mäin / meng
My: Mäin and Meng
Mäin or mäi goes with masculine and neuter nouns, and meng goes with feminine nouns and plurals.
How It Works
To choose the right word for my, think about the gender of the thing you are talking about. See noun gender.
- Masculine: mäi Brudder, mäin Auto
- Neuter: mäi Kand, mäin Haus
- Feminine: meng Mamm, meng Schwëster
- Plural: meng Kanner, meng Frënn
Mäin or mäi? Mäin follows the n-rule. Keep the n before a vowel and before d, h, n, t and z: mäin Auto, mäin Handy, mäin Dësch. Drop it before other consonants: mäi Brudder, mäi Kand, mäi Vëlo.
Check the gender in Luxembourgish. It can be different from other languages. Auto is masculine, so you say mäin Auto, even though the French word voiture is feminine. Learn each noun together with its article.
The same forms work for the subject and the object: Mäin Auto ass al. (My car is old.) Ech siche mäin Auto. (I'm looking for my car.) After a word that needs the dative, they change to mengem, menger or mengen. See possessives in the dative. For "mine" without a noun, see mine and yours.
Examples (6)
- Dat ass mäi Brudder.
That is my brother.
Brudder is masculine and starts with b, so mäin becomes mäi.
- Mäin Auto ass al.
My car is old.
Auto starts with a vowel, so the n stays.
- Meng Mamm schafft zu Lëtzebuerg.
My mum works in Luxembourg.
Mamm is feminine.
- Meng Kanner si frou.
My children are happy.
Plural nouns take meng.
- Wou ass mäin Handy?
Where is my phone?
The n stays before h.
- Mäi Kand ass krank.
My child is sick.
Kand is neuter.
Common Mistakes
Choosing the form from the gender a noun has in another language.
Meng Auto ass al.Mäin Auto ass al.Auto is masculine in Luxembourgish, even though voiture is feminine in French. Masculine nouns take mäin.
Keeping the n of mäin before a consonant that drops it.
Mäin Brudder ass hei.Mäi Brudder ass hei.B is not one of d, h, n, t or z, so mäin loses its n.
Dropping the n before h.
Wou ass mäi Handy?Wou ass mäin Handy?H is one of the letters that keep the n, so you write mäin.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before My: Mäin and Meng, learn Subject Pronouns: Singular.
Related Patterns
- däin / dengYour (Informal): Däin and Deng
Your (to one friend) works exactly like mäin and meng.
Level 1 - säin / sengHis and Its: Säin and Seng
His and its follow the same pattern.
Level 1 - Three Noun Genders
The gender of the noun decides between mäin and meng.
Level 1 - The N-Rule (Eifeler Regel)
Mäin becomes mäi before most consonants.
Level 1 - Possessives in the Dative
In the dative, mäin changes to mengem, menger or mengen.
Level 2 - mengen / mäint (Without a Noun)Mine, Yours: Possessives Without a Noun
Used without a noun, for "mine".
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice mäin / meng in Bubblegum
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