Breakdown of له أخ ذكي.
ذكيzakî
smart
أخakh
brother
هhu
his / him (object) / it (dummy pronoun after لأن)
لli
for, to (attached)
Questions & Answers about له أخ ذكي.
Why does له mean "he has" if it literally translates to "to him"?
In Arabic, there is no actual verb for "to have". Instead, we use prepositions like لـ (to/for) with attached pronouns. So, له literally means "to him (is)", which translates smoothly to "he has" in English. We use لـ specifically for relationships and things that are permanently yours, like family members!
The preposition for "to/for" is usually pronounced "li". Why is it pronounced "la" in له (la-hu)?
When the preposition لـ connects to most pronoun suffixes, its vowel changes from an "i" sound (kasra) to an "a" sound (fatha). This makes it easier to say! So it becomes له (la-hu) instead of "li-hu". The only exception is when you say "I have" (لي), which keeps the "i" sound.
Why does the sentence start with له instead of the word for "brother"?
When expressing possession using these preposition phrases (saying someone "has" an indefinite thing), Arabic puts the prepositional phrase (له) at the very beginning of the sentence. If you put the noun first, it would sound like an incomplete fragment.
Why is the adjective ذكي (smart) placed after the word for brother?
In Arabic, adjectives always come right after the noun they describe. Also, because أخ (brother) is indefinite (meaning "a brother", not "the brother"), the adjective ذكي must also be indefinite to match it, meaning it doesn't have the word "the" (الـ) attached to the beginning.
Learn له أخ ذكي 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