du
you
Second-person singular personal pronoun in the nominative. It refers to the person being addressed in an informal or familiar situation.
EXAMPLE
Du bist mein bester Freund.
You are my best friend.
du
you
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Meanings
Usage tips
Informal context
The pronoun 'du' (you) is used for informal address. You use it with friends, family members, children, and often also with colleagues.
EXAMPLE
Hallo Mama, wie geht es dir?
Hi Mom, how are you?
Verb ending '-st'
When 'du' (you) is the subject in the sentence, the conjugated verb in the present tense almost always ends in '-st'. This is an important signal for recognizing the second-person singular.
EXAMPLE
Du sprichst sehr gut Deutsch.
You speak German very well.
Subject in the sentence
'Du' (you) is the form for the subject, or nominative. When the person being addressed is the object, you use 'dich' (you, accusative) or 'dir' (you/to you, dative).
EXAMPLE
Ich sehe dich.
I see you.
Compare with
du vs wir
we
Du addresses one person directly and informally. Wir includes the speaker and can express a shared experience or a general statement about a group. Choose du for direct address and wir when the community is the focus.
du
Wenn du regelmäßig übst, lernst du neue Wörter leichter.
If you practice regularly, you will learn new words more easily.
wir
Wenn wir regelmäßig üben, lernen wir neue Wörter leichter.
If we practice regularly, we will learn new words more easily.
In real life
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