Say Person in German - But Watch Usage Rules

Few words are more essential than person. Whether you’re introducing someone, filling out a form, or simply referring to a human being, you’ll need this word constantly. That’s why learning how to say Person in German is one of the first steps in building real-life vocabulary. The German word is die Person, and it belongs to the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German.

Person is a feminine noun - die Person - and it’s pronounced pair-ZOHN, with the stress on the second syllable and a clear German r. It’s easy to learn but packed with nuance, so if you still find German gender a little fuzzy, our quick video lesson will help clear that up in under five minutes.

In German, Person refers broadly to an individual - male or female. Unlike Mann or Frau, it’s gender-neutral and is often used in formal, legal, or descriptive language: eine berühmte Person (a famous person), eine unbekannte Person (an unknown person), or diese Person ist verantwortlich (this person is responsible). It’s also the go-to word when talking about counts: zwei Personen (two people), eine Person pro Zimmer (one person per room). Person is grammatically feminine regardless of whom it describes: die Person, die … . Sie can refer back to the noun without telling you whether the person is a woman. In English, use he, she, or singular they as the context requires.