er
pron · /eːr/ ·Etymology
From Middle High German ër, from Old High German ër, from Proto-West Germanic *iʀ, from Proto-Germanic *iz. In northern Middle High German and Old High German there also existed forms with initial h-, namely Middle High German hër, Old High German hër, from Proto-Germanic *hiz, whence Central Franconian hä and (from the accusative) Luxembourgish hien. Compare English he. The unusual spelling ih- in the forms ihm, ihn is not related to this. It was introduced in early modern German to distinguish these forms from im, in (when *iem, *ien could have been read as *jem, *jen).
Translation
-
it (when the grammatical gender of the object/article/thing/animal etc., being referred to, is masculine (der))
personal
Dort steht ein Baum. Er ist über hundert Jahre alt.
There stands a tree. It is more than 100 years old.
-
she (when the grammatical gender of the noun being referred to and designating a female person, is masculine (der))
personal
Im Frauengefängnis versuchte ein Häftling zu flüchten, aber er kam nicht weit.
In the women’s prison, an inmate tried to escape, but she didn’t get very far.
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Used in reference to a computer or other machine when personifying it; it
colloquial
Ich habe die Route gerade ins Navi eingegeben, und jetzt sagt er, die Autobahn wäre gesperrt.
I just put the route into the GPS, and now it says that the highway is closed.
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alternative spelling of Er (you (polite))
alt-of, alternative, archaic, personal
, Clemens Brentano, Geschichte vom braven Kasperl und dem schönen Annerl (edited). In: 1835, F. W. Gubitz (editor), Jahrbuch des Nützlichen und Unterhaltenden für 1835, p. 171
Then the old woman sprang up, surprised, and said: Dear gentleman, do go home and say your prayers and go to bed.
Da sprach er „Vater, ich sehe wohl, bei ihm werd ich nicht satt, will er mir einen Stab von Eisen verschaffen, der stark ist, und den ich vor meinen Knien nicht zerbrechen kann, so will ich wieder fort gehen.“ Da war der Bauer froh, und spannte seine zwei Pferde vor den Wagen, fuhr zum Schmied, und holte einen Stab so groß und dick, als ihn die zwei Pferde nur fahren konnten.
Then he said: "Father, I can see that I shall not be able to eat my fill here. If you bring me a strong rod of iron that I cannot break, I shall go away again." Then the farmer was glad, and he harnessed his horses to the wagon, drove to the smithy, and fetched a rod so long and thick that his two horses could barely pull it.