"my" in seven languages
Meaningmy
Spanish
/mi/
inherited
Plural mis; the same for both genders. After the noun: mío, mía (un amigo mío).
French
/mɔ̃/
inherited
fem.: ma
Plural mes. Mon also before a feminine noun starting with a vowel: mon amie.
Italian
/ˈmio/
inherited
fem.: mia
Usually with the article (la mia casa), but not with a singular family member: mia sorella.
Portuguese
/mew/
inherited
fem.: minha
The article is optional in Brazil: (a) minha irmã.
Romanian
/mew/
inherited
fem.: mea
After the noun, which takes the article: sora mea.
Catalan
/mew/
inherited
fem.: meva
Always with the article: la meva germana.
English
/maɪ/
Indo-European kin · PIE *me- (first person)
The Latin ancestor
MEUM‘my, mine’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
The possessive agrees with the thing owned, not the owner: a man says ma sœur and mia sorella. Spanish wore MEUM down to mi before the noun; Italian keeps the full mio and, like Catalan, adds the article.
Learn it
In a sentence
- esMi hermana vive en París.
- frMa sœur habite à Paris.
- itMia sorella abita a Parigi.
- ptMinha irmã mora em Paris.
- roSora mea locuiește la Paris.
- caLa meva germana viu a París.
- enMy sister lives in Paris.