Possessive Pronouns in Norwegian

Overview

Possessive pronouns in Norwegian tell us who something belongs to — "my car," "your house," "their children." What makes Norwegian possessives distinctive is that many of them change form to agree with the noun they describe, following the same three-gender system as adjectives. So "my" is not just one word — it is min (masculine), mi (feminine), mitt (neuter), or mine (plural), depending on the noun.

This agreement system may seem daunting at first, but there is a significant shortcut: the third-person possessives (hans, hennes, deres) do not change form at all. They stay the same regardless of gender or number. This means roughly half the possessives you will use are simple invariable words.

At the A1 level, your goal is to learn the forms for all persons and understand the gender agreement pattern. Possessives appear in virtually every conversation — talking about your family, your home, your belongings — so mastering them early pays off immediately.

How It Works

Possessive forms by person

Person	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
my	min	mi	mitt	mine
your (sg.)	din	di	ditt	dine
his	hans	hans	hans	hans
her	hennes	hennes	hennes	hennes
its (m/f)	dens	dens	dens	dens
its (n)	dets	dets	dets	dets
our	vår	vår	vårt	våre
your (pl.)	deres	deres	deres	deres
their	deres	deres	deres	deres

The forms in bold change based on gender and number. The others are invariable.

Two positions for possessives

Norwegian allows possessives in two positions:

Before the noun (no definite suffix):

• min bil (my car)
• mitt hus (my house)

After the noun (with definite suffix — more colloquial):

• bilen min (my car — literally "car-the my")
• huset mitt (my house)

The post-position form is more common in everyday speech and sounds more natural. The pre-position form is slightly more formal or emphatic.

Invariable third-person forms

Hans (his), hennes (her), and deres (their/your plural) never change:

Norwegian	English
hans bil / bilen hans	his car
hans hus / huset hans	his house
hans bøker / bøkene hans	his books
hennes bil / bilen hennes	her car
deres barn / barna deres	their children

Reflexive possessive: sin/si/sitt/sine

When the possessor is the subject of the same clause, Norwegian uses a reflexive possessive:

• Han vasker bilen sin. (He washes his [own] car.)
• Hun leser boka si. (She reads her [own] book.)
• De liker huset sitt. (They like their [own] house.)

Compare: Han vasker bilen hans would mean he washes someone else's car (another male person's).

Examples in Context

Norwegian	English	Note
min bil	my car	Masculine, pre-position
bilen min	my car	Masculine, post-position (colloquial)
mitt hus	my house	Neuter, pre-position
huset mitt	my house	Neuter, post-position
mine barn	my children	Plural
hans bok	his book	Invariable
hennes katt	her cat	Invariable
vårt land	our country	Neuter
barna våre	our children	Plural, post-position
din tur	your turn	Masculine
di jente	your girl	Feminine
ditt navn	your name	Neuter
Hun liker jobben sin.	She likes her (own) job.	Reflexive possessive
De selger huset sitt.	They are selling their (own) house.	Reflexive possessive

Common Mistakes

Wrong: min hus (masculine form with neuter noun) Right: mitt hus Why: Hus is neuter, so the possessive must also be neuter: mitt, not min.

Wrong: Jeg liker bilen min with the meaning "He likes his [own] car." Right: Han liker bilen sin. Why: When the possessor is the subject of the clause, use the reflexive form sin/si/sitt/sine, not hans/hennes.

Wrong: Hun vasker bilen sin when you mean someone else's car. Right: Hun vasker bilen hennes (another woman's car). Why: Sin always refers back to the subject. For someone else's possession, use hans/hennes/deres.

Wrong: mines bil Right: min bil or bilen min Why: Norwegian possessives do not take an -s ending like English "mine." The forms are min/mi/mitt/mine.

Wrong: dere bil (using subject pronoun as possessive) Right: deres bil or bilen deres Why: Dere is "you all" (subject form). The possessive form is deres.

Usage Notes

In everyday spoken Norwegian, the post-position form (bilen min) is far more common than the pre-position form (min bil). The pre-position form is used for emphasis or in more formal contexts. Both are grammatically correct in Bokmål.

The reflexive possessive (sin/si/sitt/sine) is a distinctive feature of Norwegian and other Scandinavian languages. English does not have an equivalent, which makes it one of the trickier concepts for English speakers. At A1, focus on recognizing the pattern; full mastery comes with practice at A2-B1.

Deres serves double duty as both "your (plural)" and "their," which can be ambiguous in writing. Context usually resolves any confusion.

This is an A1 essential that you will use every time you talk about people and their belongings.

Practice Tips

• Practice the trio. For every possessive, drill all four forms: min, mi, mitt, mine. Then do the same with din, di, ditt, dine and vår, vår, vårt, våre.
• Describe your family. Talk about your relatives using possessives: broren min (my brother), søsteren min (my sister), foreldrene mine (my parents).
• Watch for reflexive sin. When reading or listening to Norwegian, notice when sin/si/sitt/sine is used and identify who the possessor is. This builds the reflexive pattern intuitively.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Noun Gender (Three Genders) — gender determines which possessive form to use