How can I say “my” in Japanese?
How to ask a question about the possession of something
If you want to ask about the owner of something, the grammar pattern,
誰のX
dare no X
whose X
is used.
For example,
これは誰の財布ですか。
kore wa dare no saihu desu ka.
Whose wallet is this?
Possession
When talking about the possession of something,
X(owner)のY(object)
XのY
X’s Y
is used.
And unlike in English, there is no specific word for possession like “my” in Japanese.
Instead, we have to add a particle の to the noun (owner).
For example,
これはわたしの財布です。
kore wa watashi no saihu desu.
This is my wallet.
これは田中さんの財布です。
kore wa Tanaka-san no 財布です。
This is Tanaka’s wallet.
How to answer
When asked about the possession, you can only give the necessary information.
The other elements of the sentence can be omitted.
And for this possessive expression, we can even omit the object.
For example,
A :
これは誰の財布ですか。
kore wa dare no saihu desu ka.
Whose wallet is this?
B :
わたしの財布です。
watashi no saihu desu.
That’s my wallet.
それはわたしの財布です。
sore wa watashi no saihu desu.
That’s my wallet.
わたしのです。
watashi no desu.
That’s mine.
それはわたしのです。
sore wa watashi no desu.
That’s mine.
Of course, this abbreviation can also be used for a person’s name.
For example,
それは田中さんのです。
sore wa Tanaka-san no desu.
That’s Tanaka-san’s.
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