il mio cane
/il ˈmi.o ˈka.ne/word by word
il mio cane is the Italian phrase for "my dog".
This phrase is used to refer to a dog that belongs to the speaker.
How does it change in a sentence?
The possessive adjective must agree in gender with the noun cane, which is masculine. If you want to say "my dogs" in the masculine plural, both the article and the possessive adjective must become plural to match cani, resulting in i miei cani. To refer to multiple female dogs, use the feminine plural form le mie cagne.
How do you pronounce it?
/il ˈmi.o ˈka.ne/. The phrase has 5 syllables and the second syllable is stressed.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often forget that Italian requires the definite article il before the possessive mio in this context. Avoid saying mio cane without the article.
Did you know?
- In Italian, the word cane is frequently used as a slang insult to describe a person who is considered treacherous, mean or lacking in moral character.
- The word cane is used in several idiomatic expressions to describe something of very poor quality, such as tempo di cani to describe terrible weather.
- While cane is the common word for dog, the word cagnolino is often used to express affection, much like an English speaker might say 'my little doggy'.
Examples in context
- È il mio cane.It is my dog.This sentence is useful for identifying that it is il mio cane.Tatoeba #2620302 by Guybrush88, translation #1160291 by cntrational
- Amo il mio cane.I love my dog.This sentence is useful for expressing affection for il mio cane.Tatoeba #6140817 by Guybrush88, translation #5455292 by Henrix
- Odia il mio cane.He hates my dog.This sentence is useful for describing someone else's feelings toward il mio cane.Tatoeba #8487584 by Guybrush88, translation #8479123 by CH
- 236 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lorenzo and Martina are at a park.
- MartinaGuarda, quello è il mio cane!Look, that is my dog!
- LorenzoÈ molto carino, come si chiama?He is very cute, what is his name?
- MartinaSi chiama Leo.His name is Leo.
- LorenzoIl tuo cane è molto socievole.Your dog is very sociable.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (il, mio, cane) and can differ in connected speech.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
