- In Arabic both living things and inanimate (non-living) things are treated as either masculine or feminine.
- In this part of the lesson /In-Shā'-Allâh/ (God willing) we will learn about the masculine and the feminine words. We will also learn how to change a masculine word into a feminine word. There are three symbols which change a masculine word to a feminine word when added on the end of a masculine word and they are:
|
English |
Symbol of feminine word |
Arabic |
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|
Feminine |
Masculine |
Feminine |
Masculine |
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|
Female student |
Male student |
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Left (for feminine words) |
Left |
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|
Noble woman |
Noble man |
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- It should be remembered that the penultimate (second to last) letter of a feminine word always takes a /fatħah/.
- Following are some examples to better understand the above mentioned rules:
|
Picture |
Translation |
Transliteration |
Arabic |
|
I am a doctor. |
/Anā ŧabībun/ |
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|
I am a female student. |
/Anā ŧālibatun/ |
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You are a male teacher. |
/Anta mudarrisun/ |
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You are a lady doctor. |
/Anti ŧabībatun/ |
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He is an engineer. |
/Huwa muhandisun/ |
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She is a female nurse. |
/Hiya mumarriđatun/ |
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Aminah is in the kitchen. |
/āminatu fil maŧbakhi/ |
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Where are you from? |
/Min ayna anta/ |
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I am from China. |
/Ana min-aŝ ŝīni/ |