Every noun in Arabic is either masculine or feminine. The gender matters because adjectives, verbs and words like "this" have to match it.
Spotting a feminine noun
Most feminine nouns end in ة (taa marbuuta), which is said as -a.
- عربية3arabiyyacar (f)
- مدرسةmadrasaschool (f)
- شقةsha22aflat (f)
Everything else is usually masculine: beet (house), kitaab (book), baab (door).
Feminine nouns without ة
A few common words are feminine with no ending. Learn them as you meet them:
- female people: umm (mother), bint (girl), sitt (woman)
- body parts that come in pairs: 3een (eye), widn (ear), iid (hand), rigl (leg)
- a few others: shams (sun), ard (ground), naar (fire)
Making a feminine form
Words for people and adjectives add -a for the feminine.
- مدرس / مدرسةmudarris / mudarrisateacher (m / f)
- مصري / مصريةmasri / masriyyaEgyptian (m / f)
- تعبان / تعبانةta3baan / ta3baanatired (m / f)
The -a becomes -it
When a feminine noun is followed by an owner or a possessive ending, its -a is said -it.
- عربية أحمد3arabiyyit a7madAhmed's car
- عربيتي3arabiyyitimy car
Why it matters
- الولد ده طويلil-walad da tawiilThis boy is tall.
- البنت دي طويلةil-bint di tawiilaThis girl is tall.