هذه ترجمة.

Because ترجمة is a feminine noun, and the demonstrative must match it.

• هذا = this for a masculine noun
• هذه = this for a feminine noun

Since ترجمة is feminine, Arabic uses هذه.

A useful comparison:

• هذا كتاب = This is a book
• هذه ترجمة = This is a translation

A very common sign of a feminine noun in Arabic is the ending ة (called taa marbuuTa).

So in ترجمة, the final ة strongly suggests that the noun is feminine.

This ending often appears in feminine nouns such as:

• لغة = language
• سيارة = car
• ترجمة = translation

It is not true that every feminine noun has ة, and not every word ending in ة behaves exactly the same in every situation, but for learners, ة is one of the most important and reliable clues.

In Arabic, the verb to be is usually not written in the present tense in simple sentences like this.

So:

• هذه ترجمة literally looks like this translation
• but it means This is a translation

This is completely normal in Arabic.

Compare:

• هذا كتاب = This is a book
• الولد طويل = The boy is tall

If you want to express was, will be, and so on, Arabic usually does use a verb:

• كانت هذه ترجمةً = This was a translation
• ستكون هذه ترجمةً = This will be a translation

Because ترجمة here means a translation, not the translation.

So:

• هذه ترجمة = This is a translation
• هذه الترجمة = This is the translation / This translation

That difference is important:

• without الـ, the noun is usually indefinite
• with الـ, it is definite

In this sentence, the noun is being used as the predicate of the sentence, so an indefinite noun is natural if the meaning is a translation.

This is a very basic nominal sentence in Arabic.

It consists of:

• هذه = the topic / subject-like part
• ترجمة = the predicate / what is being said about it

In traditional Arabic grammar, you can analyze it as:

• هذه = mubtada’
• ترجمة = khabar

So the sentence is saying something like:

• This — [is] a translation

This is one of the most common sentence patterns in Arabic.

هذه is usually pronounced haadhihi in careful Modern Standard Arabic.

A rough breakdown:

• ها = haa
• ذِ = dhi
• هِ = hi

So: haa-dhi-hi

A few notes:

• The letter ذ sounds like the th in this
• In slower, careful speech, learners often say haadhihi
• In real-life pronunciation, especially outside very formal reading, there can be some variation

For MSA learning, haadhihi is a good pronunciation target.

ترجمة is commonly pronounced tarjamah when pausing at the end of the word.

A few important details:

• The final ة (taa marbuuTa) is usually pronounced like -a / -ah when you stop after the word.
• But in full grammatical pronunciation, it can sound like t before a case ending.

So you may see or hear:

• tarjamah when pausing
• tarjamatun in full formal pronunciation with case endings

That is why learners sometimes hear both an h-like ending in pause and a t in careful grammatical reading.

In fully vocalized, formal Arabic, yes, the sentence would normally be written:

هذه ترجمةٌ

The ـٌ ending is tanween Damm and marks the noun as indefinite nominative.

Why nominative? Because ترجمة is the predicate (khabar) of the nominal sentence.

However, in normal everyday Arabic writing, short vowels and tanween are usually omitted, so it is very common to see simply:

هذه ترجمة

without the ending written.

So both of these are connected:

• fully vocalized: هذه ترجمةٌ
• normal unvocalized spelling: هذه ترجمة

Because the structure here is not a possessive or noun-linking construction.

An idafa would look different. For example:

• ترجمةُ الكتاب = the translation of the book

But هذه ترجمة is a complete sentence:

• هذه = this
• ترجمة = a translation

So it means:

• This is a translation

The demonstrative هذه is not being attached to ترجمة in an idafa structure; instead, it is the first part of a nominal sentence.

The difference is mainly indefinite versus definite.

• هذه ترجمة = This is a translation
• هذه الترجمة = This is the translation / This translation

So:

1. هذه ترجمة introduces or identifies something as one example of a translation.
2. هذه الترجمة points to a specific translation already known from context.

For a learner, a good shortcut is:

• no الـ = often a/an
• with الـ = often the

In correct Modern Standard Arabic, no. You need هذه because ترجمة is feminine.

So:

• هذه ترجمة = correct
• هذا ترجمة = not correct in MSA

Agreement between the demonstrative and the noun is an important part of Arabic grammar.

A good habit is to learn nouns together with their gender, because that affects words like:

• this
• that
• adjectives
• sometimes verb agreement as well