The usual translation of and you in German is Und du? when speaking informally to one person. In a formal conversation, use Und Sie?. After a question such as Wie geht es dir?, “How are you?”, the matching reply question is Und dir?, because that expression uses the dative case.
Und du? = “And you?” informally. Und Sie? = “And you?” formally. For “I’m well. And you?”, say Mir geht es gut. Und dir? or the formal Mir geht es gut. Und Ihnen?.
- How Do You Say And You in German?
- Different German Forms of And You
- And You in German: Quick Comparison
- How to Pronounce Und Du and Und Sie
- Why Du Changes to Dir
- Using And You in a Conversation
- And You Versus You Too
- Example Dialogues Using And You in German
- Frequently Asked Questions About And You in German
- Summary: How to Say And You in German
How Do You Say And You in German?
Say Und du? when you are speaking to a friend, family member, child, or another person with whom you use informal du. For example, Ich komme aus Japan. Und du? means “I come from Japan. And you?”
The short question sends the same topic back to the other person. You do not need to repeat the whole original question when the context is clear. If several different topics have been discussed, a complete question may be easier to understand.
Formal: Und Sie?
Different German Forms of And You
English uses the same word “you” for several grammatical situations. German distinguishes informal singular, informal plural, formal address, and grammatical case. Choose the form that matches both the person and the implied question.
1. Und du? — Informal Singular
Und du? is useful when the other person becomes the subject of the implied question. Ich bin müde. Und du? means “I am tired. And you?” The understood question is whether the other person is tired too.
Another example is Ich lerne Deutsch. Und du?, “I am learning German. And you?” Depending on the context, the listener may tell you what language they are learning or whether they are studying German as well.
2. Und Sie? — Formal Address
Und Sie? is the formal equivalent when the implied question uses the nominative subject form. Ich arbeite in Berlin. Und Sie? means “I work in Berlin. And you?” in a formal conversation.
Formal Sie is capitalized in ordinary writing. It can address one person or several people formally. Do not confuse it with lower-case sie meaning “she” or “they”; the written capital and the conversational setting help identify the intended meaning.
3. Und ihr? — Informal Plural
Use Und ihr? when you address more than one person informally. Wir kommen morgen. Und ihr? means “We are coming tomorrow. And you?” The question is directed to the group.
Ihr is not the formal plural of du. It is the informal plural. For formal address to a group, use Sie and the corresponding grammatical forms, just as you would in a formal conversation with one person.
4. Und dir? / Und Ihnen? — After Wie geht es?
After Wie geht es dir?, answer Mir geht es gut. Und dir?, “I’m well. And you?” The pronoun is dir because the construction wie geht es uses the dative for the person whose condition is being discussed.
The formal version is Wie geht es Ihnen? and Mir geht es gut. Und Ihnen?. The informal plural is Wie geht es euch? and Und euch?. These are useful complete patterns to learn together.
And You in German: Quick Comparison
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| German | Who / Construction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Und du? | informal singular, subject form | Ich bin bereit. Und du? |
| Und Sie? | formal address, subject form | Ich wohne hier. Und Sie? |
| Und ihr? | informal plural, subject form | Wir kommen mit. Und ihr? |
| Und dir? | informal singular after Wie geht es? | Mir geht es gut. Und dir? |
| Und Ihnen? | formal after Wie geht es? | Gut, danke. Und Ihnen? |
| Und euch? | informal plural after Wie geht es? | Uns geht es gut. Und euch? |
The table is not a list of words you can substitute at random. The first decision is your relationship with the listener. The second is the grammatical construction. Formality alone does not explain the difference between du and dir, because both refer informally to one person.
How to Pronounce Und Du and Und Sie
Und ends with a sound that is commonly t-like when the word is pronounced clearly on its own. In natural speech, it can be reduced and connect closely to the next word. Avoid adding a separate vowel after the final consonant.
Du has a long u sound, roughly like “doo.” Sie has a voiced initial sound, approximately “zee.” These English spellings are only guides, so listen to the full questions rather than pronouncing them as isolated English syllables.
Dir and Ihnen are different words with different sounds. Practice Und dir? and Und Ihnen? as complete questions. A natural question intonation and a short pause after your own answer make the conversational turn clear.
Why Du Changes to Dir
German pronouns change according to their grammatical role. Du is the subject form: Du bist müde, “You are tired.” Dir is a dative form, used in constructions such as Wie geht es dir?.
The short reply question leaves out the repeated words but keeps the grammatical relationship. Und dir? is understood as a continuation of the same dative construction. It does not become du simply because the rest of the question is omitted.
For formal address, the corresponding pair is Sie and Ihnen. For informal plural address, it is ihr and euch in these examples. Learning the whole greeting pattern is more useful at first than trying to reconstruct a case table during a conversation.
Using And You in a Conversation
A short answer followed by a return question is natural: Gut, danke. Und dir?, “Good, thanks. And you?” You can make the reply more personal with Mir geht es sehr gut, “I’m very well,” or Ganz gut, “Quite well.”
If you are discussing a different topic, match that topic: Ich wohne in Hamburg. Und du?, “I live in Hamburg. And you?” Here the question concerns the other person’s home, so Und du is appropriate.
- Ich komme aus Japan. Und du? — I am from Japan. And you?
- Ich bin schon fertig. Und Sie? — I am already finished. And you? Formal.
- Wir bleiben hier. Und ihr? — We are staying here. And you? Informal plural.
- Mir geht es gut. Und dir? — I am well. And you?
If a short return question could be ambiguous, repeat the full question. Und wo wohnst du? means “And where do you live?” The extra words identify exactly what you want the other person to tell you.
And You Versus You Too
And you? asks the listener to answer the same topic. You too returns a wish or includes the listener in a statement. These are different conversational jobs and should not always use the same German phrase.
If someone says Schönen Tag!, “Have a nice day!”, an informal reply can be Danke, dir auch!, “Thanks, you too!” The formal version is Danke, Ihnen auch!. A reply such as Und du? would sound like a question rather than simply returning the good wish.
Gleichfalls!, “Likewise!”, can also return an appropriate wish. Learn it with the specific situation instead of treating it as a replacement for every English “and you.”
Example Dialogues Using And You in German
Use: Returning a question informally about what somebody is learning.
Use: Replying politely to a formal greeting.
Use: Addressing more than one person informally.
Frequently Asked Questions About And You in German
Tap a question below to see the answer.
How do you say and you in German?
Use Und du? informally to one person, or Und Sie? in formal address, when the implied question uses the subject form.
Should I say Und du or Und dir after how are you?
For the pattern Wie geht es dir?, the matching return question is Und dir?. It keeps the dative form used by that construction.
How do you say and you formally after a greeting?
After Wie geht es Ihnen?, say Und Ihnen?. In a subject-based question such as where someone works, Und Sie? may be appropriate.
How do you say and you to a group of friends?
Use Und ihr? for a subject-based question. After Wie geht es euch?, use Und euch?.
Do you capitalize du in an ordinary sentence?
In ordinary running text, du and ihr are lower-case. Formal Sie and Ihnen are capitalized.
Is and you the same as you too?
No. For returning a wish such as “Have a nice day,” use a response such as Danke, dir auch! or formal Danke, Ihnen auch!.
Summary: How to Say And You in German
Und du? is a common way to say “And you?” informally. Use Und Sie? formally and Und ihr? for more than one informal listener when the implied question calls for the subject form.
After Wie geht es?, use the corresponding dative forms: Und dir?, Und Ihnen?, or Und euch?. Match the phrase to both the listener and the grammar of the conversation.
