German · A2 · Family moment
Yours or Mine in German
Use friendly German to sort out mixed-up belongings. Standalone possessive pronouns mean “mine,” “yours” or “his” without repeating the name of the object.
What you'll learn
- Ask about and share everyday belongings.
- Use masculine meinen, deinen and seinen as direct objects.
- Choose feminine and neuter forms to match the German noun for the belonging.
German phrases for yours or mine
Brauchst du einen Bleistift? Nimm meinen.
You need a pencil? Take mine.
Bleistift is masculine. Meinen replaces meinen Bleistift as the direct object of nimm.
Ich habe meinen Radiergummi. Kannst du deinen finden?
I have my eraser. Can you find yours?
Radiergummi is masculine, so “yours” is deinen here.
Ben braucht ein Lineal. Hast du seins gesehen?
Ben needs a ruler. Have you seen his?
Lineal is neuter. Seins means “his one”; seines is also correct.
Deine Schultasche ist nass. Du kannst meine benutzen.
Your school bag is wet. You can use mine.
Schultasche is feminine, so “mine” is meine here.
Ich kann meine Wasserflasche nicht finden. Kann ich mir deine ausleihen?
I cannot find my water bottle. Can I borrow yours?
Wasserflasche is feminine, so use deine. Mir deine ausleihen means “borrow yours for myself.”
Deine Schwester braucht ihre Jacke. Bitte bring ihre.
Your sister needs her jacket. Please bring hers.
Ihre means “hers” and replaces ihre Jacke. Its -e ending matches the feminine noun Jacke.
Du hast dein Buch zu Ende gelesen. Du kannst meins lesen.
You have finished your book. You can read mine.
Buch is neuter, so use meins. Meines is also correct.
Ben hat sein Heft vergessen. Kann er sich deins ausleihen?
Ben has forgotten his notebook. Can he borrow yours?
Heft is neuter, so use deins. Sich etwas ausleihen means “to borrow something.”
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
der Bleistift
pencil
Masculine: Nimm meinen.
der Radiergummi
eraser
Masculine: Kannst du deinen finden?
das Lineal
ruler
Neuter: Hast du seins gesehen?
die Schultasche
school bag
Feminine: Du kannst meine benutzen.
die Wasserflasche
water bottle
Feminine: Kann ich mir deine ausleihen?
die Jacke
jacket
Feminine: Bitte bring ihre.
das Buch
book
Neuter: Du kannst meins lesen.
das Heft
notebook; exercise book
A school notebook for writing in. Neuter: Kann er sich deins ausleihen?
Replace the noun with a possessive pronoun
A standalone possessive pronoun replaces a possessive word plus a noun. Use it when the listener already knows which kind of object you mean. In these phrases, the pronoun is a direct object, so it takes the accusative.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| With the noun | meinen + masculine noun | Nimm meinen Bleistift. — Take my pencil. |
| Without the noun | meinen | Nimm meinen. — Take mine. |
Accusative forms: mine, yours and his
The ending matches the gender of the German noun for the belonging, not the person who owns it. Meins, deins and seins are common short forms of meines, deines and seines. All are standard.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine: der Bleistift | meinen / deinen / seinen | Ich habe seinen gesehen. — I have seen his. |
| Feminine: die Schultasche | meine / deine / seine | Du kannst meine benutzen. — You can use mine. |
| Neuter: das Buch | meins / deins / seins | Du kannst meins lesen. — You can read mine. |
Choose the owner, then the ending
The stem tells you who owns the object: mein- for me, dein- for one person you address informally, sein- for him and ihr- for her. Then choose the ending for the object's gender and case.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| His pencil | sein- + -en → seinen | Ben sucht seinen Bleistift. Hast du seinen gesehen? — Ben is looking for his pencil. Have you seen his? |
| Her jacket | ihr- + -e → ihre | Deine Schwester braucht ihre Jacke. Bitte bring ihre. — Your sister needs her jacket. Please bring hers. |
More examples
Dein Bleistift ist weg? Du kannst meinen nehmen.
Your pencil is missing? You can take mine.
Meinen replaces the masculine noun Bleistift.
Ich habe meine Jacke. Hast du deine?
I have my jacket. Do you have yours?
Deine replaces the feminine noun Jacke.
Ben braucht sein Heft. Hast du seins gesehen?
Ben needs his notebook. Have you seen his?
Seins replaces the neuter noun Heft.