meine Schwester
The English phrase 'my sister' is translated into German as meine Schwester.
You use this phrase to refer to a female sibling of the speaker. In casual or affectionate contexts, some speakers use the slang term meine Sis, which is derived from the English word 'sister'.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of meine, which is the feminine possessive determiner and Schwester, which is the feminine noun for sister.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form of the phrase depends on its role in a sentence. It remains meine Schwester when it is the direct object (accusative case), such as in 'Ich liebe meine Schwester'. However, the phrase changes to meiner Schwester when it serves as the indirect object (dative case) or follows certain prepositions like 'mit' (with).
Did you know?
- German has a specific word, Geschwister, to refer to siblings as a group. Unlike English, this word is always plural and cannot be used to refer to just one person.
- The term Ordensschwester is used to refer to a nun, literally translating to 'order sister'.
- While English speakers often use 'sister' as a term of endearment for a close female friend, using meine Schwester for a non-relative in German can feel overly literal or strictly biological.
Examples in context
- Das ist meine Schwester.This is my sister.This sentence is useful for identifying someone using meine Schwester.Tatoeba #945235 by Sudajaengi, translation #556985 by Ezatullah
- Meine Schwester mag Tom.My sister likes Tom.This sentence shows a subject-verb relationship using meine Schwester.Tatoeba #6643224 by Felixjp, translation #5428851 by CK
- Meine Schwester ist krank.My sister has been sick.This sentence describes a state of being using meine Schwester.Tatoeba #1527193 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #251918 by CK
- Ich liebe meine Schwester sehr.I love my sister very much.
- Ich gehe heute mit meiner Sis ins Kino.I'm going to the movies with my sis today.
- 352 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Julian and Laura are looking at a photo album.
- JulianWer ist das auf dem Foto?Who is that in the photo?
- LauraDas ist meine Schwester Sarah.That is my sister Sarah.
- JulianSie sieht sehr nett aus.She looks very nice.
- LauraJa, meine Schwester ist sehr lieb.Yes, my sister is very sweet.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
