The هيدا, هيدي, هول Demonstrative Series | Arabic (Levantine) Grammar

The common urban Lebanese near series distinguishes masculine هيدا hayda, feminine هيدي hayde, and plural هول hōl. You will also hear plural هولي hawle and هيدول haydōl. These forms can stand alone—“this one, these”—or precede a definite noun—“this book, these people.”

The course introduces shorter هاد and هاي first, then teaches this recognizably Lebanese series for confident comprehension and production. The two sets coexist in real repertoires, but learners should understand what each form agrees with instead of treating them as decorative synonyms.

The core Lebanese forms

Referent	Near	Far counterpart	Independent meaning	Before a noun
masculine singular	هيدا hayda	هيداك haydāk	this one	هيدا الكتاب
feminine singular	هيدي hayde	هيديك haydīk	this one	هيدي القهوة
plural	هول hōl	هوليك hōlīk	these	هول الناس

Plural هولي hawle and هيدول haydōl are widespread Lebanese alternatives (informal; speaker and subregional variation); their far forms include هوليك and هيدوليك. This page uses هول as its compact baseline and introduces هيدول explicitly. Short هادا/هاد، هاي/هادي، هدول belong to broad Syrian, Palestinian, Jordanian, and overlapping Lebanese repertoires (regional). They are valid systems, not failed Lebanese pronunciation.

هيدا المفتاح لإلي، وهيدي البطاقة لإلك.

hayda l-miftēḥ la-ile, w-hayde l-biṭāʾa la-ilak.

This key is mine, and this card is yours. (informal urban Lebanese; masculine then feminine)

هول جيراننا، وهيدول رفقاتنا من الشغل.

hōl zhīrānna, w-haydōl rfaʾātna min esh-shoghl.

These are our neighbors, and these are our friends from work. (informal Lebanese; two common plural forms contrasted explicitly)

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For a stable Lebanese production set, pair هيدا with masculine singular, هيدي with feminine singular, and choose one plural—هول or هيدول—that matches your main speakers.

Pronunciation and written shape

The first syllable of هيدا/هيدي contains a diphthong-like ay in the course baseline: hayda, hayde. Some Lebanese speakers use a more raised or monophthongal pronunciation such as hēda/hēde (regional/social variation within Lebanon). Keep the written forms هيدا، هيدي and imitate a consistent speaker rather than inferring a different grammatical form from the vowel quality.

هول is compact hōl. هولي adds a final vowel, hawle, and هيدول is haydōl. The vowels vary across Lebanon, but the gender-number contrast remains the learner's anchor.

هيدا اللفظ بسمعه ببيروت، وهيدا التاني بسمعه بالشمال.

hayda l-lafẓ bsamʿo b-Bayrūt, w-hayda t-tēne bsamʿo bish-shmāl.

I hear this pronunciation in Beirut, and this other one in the north. (informal; variation discussed without ranking speakers)

The demonstrative page teaches grammar, not an accent purity test. A Beirut-centered learner may later adopt the stable vowel pattern of family, community, or sustained local input.

Independent use: the noun is recoverable or the phrase is a predicate

When the object is visible or already mentioned, the demonstrative can replace the noun.

أي واحد بدك؟ بدي هيدا.

ayy wāḥad baddak? badde hayda.

Which one do you want? I want this one. (informal; independent masculine demonstrative)

هيدي أزكى من التانية.

hayde azka min et-tēnye.

This one is tastier than the other one. (informal; independent feminine demonstrative)

هول بعدن جداد، ما استعملناهن.

hōl baʿdon zhdēd, ma staʿmalnēhon.

These are still new; we haven't used them. (informal; independent plural plus plural object clitic)

The referent controls agreement even when the noun is silent. هيدي still points to a feminine singular item; هول still points to a plural set.

Before a noun: demonstrative plus definite phrase

For a stable production pattern, this course uses demonstrative + definite noun:

هيدا الكتاب مفيد كتير.

hayda l-ktēb mfīd ktīr.

This book is very useful. (informal; masculine demonstrative plus definite noun)

هيدي القهوة بلا سكر.

hayde l-ʾahwe bla sokkar.

This coffee has no sugar. (informal; feminine demonstrative plus definite noun)

هول الطلاب ناطرين برا.

hōl eṭ-ṭollēb nāṭrīn barra.

These students are waiting outside. (informal; plural demonstrative and human plural agreement)

English does not say “this the book,” but the Lebanese noun takes الـ because it is identified. An attributive adjective is definite too: هيدا الكتاب الجديد “this new book.” The full definiteness system is explained under Building a Definite Noun Phrase.

Lebanese also permits a postnominal full demonstrative, as in الكتاب هيدا. It can differ in information structure and emphasis, so do not treat it as an error. See Demonstrative Position for the contrast.

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Listen for the article to distinguish two structures: هيدا الكتاب “this book,” but هيدا كتاب “this is a book.” One small الـ changes whether the noun identifies or classifies.

Deictic force: visible, selected, or discourse-current

Demonstratives do more than measure distance. Near forms can select one item from alternatives, return to a current topic, or package a whole situation as “this.” Masculine هيدا is especially common for a fact or situation with no overt noun.

هيدا اللي قصدي من الأول.

hayda lli ʾaṣde min el-awwal.

This is what I've meant from the start. (informal; هيدا points to an idea or situation)

هيدا منيح، بس لازم نتأكد من التفاصيل.

hayda mnīḥ, bass lāzem nitʾakkad min et-tafāṣīl.

That's good, but we need to check the details. (informal; discourse-deictic evaluation)

This masculine default for a proposition is not agreement with an unspoken feminine word. The demonstrative points to a situation treated as one discourse object.

Near and far contrasts

Far forms add -k to a longer demonstrative base in this Lebanese series: هيداك، هيديك، هوليك/هيدوليك. Distance may be physical, contrastive, or remembered.

هيدا القميص حلو، بس هيداك لونه أهدى.

hayda l-ʾamīṣ ḥelo, bass haydāk lawno ahda.

This shirt is nice, but that one's color is calmer. (informal; masculine near/far contrast)

هيدي الطاولة زغيرة، وهيديك حد الشباك أكبر.

hayde ṭ-ṭāwle zghīre, w-haydīk ḥadd esh-shobbēk akbar.

This table is small, and that one by the window is bigger. (informal; feminine near/far contrast)

هول الصور جداد، وهيدوليك من وقت كنا صغار.

hōl eṣ-ṣowar zhdēd, w-haydōlīk min waʾt kinna zghār.

These pictures are new, and those are from when we were little. (informal; plural near/far contrast)

Coexistence with هاد and هاي

Many Lebanese speakers use more than one near form. هاي in particular commonly coexists with هيدا/هيدي. Choice can reflect region, family, age, emphasis, and the surrounding phrase. The course's policy is simple:

produce هاد/هاي confidently from the beginning;
recognize and learn هيدا/هيدي as common Lebanese forms;
adopt a consistent plural from sustained Lebanese input;
label هادا/هادي/هدول when presenting Syrian, Palestinian, Jordanian, or other regional usage.

Do not claim that a speaker “changed dialect” because one overlapping form appears. Also do not create an invented pan-Levantine voice by selecting a different region's most salient form in every sentence.

A deictic mini-dialogue

بدك هيدا الفنجان ولا هيداك؟

baddak hayda l-finzhēn walla haydāk?

Nadine: Do you want this cup or that one? (informal; masculine near/far selection)

هيدا، وحطيلي فيه شوي قهوة بلا سكر.

hayda, w-ḥoṭṭīle fī shwayy ʾahwe bla sokkar.

Rami: This one, and put a little coffee without sugar in it for me. (informal Beirut; recipient and prepositional clitics)

Relative clauses still require resumption

A demonstrative identifies the relative-clause head; it does not fill that head's internal grammatical role. After a preposition or inside a possessed noun, Lebanese keeps a resumptive suffix.

هيدي البناية يلي حكيتلك عنها قريبة من هون.

hayde l-binēye yalle ḥkēt-lak ʿanna ʾrībe min hōn.

This building I told you about is close to here. (informal Beirut; required feminine suffix after عن)

هيدا الشب يلي أخوه بيشتغل معنا.

hayda sh-shabb yalle akhū byishtaghel maʿna.

This is the guy whose brother works with us. (informal; possessive resumptive ـه)

English leaves gaps after about and in whose brother. Lebanese pronounces عنها and أخوه. See The Relative Marker يلي for the full relative system.

Common Mistakes

Using هيدا for every singular noun

❌ هيدا القهوة سخنة.

Incorrect—قهوة is feminine, so the common Lebanese singular form is هيدي.

✅ هيدي القهوة سخنة.

hayde l-ʾahwe sokhne.

This coffee is hot. (informal; feminine agreement)

Dropping the article before an identified noun

❌ هيدا كتاب الجديد مفيد.

Incorrect for ‘this new book’—the noun and attributive adjective must be definite.

✅ هيدا الكتاب الجديد مفيد.

hayda l-ktēb el-zhdīd mfīd.

This new book is useful. (informal; fully definite noun phrase)

Mixing singular gender with the wrong referent

❌ هيدي التلفون جديد.

Incorrect in the baseline—تلفون is masculine.

✅ هيدا التلفون جديد.

hayda t-telefōn zhdīd.

This phone is new. (informal; masculine demonstrative)

Omitting a resumptive after a preposition

❌ هيدي البناية يلي حكيتلك عن قريبة.

Incorrect—عن requires a suffix resuming feminine البناية.

✅ هيدي البناية يلي حكيتلك عنها قريبة.

hayde l-binēye yalle ḥkēt-lak ʿanna ʾrībe.

This building I told you about is close. (informal Beirut; prepositional resumption)

Copying English “whose” and dropping possession

❌ هيدا الشب يلي أخو بيشتغل معنا.

Incorrect—أخو needs a suffix resuming the possessed relation to الشب.

✅ هيدا الشب يلي أخوه اتصل فينا.

hayda sh-shabb yalle akhū ttaṣal fīna.

This is the guy whose brother called us. (informal; possessive resumptive)

Key Takeaways

Use هيدا for masculine singular, هيدي for feminine singular, and هول/هولي/هيدول for plural referents in common Lebanese speech. The forms stand alone or precede a definite noun; هيدا الكتاب means “this book,” while هيدا كتاب means “this is a book.” Far هيداك، هيديك، هوليك/هيدوليك mark physical or discourse contrast. Short هاد/هاي coexist with the Lebanese series, but regional alternatives should be recognized and labeled rather than blended without explanation.

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