mano, tavo, jo, jos, mūsų, jūsų, jų
Possessive Words
mano my · tavo your · jo his · jos her · mūsų our · jūsų your · jų their
How It Works
One form for every noun. The possessive forms listed here do not change with the noun. The same mano works with a masculine, feminine, singular or plural noun, and in every case: mano namas (my house), mano knyga (my book), mano vaikai (my children), su mano draugu (with my friend).
Where they come from. Jo, jos, mūsų, jūsų and jų are the genitive ("of") forms of the personal pronouns, so jo namas is literally "the house of him". This is the same pattern as the genitive of possession: Tomo namas (Tomas's house).
His or her? Choose jo or jos by the owner: Tomas ir jo mama (Tomas and his mom), Rūta ir jos brolis (Rūta and her brother). The gender of the thing owned does not matter.
Your: tavo or jūsų. Tavo goes with tu, and jūsų goes with jūs, so use jūsų when you speak politely to one person.
Word order. The neutral order inside a noun phrase puts the possessive first: mano butas (my apartment). Butas mano can instead be a sentence meaning “The apartment is mine”, with yra omitted.
Your own: savo. When the owner is the subject of the same sentence, Lithuanian uses savo instead: Jonas myli savo žmoną. (Jonas loves his own wife.) See reflexive possessive savo.
Examples (6)
- Tai mano namas.
This is my house.
- Kur tavo knyga?
Where is your book?
Tavo stays the same with the feminine noun knyga.
- Jo sesuo gyvena Kaune.
His sister lives in Kaunas.
Jo follows the owner (a man), not the feminine noun sesuo.
- Jos brolis – gydytojas.
Her brother is a doctor.
Jos follows the owner (a woman), not the masculine noun brolis.
- Ar tai jūsų lagaminas?
Is this your suitcase?
Jūsų is the polite or plural "your".
- Mūsų vaikai ir jų vaikai žaidžia kartu.
Our children and their children play together.
Common Mistakes
Choosing jo when the intended owner is Rūta: “Rūta and her brother are home today.”
Rūta ir jo brolis šiandien namie.Rūta ir jos brolis šiandien namie.The owner is Rūta, a woman, so "her" is jos. The masculine noun brolis does not change the choice.
Using jo for the subject's own thing.
Jonas myli jo žmoną.Jonas myli savo žmoną.The intended meaning is "Jonas loves his own wife". With jo the sentence means another man's wife. When the owner is the subject, use savo.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Possessive words identify the owner and do not agree with the owned noun.
Related Patterns
- savoReflexive Possessive Savo
Savo means "one's own" when the owner is the subject.
Level 2 - kienoWhose with Kieno
Kieno asks "whose?", and these words answer it.
Level 1 - Genitive of Possession
Possession with nouns uses the same genitive pattern.
Level 2 - tu / jūsInformal Tu and Polite Jūs
Decides between tavo and jūsų.
Level 1 - manasis / tavasisLiterary Possessives Manasis and Tavasis
Literary possessive forms that do change their endings.
Level 6
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice mano, tavo, jo, jos, mūsų, jūsų, jų in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Lithuanian lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
