At a glance · Level 2
هٰذَا or هٰذِهِ?
Pick the demonstrative by the noun’s gender
This is …
Masculine → هٰذَا
- هٰذَا رَجُلٌa man
- هٰذَا طَالِبٌa male student
- هٰذَا دِيكٌa rooster
Feminine → هٰذِهِ
- هٰذِهِ امْرَأَةٌa woman
- هٰذِهِ طَالِبَةٌa female student
- هٰذِهِ دَجَاجَةٌa hen
Feminine without ة → هٰذِهِ
- أَرْنَبٌrabbit
- نَارٌfire
- قِدْرٌpot
- عَيْنٌeye
- يَدٌhand
What is this?
- Speaker A: مَا هٰذَا؟What is this?
- Speaker B: هٰذَا قَلَمٌ.This is a pen.
- Speaker A: وَمَا هٰذَا؟And what is this?
- Speaker B: هٰذَا كِتَابٌ.This is a book.
- Speaker A: وَمَا هٰذِهِ؟And what is this?
- Speaker B: هٰذِهِ حَقِيبَةٌ.This is a bag.
The question and the answer use the same word: مَا هٰذَا؟ → هٰذَا … / مَا هٰذِهِ؟ → هٰذِهِ …
The demonstratives هٰذَا and هٰذِهِ (this)
This unit opens Level 2 with the demonstrative noun: هٰذَا (this) for masculine nouns and هٰذِهِ (this) for feminine nouns. You learn many new words in masculine and feminine pairs, then ask and answer the question مَا هٰذَا؟ / مَا هٰذِهِ؟ (What is this?). Choosing the right word depends on knowing whether the noun is masculine or feminine.
Practice
Build the sentence
Put هٰذَا or هٰذِهِ in front of each word. Watch out for feminine words without ة.
Word 1 of 10
Which word goes here?قَلَمٌ
You will be able to
- You can say “this is …” with هٰذَا for masculine nouns and هٰذِهِ for feminine nouns.
- You can ask “What is this?” with مَا هٰذَا؟ or مَا هٰذِهِ؟ and answer it.
- You can recognise feminine nouns without ta marbuta (ة), such as أَرْنَبٌ and نَارٌ.
- You can find and correct a wrong demonstrative in a sentence.
Key points
- 1
هٰذَا for masculine, هٰذِهِ for feminine
هٰذَا (hādhā) points to a masculine noun and هٰذِهِ (hādhihi) to a feminine noun. Both are written with a small alif after the first letter instead of a full alif, but it is still read as a long ā: hā-dhā, hā-dhihi.
- 2
Masculine and feminine pairs
The new words come in pairs: رَجُلٌ / امْرَأَةٌ (man / woman), طِفْلٌ / طِفْلَةٌ and صَبِيٌّ / صَبِيَّةٌ (boy / girl), طَالِبٌ / طَالِبَةٌ and تِلْمِيذٌ / تِلْمِيذَةٌ (male / female student), دِيكٌ / دَجَاجَةٌ (rooster / hen), ثَوْرٌ / بَقَرَةٌ (bull / cow).
- 3
Feminine without ta marbuta
As in Level 1, many feminine nouns end in ta marbuta (ة), but some are feminine without it, for example أَرْنَبٌ (rabbit), نَارٌ (fire), قِدْرٌ (pot), عَيْنٌ (eye) and يَدٌ (hand). They still take هٰذِهِ.
- 4
Asking “What is this?”
Ask with مَا هٰذَا؟ for a masculine thing and مَا هٰذِهِ؟ for a feminine thing. The answer uses the same demonstrative: مَا هٰذَا؟ هٰذَا قَلَمٌ. / مَا هٰذِهِ؟ هٰذِهِ حَقِيبَةٌ. To ask again, add وَ: وَمَا هٰذَا؟ (And what is this?).
- 5
Completing a dialogue
If a word is missing in the question, look at the answer: if the answer starts with هٰذَا, the question is مَا هٰذَا؟; if it starts with هٰذِهِ, the question is مَا هٰذِهِ؟. Any noun works in the answer as long as its gender matches.
Vocabulary
- رَجُلٌ
man
rajulun
- امْرَأَةٌ
woman
imraʾatun
- طِفْلٌ
boy
ṭiflun
- طِفْلَةٌ
girl
ṭiflatun
- طَالِبٌ
male student
ṭālibun
- طَالِبَةٌ
female student
ṭālibatun
- دِيكٌ
rooster
dīkun
- دَجَاجَةٌ
hen
dajājatun
- ثَوْرٌ
bull
thawrun
- بَقَرَةٌ
cow
baqaratun
- أَرْنَبٌ
rabbit (feminine)
arnabun
- نَارٌ
fire (feminine)
nārun
- هَاتِفٌ
phone
hātifun
- صَحِيفَةٌ
newspaper
ṣaḥīfatun
- مِلْعَقَةٌ
spoon
milʿaqatun
- سُلَّمٌ
ladder
sullamun
| Arabic | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| رَجُلٌ | rajulun | man |
| امْرَأَةٌ | imraʾatun | woman |
| طِفْلٌ | ṭiflun | boy |
| طِفْلَةٌ | ṭiflatun | girl |
| طَالِبٌ | ṭālibun | male student |
| طَالِبَةٌ | ṭālibatun | female student |
| دِيكٌ | dīkun | rooster |
| دَجَاجَةٌ | dajājatun | hen |
| ثَوْرٌ | thawrun | bull |
| بَقَرَةٌ | baqaratun | cow |
| أَرْنَبٌ | arnabun | rabbit (feminine) |
| نَارٌ | nārun | fire (feminine) |
| هَاتِفٌ | hātifun | phone |
| صَحِيفَةٌ | ṣaḥīfatun | newspaper |
| مِلْعَقَةٌ | milʿaqatun | spoon |
| سُلَّمٌ | sullamun | ladder |
Examples
- هٰذَا رَجُلٌ.
hādhā rajulun.
This is a man.
- هٰذِهِ امْرَأَةٌ.
hādhihi imraʾatun.
This is a woman.
- هٰذِهِ أَرْنَبٌ.
hādhihi arnabun.
This is a rabbit.
Feminine without ta marbuta.
- هٰذِهِ نَارٌ.
hādhihi nārun.
This is a fire.
Feminine without ta marbuta.
- مَا هٰذَا؟ هٰذَا قَلَمٌ.
mā hādhā? hādhā qalamun.
What is this? This is a pen.
- مَا هٰذِهِ؟ هٰذِهِ حَقِيبَةٌ.
mā hādhihi? hādhihi ḥaqībatun.
What is this? This is a bag.
- هٰذِهِ قِدْرٌ.
hādhihi qidrun.
This is a pot.
Pot is feminine, so not هٰذَا.
- هٰذَا حِصَانٌ.
hādhā ḥiṣānun.
This is a horse.
Horse is masculine, so not هٰذِهِ.
Watch out
- Using هٰذَا with a feminine noun that has ta marbuta: say هٰذِهِ صَحِيفَةٌ, not هٰذَا صَحِيفَةٌ.
- Forgetting that some nouns are feminine without ta marbuta: say هٰذِهِ نَارٌ and هٰذِهِ قِدْرٌ.
- Using هٰذِهِ with a masculine noun: say هٰذَا حِصَانٌ and هٰذَا صَارُوخٌ.
- Mismatching question and answer: the question must match the answer, so مَا هٰذِهِ؟ هٰذِهِ مِلْعَقَةٌ, not مَا هٰذَا؟ هٰذِهِ مِلْعَقَةٌ.
- Writing a full alif in هٰذَا and هٰذِهِ: they are written with a small alif, but read with a long ā.