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Lesson 2: Gender (جِنس) Next
Lesson 2: ▶ Part 1: Gender (جِنس) Part 2 Dialogue Exercises Vocabulary

Notice the Difference

Look closely at these pairs of words. Notice the visual difference between the word on the right and the word on the left.

مُسْلِمٌ
Male Muslim
vs
مُسْلِمَةٌ
Female Muslim
مُعَلِّمٌ
Male Teacher
vs
مُعَلِّمَةٌ
Female Teacher
طَالِبٌ
Male Student
vs
طَالِبَةٌ
Female Student

The Rule

In Arabic, every single noun (Ism) is either Masculine (Mudhakkarr) or Feminine (Mu'annath). There is no "it"!

Default State

All nouns in Arabic are Masculine by default unless proven otherwise.

ة

The Ta-Marbuta

If a noun ends with this round letter called Ta-Marbuta, the noun is Feminine.

3. Human Pairs

For most human roles, you simply take the masculine word and add a Ta-Marbuta to the end to make it feminine.

M F
طَبِيبٌ
Doctor (M)
طَبِيبَةٌ
Doctor (F)
M F
مُهَنْدِسٌ
Engineer (M)
مُهَنْدِسَةٌ
Engineer (F)
M F
صَدِيقٌ
Friend (M)
صَدِيقَةٌ
Friend (F)
M F
صَالِحٌ
Pious (M)
صَالِحَةٌ
Pious (F)

4. Objects Have Gender Too!

In English, a book and a car are "it". In Arabic, they are either a "he" or a "she". Use the Ta-Marbuta rule to prove which is which!

Masculine Objects (M)
كِتَابٌ
Book
قَلَمٌ
Pen
مَكْتَبٌ
Desk
بَابٌ
Door
Feminine Objects (F)
سَيَّارَةٌ
Car
سَاعَةٌ
Watch / Clock
صُورَةٌ
Picture
نَافِذَةٌ
Window

5. Test Your Eye!

Are the following objects Masculine or Feminine? (Tap to reveal)

كُرْسِيٌّ
Chair
Tap to reveal
شَجَرَةٌ
Tree
Tap to reveal
مَسْجِدٌ
Mosque
Tap to reveal
مَدْرَسَةٌ
School
Tap to reveal

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