Possessive Articles
Possessive आर्टिकल
German possessives are chosen based on the owner, exactly like Hindi's मेरा/तुम्हारा/उसका — but then add a second layer: that possessive also changes to match the gender, case, and number of the thing owned, exactly like Hindi's मेरा/मेरी/मेरे!
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
Possessive matches the owner — just like Hindi
sein Buch (his book) vs. ihr Buch (her book) — sein/ihr changes to match the OWNER's gender
उसकी किताब (पुरुष का) बनाम उसकी किताब (स्त्री का)
This part matches Hindi: German picks mein/dein/sein/ihr/unser/euer/ihr based on the owner (exactly like Hindi's मेरा/तुम्हारा/उसका), not based on what's owned. The real twist comes next: like ein and kein, the possessive then takes an ending matching the gender, case, and number of the thing owned — sein Buch (neuter, no ending) but seine Tasche (feminine, -e ending). Notice: this is exactly like Hindi's मेरा/मेरी/मेरे, which also agrees with the noun's gender/number rather than the owner's gender — so this second layer shouldn't feel new at all!
The full possessive set
mein, dein, sein, ihr, sein, unser, euer, ihr/Ihr
मेरा, तुम्हारा, उसका (पुरुष), उसका (स्त्री), उसका (वस्तु), हमारा, तुम्हारा (बहुवचन), उनका/आपका (औपचारिक)
mein (my), dein (your, informal singular), sein (his/its, masculine), ihr (her), sein (its, for das-nouns), unser (our), euer (your, informal plural), ihr (their), Ihr (your, formal) — these change form exactly like ein/kein: no ending for masculine/neuter nominative singular, -e for feminine and plural, -en for most other cases.
euer drops its middle -e- once an ending is added
euer Haus (your house) but eure Mutter (your mother) — not eueere
तुम्हारा घर / तुम्हारी माँ
euer is an irregular case: when an ending is added, the -e- before -r drops out purely for pronunciation (euer → eure, not euere). Hindi's 'तुम्हारा' has no such shift, so there's no equivalent to lean on here — just memorize it.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| German | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| mein Buch | myn bookh | मेरी किताबmerī kitāb | my book |
| deine Tasche | DY-neh TAH-sheh | तुम्हारा बैग (अनौपचारिक)tumhārā baig | your bag (informal) |
| sein Auto | zyn OW-toh | उसकी गाड़ी (पुरुष)uskī gāṛī | his car |
| ihr Haus | eer hows | उसका घर (स्त्री)uskā ghar | her house |
| unser Garten | OON-zer GAR-ten | हमारा बगीचाhamārā bagīcā | our garden |
| euer Hund | OY-er hoont | तुम्हारा कुत्ता (अनौपचारिक बहुवचन)tumhārā kuttā | your dog (informal plural) |
| ihre Kinder | EE-reh KIN-der | उनके बच्चेunke bacce | their children |
| Ihr Name | eer NAH-meh | आपका नाम (औपचारिक)āpkā nām | your name (formal) |
| meine Eltern | MY-neh EL-tern | मेरे माता-पिताmere mātā-pitā | my parents |