il mio
/il ˈmi.o/word by wordmasculine
The English phrase "mine" is translated into Italian as il mio.
This phrase is used to indicate that something belongs to the speaker. Note that related words like cavità (a caterpillar's cavity) or miniera (an ore excavation) are distinct nouns and are not used to express possession.
Meaning: that which belongs to me (pron)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Unlike English, the Italian possessive pronoun changes based on the gender and number of the object owned. It also almost always includes the definite article (il, la, i, le). While il mio is the masculine singular form, you must use la mia for feminine singular, i miei for masculine plural and le mie for feminine plural.
Did you know?
- The spelling of the article il in il mio includes an 'i' that was historically added to make the word easier to pronounce, a linguistic phenomenon known as svarabhakti.
- The term mio caro is often used as a friendly or affectionate way to address someone, translating literally to 'my dear'.
- In certain poetic or archaic contexts, you might encounter meo instead of mio, a remnant of Old Italian.
Examples in context
- Non è il mio.It isn't mine.This sentence demonstrates how to use il mio to say something is not mine.Tatoeba #4714089 by Guybrush88, translation #42378 by CK
- Qual è il mio?Which is mine?This sentence shows how to ask which item is mine using il mio.Tatoeba #1307801 by Guybrush88, translation #38002 by CK
- Il mio è rosso.Mine is red.This sentence illustrates how to describe a property of one's own using il mio.Tatoeba #13269959 by Guybrush88, translation #8219999 by josivangoncalves
- 113 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofia and Lorenzo are looking for their umbrellas in the hallway.
- SofiaLorenzo, questo ombrello è il tuo?Lorenzo, is this umbrella yours?
- LorenzoNo, il mio è nero.No, mine is black.
- SofiaAllora questo deve essere il mio.Then this one must be mine.
- LorenzoSì, è proprio il tuo.Yes, it is indeed yours.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mine” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (il, mio) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries il, mio, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
