pronoun
she, they, you (formal)
A1
'sie': a personal pronoun meaning 'she' (singular), 'they' (plural), or formal 'you' (Sie). Case forms vary: nominative 'sie', accusative 'sie', dative singular 'ihr', dative plural 'ihnen', genitive 'ihrer'. Capitalization distinguishes feminine 'sie' from formal 'Sie'. Declensions depend on number and case.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.EXAMPLES
Die Kinder spielen im Garten; sie haben viel Spaß.
The children are playing in the garden; they're having a lot of fun.
Obwohl sie krank war, arbeitete sie weiter, damit das Projekt pünktlich fertig wurde.
Although she was ill, she continued to work so that the project was finished on time.
Ich kenne Anna; sie kommt später.
I know Anna; she will come later.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.DETAILS_LABEL
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.MNEMONICS
Picture a small group of people (they) together — the same short word 'sie' points to either one woman (she) or a group (they); capitalization (Sie) signals formal you.
Sounds like English 'sea' — imagine a group (they) on the sea or one woman (she) on the sea, depending on context.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.NOTES
The pronoun 'sie' is ambiguous: lowercase 'sie' can mean 'she' (singular feminine) or 'they' (plural). Capitalized 'Sie' is the formal second-person pronoun 'you' and uses the same forms as plural in grammar. Watch capitalization and verb agreement to determine meaning.