German word

man

Pronunciation

IPA/man/

Meaning

  • pronounyou

Example

Man darf hier nicht rauchen.

You must not smoke here.

Illustration for man (you)

More examples

Man muss pünktlich sein.

You must be punctual.

Core concept

A general human viewpoint replaces any specific person when a statement concerns people as a whole.

Common phrases

  • Man kann

    you can

  • Man muss

    you must

  • Man sollte

    you should

Similar words

du: A familiar form for addressing one person directly.
Sie: A respectful form for addressing one or more people directly, distinguished by capitalization.
wir: A form referring to the speaker together with at least one other person.
ihr: A familiar form for addressing several people other than the speaker.

Definition in German

Unbestimmtes Subjektpronomen, das allgemeine Aussagen über Menschen macht, wenn keine konkrete Person genannt wird.

Word origin

The indefinite pronoun man arose from the Germanic word for 'person', preserved in Old High German man and related to English man.

Usage tips

  • Man has no ordinary accusative or dative form; forms such as einen and einem refer back to it in those cases.

Word lists with this word