German word

wer

Pronunciation

IPA/veːɐ̯/

Meaning

  • pronounwho

Example

Wer hat das gesagt?

Who said that?

Illustration for wer (who)

More examples

Er wollte wissen, wer der neue Kollege ist.

He wanted to know who the new colleague is.

Core concept

A person-focused question used when the speaker needs to identify someone rather than something.

Common phrases

  • Wer ist

    who is

  • Wer kann

    who can

  • Wer weiß

    who knows

Similar words

wen: Asks which person an action is directed at.
wem: Asks which person receives something or is affected by an action.
was: Asks about a thing, event, or matter rather than a person.

Definition in German

Dient zur Frage nach einer Person im Nominativ; steht häufig am Satzanfang in direkter Personenfrage

Word origin

Wer is an inherited Germanic interrogative pronoun, historically related to the ancestor of English who.

Usage tips

  • Wer can introduce an indirect question as well as a direct one, as in 'Ich weiss, wer das gesagt hat.'

Other meanings

  • whoeverpronoun

Opposites

Related words

  • irgendwersomeonepronoun

Word lists with this word