Breakdown of هذه ورقة، وهذا كتاب كبير.
وwa
and
كبيرkabîr
big
كتابkitâb
book
هذاhâdhâ
this (m)
هذهhâdhihi
this (f)
ورقةwaraqah
paper / card (playing card)
Questions & Answers about هذه ورقة، وهذا كتاب كبير.
Why does the sentence use هذه for the first "this", but هذا for the second one?
In Arabic, demonstrative pronouns must match the gender of the noun they point to. We use هذه (the feminine "this") because ورقة (paper) is feminine. We use هذا (the masculine "this") because كتاب (book) is masculine.
How can I tell that ورقة is feminine just by looking at it?
The word ورقة ends with the letter taa marbouta (ة). This tied letter is the most common indicator that a noun is feminine in Arabic. Since كتاب doesn't end in ة, it is masculine.
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
There is no word for "is" or "are" in present-tense Arabic sentences! To say "This is a paper", you just put the pronoun and the noun side by side: هذه ورقة (literally: "This a paper").
Why is it written as كتاب كبير (book big) instead of "big book"?
In Arabic, adjectives always come after the noun they describe. Also, adjectives must match the noun's gender. Because كتاب is masculine, we use the masculine adjective كبير. If we wanted to say "a big paper", we would use the feminine adjective and say ورقة كبيرة.
Why is the word for "and" joined to the second "this" as one word (وهذا)?
The Arabic word for "and" is a single letter: waw (و). It is never written as a separate word with a space after it. Instead, it is always attached directly to the front of the word that follows it.
Learn هذه ورقة، وهذا كتاب كبير and more in Arabic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free