Word
هذه أختي. تشرفنا!
Meaning
This is my sister. Pleased to meet you!
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of هذه أختي. تشرفنا!
هذهhâdhihi
this (f)
أختukht
sister
يi
my / me (after a preposition)
تشرفناtasharrafnâ
pleased to meet you
Questions & Answers about هذه أختي. تشرفنا!
Why do we use هذه here instead of هذا for "this"?
هذه is the feminine form of "this". Since the word for sister, أخت, is feminine, we have to use the matching feminine word for "this".
I don't see a separate word for "is". How does Arabic say "This is my sister"?
In Arabic, you don't use a verb for "is" or "are" in simple present tense sentences. You just place the words side by side. Here, it is literally "This" (هذه) followed immediately by "my sister" (أختي).
How do we get "my sister" from just one word, أختي?
Arabic shows possession by attaching a letter to the end of the noun. The base word for "sister" is أخت. When you attach the letter ي (which means "my" when placed at the end of a word), it becomes أختي (my sister).
Does تشرفنا literally mean "pleased to meet you"?
It is the standard expression used for "pleased to meet you", but it literally means "we have been honored" (by meeting you). It is a polite fixed phrase you can use when being introduced to anyone.