In Arabic, nouns are classified into masculine and feminine. It’s an important grammatical rule to know as it affects other parts of the sentence because verbs should agree on gender, and adjectives follow the same gender as the nouns they describe.
In this article, we will learn about masculine and feminine nouns in Arabic, how they affect sentence structure, and how to differentiate between masculine and feminine nouns with examples to help you understand and apply the rule.
Does Arabic Have Gendered Nouns?
Sure, Arabic does have gendered nouns, which are categorized as masculine and feminine nouns. Knowing this grammatical rule is important for creating coherent, understandable Arabic texts and for understanding complex texts as well.
Unlike English, Arabic-gendered nouns affect verbs and adjectives to agree with them in gender. This unique rule characterizes the Arabic language and is crucial to understanding how it affects other parts of speech.
Masculine Nouns in Arabic:
Masculine nouns in Arabic refer to the male gender whether for living or non-living things. It indicates males themselves or for things that aren’t males but grammatically or linguistically classified as masculine.
1) Real Masculine Nouns:
Real, or “حقيقي” (Haqiqy), masculine nouns refer to male human beings or animals, as we can truly identify whether it’s feminine or masculine. For Example, “قط” (Qet) means “a male cat”, and “رجل” (Rajul) means “A man”. Both refer to masculine nouns and that can not be denied.
2) Metaphorical Masculine Nouns:
Metaphorical, or “مجازي” (Majazy), masculine nouns refer to the male non-living things that can be determined as masculine by humans, and it differs from language to language.
In this case, we rely on what is pre-recorded and passed down to us from other humans. That is pretty much the reason why we call it “سماعي” (Smaa’ey), which means “depending on listening”.
For Example, “القمر” (Al-qamar) means “The moon”, and “الجدار” (Al-jedaar) means “The wall”. Both refer to masculine non-living things, and it’s determined by humans. For instance, “القمر”, or “The moon”, which is masculine in Arabic, is also feminine in other languages like French.
Feminine Nouns in Arabic:
Feminine nouns in Arabic refer to the female gender, whether for living or non-living things. They indicate females themselves or for things that aren’t females but grammatically or linguistically classified as feminine.
1) Real Feminine Nouns:
Real feminine nouns refer to female human beings or animals, as we can truly identify whether it’s masculine or feminine. For Example, “قطة” (Qetta) means “a female cat”, and “فتاة” (Fatah) means “A girl”. Both refer to feminine nouns and that is beyond dispute.
Professions are also considered real nouns as they describe the jobs of human beings. Professions are mainly masculine nouns until it’s converted into feminine ones by adding “ة” (Taa’ Marbootah). For instance, “كاتب” (Kateb), which means “a male writer”, turns to “كاتبة” (Katebah), which means “a female writer”.
2) Metaphorical Feminine Nouns:
Metaphorical, or “مجازي” (Majazy), feminine nouns refer to the female non-living things that can be defined as feminine by humans, and it also differs from language to language.
Like the metaphorical masculine nouns, we rely on what is previously recorded and passed down to us from other humans. And that is why we call it “سماعي” (Smaa’ey), which means “depending on listening”.
For Example, “الشمس” (Al-shams) means “The sun”, and “الحديقة” (Al-hadiqah) means “The garden”. Both refer to feminine non-living things, which were determined by humans. For instance, “الشمس”, or “The sun”, which is feminine in Arabic, is also masculine in other languages like French.
Characteristics of Feminine Nouns in Arabic:
Feminine nouns in Arabic usually have some common features or characteristics, which helps you to differentiate between masculine and feminine nouns in most cases. We can consider the noun as feminine if it ends with one of the following:
1. Al-Taa’ Al-Marbootah “ة”
2. Alif Al-Qasr “ى”
3. Alif Al-Madd “اء”
| Example | Meaning | Type |
| حرية (Hurreyyah) | Freedom | Metaphorically feminine |
| معلمة (Moa’allemah) | A female teacher | Real Feminine |
| قوى (Qowwaa) | Power | Metaphorically feminine |
| أفعى (Afa’aa) | A snake | Real Feminine |
| شقراء (Shaqraa’) | An adjective means “Blonde” for female | Real Feminine |
| سماء (Samaa’) | Sky | Metaphorically feminine |
Irregularities:
As with any grammatical rule, these rules have some irregularities. Some nouns may have the signs of feminine while indicating masculine, others may not have the signs of feminine but they indicate feminine, and some nouns have dual gender as well.
| Example | Meaning | Gender |
| “مستشفى” (Mustashfa) | “Hospital” | Masculine |
| “يد” (Yadd) | “Hand” | Feminine |
| “طحلة” (Tahlah) | A name “Tahlah” | Masculine |
| “حمزة” (Hamzah) | A name “Hamzah” | Masculine |
| “سعاد” (Soa’ad) | A name “Soa’ad” | Feminine |
| “رضا” (Reda) | A name “Reda” | Dual gender can be for both males and females. |
| “طريق” (Tareeq) | “Road” | Dual gender can be feminine and masculine. |
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How to Differentiate between Masculine And Feminine Genders?
In Arabic unique structure, you should learn how to differentiate which noun is feminine and which one is masculine in order to compose a correct coherent paragraph or speech. And that is by:
1) Looking at The Ending of The Word:
Looking at the end of the word is the first and most common way for differentiation because most feminine nouns will end with “ة” (Taa’ Al-Marbootah), “ى” (Alif Al-Qasr), or “اء” (Alif Al-Madd). For instance, “صحراء” (Sahraa’) means “desert” and is a feminine noun.
2) Memorization:
Memorization is a good way for differentiation, especially in the case of irregular nouns, which may carry the endings of feminine and refer to masculine and vice versa. That’s what we call “سماعي” (Smaa’ey) which means it’s passed down by listening and transferred from others as they are with their specific meanings.
For Example, “رباب” (Rabab), which is “a girl’s name”, doesn’t end with “ة”, “ى”, or “اء” and refers to a feminine noun. And “خليفة” (Khalifa), which means “A successor”, refers to a masculine title in spite of ending with “ة” (Taa’ Marbootah).
3) The Meaning:
Sometimes, the meaning of the text, or “The context” will be enough to decide whether it’s referring to a masculine or feminine noun. For instance, if it’s talking about a female, then it’s a feminine noun, and vice versa.
a) The Gender of The Pronoun Referring to The Noun:
The gender of the pronoun referring to the noun is also a good way to know the gender of the noun. For example, if it uses “هو” (Hwa) which is a male pronoun that means “He”, then it refers to a masculine noun. And if it uses “هي” (Hya) which is a female pronoun that means “She”, then it refers to a feminine noun.
b) The Gender of The Adjective Accompanying The Noun:
The gender of the adjective accompanying the noun is also a profound method for differentiation. For instance, if the adjective has the signs of feminine gender like ending with “ة” (Taa’Marbootah) then it absolutely refers to a feminine noun.
| Example | Meaning | Explanation |
| “سعاد جميلة” (Soa’ad jamilah) | “Soa’ad is beautiful” | The adjective “جميلة” ends with “ة” (Taa’ Marbootah) which indicates that it refers to a feminine subject.So, even when the noun “Soa’ad” doesn’t have any sign that makes it a feminine noun, the adjective guided me that it’s a feminine noun. |
c) The Gender of The Verb Accompanying The Noun:
The verb accompanying the noun changes according to its gender. For instance, in the present tense, masculine verbs start with “يـ” (Ya), and feminine verbs start with “تـ” (Ta). Like “يرسم” (Yarsum) means “He is drawing” and “ترسم” (Tarsum) means “She is drawing”.
In the past tense, to convert a masculine verb into a feminine verb just add “ت” (T) at the end of it. For Example, “رسمَ” (Rasama), which means “He drew”, turns to “رسمت”(Rasamat) which means “She drew”.
In the imperative, to convert a masculine verb into a feminine verb just add “ي” (Y) at the end of it. For Example, “ارسم” (Ersum), which means “Draw!” for males, turns to “ارسمي” (Ersumy) which means “Draw!” for females.
| Example | Meaning | Explanation |
| “حمزة يكتب الواجب” (Hamzah yaktub Al-wajeb) | “Hamzah is doing homework” | The verb “يكتب” starts with “يـ” (Ya) which indicates that it refers to a masculine subject.So, even when the noun “Hamzah” ends with “ة” (Taa’ Marbootah), the verb guided me that it’s a masculine noun. |
| “ارسمي، يا سعاد”(Ersumy ya Soa’ad) | “Draw, Soa’ad!” | The imperative verb “ارسمي” ends with “ي” which indicates that it refers to a feminine subject.So, even when the noun “Soa’ad” doesn’t have any sign that makes it a feminine noun, the imperative verb guided me that it’s a feminine noun. |
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Read more about: Verbal Nouns In Arabic
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Conclusion:
Arabic nouns have a unique grammatical rule that characterizes the Arabic language, which is Arabic having gendered nouns. It’s important to learn and understand this rule for better communication.
Arabic nouns are divided into masculine and feminine nouns. Masculine nouns refer to male living and non-living things, and feminine nouns refer to female living and non-living things. Gendered nouns affect both verbs and adjectives.
Some of the nouns can be classified as masculine or feminine according to their meaning or according to a special pattern like ending with “ة” (Taa’ Marbootah) means it’s mostly feminine nouns, while others are irregular and should be learned by passing them down to us as they are.
The most common way to convert masculine nouns into feminine ones is by adding “ة” “Taa’ Marbootah”, which also applies to adjectives. For instance, “طبيب”, which means “A doctor” for males, is pronounced as “Tabib”, it turns to “طبيبة”, which means “A doctor” for females and is pronounced as “Tabibah”.
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