Overview

• In workplaces, duzen has increased but not fully replaced siezen, with a 2023 Forsa survey showing only about one-third to one-quarter still insisting on the formal address.
• Authorities, banks, medical practices and courts largely retain Sie, and a 2019 Appinio poll found just 8% supported abolishing it while nearly two-thirds linked it to respect and politeness.
• Linguist Arnulf Deppermann says duzen can lower barriers and encourage initiative, yet it can blur job and private roles and make people more vulnerable to exploitation.
• The traditional ritual in which seniors offered Du to juniors has largely disappeared, and many interactions now begin on a first-name footing without formal ceremony.
• Researchers describe a transitional phase with no hard rules, leaving the long-term direction of German address norms uncertain.