Feminine without ة
Most feminine nouns end in ة, but a few everyday nouns are feminine with no ending at all. The spelling gives no clue: you learn them, and the adjective or the verb shows the gender.
| noun | meaning |
|---|---|
| شمس | sun |
| أرض | earth, ground |
| سماء | sky |
| ريح(rîh) | wind |
| نار | fire |
| حرب | war |
| دار | house, home |
| بئر | well |
| نفس | soul, self |
| The wind is strong today. | الريح قوية اليوم.ar-rîhu qawiyyatun al-yawma |
The verb is feminine too: هَبَّتْ it blew, تَهُبُّ it blows.
| The wind blew, so the fire went out. | هبت الريح، فانطفأت النار.habbati r-rîhu, fantafa'ati n-nâru |
| The ground is hot under the sun. | الأرض حارة تحت الشمس.al-ardu hârratun tahta ash-shamsi |
Hands and eyes
Parts of the body that come in pairs are feminine: يد hand, كف(kaff) palm, عين eye, أذن ear, ذراع arm, قدم foot, ساق leg, and رِجْل leg, spelled like رجل man. Parts you have only one of are masculine: رأس head, وجه face, ظهر back, أنف(anf) nose.
| His nose is big and his hand is small. | أنفه كبير ويده صغيرة.anfuhu kabirun wa yaduhu saghiratun. |
Two of them take a feminine dual adjective:
| His eyes are tired from the sun. | عيناه متعبتان من الشمس.aynâhu mutabatâni mina ash-shams |
An axe and a snake
A few more feminine nouns without ة: كأس cup, فأس(fa's) axe, أفعى(af'â) snake.
| The axe is heavy, so my brother carried it. | الفأس ثقيلة، فحملها أخي.al-fa'su thaqeelatun, fahamalahâ akhee |
| We saw a long snake in the sand. | رأينا أفعى طويلة في الرمل.ra'aynâ af'â tawîlatan fi r-ramli. |
Either gender
سوق, طريق, حال and سكين can be either gender: السوق الكبير and السوق الكبيرة are both correct. This course uses سوق and طريق as masculine.
| The road was long, but we arrived. | كان الطريق طويلا، لكننا وصلنا.kâna at-tarîqu tawîlan, lâkinnanâ wasalnâ. |
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