Breakdown of Meine Freundin ermutigt mich, weiter zu üben.
die Freundin
the friend
üben
to practice
mein
my; (masculine or neuter, nominative)
mich
me
Questions & Answers about Meine Freundin ermutigt mich, weiter zu üben.
What exactly does Freundin mean here? Does it mean “girlfriend” or just “female friend”?
Freundin literally means “female friend”, but with a possessive like meine it is usually understood as girlfriend in modern German.
- Meine Freundin → typically “my girlfriend”.
- Eine Freundin von mir → more clearly “a (female) friend of mine”.
Context decides, but if you say meine Freundin about an adult in everyday conversation, most people will assume you mean your romantic partner.
Why is it Meine Freundin and not Mein Freundin?
Because Freundin is grammatically feminine, and the possessive mein- must agree with the noun’s gender, number, and case.
- Freundin → feminine, singular, nominative (subject of the sentence).
- Feminine nominative form of mein is meine.
Other forms for comparison:
- Mein Freund (masc., nom.) – my (boy)friend / boyfriend
- Meine Freunde (plural) – my friends
Why is it mich and not ich or mir?