Arabic says "my", "your", "his" and so on with short endings attached to the noun. The same endings also mark the object of a verb ("saw me") and follow prepositions ("with me"), so they're worth learning early.
Possessive endings
| Ending | Example | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | ـي -i | كتابي kitaabi | my book |
| your (m) | ـك -ak | كتابك kitaabak | your book |
| your (f) | ـك -ik | كتابك kitaabik | your book |
| his | ـه -u | كتابه kitaabu | his book |
| her | ـها -ha | كتابها kitabha | her book |
| our | ـنا -na | كتابنا kitabna | our book |
| your (pl) | ـكو -ku | كتابكو kitabku | your book |
| their | ـهم -hum | كتابهم kitabhum | their book |
Some things to notice:
- -ak and -ik are both written ـك. Only the vowel tells you whether it's a man or a woman.
- ـه is said -u, not "h".
- After a vowel, "my" is -ya: abuuya (my father), ma3aaya (with me).
- A long vowel shortens when an ending makes the word longer: kitaab becomes kitabna.
- Feminine -a becomes -it: 3arabiyya becomes 3arabiyyiti (my car).
The same endings as objects
After a verb, the endings mean "me, you, him…". The one difference is "me", which is -ni.
- شافنيshafnihe saw me
- شافكshafakhe saw you (m)
- شافهاshafhahe saw her
- شافهمshafhumhe saw them
After prepositions
- معاياma3aayawith me
- ليكliikfor you (m)
- عليه3aleeon him
- منهاminhafrom her
"To have" is a preposition
Egyptian has no verb "to have". Instead it uses 3and ("at, with") plus an ending.
- عندي عربية3andi 3arabiyyaI have a car.
- عندك وقت؟3andak wa2t?Do you (m) have time?
- معندناش فلوسma3andinaash filuusWe don't have money.