My family

Meine Familie

Learn basic family words and use mein or meine to speak about family members.

Mein and meine both mean ‘my’. In this lesson they are used in the nominative, after Das ist …, so their form follows the German noun—not the speaker’s gender. Use mein with masculine and neuter singular nouns: der Vater → mein Vater, der Mann → mein Mann, das Kind → mein Kind. Use meine with feminine singular nouns and plurals: die Mutter → meine Mutter, die Familie → meine Familie, die Eltern → meine Eltern. A family contains several people, but Familie is one feminine noun, so say Das ist meine Familie. For the plural Eltern, say Das sind meine Eltern. Other sentence positions can require forms such as meinen; that accusative pattern is taught separately and is not tested here.

Start with the noun and its article: der Vater → mein Vater; die Mutter → meine Mutter; das Kind → mein Kind. The speaker’s gender does not change the form.

Use Wer ist das? and Das ist … when introducing someone in a photo. Use Wir wohnen in … to say where the family lives.

Do not say Das ist mein Familie. Familie is feminine, so the sentence is Das ist meine Familie.

Learn the noun with its article and possessive: der Vater → mein Vater; die Mutter → meine Mutter; das Kind → mein Kind.

Introduce two real or imaginary people with Das ist mein/meine …, then add one Wir wohnen in … sentence.