Possessive Articles (mein, dein, sein …)
How do you say my coffee, your phone, or her dog in German? You need possessive articles: mein, dein, sein, and friends. They are some of the most frequent words in everyday German — you simply cannot talk about your family, your job, or your stuff without them.
The good news: if you already know ein and eine, you already know the endings. Possessive articles behave exactly like ein-words. You only need to learn two things: which word matches which owner, and which little ending matches the noun that follows.
One Word per Owner
Each personal pronoun has its own possessive article. Pick the stem based on who owns the thing:
| Pronoun | Possessive | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | mein | my |
| du | dein | your (informal) |
| er / es | sein | his / its |
| sie | ihr | her |
| wir | unser | our |
| ihr | euer | your (plural) |
| sie | ihr | their |
| Sie | Ihr | your (formal, always capitalized) |
Notice that ihr does triple duty: it can mean her, their, or — capitalized as Ihr — formal your. Context (and the capital letter in writing) tells you which one is meant.
Endings Work Exactly Like ein
The ending depends on the noun that follows — its gender, number, and case. The pattern is identical to ein/eine:
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | mein Vater | meine Mutter | mein Kind | meine Eltern |
| Accusative | meinen Vater | meine Mutter | mein Kind | meine Eltern |
Only one form actually changes between nominative and accusative: the masculine, which adds -en. Feminine and plural always take -e; neuter and masculine nominative take no ending at all. One bonus over ein: possessives have a plural form (meine Eltern), which ein doesn't.
sein or ihr? Look at the Owner, Not the Noun
English speakers often mix up sein and ihr. The rule has two steps:
- Choose the stem by the owner: a male owner → sein, a female owner → ihr.
- Choose the ending by the following noun, never by the owner.
So a man talking about his (feminine) bag says seine Tasche, and a woman talking about her (masculine) dog says ihr Hund → with accusative: ihren Hund. The stem tells you whose; the ending tells you what kind of noun comes next.
Two Small Traps: euer and Ihr
euer drops an e. As soon as euer takes an ending, the inner -e- disappears: euer Auto but eure Katze, euren Hund, eure Bücher. Never write euere.
Formal Ihr is always capitalized. When writing to someone you address as Sie, their possessive is Ihr with a capital I: Ist das Ihre Tasche, Frau Schmidt? Lowercase ihr means her or their — the capital letter is the only visible difference.
📖 Examples
Das ist mein Bruder.
That is my brother.
Wo ist deine Tasche?
Where is your bag?
Sein Auto ist neu.
His car is new.
Ihre Mutter wohnt in Berlin.
Her mother lives in Berlin.
Unser Haus ist klein.
Our house is small.
Ich sehe deinen Hund.
I see your dog.
Habt ihr eure Bücher?
Do you (plural) have your books?
Ist das Ihr Koffer, Herr Meyer?
Is that your suitcase, Mr. Meyer? (formal)
⚠️ Common Mistakes
Das ist meine Bruder.Das ist mein Bruder.
The ending matches the noun that follows. Bruder is masculine, and masculine nominative takes no ending — just like 'ein Bruder'.
Maria sucht sein Handy. (her own phone)Maria sucht ihr Handy.
Choose the stem by the owner: sein = his, ihr = her. The owner is Maria, so it must be ihr — even though Handy is neuter.
Ich sehe dein Hund.Ich sehe deinen Hund.
Hund is masculine and the direct object, so it is accusative. Masculine accusative adds -en: deinen.
Das ist euere Katze.Das ist eure Katze.
When euer takes an ending, it drops the inner -e-. The correct forms are eure, euren — never euere.
✏️ Exercises
Test your understanding. Click an option or type your answer, then check.
___ Schwester heißt Anna. (my)
Peter liebt ___ Hund. (his)
Das ist ___ Auto. (her)
Habt ihr ___ Hausaufgaben? (your, plural)
Frau Schmidt, ist das ___ Tasche? (your, formal)
Wir besuchen ___ Großeltern. (our)
Das ist ___ Buch. (mein)
Ich suche ___ Schlüssel. (mein)
Wo wohnt ___ Familie? (dein)
Anna besucht ___ Bruder. (ihr)