Der Mann ist unfreundlich.

The man is unfriendly.

Breakdown of Der Mann ist unfreundlich.

• der Mann: the man
• sein: to be
• unfreundlich: unfriendly

Questions & Answers about Der Mann ist unfreundlich.

Why is it Der Mann and not Die Mann or Das Mann?

German nouns have grammatical gender that you usually just have to learn with each word.
Mann is grammatically masculine, so it takes the masculine definite article der in the nominative singular.

Very roughly:

• der = masculine (subject form)
• die = feminine (subject form) and also all plurals
• das = neuter (subject form)

So Der Mann literally means “the man” with der matching the masculine noun Mann.

What grammatical case is Der Mann in here, and how would it change in other cases?

In Der Mann ist unfreundlich, Der Mann is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence (the “doer” or topic).

For Mann in the singular, the main cases look like this:

• Nominative (subject): der Mann — Der Mann ist unfreundlich. (The man is unfriendly.)
• Accusative (direct object): den Mann — Ich sehe den Mann. (I see the man.)
• Dative (indirect object): dem Mann — Ich helfe dem Mann. (I help the man.)
• Genitive (possessive): des Mannes — Das Auto des Mannes. (The man’s car.)

The noun Mann mostly stays the same; the article changes to show the case.

What exactly is ist, and how is it conjugated?

Ist is the 3rd person singular form of the verb sein (to be).

Present tense forms of sein are:

• ich bin – I am
• du bist – you are (informal singular)
• er / sie / es ist – he / she / it is
• wir sind – we are
• ihr seid – you are (informal plural)
• sie sind – they are / you are (formal)

So Der Mann ist unfreundlich literally: The man is unfriendly (he = er → er ist).

Why is the word order Der Mann ist unfreundlich? Could it be different?

The normal statement word order in German is:

Subject – Verb – (rest of the sentence)
Der Mann – ist – unfreundlich.

The important rule is: in a main clause, the conjugated verb (here ist) must be in second position.

You can move other elements around, but the verb stays second, for example:

• Heute ist der Mann unfreundlich. (Today, the man is unfriendly.)
  – Heute is first, ist is still second.

But in a simple neutral sentence, Subject – Verb – Complement (like Der Mann ist unfreundlich) is the default order.

Why is it unfreundlich and not unfreundliche at the end?

Here unfreundlich is a predicate adjective: it comes after the verb sein (ist) and describes the subject.
Predicate adjectives in German do not get endings. They stay in their basic form:

• Der Mann ist unfreundlich.
• Die Frau ist unfreundlich.
• Die Kinder sind unfreundlich.

However, if the adjective comes before the noun (an attributive adjective), it does take an ending:

• der unfreundliche Mann (the unfriendly man)
• eine unfreundliche Frau (an unfriendly woman)
• unfreundliche Kinder (unfriendly children)

So: after sein, no ending; before a noun, you add an ending.

Why is Mann capitalized, but unfreundlich is not?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, no matter where they appear in the sentence.
Mann is a noun, so it is written Mann with a capital M.

Adjectives like unfreundlich are not capitalized (unless they start a sentence or are used in a special way as nouns).
So:

• Der Mann ist unfreundlich.
• Die Frau ist unfreundlich.
• Der unfreundliche Mann…

What does unfreundlich literally mean, and how strong is it?

Freundlich means friendly, and the prefix un- makes it the opposite, just like in English friendly → unfriendly.
So unfreundlich literally is “un-friendly” or “not friendly”.

In everyday use, unfreundlich can range from a bit cold / not very nice to quite rude, depending on tone and context.
If you want a clearly stronger word like rude, you might also hear grob, unhöflich (impolite), or frech (cheeky / rude).

How do you pronounce Der Mann ist unfreundlich?

In IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), a careful pronunciation would be roughly:

• Der – /deːɐ̯/ (like “day” + a short “uh/uh-r” sound)
• Mann – /man/ (short “a” as in British “fun”, but spelled with a)
• ist – /ɪst/ (short “i” as in “list”)
• unfreundlich – /ʊnˈfʁɔʏntlɪç/

Tips:

• Mann has a short a and a clear nn at the end, not like English “man” with a long vowel.
• The eu in unfreundlich is pronounced like English “oy” (as in boy).
• The final -lich is roughly like “lich” in “lich-tenstein”, a soft -lɪç sound.

How do I say “The men are unfriendly” in German?

You make Mann plural and adjust the article and the verb:

• Singular: Der Mann ist unfreundlich. – The man is unfriendly.
• Plural: Die Männer sind unfreundlich. – The men are unfriendly.

Changes:

• der → die (plural article)
• Mann → Männer (plural form with ä and -er)
• ist → sind (3rd person plural of sein)
• unfreundlich stays the same, because predicate adjectives don’t change for plural.

Is it polite to refer to someone as der Mann like this?

If you are just describing someone who is not right in front of you, Der Mann ist unfreundlich is neutral: “The man is unfriendly.”

But if the person can hear you, pointing at someone and saying Der Mann ist unfreundlich can sound blunt or rude, a bit like “That man is unfriendly” said right in front of him.
In conversation, you’d more often use a pronoun like:

• Er ist unfreundlich. – He is unfriendly.

Or you might be more indirect, depending on how polite you want to be.

How do I say “The man is not unfriendly” in German?

You use nicht to negate the adjective:

• Der Mann ist nicht unfreundlich.

This literally means “The man is not unfriendly” and is often understood as “He’s okay / He’s not that bad”, rather than strongly positive.
If you want to say “The man is friendly”, you say:

• Der Mann ist freundlich.

How would I say “He is an unfriendly man” instead of “The man is unfriendly”?

You would change the structure and use an attributive adjective with an ending:

• Er ist ein unfreundlicher Mann. – He is an unfriendly man.

Here:

• ein = “a”
• unfreundlicher = unfreundlich
  • -er (adjective ending after ein
    • masculine noun in nominative)
• Mann = man

Compare:

• Der Mann ist unfreundlich. – The man is unfriendly. (adjective after sein, no ending)
• Er ist ein unfreundlicher Mann. – He is an unfriendly man. (adjective before noun, with ending)