Question words and pronouns in German

Almost every German question word begins with w, so they're known as the W-words.

The trap

  • wer means who, not "where".
  • wo means where.

Say them a few times until wer stops sounding like "where".

Where to and where from

German splits "where" in three: wo (where), wohin (where to), woher (where from). Woher kommst du? — Where are you from?

One word, three meanings

sie / Sie can mean "she", "they" or the formal "you". The verb and the capital letter tell them apart:

  • sie ist — she is
  • sie sind — they are
  • Sie sind — you are (formal)

Practise with flashcards

Every word on this page, with its pronunciation and an example sentence, is in the deck below. Add it to your decks and Echoes will bring each card back just before you would forget it.

German Question Words and Pronouns (A1)

a125 words

25 words: question words, personal pronouns and possessives.

  • wer · who
  • was · what
  • wo · where
  • wohin · where (to)
  • woher · where (from)
  • wann · when
Show all words
WordMeaningExample
wer/veːɐ̯/whoWer ist der Mann?Who is the man?
was/vas/whatWas ist das?What is that?
wo/voː/whereWo arbeitest du?Where do you work?
wohin/voˈhɪn/where (to)Wohin fährst du im Sommer?Where are you going in the summer?
woher/voˈheːɐ̯/where (from)Woher kommen Sie?Where are you from?
wann/van/whenWann beginnt der Film?When does the film start?
warum/vaˈʁʊm/whyWarum bist du so spät?Why are you so late?
wie/viː/howWie kommst du zur Arbeit?How do you get to work?
welcher, welche, welches/ˈvɛlçɐ/whichWelche Farbe möchtest du?Which colour would you like?
wie viele/viː ˈfiːlə/how manyWie viele Geschwister hast du?How many brothers and sisters do you have?
wie alt/viː ˈalt/how oldWie alt bist du?How old are you?
ich/ɪç/IIch bin Lehrerin.I'm a teacher.
du/duː/you (informal, one person)Du bist mein bester Freund.You're my best friend.
Sie/ziː/you (formal)Sprechen Sie Deutsch?Do you speak German?
er/eːɐ̯/he; it (masculine nouns)Er ist mein Bruder.He's my brother.
sie (Singular)/ziː/she; it (feminine nouns)Sie ist meine Schwester.She's my sister.
es/ɛs/it (neuter nouns)Wo ist das Handy? – Es liegt auf dem Tisch.Where's the phone? – It's on the table.
wir/viːɐ̯/weWir wohnen hier.We live here.
ihr/iːɐ̯/you (informal, several people)Kommt ihr heute Abend?Are you coming tonight?
sie (Plural)/ziː/theyDas sind meine Freunde. Sie kommen aus Spanien.These are my friends. They're from Spain.
mein / meine/maɪ̯n/myDas ist mein Auto.That's my car.
dein / deine/daɪ̯n/your (informal)Ist das deine Tasche?Is that your bag?
sein / seine/zaɪ̯n/hisSein Name ist Tom.His name is Tom.
ihr / ihre (Possessiv)/iːɐ̯/her; theirIhr Name ist Anna.Her name is Anna.
unser / unsere/ˈʊnzɐ/ourDas ist unser Haus.That's our house.