Anna zeigt ihre Freude.

zeigt is the 3rd person singular form of the verb zeigen, which means to show.

So:

• zeigen = to show
• Anna zeigt = Anna shows

Because the subject is Anna (one person, she), German uses zeigt.

German main clauses usually follow the verb-second rule (V2). That means the finite verb comes in the second position.

In this sentence:

• Anna = position 1
• zeigt = position 2
• ihre Freude = the rest

So Anna zeigt ihre Freude is the normal German word order for a simple statement.

Here, ihre means her.

So ihre Freude = her joy

Because the subject is Anna, the most natural interpretation is that ihre refers to Anna.

A useful thing to know: ihre can also mean their in other contexts, and Ihre (capitalized) can mean formal your. But in this sentence, with Anna as the subject, it is understood as her.

ihre is a possessive determiner meaning her. Its ending changes depending on the gender, number, and case of the noun that follows.

Here, the noun is:

• Freude
• feminine
• singular
• direct object of the sentence

That means it is accusative feminine singular, and the correct form is ihre.

So:

• ihre Freude = her joy

This is the same pattern as:

• ihre Tasche = her bag
• ihre Idee = her idea

Freude is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb zeigen.

Ask: What is Anna showing?
Answer: ihre Freude

That makes ihre Freude the thing being shown, so it is the direct object, and therefore accusative.

Because Freude is a noun, and in German all nouns are capitalized.

So:

• Freude = joy
• zeigen = to show → not capitalized, because it is a verb
• Anna = capitalized, because it is a name

This is one of the most important spelling rules in German.

Freude is a noun meaning joy, happiness, or delight, depending on context.

In this sentence, Anna zeigt ihre Freude means that Anna is expressing or showing that she is happy or joyful.

So it does not necessarily mean she is literally holding up something called joy. It means she is showing her feelings.

Yes. That is a very good literal translation.

A more natural English translation in some contexts might also be:

• Anna shows her happiness
• Anna expresses her joy
• Anna shows that she is happy

But Anna shows her joy is a perfectly good close translation.

Yes, in theory it could, if the wider context makes that clear.

For example, if you were already talking about another woman, ihre Freude could mean her joy referring to that other woman. It could also mean their joy in the right context.

But if this sentence appears by itself, most learners should understand ihre as referring to Anna.

No. German does not have a separate possessive word meaning specifically her own in a sentence like this.

So German simply uses ihr-/ihre:

• Anna zeigt ihre Freude. = Anna shows her joy.

Whether it means Anna’s own joy or someone else’s depends on context. In this sentence alone, it is normally understood as Anna’s own joy.

You could say Anna freut sich, but it is not exactly the same.

• Anna freut sich = Anna is happy / Anna is rejoicing
• Anna zeigt ihre Freude = Anna shows her joy

So:

• freut sich describes Anna’s emotional state
• zeigt ihre Freude emphasizes that the joy is being expressed outwardly

They are related, but not identical.