என்
eṉ/ɛn/
The English word 'my' is translated to Tamil as என் (eṉ).
என் is a possessive determiner used to indicate that something belongs to me.
Meaning: belonging to me (det)
Which one should you use?
என் is a possessive determiner that is often used in speech as a shortened version of the more grammatically complete form என்னுடைய.
How does it change in a sentence?
In spoken Tamil, the shortened form என் is frequently used as a prefix to nouns to indicate possession.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /ɛn/ (eṉ).
Did you know?
- While என் means 'my', Tamil culture often uses 'our' (எங்கள்) even when referring to something personal to show humility or a sense of community.
- Tamil possesses a concept called 'diglossia', where the spoken version of என் is used so frequently that the full form என்னுடைய can sound overly formal or poetic in daily conversation.
- Tamil is a pro-drop language, meaning the speaker often omits என் and other pronouns if the context makes it clear who the owner is.
Examples in context
- அவைகள் என்னுடைய CD கள்Those are my CDs.Tatoeba #4268039 by Singaravelu, translation #67003 by CK
- என் மகனைப் பற்றி பெருமைப் படுகிறேன்I'm proud of my son.Tatoeba #4154984 by Singaravelu, translation #259233 by CK
- என் தங்கை இள வயதிலேய கல்யாணம் செய்து கொண்டாள்My younger sister got married in her teens.Tatoeba #4271996 by Singaravelu, translation #338272 by nanbanjin
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Santhosh and Divya are talking about their belongings at a cafe.
- சந்தோஷ் Santhoshதிவ்யா, இது என் பேனா.Divyā, itu en pēṉā.Divya, this is my pen.
- திவ்யா Divyaஇல்லை சந்தோஷ், இது என் பேனா.Illai Santhōṣ, itu en pēṉā.No Santhosh, this is my pen.
- சந்தோஷ் Santhoshஓ, மன்னிக்கவும்.Ō, maṉṉikkavum.Oh, sorry.
- திவ்யா Divyaபரவாயில்லை.Paravāillai.It's okay.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “my” translations and entries என், CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
