pronoundeterminer

sein (Possessiv zu er/es)

his

Als Person oder Sache vorhanden sein oder sich in einem Zustand befinden.

Definition & meaning

sein has several important meanings in German:

To be — the infinitive of the verb expressing identity, existence, condition, location, or characteristics.
- Ich bin müde. — “I am tired.”
- Sie ist Ärztin. — “She is a doctor.”
- Das Buch ist auf dem Tisch. — “The book is on the table.”
His / its — a possessive determiner or possessive pronoun referring to a masculine or neuter possessor.
- Das ist sein Auto. — “That is his car.”
- Das Kind nimmt sein Spielzeug. — “The child takes its toy.”
  Its ending changes according to the noun it accompanies: sein, seine, seinen, seinem, seiner.
Being / existence — when capitalized as the noun das Sein, it means “being,” “existence,” or “the state of existing.”
- Das Sein und das Bewusstsein — “Being and consciousness.”

Grammar & Word origin

As a verb, sein is an irregular and highly suppletive verb. Its main forms are:

Infinitive: sein
Present: ich bin , du bist , er/sie/es ist
Simple past: war
Past participle: gewesen
Subjunctive II: wäre

It is used:

as a main verb: Er ist Student. — “He is a student.”
as an auxiliary verb for the perfect tense of certain verbs, especially verbs of movement or change of state: Sie ist gekommen. — “She came / has come.”
in the passive construction with the participle: Die Tür ist geschlossen. — “The door is closed.”

The verb comes from several older Germanic roots that merged over time. Its forms are therefore historically unrelated in appearance: bin, bist, ist, war, and gewesen all belong to the same verb.

As a possessive word, sein derives from the personal pronoun er and means “belonging to him.” It can also refer to a neuter noun or an impersonal possessor.

Capitalized das Sein is a noun formed from the verb and follows normal noun capitalization.

Synonyms & antonyms

Verb: “to be”

German has no complete synonym for sein , because it is a fundamental auxiliary and linking verb. Depending on the context, related alternatives include:

existieren — “to exist”; more specific and often more formal than sein.
sich befinden — “to be located”; used mainly for locations or states.
bleiben — “to remain”; emphasizes continuing in a state rather than simply being in it.
werden — “to become”; describes a change into a state and is therefore not a direct synonym.

Context-dependent opposites include:

nicht sein — “not to be.”
aufhören zu existieren — “to cease to exist.”
verschwinden — “to disappear,” especially when referring to presence or location.

Possessive meaning: “his / its”

There is no direct synonym for sein in this meaning. The opposite possession is commonly expressed with:

mein — “my”
dein — “your” (singular, informal)
ihr — “her” or “their,” depending on context
unser — “our”

These are not exact antonyms; they indicate different possessors.

Common phrases & collocations

sein Name — “his name”
sein eigenes — “his/its own”
es sein — “to be it,” often in the expression Das wird es sein. — “That must be it.”
da sein — “to be there” or “to be present”
dabei sein — “to be there,” “to participate,” or “to be involved”
gewesen sein — “to have been”
sein oder nicht sein — “to be or not to be”
So soll es sein. — “That is how it should be.”