Why do German phrases commonly have the word "sie" in them?

Question

I put it into some translation sites and found out it means "it" sometimes and "you" other times.
Hilfe mir!

Answer 1

Depending on how the word is used it could mean, it, you, or she. The reason you see the word so much is due to German Grammer, which would sound silly in English.

For Example "Hilfen Sie mich" would directly translate to "Help you me."

Also German has both a Formal and Informal way of speaking. You would speak differently with family and friends than with strangers and bosses.

For example Sie is formal for You, Du is informal for You. Mich is formal for Me, and Mir is informal for Me.

Also you could say "Sie ist Schon." which means "She is beautiful."

Answer 2

Sie refers either to a person or a thing. For example when used with a verb it represents either the 3rd person feminine (she), 3rd person plural (they) or the polite form of you. e.g

sie macht
sie machen
Sie machen.

Sie may also represent a feminine noun. For example if I am talking about female noun like Untersuchung I can replace the noun with sie.

e.g. Die Untersuchung dauert 1 Stunde. Sie wird vom Hauptartzt durchgefuhrt.

The sie in the second sentence refers to the Untersuchung. rather repeating the noun we can simply use the article. It is like using the word it in English -
The examination lasts 1 hour. It will be carried out by the main doctor!

Answer 3

With a capital "S" "Sie" means you, in the polite form. Literally it means "they", which thrusts the person whom you are addressing to the furthest remove. "Do you like this?" becomes "Do they like this?"

With a small "s" it means "she" or, as you point out, "it", when describing feminine nouns.

So, given that the same word can mean "you", "they" "it" or "she", there is a pretty good chance of it cropping up repeatedly wherever you look!

Answer 4

Sie with a capital 'S' means you in a respectful way
sie with a small s means she

German grammer does take some getting your head around :)

Answer 5

sie means she or they and Sie(with a capital S) means you in a polite forem.If you are talking to someone such as a stranger like a police officer you shoule address them as Sie rather than as 'Du'.