هذا البلد كبير.

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

So:

• هذا البلد كبير = This country is big

Arabic often builds this kind of sentence as:

• subject
  • description

Here:

• هذا البلد = this country
• كبير = big

If you wanted past or future, Arabic would use other forms, but in the simple present, there is normally no separate word for is.

هذا means this for a masculine singular noun.

In this sentence, it points to البلد:

• هذا البلد = this country

A common transliteration is hādhā.

Because البلد is a masculine noun in Arabic.

Arabic demonstratives must match the noun in gender and number. So:

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

Since بلد is masculine, هذا is the correct form.

Because after a demonstrative like هذا, the noun is usually definite.

So Arabic says:

• هذا البلد = literally this the-country

This is normal Arabic structure. English does not say this the country, but Arabic does.

So the الـ here is not extra or wrong; it is the standard pattern.

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

So:

• بلد كبير = a big country
• literally: country big

That is the normal Arabic order, unlike English, where adjectives usually come before the noun.

This is a very important point.

In هذا البلد كبير, كبير is not an attributive adjective inside the noun phrase. It is the predicate of the sentence.

So the sentence is:

• هذا البلد = the subject
• كبير = the predicate, meaning is big

That is why كبير is indefinite.

Compare:

• هذا البلد كبير = This country is big
• هذا البلد الكبير = this big country

In the second example, الكبير is an adjective directly describing البلد, so it must match it in definiteness.

Because of the definiteness pattern.

In Arabic, if an adjective directly modifies a definite noun, it usually also becomes definite:

• البلد الكبير = the big country

But in your sentence, we have:

• هذا البلد كبير

Here البلد is definite, but كبير is indefinite, so it is understood as the predicate:

• This country is big

This is one of the most useful clues for understanding Arabic sentence structure.

Yes. Adjectives and predicate adjectives in Arabic normally agree with the noun in gender and number.

Since البلد is masculine singular, the form is:

• كبير = masculine singular

If the noun were feminine singular, you would usually use:

• كبيرة

For example:

• هذه المدينة كبيرة = This city is big

It is usually pronounced al-balad.

Because ب is a moon letter, the ل in الـ is pronounced clearly.

So:

• البلد = al-balad

If the noun began with a sun letter, the pronunciation would be different, but that does not happen here.

In fully vocalized formal Arabic, it would be:

• هٰذا البلدُ كبيرٌ

A common transliteration is:

• hādhā al-baladu kabīrun

Here:

• البلدُ has -u because it is the subject
• كبيرٌ has -un because it is the predicate

In everyday reading, speaking, and most learning materials, these endings are often not pronounced, so learners usually say:

• hādhā al-balad kabīr

Yes, but it means something slightly different in structure.

• هذا البلد كبير = This country is big
• هذا بلد كبير = This is a big country

In هذا بلد كبير, هذا stands more on its own as this is, and بلد كبير is the predicate noun phrase: a big country.

So both are possible, but they are not exactly the same sentence.

No. بلد is a common word and can mean country, land, or even town/place depending on context.

Another very common word for country/state is:

• دولة

But in many sentences, بلد is perfectly natural for country, especially in general usage.

This is a nominal sentence in Arabic, often called a sentence that begins with a noun-like element rather than a verb.

Very simply, it has:

• a subject/topic: هذا البلد
• a predicate/comment: كبير

This kind of sentence is extremely common in Arabic, especially for statements like:

• The house is small
• The weather is nice
• The book is useful

So this sentence is a very basic and important pattern to learn.