mein Zwilling
/maɪ̯n ˈt͡svɪlɪŋ/word by word
The English phrase "my twin" is translated into German as mein Zwilling.
The phrase refers to a person born at the same time as another person from the same pregnancy. The form mein Zwilling uses the masculine possessive pronoun, which is used if the speaker is referring to a male twin or is using the generic masculine.
Which one should you use?
You can use the compound noun Zwillingsbruder if you want to specifically specify a twin brother.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In parts of southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the adjective eineiig or eineiige is used to specify identical twins.
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form changes to meines Zwillings in the genitive case to indicate possession, such as when saying "the name of my twin". To refer to more than one twin, the plural form is meine Zwillinge.
How do you pronounce it?
/maɪ̯n ˈtsvɪlɪŋ/
Did you know?
- While 'identical' is the standard English adjective, a German speaker might describe a twin as eineiig, which literally means 'one-egg'.
- In German astrology, the zodiac sign for Gemini is simply Zwillinge.
- The suffix -ling in Zwilling acts as a diminutive or characteristic marker, similar to how the English word 'duckling' refers to a young duck.
Examples in context
- Der Mann, der so aussieht wie ich und neben meiner Schwester steht, ist mein Zwillingsbruder.The man who looks like me standing next to my sister is my twin brother.This sentence is useful for seeing how the phrase mein Zwilling is used when describing a twin brother.Tatoeba #4768163 by raggione, translation #4767338 by DostKaplan
- Herr Müller, das ist mein Zwillingsbruder.Mr. Müller, this is my twin brother.
- Das ist meine Zwillingsschwester, Lisa.This is my twin sister, Lisa.
- Das ist mein Zwilling.That is my twin.
- Sie ist mein Zwilling.She is my twin.
Example conversation
Maximilian and Sarah are looking at an old photo.
- MaximilianWer ist das Mädchen auf dem Foto?Who is the girl in the photo?
- SarahDas ist mein Zwilling, meine Schwester.That is my twin, my sister.
- MaximilianIhr seht euch sehr ähnlich.You look very similar.
- SarahJa, wir sind fast identisch.Yes, we are almost identical.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (mein, Zwilling) and can differ in connected speech.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
