Masculine and Feminine Nouns in Arabic

Every Arabic noun is masculine or feminine. Most feminine nouns end in ⁨ة⁩ (taa marbuta), and adjectives, verbs and pronouns must match the noun's gender.

The Feminine Ending ⁨ة⁩

Taa marbuta (⁨ة⁩) looks like a ⁨ه⁩ with two dots. At the end of a sentence it is read as a short a. Many words for people make their feminine form by adding ⁨ـَة⁩ to the masculine.

Feminine Nouns Without ⁨ة⁩

Some nouns are feminine although they don't end in ⁨ة⁩. They fall into a few groups.

• Female people: ⁨أُمّ⁩ (mother), ⁨بِنْت⁩ (girl), ⁨أُخْت⁩ (sister).
• Most body parts that come in pairs: ⁨يَد⁩ (hand), ⁨عَيْن⁩ (eye), ⁨رِجْل⁩ (leg).
• Most countries and cities: ⁨مِصْر⁩ (Egypt), ⁨دِمَشْق⁩ (Damascus).
• Many words ending in ⁨ـَى⁩ or ⁨ـَاء⁩: ⁨ذِكْرَى⁩ (memory), ⁨صَحْرَاء⁩ (desert).
• A few common words you simply learn: ⁨شَمْس⁩ (sun), ⁨أَرْض⁩ (earth), ⁨نَار⁩ (fire), ⁨حَرْب⁩ (war).

Masculine Nouns with ⁨ة⁩

A few words for men end in ⁨ة⁩ but are masculine, because meaning comes first: ⁨خَلِيفَة⁩ (caliph) and men's names such as ⁨حَمْزَة⁩ and ⁨أُسَامَة⁩.

Gender Changes the Words Around the Noun

Adjectives, the words for "this", pronouns and verbs all follow the noun's gender.

⁨ة⁩ Becomes ⁨ت⁩

When an ending is added after ⁨ة⁩, it turns into an ordinary ⁨ت⁩ and is pronounced t: ⁨سَيَّارَة⁩ becomes ⁨سَيَّارَتِي⁩ (my car). The t is also heard when another noun follows: ⁨سَيَّارَة الْمُعَلِّم⁩ is read sayyārat al-muʿallim (the teacher's car).

Common Mistakes

• Treating every word without ⁨ة⁩ as masculine: ⁨الشَّمْس حَارَّة⁩, not ⁨الشَّمْس حَارّ⁩.
• Forgetting the ⁨ة⁩ on the adjective: ⁨الْمُعَلِّمَة جَدِيدَة⁩, not ⁨الْمُعَلِّمَة جَدِيد⁩.
• Using ⁨هٰذَا⁩ with a feminine noun: ⁨هٰذِهِ مَدِينَة⁩, not ⁨هٰذَا مَدِينَة⁩.
• Writing ⁨ة⁩ before an ending: ⁨سَيَّارَتِي⁩, not ⁨سَيَّارَةِي⁩.

Example Sentences