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A2 → Grammar · Lesson 9 of 22

German Indefinite Pronouns: Jemand, Niemand, Etwas & More

das Indefinitpronomen
Before this lesson: make sure you've covered Questions: Direct and Indirect first.

An indefinite pronoun refers to an unspecified person or thing — 'someone', 'nothing', 'everyone' — without naming exactly who or what. This small, high-value set comes up constantly in everyday conversation.

Types you should know

jemand
someone
niemand
no one
etwas
something
nichts
nothing
man
one / you, general
jeder
everyone / every

Examples

GermanEnglish
Jemand hat angerufen.Someone called.
Ich habe nichts gesagt.I said nothing.
In Deutschland trinkt man viel Kaffee.In Germany, people drink a lot of coffee.
Jeder macht mal einen Fehler.Everyone makes a mistake sometimes.
Memory trick: "man" doesn't mean 'man' the person — it's a general 'you/people/one', always paired with a normal 3rd-person-singular verb: man trinkt, man macht.
⚠ Common mistake: Don't confuse "man" (general 'one') with "Mann" (a male person) — they sound similar but are completely different words.

🎯 Quick check

Which word means 'nothing'?

Related topics

Questions: Direct and IndirectReflexive Verbs and Pronouns
← PreviousQuestions: Direct and Indirect