21 December 2025
How do you say that something belongs to you in German?
Expressing ownership can be done in several different ways in German. The main word for “to belong (to someone)” is (jemandem) gehören. The German word for “to own” is besitzen. Das Eigentum means property or ownership; der Besitz means possession. They overlap in everyday speech, but possessing something does not necessarily mean owning it.
Useful related constructions include gehören zu (to be part of), dazugehören (to belong or be included), angehören (to be a member of), and hingehören (to belong in a certain place):
Examples
Der Stift gehört mir! The pen belongs to me.
Ich besitze zwei Autos. I own two cars.
Das Haus ist mein Eigentum. The house is my property.
Der Junge gehört zu der Gruppe da hinten. The boy is part of the group back there.
Dieser Deckel gehört zu dieser Flasche. This lid belongs to this bottle.
Ich gehöre einem Sportverein an. I’m a member of a sports club.
Das gehört nicht dahin. That does not belong there.
Good to Know
The word gehören is related to the German word for “to hear” (hören) - likely in the sense of listening to and following orders.
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