01
mein
my
Possessive article of the 1st person singular. It expresses that something belongs to the speaker or is related to them.
example
Ich habe mein Portemonnaie zu Hause vergessen.
I forgot my wallet at home.
mein
my
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Meanings
Usage tips
Declension like 'ein'
The possessive article 'mein' is declined in the singular just like the indefinite article 'ein'. So if you know the endings of 'ein', 'eine', 'einen', 'einem', etc., you can also use 'mein' correctly.
EXAMPLE
Hier ist ein Stift. Hier ist mein Stift.
Here is a pen. Here is my pen.
Use without a noun
'Mein' can also stand alone as a pronoun and then replaces a noun. In this case, it gets a strong ending that indicates gender and case.
EXAMPLE
Wessen Tasche ist das? – Das ist meine.
Whose bag is that? – That's mine.
Relationships and possession
'Mein' expresses not only possession (mein Haus (my house), mein Buch (my book)), but also personal relationships (meine Familie (my family), mein Freund (my friend)) or belonging to abstract things (meine Idee (my idea), meine Meinung (my opinion)).
EXAMPLE
Mein Bruder wohnt in einer anderen Stadt.
My brother lives in another city.
Compare with
mein vs sein
to be
'sein' and 'mein' look similar, but they mean something completely different. 'sein' is a verb and describes who or how someone is, where something is, or serves as an auxiliary verb. 'mein' is a possessive article and shows that something belongs to me or is connected to me. The words can be confused quickly when reading because only the first letter is different. Remember: 'mein' is usually followed by a noun, for example 'mein Buch' (my book). 'sein', on the other hand, is a verb or part of a verb form.
mein
Im Garten habe ich mein Fahrrad neben den Baum gestellt.
In the garden, I put my bicycle next to the tree.
sein
Im Zug sind wir vor dem Termin ziemlich ruhig.
On the train, we are fairly calm before the appointment.
In real life
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