The possessive pronouns
| Person | Pronoun | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ich | mein | my |
| du | dein | your (informal sg.) |
| er/es | sein | his / its |
| sie | ihr | her |
| wir | unser | our |
| ihr | euer | your (informal pl.) |
| sie/Sie | ihr/Ihr | their / Your (formal) |
Declension — like ein/eine/ein
Possessive pronouns decline exactly like the indefinite article ein:
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | mein | meine | mein | meine |
| Accusative | meinen | meine | mein | meine |
| Dative | meinem | meiner | meinem | meinen |
Replace mein- with any other possessive stem (dein-, sein-, ihr-, unser-, euer-, ihr-).
Examples in sentences
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Das ist mein Buch. | That is my book. (neuter, Nominative) |
| Ich kenne seinen Bruder. | I know his brother. (masculine, Accusative) |
| Sie schreibt ihrer Mutter. | She writes to her mother. (feminine, Dative) |
| Wir besuchen unsere Freunde. | We visit our friends. (plural, Accusative) |
sein vs ihr — his vs her
sein (his) and ihr (her) can look similar. Context tells you which:
- Er liebt seine Katze. — He loves his cat.
- Sie liebt ihre Katze. — She loves her cat.
Real world: describing belongings at school or at home
Students constantly use possessive pronouns: „Hast du meinen Stift gesehen?" (Have you seen my pen?) „Nein, aber hier ist dein Radiergummi." (No, but here is your eraser.) „Das ist sein Rucksack und das ihrer Schwester." — everyday school conversation packed with possessives.
Real world: social media bios and profiles
A German social media bio often reads: „Das ist mein Leben — meine Familie, meine Freunde, meine Hobbys." (This is my life — my family, my friends, my hobbies.) Three different feminine/neuter/plural forms of mein used naturally to describe personal interests.
Real world: lost property and asking about ownership
At a lost-property desk or in a classroom: „Ist das Ihr Portemonnaie?" (Is this your wallet? — formal) „Ja, das ist meins!" (Yes, that's mine!) — meins is the standalone (predicative) possessive pronoun, used when the noun is not repeated.
Possessive pronouns in German follow the same declension pattern as the indefinite article ein. If you know ein, eine, einen, einem, you already know how to decline all possessive pronouns — just swap ein- for mein-, dein-, sein-, etc.
Practice Problems
Fill in: Das ist ____ Heft. (my, neuter, Nom.)
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Fill in: Ich mag ____ Bruder. (your informal, masculine, Acc.)
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Fill in: Er hilft ____ Mutter. (his, feminine, Dat.)
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Fill in: Das sind ____ Bücher. (our, plural, Nom.)