Pronouns

In languages, personal pronouns are used to replace names already mentioned and to talk about ourselves, someone, or something else. In German, there exists no gender-neutral alternative to the binary pronouns he/him/his (in German: er/sein/ihm/ihn) and she/her/hers (in German: sie/ihr/ihr/sie), such as they/them/their in English or hen in Swedish. Gender-neutral pronouns are an important part of gender-sensitive language. In order to avoid being addressed as male or female, non-binary people opt in German for newly developed forms of gender-neutral pronouns. Here is a small selection:

• dey and they: Many people use the Germanized version dey of the English pronoun they. The declension is often formed analogously to the English form, i.e. dey/deren/demm/demm or also dey/deren/dem/dem. Another alternative is dey/deren/dey/dey.
• hen: This pronoun was transferred from Swedish and is becoming more common in German. One of the most commonly used declensions is: hen/hens/hem/hen or also hen/hens/hen/hen.
• en: The Verein für geschlechtsneutrales Deutsch e.V. proposes the basic form of the general gender-neutral pronoun en (pronounced so that it rhymes with the German “wenn” and not with “zehn”). This form is justified by the fact that, like the existing German pronouns es and er, it is based on the “e+consonant” pattern and sounds like the Swedish gender-neutral pronoun hen. This form is very easy to pronounce for German speakers, as the syllable “-en” can be found in many German words. The declension should be done as such: en/ens/em/en.
• sier and xier: Some people use sier or xier as a fusion of the German pronouns sie and er. sier and the declension sier/sies/siem/sien were criticized for sounding too much like sie, so xier/xies/xiem/xien was developed accordingly.
• No use of pronouns: Some people choose not to use personal pronouns at all. In this case, the first name is used instead of pronouns.

There are other forms of gender-neutral pronouns and different declension variants. The variety and seeming lack of clarity reflect the complex development and decision-making process for gender-neutral pronouns in the German language. Many people are initially unsure or unclear about how to address the other person correctly. A good solution is to ask discreetly and respectfully which pronouns with which declension are preferred. As with the process of learning a foreign language, repeated practice of using gender-neutral pronouns leads to them being used more confidently and easily and prevents misgendering.

Sources: Verein für geschlechtsneutrales Deutsch e.V.; Awareness Akademie