هذا صوت غريب.

• هذا = this
• صوت = sound or voice (depending on context)
• غريب = strange, odd, or unfamiliar

So the sentence means This is a strange sound.

In Arabic, present-tense sentences like This is a strange sound usually do not use a separate word for is.

So Arabic says:

• هذا صوت غريب
• literally: this strange sound

But the meaning is understood as This is a strange sound.

This kind of sentence is very common in Arabic. The verb to be is normally left out in the present tense.

Because صوت is a masculine noun in Arabic.

• هذا = this for masculine nouns
• هذه = this for feminine nouns

Since صوت is masculine, the correct demonstrative is هذا.

In Arabic, noun gender is lexical, which means you usually learn it with the word.

A few useful points:

• Many feminine nouns end in ـة (taa marbuuTa), but صوت does not.
• Not every noun without ـة is masculine, but many are.
• In this sentence, the adjective غريب is also masculine, which matches صوت.

So the sentence itself helps confirm that صوت is masculine singular.

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

So:

• صوت غريب = a strange sound
• literally: sound strange

This is the normal Arabic order:

• noun + adjective

Unlike English, where we usually say:

• adjective + noun

Because Arabic adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.

Since صوت is:

• masculine
• singular
• indefinite

the adjective must also be:

• masculine
• singular
• indefinite

So we get:

• صوت غريب

If the noun were feminine, the adjective would also change.

Because صوت here means a strange sound, not the strange sound.

Compare:

• هذا صوت غريب = This is a strange sound
• هذا الصوت الغريب = This is the strange sound / this strange sound

So without الـ, the noun is indefinite: a sound.
With الـ, it becomes definite: the sound.

This sentence is describing something as one example of a strange sound, not identifying a specific already-known sound.

In fully vocalized Arabic, it would usually be:

هٰذا صَوْتٌ غَرِيبٌ

The two nouns/adjectival words usually take ـٌ here because they are indefinite nominative.

So:

• صوتٌ
• غريبٌ

In normal writing, these short vowels are often omitted, so you usually see:

هذا صوت غريب

In pause, many speakers also do not pronounce the final case endings clearly.

This is a nominal sentence in Arabic.

Very simply:

• هذا is the topic/start of the sentence
• صوت غريب functions as the predicate/information about it

In standard grammatical analysis, the predicate is nominative, and the adjective inside that phrase matches the noun it describes. So both are nominative in the fully vowelled form:

• صوتٌ غريبٌ

For a beginner, the most useful takeaway is: in a basic present-tense sentence like this, you often see nominative endings on the main descriptive phrase.

A common pronunciation is:

hādhā ṣawtun gharīb(un)

A few sound notes:

• هٰذا: hādhā
  
  • the dh is like the th in this
• صوت: ṣawt
  
  • ṣ is an emphatic s
  • aw sounds somewhat like the vowel in cow, but shorter and cleaner
• غريب: gharīb
  
  • gh is a throaty sound not found in standard English

In everyday reading or speech, final case endings may be reduced or dropped, so you may hear something closer to:

hādhā ṣawt gharīb

Not exactly. Word-for-word, it is closer to:

• this
  • sound
    • strange

But in Arabic grammar, that structure naturally means:

• This is a strange sound

So although the literal word order looks unusual from an English perspective, the sentence is perfectly normal Arabic.

Yes. صوت can mean:

• sound
• voice

The exact meaning depends on context.

In هذا صوت غريب, the most natural translation is usually This is a strange sound.
But in another context, it could mean This is a strange voice.