Gender In Arabic: Masculine and Feminine Nouns

One thing that trips up beginners in Arabic is dealing with gender.

Every noun in Arabic is either masculine (مُذَكَّر - mudhakkar) or feminine (مُؤَنَّث - mu’annath) 🚻. No neuter or non-binary nonsense! 🤣

Why does this matter?

Because other words that describe the noun, like adjectives, have to agree with it. If the noun is feminine, the adjective needs to be too.

Gender is mostly straightforward and obvious, but not always.

How to spot feminine nouns

The good news is that most feminine nouns have a clear sign.

Think of it like a flag saying “I’m feminine!” 🧕

The most common sign of a feminine noun is this letter at the end: ة.

It’s called taa marbuuta (تَاء مَرْبُوطَة), meaning “tied T”.

It usually sounds like a short “-a” or “-ah” at the end of a word, but in certain constructions (like “the girl’s book”), it’s often pronounced as a “t”.

Here are some examples:

That ة at the end? That’s your biggest clue 🕵️‍♀️.

Other (less common) feminine endings

Besides ة, there are two other endings that often (but not always) mark feminine nouns:

1. Alif maqṣūra (ى): Looks like a yaa (ي) without the dots

• kubrā (كُبْرَى) – greatest
• salma (سَلْمَى), laylā (لَيْلَى) – feminine names

2. Alif mamdūda (اء): An alif followed by a hamza

• ṣaḥrāʾ (صَحْرَاء) – desert
• samāʾ (سَمَاء) – sky

Focus on ة first, then notice the others through exposure but don’t always assume they’re feminine when you see them (e.g. the word for hospital, مُسْتَشْفَى, is masculine).

Feminine by meaning

These are obvious.

Some words are feminine simply because they refer to female people or animals:

• umm (أُمّ) – mother
• bint (بِنْت) – girl/daughter
• ukht (أُخْت) – sister

No special ending needed - they’re feminine by nature.

Feminine by convention

These are the tricky ones that can cause confusion.

They’re feminine even without visual clues - you just have to learn them over time:

Paired body parts:

• yad (يَد) – hand 🖐
• ʿayn (عَيْن) – eye 👁
• rijl (رِجْل) – leg/foot 🦶
• udhun (أُذُن) – ear 👂

Countries and cities:

• miṣr (مِصْر) – Egypt 🇪🇬
• al-qāhira (القَاهِرَة) – Cairo 🏙
• lubnān (لُبْنَان) – Lebanon (⚠️ masculine)

Other words:

• shams (شَمْس) – sun ☀️
• nafs (نَفْس) – self/soul 🧘
• nār (نَار) – fire 🔥
• arḍ (أَرْض) – earth/land 🌍

What about masculine 🧔 nouns?

If a noun doesn’t end in ة and isn’t feminine by meaning or convention, it’s masculine.

Examples:

• kitāb (كِتَاب) – book 📘
• qalam (قَلَم) – pen 🖊
• bayt (بَيْت) – house 🏠
• rajul (رَجُل) – man 👨
• walad (وَلَد) – boy 👦

Noun-adjective agreement: making them match

Here’s why gender matters: adjectives must agree with the noun’s gender ✅.

The rule:

• If the noun is feminine, add a ة to the adjective.
• If it’s masculine, leave the adjective in its basic form.

Masculine example:

بَيْت كَبِير

bayt kabīr

A big house

Feminine example:

سَيَّارَة كَبِيرَة

sayyāra kabīra

A big car

Here are a few more:

كِتَاب جَدِيد

kitāb jadīd

A new book (masc.)

مَدْرَسَة جَدِيدَة

madrasa jadīda

A new school (fem.)

وَلَد صَغِير

walad ṣaghīr

A small boy (masc.)

بِنْت صَغِيرَة

bint ṣaghīra

A small girl (fem.)

This agreement rule applies in MSA and dialects alike.

Quick summary

• Arabic nouns are either masculine or feminine
• Most feminine nouns end in ة (taa marbuuta)
  🧕 Some words are obviously feminine by meaning (like “mother”)
• Others are feminine by convention (e.g. geographical names, body parts, etc.)
  🧔 No feminine marker? Probably masculine (but not always).
• Adjectives must match the noun - add ة to make it feminine

Don’t worry about exceptions or “feminine by convention” types.

Focus on recognizing ة and seeing how adjectives change. Over time, you’ll come to recognize feminine objects as feminine (e.g. fire) without even thinking about it.

The more you listen and practice, the more natural it becomes.

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