Difference between "Du" and "Sie"

[Eden Zhang]

Hi there.

In all my time of watching World War 2 movies and listening to Rammstein and reading books on the second World War, I hear Germans saying both "Du" and "Sie" which both mean "You" according to Altavista's Bablefish translator.

But they are used on different occassions and I assume it is all based upon the context of the sentence.

Could someone shed some light on this matter for me?

[MadderCat]

"Sie" is the formal version, used for strangers, for higher ranking people like our boss etc.

"Du" is nonformal, used for friends, people in your family

family is a bit tricky, sometimes there is Du and Sie used, depending on
the people

MadderCat

[Germania]

Du is you and in WWII it was in use between comrades and men in the same rank

[ChrisMAg2]

Maybe you should also know, that the english language has no equivalent to this distinction.
Regards

[nondescript handle]

Maybe you should also know, that the english language has no equivalent to this distinction.
Regards

But until 500 years ago it made this distinction with the use of thee/thou/thy and you.

Regards
Mark

[mikerock]

Sie is also the feminine version of "it" er - masculine, es- neuter, sie - feminine

--Mike

[ChrisMAg2]

Maybe you should also know, that the english language has no equivalent to this distinction.
Regards

But until 500 years ago it made this distinction with the use of thee/thou/thy and you.

Regards
Mark

Well, in 500 years a lot of things can happen...

Sie is also the feminine version of "it" er - masculine, es- neuter, sie - feminine

--Mike

A feminine version of a neutrum? Where's the logic in that?
-"Sie" can also mean she and they.... ...depending on the circumstances.

Regards

[HPL2008]

Sie is also the feminine version of "it" er - masculine, es- neuter, sie - feminine

--Mike

A feminine version of a neutrum? Where's the logic in that?

Mike is referring to the fact that in English, objects are always referred to by the neutral "it" instead of our German distinction between "male", "female" and "neutral" objects.

Example: The German sentences...

"Die Bombe detonierte in einem Wohnviertel. Sie richtete schwere Schäden an."

translate as:

"The bomb detonated in a residential area. It caused heavy damage."

PS: For non-native speakers of German - "Sie" as a form of address, i.e. the formal "you" is spelled with a capital "S", while "sie" as in "she" or "it" is spelled with a lower case "s".

Hope this helps; I know the finer points of German grammar can be a bit confusing....

[nondescript handle]

Hi there.

In all my time of watching World War 2 movies and listening to Rammstein and reading books on the second World War, I hear Germans saying both "Du" and "Sie" which both mean "You" according to Altavista's Bablefish translator.

But they are used on different occassions and I assume it is all based upon the context of the sentence.

Could someone shed some light on this matter for me?

Take a look here:http://german.about.com/library/weekly/aa020998.htm.

For a WW2 setting add even more formality.

In a nutshell:
- "Sie" and "Herr/Frau Smith" is like using "Sir"/"Mam" and "Mr./Ms. Smith"
- "Sie" is considered the default adress
- adults should adress each other in the same manner; using "du" but forcing the other to use "Sie" is insulting (e.g. drill sargent to recrut or guard to inmate)

HTH
Mark

[Gyenes]

As myself a student of German. I have run into the same problem as well, but I was just wondering could you actually translate Sie as old english "Thee".

I know the finer points of German grammar can be a bit confusing....

So, true!

[hohenstaufen]

I read once that Roehm was one of the only people that Hitler used the word Du with and look what happened to him! On a different note is there nine ways of saying "you" in German? I think most if not all European languages have informal and formal ways of saying "you" except English.

[nondescript handle]

[...], but I was just wondering could you actually translate Sie as old english "Thee".

Actually 'thou', 'thee' and 'thine'/'thy' were the equivalent of 'du', 'dir' and 'deine', English rid itself of the informal one!
(originally they were the singular form and 'you'/'your' were only plural)

Regards
Mark

[mikerock]

Mike is referring to the fact that in English, objects are always referred to by the neutral "it" instead of our German distinction between "male", "female" and "neutral" objects.

Example: The German sentences...

"Die Bombe detonierte in einem Wohnviertel. Sie richtete schwere Schäden an."

translate as:

"The bomb detonated in a residential area. It caused heavy damage."

PS: For non-native speakers of German - "Sie" as a form of address, i.e. the formal "you" is spelled with a capital "S", while "sie" as in "she" or "it" is spelled with a lower case "s".

Hope this helps; I know the finer points of German grammar can be a bit confusing....

The same goes with "the" like you demonstrated in your sentence. We have one word, "the" and German has "Die" feminine, "Der" - masculine, and "Das" - neuter.

German class starts again tomorrow morning...

--Mike

[HPL2008]

The same goes with "the" like you demonstrated in your sentence. We have one word, "the" and German has "Die" feminine, "Der" - masculine, and "Das" - neuter.

Exactly, and this is a particularly tricky aspect of our language, as there is usually no recognizable logic behind the categorization to which gender an object belongs.

Just a few culinary examples:
- Potato, turnip and cucumber are female (= die Kartoffel, die Rübe, die Gurke)
- Pumpkin, lettuce and leek are male (= der Kürbis, der Salat, der Lauch)
- The ever-popular Sauerkraut is neutral (= das Sauerkraut)

(Notice though that for the plural forms, the definite article "die" is always used, as in die Kürbisse.)

Or, another, more military example: "ship" is neutral (= das Schiff), but a particular, named ship is always female (= die Bismarck), while different categories of ship can be anything - a destroyer is male (= der Zerstörer), a frigate is female (= die Fregatte) and a battleship is neutral (= das Schlachtschiff)

[ChristopherPerrien]

There is also a real easyway to figuring out where someone in Germany is from , Generally Northern Germans pronounce "Ich" meaning first person ,"I" as "ick" which is formal or "High" German, in Southern Germany "Ich" as "ish". This "k" and "sh" sound is heard in other words and I imagine it could cause some confusion as to what a word may actually be or how it is spelled.

I have never listened close enough to any Hitler speeches or him talking unoffically to hear if he said "Ish" instead of "ick" when meaning first person "I", when speaking. I imagine he used "ish" normally since Austria, Bavaria and Southern Germany are more or less the same region.