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Arabic Pronouns
Arabic Pronouns

12 Arabic Pronouns With Examples That Will Make Your Sentences Flow

Learning the structure of Arabic pronouns is very important because it is used in every day conversation. The more you master it, the closer you will be to learning Arabic. But first, we must understand the role of pronouns in the construction of Arabic grammar.

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Personal pronouns (refer to the persons speaking, the persons spoken to, or the persons or things spoken about), indefinite pronouns, relative pronouns (connect parts of sentences), and reciprocal or reflexive pronouns (refer to the object of a verb being acted on by the verb’s subject) are examples of Arabic pronouns.

The pronouns in Arabic are the most complicated, since they have a masculine and feminine variants for the second person singular and plural, Also they have a dual variant denoting two persons.

How Many Pronouns In Arabic Language?

In Arabic language, there are twelve (12) personal pronouns. The setup of pronouns in Arabic is a little bit different than in English. The twelve pronouns in Arabic are:

  • I  أنا (ana)
  • you (masc.) انتَ  (anta)
  • you (fem.)  انتِ (anti)
  • he  هو (howwa)
  • she  هي (heyya)
  • we  نحن (naHnu)
  • you  أنتما (antuma)
  • they  هما (humaa)
  • you (masc.)  أنتم (antum)
  • you (fem.)  أنتن (antunna)
  • they (masc.)  هم (homa)
  • they (fem.)  هن (hunna)

In Arabic, we have singular, dual, and plural pronouns in first, second, and third person. The dual pronouns are used when there are only two people you’re talking about. If it’s three or more, you have to use plural Arabic pronouns.

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Does Arabic Have Gender Pronouns?

Yes, Arabic have gender pronouns. Arabic assigns gender to all its pronouns aside from “we,” including its object pronouns, possessives pronouns, tenses and more.

What is a Pronoun Called in Arabic?

Pronoun is called الضَّمِيْر pronounced as Dhamir in Arabic language. The plural of Arabic pronoun is written as الضمائر and pronounced as dhama’ir.

Arabic Pronouns
pronouns in arabic

What is Pronoun In Arabic?

الضمير هو اسم جامد مبني وضع ليدل على : متكلم ، أو مخاطب ، أو غائب

Read 10 Arabic Question Words (Arabic Interrogatives) With Examples.

Subject Pronouns in Arabic

In Arabic, the subject pronoun is more specific than in many other languages; for example, there are different ways to say “you” in Arabic depending on who you’re addressing it to.

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For example, to address two people, use a different subject pronoun than you would for a single person; also, if you’re addressing more than two people, use a different form. Finally, the majority of subject pronouns have both feminine and male forms.

The table below shows the various forms you may encounter:

Arabic PronounsTransliterationEnglish
أناanaI
انتَantayou (masc.)
انتِantiyou (fem.)
هوhowwahe
هيheyyashe
          Dual
نحنnaHnuwe (two persons)
أنتماantumayou (two persons)
هماhumaathey (two people)
            Plural
نحنnaHnuwe
أنتمantumyou (masc.)
أنتنantunnayou (fem.)
همhomathey (masc.)
هنhunnathey (fem.)
Arabic Pronouns

Examples Of Subject Pronouns In Arabic

ArabicEnglish
أَنا أُستاذI am a (male) teacher.
انت لطيفYou’re kind.
أنا أتحدث العربيةI speak Arabic.
أَنتِ مُهَندِسَةYou (feminine) are an engineer.
أَنا أُستاذَةI am a (female) teacher.
هنَّ في البيتThey (female) are in the house.
نحن في البيتWe are in the house.
أَنتَ مُهَندِسYou (masculine) are an engineer.
هِي مَصرِيَّةShe is Egyptian.
هُوَ ذَكِيHe is smart.
نَحنُ أصدِقَاءWe are friends.
هُمَا في البَيتThey (2) are in the house.
هو صديقيHe is my friend.

Arabic Object Pronouns

When the sentence’s action directly impacts someone or something, you use object pronouns. These are terms like “me,” “you,” “us,” “he,” “her,” and “them” in English. Object pronouns, on the other hand, are suffixes in Arabic. This indicates that these pronouns are linked to the verb. In Arabic they’re as follows:

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ArabicTransliterationEnglish
ـني-nime
ـكَ-kayour (masc.)
ـكِ-kiyour (fem.)
ـه-huhim
ـها-haher
            Dual
ـنا-naus (two people)
ـكما-kumayour (two people)
ـهما-humathem (two people)
        Plural
ـنا-naus
ـكم-kumyour (masc.)
ـكن-kunnayour (fem.)
ـهم-humthem (masc.)
ـهن-hunnathem (fem.)

Examples Of Arabic Object Pronouns

أُمّي تَشتاقُ إلَيّ عِندَما أَكون في المَدرَسَةMy mother misses me when I’m at school.
الأُستاذُ يُناديكThe teacher is calling you (masculine).
أَحمَد يَراهAhmed sees him.
pronouns in arabic

Related Demonstrative Pronouns in Arabic With Examples

Determinative Possessive Pronouns in Arabic

The determinative possessive pronouns resemble the Arabic object pronouns; the only difference is that they finish a noun rather than a verb, as mentioned above. So, to learn how to say “my house,” “his car,” and “her clothes,” see the chart below:

ArabicTransliterationEnglish
ـي-ime
ـكَ-kayour (masc.)
ـكِ-kiyour (fem.)
ـه-huhim
ـها-haher
            Dual
ـنا-naus (two people)
ـكما-kumayour (two people)
ـهما-humathem (two people)
        Plural
ـنا-naus
ـكم-kumyour (masc.)
ـكن-kunnayour (fem.)
ـهم-humthem (masc.)
ـهن-hunnathem (fem.)
  • كلبي (klbi) – my dog
  • كلبك (kalbak) – your dog
  • كلبه (klbah) – his dog
  • كلبها (kalabaha) – her dog   
  • My book  Kitabi     كتابي  
  • Your book  kitabuk  كتابك 
  • Your book (singular female)  Kitabuki كتابك 
  • His book  Kitabuh   كتابه   
  • Her book  Kitabuha كتابها   
  • Your book (dual male or female) Kitabukumaa كتابكما 
  • Their book (dual male or female)  Kitabuhumaa كتابهما 
  • Our book  Kitabuna كتابنا
  • Your book (plural masculine) Kitabukum كتابكم
  • Your book (plural feminine) Kitabukun كتابكن
  • Their book (plural masculine)  Kitabuhum كتابهم
  • Their book (plural feminine)  kitabuhun كتابهن 

More Examples

سائِقُهُم مُتَأَخِّرTheir (plural masculine) driver is late.
أَيْنَ سَيَّارَتُها؟Where is her car?
هَذِهِ حَقيبَةُ سَفَريThis is my suitcase.

Types Of Arabic Grammar Pronouns

In Arabic, the pronoun can be overt or covert. The covert is known as مُسْتَتِر (mustatir), and it is not written nor pronounced. The overt is referred to as ظَاهِر (dhaahir), and it can be either separate مُنْفَصِل (Munfasl) or attached مُتَّصِل (muttasil).

The Separate Pronoun In Arabic

The separate pronoun refers to a person and is thus known as the personal pronoun. In Arabic, there are twelve personal pronouns divided into three categories: first person, second person, and third person, as summarised below:

Attached Pronouns In Arabic

Pronouns that are attached are always added at the end of the word. This word could be a verb, noun, or preposition. When added to a verb, it can function as a subject or an object. When attached to a noun, it becomes a possessive pronoun. When attached to a preposition, it operates as the object of the preposition.

arabic pronouns

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