🎯 Today's Learning Goals / Lernziele
- Conjugate 'sein' in all six forms from memory (bin, bist, ist, sind, seid, sind)
- Use 'sein' to express identity, nationality, profession, feelings, and location
- Negate a sein-sentence correctly with 'nicht' (no 'do not' construction)
- Ask 'Are you...?' questions by flipping word order — without translating 'do'
- Know that professions and nationalities after 'sein' take no article (Ich bin Lehrer, not ein Lehrer)
- Recognise that 'sind' is shared by both 'wir' and 'sie/Sie'
📚 Grammar & Rules / Grammatik
1. Full Conjugation of sein
Sein is completely irregular and must be memorised. It has six forms for eight pronoun slots.
Sein is German's most important verb. It builds your identity (Ich bin Anna), your nationality (Ich bin aus Indien), your profession, your state (Ich bin müde), and later, most of the German past tense. English 'to be' is just as irregular (am, are, is) — for the same historical reason. The good news: there are only six forms, and you will use them thousands of times.
| PRONOUN | FORM | EXAMPLE |
|---|---|---|
| ich | bin | Ich bin müde. — I am tired. |
| du | bist | Du bist nett. — You are nice. |
| er/sie/es | ist | Er ist Lehrer. — He is a teacher. |
| wir | sind | Wir sind zu Hause. — We are at home. |
| ihr | seid | Ihr seid spät. — You (pl.) are late. |
| sie/Sie | sind | Sie sind Ärzte. — They are doctors. |
⚠️ Common Mistake: Do NOT confuse 'seid' (ihr) with 'sind' (wir / sie / Sie). 'seid' is exclusively for 'ihr' (informal plural you).
💡 Study Tip: 'sind' is the plural-feeling form — it appears with 'wir' and 'sie/Sie,' the two pronouns that usually mean more than one person. Learn those two together and you cover a third of the table.
2. Five Uses of sein
Sein is used for identity, nationality, profession, state/feeling, and location.
Unlike English, German uses 'sein' without an article before professions and nationalities. You say 'Ich bin Ingenieur' (I am an engineer), not 'Ich bin ein Ingenieur.' This is one of the most common mistakes English speakers make.
| PRONOUN | FORM | EXAMPLE |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Ich bin Sofia. | I am Sofia. |
| Nationality | Er ist aus Spanien. | He is from Spain. |
| Profession | Sie ist Ärztin. | She is a doctor. (no article!) |
| State / Feeling | Wir sind glücklich. | We are happy. |
| Location | Das Buch ist auf dem Tisch. | The book is on the table. |
⚠️ Common Mistake: No article before professions: 'Ich bin Lehrer' (correct), NOT 'Ich bin ein Lehrer.' Exception: when adding an adjective — 'Ich bin ein guter Lehrer.'
💡 Study Tip: Think of it this way: the profession IS you, so no article separates you from it.
3. Questions and Negation with sein
Questions: flip the word order (verb first). Negation: add 'nicht' after the verb. No 'do' support in German.
English needs a helper verb to ask a question or negate: 'Do you...? I do not...' German never does this with sein. For questions, simply flip the order: 'Du bist müde' becomes 'Bist du müde?' For negation, add 'nicht': 'Ich bin müde' becomes 'Ich bin nicht müde.' Trying to translate 'do' word-for-word is the single most common beginner error.
Bist du müde?
— Are you tired?
💡 Flip order: verb first, then pronoun
Ist sie Ärztin?
— Is she a doctor?
💡 Same flip: ist + sie
Ich bin nicht müde.
— I am not tired.
💡 nicht after the verb
Er ist nicht aus Deutschland.
— He is not from Germany.
💡 nicht negates the phrase
⚠️ Common Mistake: NEVER say 'Ich tue nicht sein müde' or any 'do not' construction. German has no 'do' support.
💡 Study Tip: Question = flip (verb jumps to position 1). Negation = add 'nicht.' These two rules work for all German verbs, not just sein.
4. Sein with Adjectives — Describing States
After 'sein,' adjectives stay in their base form with no endings.
When an adjective comes after 'sein' as a predicate adjective, it does not change: 'Ich bin müde,' 'Du bist müde,' 'Wir sind müde' — the adjective 'müde' stays the same regardless of the pronoun. This is different from adjectives before a noun, which need endings (covered in later modules).
Ich bin glücklich.
— I am happy.
💡 Adjective unchanged after sein
Sie ist traurig.
— She is sad.
💡 Same form: traurig
Wir sind müde.
— We are tired.
💡 No ending on müde
💡 Study Tip: This is good news: after 'sein,' adjectives are easy — no endings to worry about.
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📖 Core Vocabulary / Wortschatz (41 Words)
Click 🔊 to hear correct German pronunciation. Nouns are marked with articles: der (masculine) die (feminine) das (neuter).
| Audio | German | English | Type | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sein | to be | Verb (irregular) |
Sein ist das wichtigste Verb. (To be is the most important verb.)
|
|
| bin | am (ich form of sein) | Verb form |
Ich bin Student. (I am a student.)
|
|
| bist | are (du form of sein) | Verb form |
Du bist nett. (You are nice.)
|
|
| ist | is (er/sie/es form of sein) | Verb form |
Er ist Lehrer. (He is a teacher.)
|
|
| sind | are (wir/sie/Sie form of sein) | Verb form |
Wir sind zu Hause. (We are at home.)
|
|
| seid | are (ihr form of sein) | Verb form |
Ihr seid spät. (You (pl.) are late.)
|
|
| müde | tired | Adjective |
Ich bin sehr müde. (I am very tired.)
|
|
| glücklich | happy | Adjective |
Wir sind glücklich. (We are happy.)
|
|
| traurig | sad | Adjective |
Sie ist traurig. (She is sad.)
|
|
| krank | sick / ill | Adjective |
Er ist krank. (He is sick.)
|
|
| gesund | healthy | Adjective |
Die Kinder sind gesund. (The children are healthy.)
|
|
| spät | late | Adjective |
Ihr seid spät! (You (all) are late!)
|
|
| fertig | finished / ready / done | Adjective |
Bist du fertig? (Are you finished?)
|
|
| verheiratet | married | Adjective |
Sie ist verheiratet. (She is married.)
|
|
| ledig | single / unmarried | Adjective |
Er ist ledig. (He is single.)
|
|
| gestresst | stressed | Adjective |
Ich bin gestresst. (I am stressed.)
|
|
| derStudent | the student (male, university) | Noun (der, -en) |
Er ist Student. (He is a student.)
|
|
| dieStudentin | the student (female, university) | Noun (die, -nen) |
Sie ist Studentin. (She is a student.)
|
|
| derIngenieur | the engineer (male) | Noun (der, -e) |
Ich bin Ingenieur. (I am an engineer.)
|
|
| dieIngenieurin | the engineer (female) | Noun (die, -nen) |
Sie ist Ingenieurin. (She is an engineer.)
|
|
| derArzt | the doctor (male) | Noun (der, Ärzte) |
Er ist Arzt. (He is a doctor.)
|
|
| dieÄrztin | the doctor (female) | Noun (die, -nen) |
Sie ist Ärztin. (She is a doctor.)
|
|
| derLehrer | the teacher (male) | Noun (der, -) |
Er ist Lehrer. (He is a teacher.)
|
|
| dieLehrerin | the teacher (female) | Noun (die, -nen) |
Sie ist Lehrerin. (She is a teacher.)
|
|
| zu Hause | at home | Adverbial phrase |
Wir sind zu Hause. (We are at home.)
|
|
| hier | here | Adverb |
Ich bin hier. (I am here.)
|
|
| nicht | not | Adverb |
Ich bin nicht müde. (I am not tired.)
|
|
| sehr | very | Adverb |
Du bist sehr nett. (You are very nice.)
|
|
| heute | today | Adverb |
Heute bin ich glücklich. (Today I am happy.)
|
|
| aus | from (origin) | Preposition |
Ich bin aus Indien. (I am from India.)
|
|
| in | in | Preposition |
Wir sind in Berlin. (We are in Berlin.)
|
|
| dieNationalität | the nationality | Noun (die, -en) |
Meine Nationalität ist deutsch. (My nationality is German.)
|
|
| derBeruf | the profession / occupation | Noun (der, -e) |
Was ist Ihr Beruf? (What is your profession?)
|
|
| interessant | interesting | Adjective |
Das ist interessant! (That is interesting!)
|
|
| freundlich | friendly | Adjective |
Sie ist sehr freundlich. (She is very friendly.)
|
|
| schön | beautiful / nice | Adjective |
München ist schön. (Munich is beautiful.)
|
|
| richtig | correct / right | Adjective |
Das ist richtig. (That is correct.)
|
|
| falsch | wrong / false | Adjective |
Das ist falsch. (That is wrong.)
|
|
| zusammen | together | Adverb |
Wir sind zusammen. (We are together.)
|
|
| dieSprache | the language | Noun (die, -n) |
Deutsch ist eine schöne Sprache. (German is a beautiful language.)
|
|
| dasLand | the country | Noun (das, Länder) |
Deutschland ist ein schönes Land. (Germany is a beautiful country.)
|
💬 Key Conversational Phrases / Redemittel
Ich bin ... (Name).
I am ... (Name). · Introducing yourself.
Ich bin aus ... (Land).
I am from ... (country). · Stating your origin.
Ich bin ... von Beruf.
I am a ... by profession. · Stating your profession.
Bist du Student/in?
Are you a student? (informal) · Asking someone about their status.
Sind Sie Herr/Frau ...?
Are you Mr./Ms. ...? (formal) · Confirming someone's identity formally.
Ich bin nicht ... / Das ist nicht ...
I am not ... / That is not ... · Negating with sein.
Wo ist ...?
Where is ...? · Asking about location.
Wie bist du heute? — Ich bin müde / glücklich / gestresst.
How are you today? — I am tired / happy / stressed. · Asking about someone's state or mood.
🗣️ Practical Dialogue / Dialog
Situation: Beim Kennenlernen (Getting to Know Each Other)
Ben:
Hallo! Ich bin Ben. Und du, wer bist du?
Hi! I'm Ben. And you, who are you?
Yui:
Ich bin Yui. Ich bin aus Japan.
I'm Yui. I'm from Japan.
Ben:
Schön! Bist du Studentin?
Nice! Are you a student?
Yui:
Ja, ich bin Studentin. Und du, bist du auch Student?
Yes, I'm a student. And you, are you a student too?
Ben:
Nein, ich bin nicht Student. Ich bin Ingenieur.
No, I'm not a student. I'm an engineer.
Yui:
Interessant! Und wo ist deine Familie?
Interesting! And where is your family?
Ben:
Meine Familie ist in München. Wir sind eine große Familie.
My family is in Munich. We are a big family.