هذا مستوى مبتدئ.

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

So:

• هذا مستوى مبتدئ = This is a beginner level

There is no separate present-tense is here. This is very normal in Arabic.

If you wanted the past or future, then Arabic would use a verb:

• كان هذا مستوى مبتدئًا = This was a beginner level
• سيكون هذا مستوى مبتدئًا = This will be a beginner level

So in the present tense, leaving out is is correct.

هذا means this for a masculine singular noun.

In this sentence, it points to مستوى (level), which is a masculine singular noun. So Arabic uses:

• هذا = this (masculine singular)

If the noun were feminine, you would usually use هذه instead.

For example:

• هذه مرحلة سهلة = This is an easy stage

So هذا is chosen because مستوى is masculine singular.

Arabic nouns have grammatical gender, and مستوى is treated as masculine.

This is something learners often just have to learn word by word. There is not always a logical reason from the English point of view. Some nouns are feminine by form or usage, and others are masculine.

Because مستوى is masculine, the demonstrative is:

• هذا مستوى ...

not

• هذه مستوى ...

Here, مبتدئ is functioning as an adjective describing مستوى.

So the structure is:

• مستوى = level
• مبتدئ = beginner / beginning / beginner-level

Together:

• مستوى مبتدئ = beginner level

Even though مبتدئ can also be used as a noun meaning a beginner (a person), in this sentence it describes the noun before it.

So here it is best understood as an adjective: beginner-level.

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

So:

• مستوى مبتدئ = literally level beginner
• natural English: beginner level

This is the normal Arabic order:

• noun first
• adjective second

More examples:

• كتاب جديد = a new book
• درس سهل = an easy lesson
• طالب مجتهد = a hardworking student

So مستوى مبتدئ follows the standard Arabic adjective pattern.

Because the phrase is indefinite.

• مستوى مبتدئ = a beginner level / beginner level
• المستوى المبتدئ = the beginner level

In Arabic, adjectives match the noun in definiteness:

• indefinite noun → indefinite adjective
• definite noun → definite adjective

So:

• مستوى مبتدئ = both indefinite
• المستوى المبتدئ = both definite

That matching is very important in Arabic.

It is a noun + adjective phrase, not an iḍāfa.

Why?

Because in an iḍāfa, the second word is a noun, not an adjective, and the pattern works differently. Here, مبتدئ is describing مستوى, so it is an adjective.

Also, notice the definiteness pattern:

• مستوى مبتدئ → both indefinite
• المستوى المبتدئ → both definite

That is exactly how noun + adjective works.

Compare with a real iḍāfa:

• مستوى الطالب = the student’s level / level of the student

There, الطالب is a noun, not an adjective.

It is pronounced roughly like:

mubtadiʾ

A helpful breakdown is:

• مب = mub
• تد = ta-di
• ئ = a final glottal stop sound, written with hamza

So the word ends with a little catch in the throat: mub-ta-di’.

That final ء sound is important. It is not just mubtadi; it is mubtadiʾ.

The final letter in مستوى is ى, called alif maqṣūra.

It looks similar to ي, but it is different:

• ى usually represents a final long ā sound
• ي usually represents y or a long ī sound

So مستوى is pronounced roughly mustawā, not mustaway or mustawī.

This spelling pattern appears in many Arabic words.

The sentence is a simple equational sentence (a nominal sentence).

Structure:

• هذا = this
• مستوى مبتدئ = beginner level

So the whole sentence is:

• هذا
  • description/information about it

You can think of it as:

• This
  • [is] beginner level

In traditional grammar terms, هذا is the topic, and مستوى مبتدئ gives the information about it.

Yes. You would usually make the noun and adjective definite:

• هذا المستوى المبتدئ

or, for extra clarity/emphasis:

• هذا هو المستوى المبتدئ

The important point is that both the noun and the adjective become definite:

• المستوى
• المبتدئ

That matches the English meaning the beginner level, not just a beginner level or beginner level.

In full grammar, yes, the words are in the nominative here because they are part of a basic nominal sentence.

But in normal modern writing, those short vowel endings are usually not written, so you see:

• هذا مستوى مبتدئ

not a fully vowelled version.

For most beginners, the important thing is to understand the structure and word order first. The visible spelling here is completely normal for everyday Arabic text.

Yes.

It can describe a person:

• طالب مبتدئ = a beginner student
• أنا مبتدئ = I am a beginner (if the speaker is male)
• أنا مبتدئة = I am a beginner (if the speaker is female)

In your sentence, though, it describes مستوى, not a person.

So the same word can be used in more than one way depending on context.