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Learn Hardcore Arabic (Modern Standard): هذه لعبة جماعية. - This is a team game.

Hardcore Arabic (Modern Standard)
/Having a game night with friends
/هذه لعبة جماعية.

هذه لعبة جماعية.

هذه لعبة جماعية.hâdhihi lu'batun jamâ'iyyah

This is a team game.

Breakdown of هذه لعبة جماعية.

لعبة جماعيةlu'batun jamâ'iyyah

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Questions & Answers about هذه لعبة جماعية.

Why is هذه used instead of هذا?

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

هذا = this for masculine singular
هذه = this for feminine singular

So since لعبة is feminine, you say هذه لعبة.

How do I know that لعبة is feminine?

A very common clue is the ending ة (called taa marbuuTa).

Many nouns ending in ة are feminine, and لعبة is one of them. So learners quickly recognize لعبة as feminine because of that ending.

Its fully pronounced form is roughly luʿbah, but in connected grammar it behaves as a word ending in t underneath, which is why you may see related forms where the t sound becomes clearer.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

In Arabic, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.

So a sentence like:

هذه لعبة جماعية

literally looks like:

this game group-based

but it naturally means:

This is a team game or This is a group game

This is completely normal in Arabic. If you want was or will be, Arabic usually does use a verb, but in the simple present it often leaves it out.

Why does the adjective جماعية come after لعبة instead of before it?

In Arabic, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.

So:

لعبة جماعية = a group/team game

not the other way around.

This is one of the biggest word-order differences from English. English usually puts adjectives before nouns, but Arabic usually puts them after.

Why does جماعية also look feminine?

Because Arabic adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.

Since لعبة is:

feminine
singular
indefinite

the adjective جماعية must also be:

feminine
singular
indefinite

That is why you get:

لعبة جماعية

If the noun were masculine, the adjective would normally be masculine too.

Why are both لعبة and جماعية indefinite?

They are indefinite because they do not have الـ at the beginning.

Compare:

لعبة جماعية = a team/group game
اللعبة الجماعية = the team/group game

In Arabic, when a noun is modified by an adjective, the adjective matches it in definiteness too. So if the noun is indefinite, the adjective is indefinite; if the noun is definite, the adjective is definite.

What kind of sentence is this grammatically?

This is a nominal sentence in Arabic, meaning a sentence built without a present-tense verb.

A simple way to understand it is:

هذه = demonstrative, this
لعبة جماعية = noun phrase, a team/group game

So the whole sentence works like:

This is a team/group game

Arabic often uses this kind of structure for basic descriptions and identifications.

Can this sentence be written with full vowel endings?

Yes. In fully vocalized formal Arabic, it could be written as:

هٰذِهِ لُعْبَةٌ جَمَاعِيَّةٌ

Those final -un endings show that لعبة and جماعية are indefinite.

In everyday writing, these short vowels are usually omitted, so you normally see:

هذه لعبة جماعية

Both represent the same sentence.

How is هذه pronounced?

It is usually pronounced hādhihi in careful Modern Standard Arabic.

A few notes for learners:

The ذ sound is like the th in this
So هذ is not like English z
The final written ه is part of the word and is pronounced in careful reading

So a rough pronunciation is:

hā-dhi-hi

Some speakers may shorten the final vowel in pause, but hādhihi is the safe careful form for learners.

What does جماعية mean grammatically? Is it a regular adjective?

Yes, here it functions as a regular adjective.

It comes from the idea of group, collective, or team-based, from the root connected with جماعة (group). In this sentence it describes the type of game.

So جماعية means something like:

group
collective
team-based

The exact English translation can vary depending on context, but grammatically it is simply the adjective describing لعبة.

Why does هذه come before the noun?

In Arabic, demonstratives like this and that commonly come before the noun:

هذه لعبة = this game
هذا كتاب = this book

So the order is normal:

demonstrative + noun + adjective

In this sentence:

هذه = this
لعبة = game
جماعية = group/team-based

Is هذه لعبة جماعية the same as saying This is a team game or This is a collective game?

Grammatically, yes: the Arabic structure is the same either way. The exact English wording depends on context.

جماعية suggests that the game is done with a group or as a team, rather than individually. So natural English translations might include:

This is a team game
This is a group game
This is a collective game

The important grammar point is that جماعية is the adjective modifying لعبة.

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