sie

Sie is a German pronoun with several distinct functions. When written as Sie with a capital S, it is the formal second-person pronoun used to address one or more people politely in both singular and plural contexts. In everyday writing and speech, Sie signals formality and is used in official, business, or courteous address. In all other contexts, sie (lowercase) means either she (singular feminine) or they (plural).

In practice, Sie follows the normal German verb-conjugation patterns for the second person in the formal register. For example: Sie sind hier (you are here). The same form Sie is used for the accusative and nominative positions in formal address, while the dative takes the form Ihnen (to/for you). The possessive forms corresponding to Sie are Ihr (your) and, in the genitive, Ihrer or Ihres depending on gender and case, mirroring the broader set of German possessive pronouns. By contrast, the informal sie declines like other personal pronouns: sie as she, sie as they, with ihr as the dative for she or they’s implied indirect object.

Usage notes: Capitalization helps distinguish the formal Sie from the third-person pronoun sie (she/they). Context, sentence structure, and verb conjugation usually make the meaning clear, but misreading can occur without attention to capitalization. In German-language references, Sie is described as the polite form of address, while sie denotes third-person singular or plural pronouns. See also German pronouns and capitalization conventions.