My: το σπίτι μου και το δικό μου σπίτι
The ordinary "my" in Greek is a short unstressed word, and it stands after the noun, while the article stays in place: το σπίτι μου, η αδελφή σου, ο παππούς της. The hand wants to move the word forward, as English does — do not. For example: “Το ποδήλατό μου είναι στην αυλή” — My bicycle is in the yard. A rule from the Greek course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The ordinary "my" in Greek is a short unstressed word, and it stands after the noun, while the article stays in place: το σπίτι μου (to spíti mu), η αδελφή σου (i adelfí su), ο παππούς της (o papús tis). The hand wants to move the word forward, as English does — do not.
The whole set: μου (my), σου (your), του (his), της (her), μας (our), σας (your, plural), τους (their). The forms are the same as those of the little pronouns by the verb, and only the seat tells them apart: by the verb it goes in front, by the noun it follows.
Here also lives the favorite trap of Greek spelling. If the word is stressed on the third syllable from the end, the added μου pulls the stress along, and the word grows a second accent: το όνομά μου (to ónomá mu), το ποδήλατό μου (to podílató mu), ο δάσκαλός μας. The reason is simple: Greek stress never retreats further than the third syllable from the end, and μου counts as part of the word. Two marks, one heard push.
When emphasis is needed — "mine, not yours" — there is the stressed form δικός μου (dikós mu), δική μου (dikí mu), δικό μου (dikó mu). It agrees with the thing in gender and number, while the owner is still named by the same μου: το δικό μου ποδήλατο (to dikó mu podílato), η δική σου μπάλα (i dikí su bála), τα δικά μας παιδιά (ta diká mas pediá). It stands before the word, and the article with it is obligatory.
Without μου/σου/του, δικός (dikós) never occurs — Greek says no separate word for "one's own". But the stressed form also serves where the thing is not named: Ποιανού είναι η τσάντα; — Δική μου.
Table
| owner | the usual way | with a push |
|---|---|---|
| my | το σπίτι μου | το δικό μου σπίτι |
| your | η μπάλα σου | η δική σου μπάλα |
| his | ο αδελφός του | ο δικός του αδελφός |
| her | η ομάδα της | η δική της ομάδα |
| our | το βιβλίο μας | το δικό μας βιβλίο |
| their | τα παιδιά τους | τα δικά τους παιδιά |
By example
- Το ποδήλατό μου είναι στην αυλήto podílató mu íne stin avlíMy bicycle is in the yard
- Αυτή δεν είναι η δική σου μπάλαaftí den íne i dikí su bálaThat's not your ball
- Ο αδελφός της παίζει στην ομάδαo adelfós tis pézi stin omádaHer brother plays in the team
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How to say my in Greek?
The ordinary "my" in Greek is a short unstressed word, and it stands after the noun, while the article stays in place: το σπίτι μου, η αδελφή σου, ο παππούς της. The hand wants to move the word forward, as English does — do not.
Το σπίτι μου or το δικό μου σπίτι?
The whole set: μου (my), σου (your), του (his), της (her), μας (our), σας (your, plural), τους (their). The forms are the same as those of the little pronouns by the verb, and only the seat tells them apart: by the verb it goes in front, by the noun it follows.
Why το όνομά μου carries two accents?
Here also lives the favorite trap of Greek spelling. If the word is stressed on the third syllable from the end, the added μου pulls the stress along, and the word grows a second accent: το όνομά μου, το ποδήλατό μου, ο δάσκαλός μας. The reason is simple: Greek stress never retreats further than…
When δικός μου is needed and when μου is enough?
When emphasis is needed — "mine, not yours" — there is the stressed form δικός μου, δική μου, δικό μου. It agrees with the thing in gender and number, while the owner is still named by the same μου: το δικό μου ποδήλατο, η δική σου μπάλα, τα δικά μας παιδιά. It stands before the word, and the…
What does it look like in an example sentence Greek?
“Το ποδήλατό μου είναι στην αυλή” (to podílató mu íne stin avlí) — My bicycle is in the yard. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.