What are German possessive articles?

Words like mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer. They behave like ein- words, so their endings and the adjective endings that follow are part of the same pattern.

Is ihr “her” or “their”?

Both. ihr can mean “her” or “their” depending on context. The endings also change by case and gender.

Do possessives change with case?

Yes. For example: mein Hund (nominative), meinen Hund (accusative), meinem Hund (dative).

How do I avoid mistakes with possessives?

Practice the ein-word chart and always practice in full noun phrases (e.g., mit meinem Bruder, ich sehe meinen Bruder).

German Possessive Articles: Complete Guide

Possessive articles (my, your, his, her, etc.) in German change based on the gender, case, and number of the noun they modify. They follow the same pattern as "ein/eine/ein".

If you’re still shaky on cases or adjective endings, these help a lot:

The big idea

Possessives are an ein-word (like ein/kein). That means:

You pick mein/dein/sein/ihr/unser/euer/Ihr based on the owner.
You pick the ending based on the thing owned (gender/number + case).

The Possessive Articles

Person	German	English
ich	mein	my
du	dein	your (informal)
er	sein	his
sie	ihr	her
es	sein	its
wir	unser	our
ihr	euer	your (plural informal)
sie/Sie	ihr/Ihr	their/your (formal)

"euer" loses the middle -e- when it gets an ending: euer → eure, eurem, euren

ihr vs Ihr vs ihr (Three Different Things)

This is one of the most common points of confusion because the spelling overlaps:

Same letters, different grammar
Form	Type	Meaning	Example
ihr	possessive	her	Sie liest ihr Buch.
ihr	possessive	their	Sie lesen ihr Buch.
Ihr	possessive	your (formal)	Lesen Sie Ihr Buch?
ihr	pronoun	you (plural informal)	Ihr seid heute hier.

Hack

Capital Ihr is formal “your”. Lowercase ihr can be “her/their” (possessive) or “you all” (pronoun). Verb endings help: Ihr seid… (you all are).

Possessives in Nominativ

When the possessive article is in the nominative case (as a subject):

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
mein	mein Vater	meine Mutter	mein Kind	meine Kinder
dein	dein Vater	deine Mutter	dein Kind	deine Kinder
sein	sein Vater	seine Mutter	sein Kind	seine Kinder

Nominativ

Mein Bruder ist Arzt.

My brother is a doctor.

Possessives in Akkusativ

When the possessive article is in the accusative case (as a direct object):

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
mein	meinen Vater	meine Mutter	mein Kind	meine Kinder
dein	deinen Vater	deine Mutter	dein Kind	deine Kinder
sein	seinen Vater	seine Mutter	sein Kind	seine Kinder

Akkusativ

Ich besuche meinen Onkel.

I'm visiting my uncle.

Just like "ein" → "einen", only masculine changes in accusative: mein → meinen

Possessives in Dativ

When the possessive article is in the dative case (as an indirect object):

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
mein	meinem Vater	meiner Mutter	meinem Kind	meinen Kindern
dein	deinem Vater	deiner Mutter	deinem Kind	deinen Kindern
sein	seinem Vater	seiner Mutter	seinem Kind	seinen Kindern

Dativ

Ich gebe meiner Schwester ein Geschenk.

I give my sister a gift.

Dativ

Er hilft seinem Freund.

He helps his friend.

Two changes in dative plural

Dative plural often requires two things:

possessive ending -en: meinen
noun ending -n (if possible): Kindern, Freunden

Example: mit meinen Kindern

Possessives in Genitiv

When showing possession of possession (rarely used in spoken German):

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
mein	meines Vaters	meiner Mutter	meines Kindes	meiner Kinder
dein	deines Vaters	deiner Mutter	deines Kindes	deiner Kinder
sein	seines Vaters	seiner Mutter	seines Kindes	seiner Kinder

Genitiv

Das Auto meines Vaters ist rot.

My father's car is red.

Complete Declension Pattern

Here's the full pattern for "mein" - all other possessives follow the same endings:

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominativ	mein	meine	mein	meine
Akkusativ	meinen	meine	mein	meine
Dativ	meinem	meiner	meinem	meinen
Genitiv	meines	meiner	meines	meiner

His vs. Her (sein vs. ihr)

A common source of confusion: German possessives match the owner's gender, not the object's gender:

sein + feminine

Er liebt seine Mutter.

He loves his mother.

ihr + feminine

Sie liebt ihre Mutter.

She loves her mother.

Common Mistake

Don't confuse "sein" (his/its) with "ihr" (her/their). The possessive depends on the owner, then the ending depends on the noun being possessed.

Worked Examples (Two-Step Process in Action)

Same object, different owners

Object: die Mutter (feminine). The ending is therefore often -e in nominative/accusative.

sein + feminine

Er besucht seine Mutter.

He visits his mother.

ihr + feminine

Sie besucht ihre Mutter.

She visits her mother.

Same owner, different cases

Owner: ich → base word mein. Now the ending changes by case:

Nominativ (masc.)

Mein Hund ist klein.

My dog is small.

Akkusativ (masc.)

Ich sehe meinen Hund.

I see my dog.

Dativ (masc.)

Ich spiele mit meinem Hund.

I play with my dog.

Possessive Articles vs Possessive Pronouns (Mine/Yours)

These pages focus on possessive articles (my book = mein Buch). In English you also say “mine” without a noun.

German does this too, but it’s a different form:

mein (article) vs meins (pronoun)
English	German example	Meaning
my book	Das ist mein Buch.	possessive article + noun
mine	Das ist meins.	possessive pronoun (stands alone)

Tips for Possessives

Two-Step Process

1. First, identify the owner to pick the right possessive (mein, dein, sein, ihr...) 2. Then, add the ending based on the case/gender/number of the object possessed

Possessives follow the exact same pattern as "ein/eine/ein" - if you know "einen Mann", you know "meinen Mann"!

Common Mistakes (and Fixes)

Mistake 1: Choosing the possessive by the object

Possessive base depends on the owner (sein vs ihr). Ending depends on the object. Keep those steps separate.

Mistake 2: Forgetting euer loses -e-

It’s euer, but: eure, eurem, euren.

Mistake 3: Not practicing full phrases

Practice with prepositions and verbs so the case is forced: mit meinem, für meinen, ich gebe meiner.

Practice German possessives in real sentences

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