I miss you in German is Ich vermisse dich (ikh fair-MISS-eh dikh), to someone you call du. Germans also say Du fehlst mir, literally "you are missing to me", which many find more tender. To a group, say Ich vermisse euch or Ihr fehlt mir. The everyday reply is Ich dich auch (me too).
- I miss you
- Ich vermisse dich
- Tender version
- Du fehlst mir
- To a group
- Ich vermisse euch / Ihr fehlt mir
- Reply
- Ich dich auch / Du mir auch
- Homesick
- Ich habe Heimweh
- Level
- A1
Should you say Ich vermisse dich or Du fehlst mir?
Both are correct and common. They work in opposite directions. With vermissen, as in English, the person who misses is the subject: Ich vermisse dich. With fehlen, the person who is missed is the subject, and the one who misses goes into the dative: Du fehlst mir.
| German | Literally | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ich vermisse dich | I miss you | Direct and common |
| Ich vermisse dich so sehr | I miss you so much | Stronger |
| Du fehlst mir | You are missing to me | Often feels softer, more intimate |
| Du fehlst mir sehr | You are badly missing to me | "I really miss you" |
| Ich vermisse euch / Ihr fehlt mir | I miss you all | Family, friends back home |
| Ich dich auch | Me you too | Reply to Ich vermisse dich |
| Du mir auch | You to me too | Reply to Du fehlst mir |
| Ich habe Sehnsucht nach dir | I have longing for you | Romantic, intense |
How does vermissen work with people, places and things?
Vermissen takes a direct object in the accusative, whatever you miss: a person, a city, a taste. In this B2 story, letters by a local legend, the Lindenau Nightingale, show that the town she left was not what she would miss most:
Über die Heimat stand da nur, die Linden röchen im Sommer „wie ein Bäckerladen, der träumt“, und sie werde sie vermissen, aber nicht so sehr wie ihn.Ich vermisse Berlin.
I miss Berlin.
Ich vermisse das Brot aus Deutschland.
I miss German bread.
Mir fehlt die Sonne.
I miss the sun.
fehlen with a thing: the thing is the subject.
Homesickness has its own word, das Heimweh: Ich habe Heimweh (I'm homesick). Its opposite, das Fernweh, is the longing to be somewhere far away.
What else does fehlen mean?
Fehlen means "to be missing" or "to be absent", and the missing-someone meaning grows out of that. It turns up in plenty of everyday sentences that have nothing to do with feelings.
Anna fehlt heute.
Anna is absent today.
At school or work.
Mir fehlen noch zwei Euro.
I'm still two euros short.
Was fehlt Ihnen denn?
What seems to be the trouble?
A doctor's classic question.
Das hat mir gerade noch gefehlt!
That's all I needed!
Ironic, when something else goes wrong.
How do you say I'm thinking of you?
Ich denke an dich (I'm thinking of you) is often gentler than an outright I miss you, and it fits a card, a text or a letter. The grandmother in this A2 story writes exactly that, in a letter she never sends:
"Mein lieber Klaus", schreibt Grete. "Ich kann nicht schlafen. Ich denke nur an dich."Ich freue mich auf dich.
I can't wait to see you.
Literally "I'm looking forward to you".
Wann sehen wir uns wieder?
When will we see each other again?
For the stronger words, see how to say I love you in German; for parting, how to say goodbye in German.
Open Grete's letters in a free A2 German story and tap any word you don't know yet.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do you pronounce Ich vermisse dich?
"ikh fair-MISS-eh dikh". The v in vermissen sounds like an English f, the stress falls on -miss-, and the ch in ich and dich is the soft sound at the front of the mouth.
How do you say I miss you too in German?
Ich dich auch is the quick, natural reply to Ich vermisse dich. If someone said Du fehlst mir, answer Du mir auch. The full Ich vermisse dich auch is fine too.
Can I say Ich vermisse Sie?
It's grammatical, but you'd rarely say it. To someone you call Sie, Germans tend to say something warmer but less personal, such as Sie fehlen uns hier (we miss you here).
What does Ich habe Heimweh mean?
I'm homesick. Heimweh is literally "home ache". You say it about your home country or town, not about a person.