Dutch possessive pronouns: mijn, jouw, zijn, haar, ons and onze

My house, your bike, their children: possessive pronouns are among the first words you need when you talk about your life. Most Dutch possessives never change, which makes them easier than in French or German. There's just one that changes form (ons/onze), a couple of short spoken forms, and a handy way to say "mine" and "yours".

The basic forms

• Dit is mijn broer. — This is my brother.
• Wat is uw naam? — What is your name? (formal)
• Zijn moeder is lerares. — His mother is a teacher.
• Ze verkopen hun huis. — They're selling their house.

The possessive agrees with the owner, not with the thing owned. Whether Anna owns a car or a house, it's haar auto and haar huis.

M'n, z'n and d'r show how mijn, zijn and haar sound when you say them quickly. You'll see them in informal texts and dialogue, but write the full forms in anything formal.

Jouw or je?

Jouw is the stressed form; je is the unstressed one. In everyday speech je is far more common:

• Waar is je fiets? — Where's your bike?
• Hoe heet je zus? — What's your sister's name?

Use jouw when you emphasise or contrast:

• Is dit jouw jas of mijn jas? — Is this your coat or my coat?
• Het is jouw beurt. — It's your turn.

Be careful in writing: jouw (your) and jou (you, as an object) sound alike. Dit is voor jou (this is for you), but Dit is jouw boek (this is your book). For the formal uw and u, see formal and informal you.

Ons or onze?

This is the only possessive with two forms, and the choice depends on the noun's article:

• ons before a singular het word

• onze before a de word and before all plurals

• ons huis — our house (het huis)

• ons kind — our child (het kind)

• onze auto — our car (de auto)

• onze kinderen — our children (plural)

Diminutives are always het words, so: ons huisje. If you're not sure of a noun's article, check our guide de or het.

Jullie or je?

Jullie is the normal possessive for "your" (plural): Jullie huis is mooi. — Your house is beautiful. When jullie is already the subject of the sentence, Dutch usually switches to je to avoid repeating it:

• Jullie moeten je paspoort meenemen. — You need to bring your passports.
• Hebben jullie je kaartjes al? — Do you already have your tickets?

Mine, yours, theirs: die van mij

To say "mine", "yours" and so on without a noun, the everyday Dutch way is van + object pronoun:

• Van wie is deze tas? — Die is van mij. — Whose bag is this? — It's mine.
• Dit boek is van haar. — This book is hers.
• Is dat jouw fiets? — Nee, die van mij is blauw. — Is that your bike? — No, mine is blue.
• Ons huis is klein. Dat van hen is groot. — Our house is small. Theirs is big.

Use die van… for de words and plurals, and dat van… for het words, just like die and dat in general.

There is also a more formal set: de/het* + possessive + *-e. Use de for de words and plurals, het for het words.

• Jouw fiets is nieuwer dan de mijne. — Your bike is newer than mine.
• Hun huis is groter dan het onze. — Their house is bigger than ours.

These are correct and common in writing, but in conversation die van mij usually sounds more natural. Jullie has no form like this; use die/dat van jullie.

Talking about other people's things

Van + name

The simplest and most common way to show possession with a name or noun is van:

• de fiets van Anna — Anna's bike
• de auto van mijn ouders — my parents' car
• de hoofdstad van Nederland — the capital of the Netherlands

This always works, so if you're in doubt, use van.

The possessive -s

With names (and words like mama, opa), Dutch also has an -s ending, like English. But the spelling rules are different:

• Usually just -s, no apostrophe: Annes fiets, Pieters huis, Jans moeder, vaders verjaardag.
• -'s after a long a, i, o, u or y: Anna's fiets, Mila's kamer, Otto's auto, oma's tuin. The apostrophe keeps the vowel long, just like in plurals (auto's).
• Only an apostrophe after an s-sound (s, x, z): Klaas' fiets, Max' boek.

The English-style Pieter's huis is a very common mistake in Dutch. Write Pieters huis.

Spoken: Anna d'r fiets

In casual speech you'll hear name + z'n or d'r: Jan z'n fiets, Anna d'r moeder. It's very common, but informal; don't use it in writing.

Zijn and haar for things

For things, use zijn when the owner is a het word or a de word (in everyday Dutch), and hun in the plural:

• Het bedrijf heeft zijn kantoor in Utrecht. — The company has its office in Utrecht.
• De boom verliest zijn bladeren. — The tree is losing its leaves.
• De bomen verliezen hun bladeren. — The trees are losing their leaves.

In formal writing, some de words for organisations and abstract ideas are treated as feminine and get haar: de regering en haar plannen — the government and its plans. You'll see this in newspapers. This matches how hem and haar refer to things; see object pronouns.

Quick summary

• mijn, jouw/je, uw, zijn, haar, ons/onze, jullie/je, hun — they agree with the owner.
• Je is the everyday form of jouw; use jouw for emphasis.
• Ons + singular het word; onze + de word or plural.
• Inside a sentence with jullie as subject, "your" is usually je.
• "Mine" = die/dat van mij (everyday) or de/het mijne (more formal).
• de fiets van Anna always works; with -s: Annes fiets, Anna's fiets, Klaas' fiets — never Anne's.
• Things: zijn (singular) and hun (plural); formal writing sometimes uses haar.

Practise it

Introduce your broer, zus and ouders in Family, say who you are in Introducing yourself, and describe ons huis and mijn kamer in At home.