Grammar · Nouns & the Noun Phrase · 7 min
This and That: Demonstratives
هٰذَا is זֶה with a pointing finger — standing on the other side of the noun
"This book", "that girl", "these students": pointing words are among the first things you need in any classroom. Arabic has six everyday ones — near and far, masculine, feminine and plural — and the near set is built on the very same ancient word as Hebrew זֶה. The twist is word order: where Hebrew says הספר הזה, Arabic says "this the-book", mirror image.
The six forms
| Meaning | Arabic | Latin | Hebrew letters | Hebrew |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| this (m.) | هٰذَا | hādhā | האד'א | זֶה |
| this (f.) | هٰذِهِ | hādhihi | האד'ה | זֹאת / זוֹ |
| these (people) | هٰؤُلَاءِ | hāʾulāʾi | האאלאא | אֵלֶּה |
| that (m.) | ذٰلِكَ | dhālika | ד'אלכא | הַהוּא |
| that (f.) | تِلْكَ | tilka | תלכא | הַהִיא |
| those (people) | أُولٰئِكَ | ulāʾika | אלאאכא | הָהֵם / הָהֵן |
The far forms add a little distance marker: ذٰلِكَ is dhā + l + ka, where -ka is the same "you" suffix as in كِتَابُكَ (your book), as if to say "that one, over there by you". Agreement follows the noun's gender: هٰذَا for masculine nouns, هٰذِهِ for feminine ones. One rule has no Hebrew counterpart: plurals of things count as feminine singular. "These books" is هٰذِهِ الْكُتُب (hādhihi l-kutub), literally "this-f. books"; هٰؤُلَاءِ and أُولٰئِكَ are kept for people.
Phrase or sentence?
Put a demonstrative before a noun without al- and you get a full sentence, no verb needed: هٰذَا كِتَاب (hādhā kitāb), "this is a book" — exactly like Hebrew זה ספר. Put it before a noun with al- and you get a phrase: هٰذَا الْكِتَاب (hādhā l-kitāb), "this book". Only an al- noun can sit inside the phrase; anything else after هٰذَا makes a sentence.
Pointing in sentences and phrases
- هٰذَا كِتَابהאד'א כתאבhādhā kitāb
This is a book.
זה ספר زِي سِفِرze sefer
Demonstrative + indefinite noun = a sentence, in both languages.
- هٰذَا الْكِتَابהאד'א אל-כתאבhādhā l-kitāb
this book
הספר הזה هَاسِفِر هَازِيhasefer haze
Demonstrative + al- noun = a phrase. Same two words as Hebrew, in reverse order.
- هٰذَا هُوَ الْكِتَابהאד'א הו אל-כתאבhādhā huwa l-kitāb
This is the book.
זהו הספר زِهُو هَاسِفِرzehu hasefer
هُوَ turns the phrase back into a sentence — the job הוא does inside זהו.
- تِلْكَ الْمَدِينَة جَمِيلَةתלכא אל-מדינה ג'מילהtilka l-madīna jamīla
That city is beautiful.
העיר ההיא יפה هَائِير هَاهِي يَافَاha'ir hahi yafa
Phrase first (that city), then a bare adjective makes it a sentence — like Hebrew העיר יפה.
- هٰؤُلَاءِ طُلَّابהאאלאא טלאבhāʾulāʾi ṭullāb
These are students.
אלה תלמידים إِلِي تَالْمِيدِيمele talmidim
People, so the true plural هٰؤُلَاءِ — the word that contains אֵלֶּה.
- هٰذِهِ الْكُتُب جَدِيدَةהאד'ה אל-כתב ג'דידהhādhihi l-kutub jadīda
These books are new.
הספרים האלה חדשים هَاسْفَارِيم هَائِلِي خَادَاشِيمhasfarim ha'ele khadashim
Things, not people: feminine singular هٰذِهِ, and the adjective جَدِيدَة is feminine singular too.
With my, your, his: the demonstrative moves back
A noun with a possessive suffix is already definite, but it has no al-, so it cannot stand inside the هٰذَا phrase. هٰذِهِ مَدْرَسَتِي is therefore a sentence, "this is my school". For "this school of mine", the demonstrative moves after the noun: مَدْرَسَتِي هٰذِهِ. Formal Hebrew does the same with בית ספרי זה.
Before or after
- هٰذِهِ مَدْرَسَتِيהאד'ה מדרסתיhādhihi madrasatī
This is my school.
זה בית הספר שלי زِي بِيت هَاسِفِر شِلِيze beit hasefer sheli
No al- on the noun, so this is a sentence.
- مَدْرَسَتِي هٰذِهِמדרסתי האד'הmadrasatī hādhihi
this school of mine
בית ספרי זה بِيت سِفْرِي زِيbeit sifri ze
Demonstrative after the noun: a phrase, in the order formal Hebrew uses.
On the street
| Meaning | Levantine | Egyptian | Moroccan |
|---|---|---|---|
| this (m.) | hāda | da | hāda |
| this (f.) | hādi | di | hādi |
| these | hadōl | dōl | hādu |
| that (m.) | hadāk | dukha | hādāk |
| that (f.) | hadīk | dikha | hādīk |
| those | hadōlāk | dukhum | hādūk |
| this book | hal-ktāb / hāda l-ktāb | il-kitāb da | had l-ktāb |
All three dialects drop the dh sound: hādhā becomes hāda. Levantine also glues the old hā- straight onto the article, so "this book" is often hal-ktāb (Lebanese prefers haydā / hayde). Egyptian is the surprise: its short da, di, dōl come after the noun, il-kitāb da — the very order of Hebrew הספר הזה. Moroccan uses a short, unchanging had in front: had l-ktāb, had l-madrasa.