In Arabic, every word has a soul! It is either Masculine (Mudhakkarr) or Feminine (Mu'annath). There is no "it"!
Nouns that refer to males or objects that don't have feminine signs.
Nouns that refer to females or objects that have the "feminine sign".
When a word isn't "physically" female, we look for these 3 special endings.
The most common sign.
Looks like a 'Ya' without dots.
A long stretching Alif.
| Masculine (Origin) | The Feminine Signature | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| مُعَلِّمٌ | مُعَلِّمَةٌ (ة) | Teacher |
| طَالِبٌ | طَالِبَةٌ (ة) | Student |
| طَبِيبٌ | طَبِيبَةٌ (ة) | Doctor |
| مُهَنْدِسٌ | مُهَنْدِسَةٌ (ة) | Engineer |
| أَحْمَرُ | حَمْرَاءُ (اء) | Red |
| صَغِيرٌ | صُغْرَى (ى) | Smallest |
Some human nouns are "Natural Pairs". They don't always follow the Ta-Marbuta rule.
In Arabic, even non-living objects have gender! Tables, chairs, and pens are either boys or girls.
Parts that come in pairs are Feminine
Cities & Countries are Feminine
In Arabic, if you take a group of non-living things (like a bunch of **Books** or **Trees**), the language treats the whole group as a **Single Lady**! We call this rule "Kullu jam'in mu'annath".
Some words are feminine just because "The Arabs said so". Use this story to remember them easily!
Can you turn these masculine people into feminine ones? Add the Ta-Marbuta (ة)!
Practice reading these pairs. Notice the patterns!
MASHALLAH! You have successfully mastered the concept of Gender in Arabic. You can now distinguish between Masculine and Feminine like a pro!
Understood the fundamental rules of Mudhakkarr and Mu'annath in Arabic.
Mastered identifying Ta-Marbuta and the hidden feminine signs in languages.
Practiced over 100 high-frequency nouns and their gender transformations.