Learn Hardcore Swedish: Jag är hos min kusin.

i = in/inside something:
- Jag är i huset. – I am in the house.
på = on, at (for surfaces, islands, many public places/events):
- Jag är på jobbet. – I am at work.
- Jag är på sjukhuset. – I am at the hospital.

So with people’s homes or workplaces, hos + person is the normal choice.

What is the difference between hos and med? Could I say Jag är med min kusin?

You can say Jag är med min kusin, but it means something slightly different.

Jag är hos min kusin.
Focus: location – you are at your cousin’s home/place.
Jag är med min kusin.
Focus: company – you are together with your cousin somewhere (could be at the mall, at the park, at home, etc.).

If someone asks Var är du? (Where are you?), the most informative answer, if you are at your cousin’s place, is Jag är hos min kusin.

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

The form of my changes depending on the noun’s gender and number:

min – for singular en-words (common gender)
- min kusin (cousin – en kusin)
- min bok (book – en bok)
mitt – for singular ett-words (neuter)
- mitt hus (house – ett hus)
- mitt rum (room – ett rum)
mina – for all plurals
- mina kusiner (my cousins)
- mina böcker (my books)
- mina hus (my houses)

Since kusin is an en-word in the singular (en kusin), you must use min: min kusin.

Why is it min kusin and not min kusinen?

In Swedish, you cannot combine a possessive like min with the definite ending on the noun.

So you say:

min kusin = my cousin
kusinen = the cousin

But ✗ min kusinen is grammatically wrong.

Rule of thumb:
If there is a possessive word (min, din, hans, hennes, vår, er, deras, etc.) before the noun, the noun stays in the indefinite form:

min bil (my car), not min bilen
hans hund (his dog), not hans hunden
våra barn (our children), not våra barnen

What gender is kusin, and does it show if the cousin is male or female?

Kusin is an en-word (common gender): en kusin, kusinen.

It is gender-neutral in modern Swedish; it does not tell you whether the cousin is male or female. If you need to specify, you usually add extra words, for example:

min kvinnliga kusin – my female cousin
min manliga kusin – my male cousin

But in everyday speech, people normally just say kusin and let context show whether it matters.

How would I say “I am at my cousins’ place” (plural)?

You need the plural forms of both the possessive and the noun:

Singular: Jag är hos min kusin. – I am at my cousin’s.
Plural: Jag är hos mina kusiner. – I am at my cousins’ (place).

Forms:

en kusin – one cousin
flera kusiner – several cousins
mina kusiner – my cousins

Again, notice that there is no definite ending on kusiner after mina.

Could I say Jag är hemma hos min kusin? What is the difference?

Yes, Jag är hemma hos min kusin is perfectly natural.

Jag är hos min kusin.
Neutral: you are at your cousin’s place.
Jag är hemma hos min kusin.
Emphasises that this is your cousin’s home, not just their workplace or some other location.

You will often see hemma hos when talking about being at someone’s home:

Jag är hemma hos Anna. – I am at Anna’s (home).

Does Swedish have a special continuous form like “I am staying at my cousin’s”?

Swedish does not have a separate continuous tense like English -ing forms. The simple present often covers both:

Jag är hos min kusin.
- I am at my cousin’s (right now).
- I am staying at my cousin’s (these days).

Context usually tells whether it is a temporary stay or just your location right now. If you really want to emphasise the temporary aspect, you can add time words:

Just nu är jag hos min kusin. – Right now I am at my cousin’s.
Den här veckan är jag hos min kusin. – This week I am staying at my cousin’s.

What is the normal word order here? Could I say Jag hos min kusin är?

The normal word order in a statement is Subject – Verb – Other information (S–V–O):

Jag är hos min kusin.
- Jag (subject)
- är (verb)
- hos min kusin (where you are)

Jag hos min kusin är is wrong in ordinary Swedish; it sounds like Yoda in English. You can move parts around in questions or for emphasis, but the finite verb usually keeps the second position in the clause:

Nu är jag hos min kusin. – Now I am at my cousin’s.
Hos min kusin är jag nu. – At my cousin’s is where I am now (very emphatic / poetic).

How do you pronounce Jag är hos min kusin?

A common standard pronunciation (Central Swedish) is roughly:

Jag – /jɑː/ (often the g is very weak or silent in everyday speech)
är – /ɛːr/
hos – /huːs/ (like English hoos, not like house)
min – /miːn/
kusin – /kʉˈsiːn/ (stress on the second syllable: ku-SIN)

So, more or less: “yaar ehr hoos meen kʉ-SIIN”, with the main stress on -sin in kusin.