own

Compared meaning: private, or belonging to oneself (adjective).

比较义项：私人的、自己的（形容词）。

• intimate

  Emphasizes secrecy and closeness — something shared only with a few trusted people, often emotional or confidential in nature.

  强调私密与亲近——只与少数信任的人分享，通常带有情感色彩或需要保密。

  He felt embarrassed discussing such an intimate matter with a stranger.

  在陌生人面前谈论如此私密的事，他感到很尴尬。

• personal

  Focuses on what belongs to an individual's own life, body or feelings, often contrasted with public or professional matters.

  侧重属于个人自身生活、身体或情感的事，常与公开或工作事务相对。

  The interviewer avoided asking personal questions about her salary.

  面试官避免询问她薪水等私人问题。

• private

  Means not shared with others or not open to the public; used for property, information or spaces reserved for one person or a small group.

  指不与他人共享或不对公众开放；用于财产、信息或只供一人或小范围人使用的空间。

  Employees are not allowed to use the printer for private business.

  员工不得将打印机用于私人事务。

• own 本词

  A limiting adjective that must follow a possessive (my/your/his own), stressing sole possession rather than secrecy or personal relevance.

  是一个限定性形容词，必须跟在物主代词（my/your/his own）之后，强调专属所有权，而非私密性或与个人的相关性。

  She finally has her own bedroom instead of sharing with her sister.

  她终于有了自己的卧室，不用再和姐妹合住。

These words all relate to what is private or one's own. Intimate stresses secrecy, shared only with trusted people. Personal focuses on an individual's own life, body, or feelings. Private means not shared with others or open to the public. Own stresses sole possession.

这几个词在“私人的、自己的”这一意义上相近，但侧重点不同：intimate强调私密、不愿公开，personal强调与个人生活或身体有关，private强调不与他人共享或不对外开放，own则强调所有权，须与物主代词连用。这里不比较intimate表示“（人际关系）亲密的”这一常见义，也不比较own用作动词“拥有”的用法。

Compared meaning: to have or hold something (verb).

比较义项：拥有、持有某物（动词）。

• have

  The plain, all-purpose word for possessing something; used constantly in everyday speech for almost anything, with no sense of formality or legal ownership.

  最普通、万能的“拥有”说法，日常口语中几乎什么都能用，不带正式或法律所有权的意味。

  Do you have a pen I could borrow for a minute?

  你有笔可以借我用一分钟吗？

• own 本词

  Emphasizes legal or rightful ownership, usually of property or valuable things you could buy, sell or inherit; sounds odd for feelings, relationships or abstract qualities.

  强调合法或名正言顺的所有权，通常用于可以买卖、继承的财产或贵重物品；用于感受、关系或抽象品质时会显得别扭。

  They finally own their house after paying off the entire mortgage.

  还清全部房贷后，他们终于拥有了自己的房子。

• possess

  A formal or literary word, common in written, legal or academic contexts, or to stress a rare and valuable quality; sounds stiff for ordinary everyday objects.

  较正式或书面的用词，常见于书面语、法律或学术语境，也用来强调难得而可贵的品质；用来说日常普通物品会显得生硬。

  Few people possess the patience needed for this kind of work.

  很少有人具备做这种工作所需的耐心。

All three verbs can mean to have something. Have is plain and all-purpose, used constantly for almost anything. Own stresses legal ownership, usually of property or things you could buy or sell. Possess is formal or literary, common in legal or academic writing.

这三个词都可以表示“拥有某物”，但语气不同：have最普通随意，日常什么都能用；own强调合法、正式的所有权，多用于财产等实物；possess较正式或书面，常用来强调难得的品质，或用于法律语境，日常口语中会显得生硬。这里不比较have表示“有（经历、感受、关系等）”的其他用法，如have a headache、have a sister，也不涉及own作形容词“自己的”这一用法。