French Conversation · Level 84
59 words
French word
sien
Pronunciation
IPA/sjɛ̃/
Meaning
- pronounhis
Example
C'est le sien.
It's his.
More examples
Elle a pris le sien par erreur.
She accidentally took his.
Core concept
A possessed thing stands alone, with sien naming it as belonging to a previously mentioned person.
Common phrases
le sien
his
prendre le sien
take what is his
confondre le sien
confuse his with someone else's
Similar words
mien: A standalone possessive pronoun for a masculine singular thing belonging to the speaker.
tien: A standalone possessive pronoun for a masculine singular thing belonging to the addressee.
vôtre: A standalone possessive pronoun for a masculine singular thing belonging to the addressee or group.
nôtre: A standalone possessive pronoun for a masculine singular thing belonging to the speaker and others.
Definition in French
S'utilise sans nom pour désigner quelque chose qui appartient à la personne évoquée, en contraste avec les adjectifs possessifs qui accompagnent un nom.
Word origin
Sien developed through Old French from Latin suus, and its modern forms vary with the gender and number of the possessed thing.
Usage tips
- The possessive pronoun normally uses a definite article: le sien for one masculine thing, la sienne for one feminine thing, and les siens or les siennes for plural things.