Nouns in Arabic – Arabic Lesson For Beginners – fasiharabic.com
Nouns and adjectives are two of the most essential elements in any language.
Nouns in Arabic, much like in English and other Romance languages, are
the parts of speech used to name a person, place, thing, quality, or action.
Adjectives, on the other hand, are the parts of speech that modify nouns.
Although nouns and adjectives go hand in hand, the best way to understand
how they work in Arabic is to address each one separately.
Getting a grip on nouns
In Arabic, every noun has a masculine, feminine, singular, and plural form.
Table 2-1 lists some common Arabic nouns. You’ll notice that I’ve listed both
singular and plural forms of some nouns as well as masculine (M) and feminine
(F) forms of others.
Nouns in Arabic
Arabic Pronunciation Translation
walad wah-lad boy
‘awlaad aw-lad boys
bint bee-net girl
banaat bah-nat girls
rajul rah-jool man
rijaal ree-jal men
‘imra’a eem-rah-ah woman
nisaa’ nee-sah women
tilmiidh teel-meez student (M)
tilmiidha teel-mee-zah student (F)
mudarris moo-dah-rees teacher (M)
mudarrisa moo-dah-ree-sah teacher (F)
Taalib tah-leeb college student (M)
Taaliba tah-lee-bah college student (F)
‘ustaadh oos-taz professor (M)
‘ustaadha oos-tah-zah professor (F)
madrasa mad-rah-sah school
jaami’a jah-mee-ah university
kulliyya koo-lee-yah college
20 Part I: Getting Started
Arabic Pronunciation Translation
kitaab kee-tab book
Taawila tah-wee-lah table
sayyaara sah-yah-rah car