мајка ми / брат ми

Family Words with Short Possessives

Level 2Sounds Like maǰka mi; brat mi

With close family words, Macedonian often puts a short pronoun after the noun: мајка ми (my mother), брат ти (your brother). The family word has no article.

How It Works

With close family words, Macedonian can show whose relative it is by adding a short pronoun after the noun:

  • мајка ми (my mother)
  • татко ти (your father)
  • сестра му (his sister)
  • брат ѝ (her brother)
  • баба ни (our grandmother)
  • дедо ви (your grandfather)
  • син им (their son)

These are the same short pronouns as in Short To-Someone Pronouns. The family word stays bare, with no article: мајка ми, not мајката ми.

The pattern works with close family words such as мајка, татко, брат, сестра, син, ќерка, баба, дедо, тетка and вујко. With ordinary things, use a possessive word with the article instead: мојата куќа (my house). For several relatives, also use the possessive word: моите браќа (my brothers). A husband is often мажот ми, with the article.

Си means one's own. It points back to the person doing the action: Ана живее со мајка си means Ana lives with her own mother. With мајка ѝ, the mother usually belongs to another woman.

You can also say мојата мајка. The short pattern мајка ми is the everyday choice for family.

Examples (6)

  1. Мајка ми е наставничка.

    My mother is a teacher.

    Word by Word: Mother to-me is teacher.

    Ми after мајка means my.

  2. Како е татко ти?

    How is your father?

    Ти after татко means your.

  3. Сестра му живее во Охрид.

    His sister lives in Ohrid.

    Му means his.

  4. Брат ѝ има две деца.

    Her brother has two children.

    Ѝ means her.

  5. Баба ни прави многу вкусна пита.

    Our grandmother makes a very tasty pie.

    Ни means our.

  6. Ана живее со мајка си.

    Ana lives with her mother.

    Си shows it is Ana's own mother.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding the article to the family word.

    Мајката ми е наставничка.
    Мајка ми е наставничка.

    With a short possessive pronoun, the family word takes no article.

  • Using the bare family-word pattern with an ordinary noun.

    Куќа ми е голема.
    Мојата куќа е голема.

    This pattern is for family words. For things, use a possessive word such as мојата.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

мајка ми / брат миLevel 2Family Words with Short Possessives

Learn This First

Family words with ми follow the full possessives.

Words in This Pattern