Lesson 46: Home and Apartment – Possessive Pronouns
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your home and your room in simple German. You’ll also learn how to use mein and meine to say “my.”
What You’ll Learn
- Common words for rooms and home
- How to say where you live
- How to use mein and meine (possessive pronouns)
- How to describe your room with simple adjectives
- How to make short sentences about your home
Home And Room Vocabulary
Here are useful words for this lesson:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Die Wohnung | The apartment |
| Das Haus | The house |
| Das Zimmer | The room |
| Das Wohnzimmer | The living room |
| Das Schlafzimmer | The bedroom |
| Die Küche | The kitchen |
| Das Bad | The bathroom |
| Der Flur | The hallway |
| Der Balkon | The balcony |
| Der Garten | The garden |
Try to learn each noun with its article:
Die Wohnung
Das Haus
Das Zimmer
German nouns use der, die, or das. You do not need to know every rule yet, but learning the article with the noun will help you later.
Saying Where You Live
You already know the verb wohnen.
wohnen = To live
Use this pattern:
Ich wohne in …
I live in …
Examples:
Ich wohne in einer Wohnung.
I live in an apartment.
Ich wohne in einem Haus.
I live in a house.
Learn these useful phrases:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| In einer Wohnung | In an apartment |
| In einem Haus | In a house |
| In der Stadt | In the city |
| Auf dem Land | In the countryside |
You do not need to master the grammar behind einer, einem, or dem yet. These are common phrases you can use when talking about where you live.
Saying “My” In German
German has more than one word for my.
For this lesson, focus on:
mein
meine
Use mein with many der and das words.
Use meine with die words.
| Article | Noun | Possessive Pronoun |
|---|---|---|
| Der Garten | Garden | Mein Garten |
| Das Haus | House | Mein Haus |
| Das Zimmer | Room | Mein Zimmer |
| Die Wohnung | Apartment | Meine Wohnung |
| Die Küche | Kitchen | Meine Küche |
The simple beginner rule:
Der / das → mein
Die → meine
Examples:
Mein Haus ist klein.
My house is small.
Mein Zimmer ist hell.
My room is bright.
Meine Wohnung ist ruhig.
My apartment is quiet.
Meine Küche ist klein.
My kitchen is small.
Simple Description Words
Here are a few easy adjectives you can use to describe your home or room:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Groß | Big |
| Klein | Small |
| Hell | Bright |
| Dunkel | Dark |
| Ruhig | Quiet |
| Laut | Loud |
| Schön | Nice/beautiful |
Use this simple pattern:
Mein / meine + noun + ist + adjective
Examples:
Mein Zimmer ist klein.
My room is small.
Meine Wohnung ist hell.
My apartment is bright.
Mein Haus ist ruhig.
My house is quiet.
This is one of the easiest ways to describe something in German.
Talking About Your Room
You can talk about your room with simple sentences.
Useful room words:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Das Bett | The bed |
| Der Tisch | The table |
| Der Stuhl | The chair |
| Die Lampe | The lamp |
| Das Fenster | The window |
| Die Tür | The door |
| Das Regal | The shelf |
Examples:
Das ist mein Bett.
This is my bed.
Das ist mein Tisch.
This is my table.
Das ist meine Lampe.
This is my lamp.
Again, use the simple rule:
Der / das → mein
Die → meine
So:
Der Tisch → Mein Tisch
Das Bett → Mein Bett
Die Lampe → Meine Lampe
A Small Grammar Note: Das Ist…
You already know ist from sein.
Das ist … means This is … or That is …
Examples:
Das ist mein Zimmer.
This is my room.
Das ist meine Küche.
This is my kitchen.
Das ist mein Bett.
This is my bed.
This phrase is useful because you can use it with many nouns.
Mini Text: Mein Zimmer
Mein Zimmer ist klein, aber hell.
My room is small, but bright.
Das ist mein Bett.
This is my bed.
Das ist mein Tisch.
This is my table.
Meine Lampe ist schön.
My lamp is nice.
Ich wohne in einer Wohnung.
I live in an apartment.
