mi hermana
/mi eɾmana/from spelling rules
The Spanish phrase for "my sister" is mi hermana.
The phrase is used to refer to a female sibling of the speaker.
Which one should you use?
To refer to a male sibling, you use the masculine form mi hermano. For a more poetic or emphatic tone, you can place the possessive pronoun after the noun to say hermana mía.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase plural, you must change both the possessive adjective and the noun to their plural forms, resulting in mis hermanas. Additionally, when your sister is the direct object of a verb (such as in the sentence "I love my sister"), you must place the personal a before the phrase, resulting in a mi hermana.
How do you pronounce it?
/mi eɾmana/
Did you know?
- The word hermana shares a common ancestor with the English word 'germane', which refers to something closely related or relevant.
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, calling a friend mi hermana is a common way to express deep affection and closeness, regardless of actual blood relation.
- While hermana refers to a biological sister, the specific term hermanastra is required if you want to specify that she is a stepsister.
Examples in context
- Esa es mi hermana.That's my sister.This example shows how to identify someone as your sister using mi hermana.Tatoeba #9679363 by Shishir, translation #2251101 by CK
- Odio a mi hermana.I hate my sister.This sentence demonstrates the use of the personal a when mi hermana is the direct object of the verb.Tatoeba #9703943 by stormy_clau, translation #2569587 by Hybrid
- Ésta es mi hermana.This is my sister.This sentence shows how to use mi hermana to introduce a person.Tatoeba #972997 by Shishir, translation #556985 by Ezatullah
- Me gustaría presentarle a mi hermana, Isabel.I would like to introduce you to my sister, Isabel.
- La hermana mía es muy inteligente.My sister is very intelligent.
- Mi hermana quiere ir al cine contigo.My sister wants to go to the movies with you.
- ¡Mi hermanita está aprendiendo a escribir!My little sister is learning to write!
- 326 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
María shows Alejandro a photo on her phone.
- MaríaMira, esta es mi hermana.Look, this is my sister.
- AlejandroElla es muy bonita.She is very pretty.
- MaríaGracias, ella vive en Madrid.Thank you, she lives in Madrid.
- AlejandroQué bien, saludos para ella.That's great, greetings to her.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hermana, mi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
