{"id":4963,"date":"2014-06-01T20:26:01","date_gmt":"2014-06-01T20:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=4963"},"modified":"2017-11-15T14:37:49","modified_gmt":"2017-11-15T14:37:49","slug":"the-german-you-duzen-und-siezen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-german-you-duzen-und-siezen\/","title":{"rendered":"The German you: duzen und siezen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, I know. There are German words that do not have a really good translation in (many) other languages, like\u00a0Gem\u00fctlichkeit<\/em>,\u00a0Schadenfreude<\/em> and Wirtschaftswunder<\/i>. All nouns. What about the verbs? There are two quite handy ones, that you are likely to encounter the next time you visit the Germans.<\/p>\n

The verb\u00a0duzen\u00a0means, literally\u00a0to you\u00a0<\/em>(informally) and\u00a0siezen\u00a0<\/em>means, literally\u00a0to you\u00a0<\/em>(formally). Nowadays, these two are the most used Pronominale Anredeformen\u00a0<\/em>(forms in the T-V Distinction).\u00a0Sounds confusing? I’ll explain.<\/p>\n

Contrary to English, German makes a distinction between the formal way of saying you (Sie<\/strong>)<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>and the informal way (du<\/strong><\/em>). The formal Sie\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>you would use when talking\u00a0to a stranger, highly respected person, as for example in some circles parents and other older family members, und so weiter <\/em>(and so on). It is conjugated with the same forms as\u00a0sie<\/em>\u00a0(they – 3rd person plural). But heed: for this formal “you” form, you need to use the capital first letter, so:\u00a0Sie, Ihren, Ihrem,<\/strong><\/em> Ihnen.<\/strong> The informal\u00a0du<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>you use when talking to friends, most of the times family members, and others that allow you to do so. It is conjugated just as\u00a0du is\u00a0<\/em>supposed to be conjugated: du, dein, dir, dich.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

So what is siezen\u00a0and duzen? The verb siezen\u00a0means that you address somebodywith the formal\u00a0Sie.<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>The verb duzen\u00a0means that you address somebody with the informal\u00a0du.<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>So what might happen when you meet a stranger is the scenario below:<\/p>\n

Guten Tag! Ich bin Klaus.<\/i><\/p>\n

– Guten Tag. Ich bin Hilde.<\/p>\n

Wie geht es Ihnen?<\/em><\/p>\n

–\u00a0<\/i>Mir geht es gut, Danke. Sie k\u00f6nnen mich auch gerne duzen, siezen\u00a0ist mir zu altmodisch! Wie geht es Ihnen?<\/p>\n

Mir geht es auch gut, Danke. Ja, duzen\u00a0k\u00f6nnen wir uns! Was machst du?<\/em><\/p>\n

– Ich arbeite bei einer Versicherung. Und du?<\/p>\n

Ich bin Bankkaufmann<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Translation of the conversation above:<\/p>\n

Hello! I am Klaus.<\/em><\/p>\n

– Hello. I am Hilde.<\/p>\n

How are You<\/em>\u00a0(formal)?<\/p>\n

– I am fine, thanks. You can also call me you (informal), I think youing (formal) is outdated! How are You (formal)?<\/p>\n

I am also fine, thanks. Yes, we can you\u00a0<\/em>(informal)\u00a0each other! What do you<\/em>\u00a0(informal)\u00a0do?\u00a0<\/em>(vocational)<\/p>\n

–\u00a0I work at an Insurance. And you\u00a0<\/em>(informal)?<\/p>\n

I am a banker.<\/em><\/p>\n

As you can see, you will have to wait until the other person tells you that you can use the informal\u00a0du.<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>Every person has another threshold for this, but it is normally announced when they want you to do that. So, better safe than sorry, always speak to people with\u00a0Sie.<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>It is always considered nice, and especially when you are non-German, it is not considered that strange, no matter whether you talk to friends or strangers.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, in Germany students in high school are called\u00a0Sie<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>by teachers when they reach the age of 16, as from that age you are seen to have reached a certain maturity. This formality stretches also to the later job life. It is quite normal to stay on the formal\u00a0Sie<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>basis with co-workers. You would also not use their first names, but, for example in the case of the name\u00a0Klaus Kleber, Herr Kleber<\/em>. This could even be the case in schools, and definitely happens in universities and colleges.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Back in the days, other ways of calling people also existed. For example, in the Middle Ages, the “common\u00a0people” called the nobles, kings and other important personalities\u00a0Ihr,<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>the so-called ihrzen.\u00a0<\/em>In some German regions this is still quite common, although\u00a0in mostregions of Germany ihrzen\u00a0<\/i>was subsituted with\u00a0siezen<\/em>. Furthermore,\u00a0Erzen\u00a0<\/em>was used by the nobility to talk to “common\u00a0people”. Nowadays, this sounds very strange, and is not used anymore. See the video below how it sounds (or sounded) back in the day to speak to a noble person, like this\u00a0K\u00f6nigsbote\u00a0<\/em>(king’s envoy) from the German TV Show\u00a0M\u00e4rchenstunde,\u00a0<\/em>a comedy of traditional fairy tales:<\/p>\n

See from second 29:<\/em><\/p>\n