ihr
you
Second-person plural personal pronoun in the nominative. It is the informal form of address for a group of people.
EXAMPLE
Was macht ihr heute Abend?
What are you doing this evening?
ihr
you / her / their
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Meanings
ihr
her
Third-person singular feminine personal pronoun in the dative. It refers to a female person as an indirect object.
EXAMPLE
Ich habe meiner Schwester zum Geburtstag gratuliert und ihr ein Buch geschenkt.
I congratulated my sister on her birthday and gave her a book.
ihr
her
Possessive article that indicates possession of or belonging to a female person in the third-person singular.
EXAMPLE
Die Nachbarin hat ihr Auto in der Einfahrt geparkt.
The neighbor parked her car in the driveway.
ihr
their
Possessive article that indicates possession of or belonging to a group in the third-person plural.
EXAMPLE
Die Studenten müssen ihr Examen bald ablegen.
The students have to take their exam soon.
Usage tips
Recognizing meanings
You can recognize the function of 'ihr' (you/her/their) from the sentence position and the verb. As a form of address (subject), the verb ends in '-t' (ihr kommt). As a dative object, it comes after the verb (ich helfe ihr). As a possessive article, it stands before a noun (ihr Buch).
EXAMPLE
Ihr sprecht sehr gut Deutsch!
You speak German very well!
Addressing a group
'Ihr' (you) is the plural form of 'du' (you). You use it to address a group of friends, family members, or children directly. The verb in the sentence is conjugated accordingly and ends in '-t'.
EXAMPLE
Hallo zusammen, was wollt ihr trinken?
Hi everyone, what do you want to drink?
Dative for 'sie'
'Ihr' (her) is the dative form of the personal pronoun 'sie' (she; feminine, singular). It is used as an indirect object with verbs like 'geben' (to give), 'helfen' (to help), 'antworten' (to answer), 'danken' (to thank), or 'gefallen' (to please/be liked).
EXAMPLE
Er schenkt ihr zum Geburtstag Blumen.
He gives her flowers for her birthday.
Whose possession?
As a possessive article, 'ihr' can mean that something belongs to a woman ('her') or that something belongs to a group of people ('their'). Only the context makes clear which meaning is intended.
EXAMPLE
Maria telefoniert mit ihrer Mutter.
Maria is talking on the phone with her mother.
Compare with
ihr vs sie
she / they
When referring to a female person, sie and ihr can refer to the same person, but they are used in different cases. Sie is used here in the nominative or accusative, while ihr is used in the dative. Use sie, for example, as the subject or direct object, and ihr after verbs such as helfen or danken.
ihr
Ich helfe ihr jeden Morgen an der Bushaltestelle.
I help her at the bus stop every morning.
sie
Ich sehe sie jeden Morgen an der Bushaltestelle.
I see her at the bus stop every morning.
In real life
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