Min kusin bor nära sjön.

to live (reside)

Breakdown of Min kusin bor nära sjön.

• nära: near
• sjön: the lake
• kusinen: the cousin

Questions & Answers about Min kusin bor nära sjön.

Why is it min kusin and not mitt kusin or mina kusin?

Swedish possessive pronouns agree with the gender and number of the noun, not with the owner.

• min = my (for en-words, singular)
• mitt = my (for ett-words, singular)
• mina = my (for all plural nouns, en or ett)

Since kusin is an en-word and it is singular, you must use min:

• min kusin = my cousin
• mitt hus = my house (hus is an ett-word)
• mina kusiner = my cousins (plural)

Does kusin mean both male and female cousin? How do you say “female cousin” or “male cousin”?

Yes, kusin is gender-neutral. It simply means “cousin,” regardless of whether the person is male or female.

If you need to be specific, you can say:

• kvinnlig kusin / tjejkusin (informal) = female cousin
• manlig kusin / killkusin (informal) = male cousin

But in normal conversation, Swedes usually just say kusin and rely on context.

Why is the verb bor used here and not lever, since both can mean “live”?