The Tied 'T' (Ta' Marboota)

In Arabic, every noun is either Masculine (Mudhakkar) or Feminine (Mu'annath). Today we will learn the magic letter that transforms almost any masculine noun or adjective into a feminine one: The Ta' Marboota!

1. The Feminine Formula

Masculine (Male)

طَالِبٌ

Taalibun

Male Student

Ta' Marboota (ة)

ـَةٌ

atun

(Feminine Suffix)

Feminine (Female)

طَالِبَةٌ

Taalibatun

Female Student

Pronunciation Rule: Before you attach the Ta' Marboota, the last letter of the original word is forced to take a Fatha `َ`. Notice how Taalib-un beautifully flows into Taaliba-tun.

2. The Adjective Mirror

In Lesson 8, we learned that adjectives are 'Stalkers'—they perfectly mirror their nouns. Therefore, if the noun is feminine (has a Ta' Marboota), the adjective MUST also take a Ta' Marboota!

Masculine Phrasing	Feminine Phrasing	Translation
مُدَرِّسٌ جَدِيدٌ Mudarrisun Jadeedun	مُدَرِّسَةٌ جَدِيدَةٌ Mudarrisatun Jadeedatun	A new teacher
طَبِيبٌ مَشْهُورٌ Tabeebun Mashhoorun	طَبِيبَةٌ مَشْهُورَةٌ Tabeebatun Mashhooratun	A famous doctor
وَلَدٌ صَغِيرٌ Waladun Sagheerun	بِنْتٌ صَغِيرَةٌ Bintun Sagheeratun	A small boy A small girl

Exception Note: Look at the last example! The word for Girl (بِنْت) is naturally feminine because it means a female human, even though it doesn't have a Ta' Marboota. But its adjective (Sagheeratun) still needs the Ta' Marboota to match its feminine status!

3. Dialogue Lab

Read these sentences aloud using familiar vocabulary. Notice how everything "agrees" in gender: the pronouns (Huwa vs Hiya) and the adjectives!

Are you(f) a new female student?

هَلْ أَنْتِ طَالِبَةٌ جَدِيدَةٌ؟

Yes, I am a new female student.

نَعَمْ، أَنَا طَالِبَةٌ جَدِيدَةٌ

Who is she? She is a female teacher.

مَنْ هِيَ؟ هِيَ مُدَرِّسَةٌ

Aminah is a famous female doctor.

آمِنَةُ طَبِيبَةٌ مَشْهُورَةٌ

Where is she? She is here.

أَيْنَ هِيَ؟ هِيَ هُنَا

I am a small girl.

أَنَا بِنْتٌ صَغِيرَةٌ