used to refer to an unspecified person, often in casual or colloquial contexts, when the speaker does not know who exactly is meant or wants to keep the person’s identity vague.

The word is formed from the indefinite prefix irgend- together with the interrogative pronoun wer (who). It belongs to a family of indefinites that express vagueness or generality, such as irgendjemand, irgendwo or irgendwann. In everyday speech, irgentwer functions like a standard pronoun and can replace specific names when the identity is not important for the message.

Declension typically follows the regular pronoun pattern. In common usage, you will see or hear: nominative irgendwer, accusative irgendwen, dative irgendwem. The genitive form is rarely used in practice; speakers usually rephrase to avoid it.

Examples include: “Irgendwer hat an der Tür geklopft.” (Someone knocked at the door.) “Ich habe mit irgendwem gesprochen.” (I spoke with somebody.) The nuance of irgentwer often conveys vagueness or a lower emphasis on the person’s identity, distinguishing it from the more neutral jemend (jemand) or from irrgendjemand when a slightly stronger sense of indeterminacy is intended.

In standard writing, jemnd is often preferred for formality, while irgentwer remains common in spoken German and informal text across German-speaking regions.