Honorifics are words that connote esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person. In the German language, honorifics distinguish people by age, sex, profession, academic achievement, and rank. In the past, a distinction was also made between married and unmarried women.
Like many languages, German has pronouns for both familiar (used with family members, intimate friends, and children) and polite forms of address. The polite equivalent of "you" is "Sie." Grammatically speaking, this is the 3rd-person-plural form, and, as a subject of a sentence, it always takes the 3rd-person-plural forms of verbs and possessive adjective/ pronouns, even when talking to only one person. (Familiar pronouns have singular and plural forms.) Honorific pronouns are always capitalized except for the polite reflexive pronoun "sich." In letters, e-mails, and other texts in which the reader is directly addressed, familiar pronouns may be capitalized or not. In schoolbooks, the pronouns usually remain lowercased.
Declension of the polite personal pronoun "Sie":
Nominative case (= Accusative case): Sie
Genitive case: Ihrer
Dative case: Ihnen
Declension of polite possessive adjectives:
| Singular | Plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | All three genders | ||
| Nominative case | Ihr | Ihre | Ihr | Ihre | |
| Genitive case | Ihres | Ihrer | Ihres | Ihrer | |
| Dative case | Ihrem | Ihrer | Ihrem | Ihren | |
| Accusative case | Ihren | Ihre | Ihr | Ihre | |
Obsolete forms of honorific addresses:
In former times, the 2nd person plural ("Ihr" ; like the French « vous ») or the 3rd person singular ("Er" He, "Sie" She) and their corresponding possessive adjectives and verb forms were used. The 3rd person plural as polite form of address as it is used today became standard during the 19th and 20th centuries.
For more details about German grammar, see the entries about the German language.
Using "Herr" for very young men, certainly those below the age of 16, is rather awkward and often avoided (except in letters from the state's bureaucracy) by using the first name, or first name and last name. There used to be a direct equivalent to Fräulein, viz., Junker (formed “jung Herr”, lit. “young lord”, and equivalent to Master in English), but this word is now only used in describing a specific class (which properly speaking did not consist of "junkers" in this sense at all, but of "Herren") and in the term Fahnenjunker ("officer candidate 3rd class"), reflecting the tradition that only officers are Herren (though now used together with "Herr", see below under military). Also, it never lost the touch of describing exclusively those of higher class, which was originally true of all the four mentioned above but has been lost by all of them.
Note that almost all other honorifics will be combined with a Herr or Frau respectively (and almost never with a Fräulein); the contrary shall be noted as exceptions in the following.
All clergy and ministers are usually called Herr (or Protestants also: Frau) plus the title of their office, e. g., Herr Pfarrer, Frau Pastorin. Adjectival predicates are only used for Roman Catholic clergy, and then in the following order:
Whether Monsignors of the first degree (that is, Chaplains of His Holiness) are hochwürdigst or hochwürdig is a borderline case. The predicate hochwürdigst is sometimes also extended to other priests of certain high positions (say, cathedral capitulars), but never for parish priests or for deans.
All these predicates are in increasingly sparing use (except for the first, and except for "Excellency" as applied to the nuncio), but especially Seine Gnaden (which dates from a time when not all bishops were accorded the style "Excellency" then considered higher) and hochehrwürdig and wohlehrwürdig (which tend to be replaced by a simple ehrwürdig), followed by "Excellency" at least as far as auxiliary bishops are concerned. It is good style, though, to use them at least in all places where layfolk would be addressed as sehr geehrte (which they replace), such as at the beginning of letters, speeches and so forth. The oft-seen abbreviation "H. H." (e. g. in obituaries) means "hochwürdigster Herr".
It is incorrect to address an auxiliary bishop as "Herr Weihbischof"; he must be called Herr Bischof. Cardinals are always Herr Kardinal (or more formally Seine/Euer Eminenz), never, for instance, Herr Erzbischof even if they are diocesan archbishops and are addressed as such.
The literal translation of "Monsignor" is Monsignore (using the Italian form), but it is only usually used for Monsignors of the first degree (Chaplains of His Holiness), not for prelates as in English, or for bishops as in Italian. If used, protocol demands to leave away the usual Herr (to avoid the meaning "Lord My Lord"), but this is uncommon in German and the incorrect phrase "Herr Monsignore" can often be heard.
Higher prelates are addressed Herr Prälat (not, usually, "Herr Protonotar"), or possibly with their office (if it is not that of a Cathedral capitular without further distinction, in which case the title of prelate is preferred.)
Abbots are addressed Herr Abt or Vater Abt ("Father Abbot"), abbesses Frau Äbtissin or Mutter Äbtissin ("Mother Abbess"). (The "Father" and "Mother" versions are one of the few cases where Herr or Frau falls away.) Other male religious are called Pater ("Father", but in Latin) if priests and Frater ("Brother", but also in Latin) if not, sometimes together with the surname, sometimes also with the first name (though Canons Regular are called Herr rather than Pater or Frater). Female religious are called Schwester ("Sister", but this time in German). This is not used together with both Herr/Frau and their name, though in the address, it is quite common to address a religious priest who does pastoral work in a parish orally as Herr Pater ("Mr. Father").
(Note generally that the translation of "Father" into German is only used for the Pope and for abbots, and into Latin only for religious clergy.)
- The office of "Priester" (priest) taken simply is nb. never used as a title (there is "Herr Diakon" and "Herr Bischof" but no "Herr Priester"). In the usually brief period where a secular priest has no office that could be used in addressing him, the phrase "Herr Neupriester" ("Mr. New Priest") is used; after retirement, the title Pfarrer (parish priest, pastor) can be kept if held at some point in their life. It is also quite common to address such priests with their academic rank, if they have some ("[hochwürdiger] Herr Dr. Lastname", for a doctor), or their civil-servant rank if they have some ("[hochwürdiger] Herr Oberstudienrat", literally something like "Rev. Mr. Teacher-first-class", for a priest who serves as teacher of religion at a state school). Professors of theology are always addressed by their academic function (except, possibly, if prelates, which usually, though of similar eminence, they aren't).
Parochial vicars usually have the honorific title Kaplan (chaplain), while actual chaplains as a rule have the in this case honorific title Pfarrer ("parish priest").
See main article: article and German nobility.
The traditional honorifics for nobility are, in descending order,
The last one is now completely obsolete, as is the incorrect practice of elevating bourgeois notables to Hochwohlgeboren (which emerged in the last years of the German monarchies to give expression to the importance of the bourgeoisie in a society that was in its formalities still pre–Industrial Revolution). But also Erlaucht, Hochgeboren, Hochwohlgeboren are increasingly rare (and some make a point of not attaching any such predicate unless to sovereigns of non-German states). Austrian (but not German) nobility is forbidden to attach honorifics to themselves or demand them (but may attach them to family members).
The equivalent of a Baron is called Freiherr (fem. Freifrau, fem. unmarried Freifräulein, which is rare, or its more usual abbreviation Freiin), though some "Barone" exist with foreign (e. g. Russian) titles. Nevertheless, in address they are usually called "Baron", "Baronin", and "Baroneß". It is considered incorrect to attach Herr, Frau, Fräulein to "Baron" and so forth, except if the Baron in question is one's actual superior, though this appears often nevertheless. It certainly is incorrect to speak of "Herr Freiherr" and so forth, seeing that this is a doubling, so sometimes the phrase "[sehr geehrter] Freiherr von [e. g.] Sonstwoher" is used (given that Freiherr is unquestionably part of the name of the person in Germany - not in Austria - while calling him "Baron" means treating him as nobility).
It is likewise considered incorrect to attach Herr, Frau, Fräulein to Counts (m. Graf, fem. Gräfin, fem. unmarried Komteß), unless the Count in question is one's actual superior, though again this still appears often
Doktor and Magistra are the only honorifics (other than those of lower nobility) which can be combined not only with Frau but also with Fräulein (subject to the general caveats concerning the use of Fräulein). However, a practising female physician or attorney would be Frau Doktor if holding a doctorate; a Fräulein Doktor suggests an unmarried woman with a doctorate in an academic (or retired) position.
The otherwise outdated use of calling people with Herr and their functions (when they are not ranks of any kind) is in full vigour as far as courtrooms are concerned, where the participants will all the time be addressed as Herr Angeklagter ("Mr. Defendant"), Herr Verteidiger ("Mr. Defending Counsel"), Herr Zeuge ("Mr. Witness"), Herr Kläger ("Mr. Plaintiff") and so forth. Judges are Herr Richter, Herr Vorsitzender, Herr Vizepräsident or Herr Präsident (depending on their rank), similarly the public prosecutors (usually Herr Staatsanwalt).
The general address for soldiers is Herr (or nowadays Frau) plus their military rank, e. g., Herr Leutnant. If needed for distinction, the last name can be attached. Subordinates can alternatively be called with rank plus last-name. For soldiers who know each other, for Mannschaften (enlisted personnel not NCOs) among themselves, and also for an officer from the same unit to an enlisted soldier whom he knows personally, the rank can fall away except if the subordinate addresses the superior, but Herr is never attached to the last-name simply.
Superiors can alternatively call their enlisted subordinates by their function (e. g. Richtschütze "gunner", Kraftfahrer "motorist", Truppführer "assistant squad leader", and so forth).
The NVA used Genosse ("Comrade") instead of Herr. In the Imperial Army, the style of "Excellency" was appropriate for some high-ranking generals.
A direct equivalent to the frequent anglophone use of "Sir" does not exist.
Civil servants (Beamten) used to be called with Herr or Frau plus their rank (for their respective ranks, see the tables at Beamter). This is in full vigour for police-officers (with the now unused rank Wachtmeister stepping in if the precise rank is not known and the addresser is not familiar with the shoulder strap), but otherwise somewhat outdated.
As teachers on public schools are, as a rule, civil servants (and on Church schools often receive a similar status), this is likewise true for teachers, with the exception that for teachers not the headmaster, it is perhaps even a bit more outdated to use their rank than for other civil servants.
It used to be the case that the name of professions was used as a honorific, together with Herr (or Frau), e. g. Herr Schriftsteller ("Mr. Professional Writer"), Herr Installateur ("Mr. Plumber") and so forth. This is generally outdated.
Though there is a professional qualification called Meister ("master craftsman"), and there is also an outdated honorific called Meister (in this case roughly equivalent to "goodman"; in use, when "Herr" was only applied to high-ranking persons, for the non-dependent men below them), this was never a honorific specifically in use for master craftsmen.
In Austria – and in monarchical times also in Germany – the Head of State can give certain titles to people of notable achievements in their profession (and, if not for civil servants, usually considerable donations to public welfare). These, again, are usually used with Herr and Frau respectively.
A well-known example is the Kommerzialrat (Prussia: Kommerzienrat) ("Commercial Counsellor [implied: to the Court]), which denotes an entitled businessman. In the monarchies, there also was an "augmented" form of that, in this case Geheimer Kommerzialrat, generally received by adding the adjective "Geheim" (see Geheimrat). This literally means "Privy (Commercial, etc.) Councillor" and is roughly the equivalent of a person knighted for their (in this case commercial) achievements.
Germany generally has not kept the practice, except for the fine arts (Kammersänger, Staatsschauspieler and so forth). People who had received a title under the monarchies usually retained them until their death.
On the other hand, the distinction Hoflieferant ("Court supplier") was not strictly speaking a honorific (though often used as such), but implied the actual function of someone supplying a Court in at least a marginal role with some (high-quality) goods. Hoflieferant is now still attached to the companies who had received it under the monarchies, but no longer as previously to their proprietors in person (if they, as now always the case, came into that position later, whether by inheriting or buying).