German word

ihre

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈiːʁə/

Meaning

  • pronounher

Example

Er ruft ihre Mutter an.

He calls her mother.

Illustration for ihre (her)

More examples

Sie verteidigt ihre Meinung energisch.

She vigorously defends her opinion.

Core concept

A possessive tag before a noun connects that noun to a woman or group in the surrounding context.

Common phrases

  • ihre Mutter

    her mother

  • ihre Meinung

    her opinion

  • ihre Stimme

    her voice

Similar words

Ihre: Marks a noun as belonging to the person addressed formally.
ihr: Marks a noun as belonging to her or them in the basic form.
seine: Marks a noun as belonging to him.
unsere: Marks a noun as belonging to the speaker and others.

Definition in German

Possessivbegleiter von 'sie', der anzeigt, dass etwas einer weiblichen Person oder mehreren Personen gehört und sich nach dem folgenden Nomen in Geschlecht, Zahl und Fall richtet.

Word origin

The modern form preserves the possessive stem ihr- from the personal pronoun sie, whose older German forms supplied the source.

Usage tips

  • Capitalized Ihre is the formal second-person possessive, whereas lowercase ihre refers to sie; capitalization can therefore change the possessor.

Other meanings

  • theirpronoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word