Breakdown of Die Wunde an meinem Bein ist klein, aber sie tut weh.
sein
to be
klein
small
aber
but
mein
my; (masculine or neuter, nominative)
Questions & Answers about Die Wunde an meinem Bein ist klein, aber sie tut weh.
Why is it die Wunde? What gender is Wunde?
Wunde is a feminine noun in German, so its basic article is die.
- die Wunde = the wound
- plural: die Wunden
In this sentence, die Wunde is the subject, so it is in the nominative case.
Why are Wunde and Bein capitalized?
In German, all nouns are capitalized, not just proper names.
So:
- die Wunde
- mein Bein
- das Haus
- ein Arzt
This is one of the first big spelling differences English speakers notice.
Why is it an meinem Bein and not an mein Bein?
Because here the sentence describes a location, not movement.
The preposition an is one of the German two-way prepositions. It can take:
- dative for location: an meinem Bein = on/at my leg
- accusative for movement toward something: an mein Bein = onto/to my leg
In this sentence, the wound is already located there, so German uses the dative: an meinem Bein.
Why is it meinem and not just mein?