The "Hamburger Sie" and the "Münchener Du"

As you probably know, German, like many other languages, has two words for saying 'you'. Well, three actually if you include the plural form of the informal 'du', which you use to address a person you are on closer terms with. If you don't know the person, or if you have to be more formal with them, then you use "Sie", with a capital S. The plural form of "Sie" is still "Sie", but the plural form of "du" is "ihr". So three different words to say "you" in German.

Now, when you work with someone for a long time and you get on very well with them, you feel a bit silly always calling them Herr Schmidt and Frau Meyer rather than using their first name. And you'd like to use something a bit more relaxed. On the other hand, however, it's still a working relationship, and the Germans are very good at keeping their private life and their working life separate. They rarely socialise with colleagues after work. No Friday-evening drink at the pub for them and their colleagues. Oh, no.

The so-called "Hamburger Sie" or "Hamburg you" is something I first came across when I worked for the German medical director of a Japanese pharma company here in Germany. He kept called me Frau and my surname. And I kept thinking, "But that's my mother's name." I invited him to call me by my first name, which he did, while still addressing me as "Sie". And I thought, "What a good compromise." It's a mixture of formal and informal. 

Then I was told that there is yet another possibility and that it goes by the name of the "Münchener du" or the "Munich informal you". In this version, you address the person by their surname - with your without Herr or Frau in front of it - but use the informal form of the word for you. Like this: "Gruber, mach mal bitte das Fenster zu!" (Gruber, please close the window) or "Frau Müller, weißt du, wie viel die Tomaten kosten?" (Mrs Miller, do you know how much the tomatoes cost?")

For a nation of people that can be very inflexible in their way of thinking and doing things ("We've done things like this for the last 70 years, why should we change now?"), I think this goes to show that they can mix things up if they are so inclined.