Grammar · Nouns & the Noun Phrase · 5 min
Gender: Two Teams, Same Rules
Masculine and feminine work almost exactly like Hebrew — down to the same irregular words
Arabic nouns come in exactly two genders, masculine and feminine — no neuter, no third option. If that sounds familiar, it should: it is the Hebrew system, inherited from the same Proto-Semitic parent. Better yet, your Hebrew instincts about which words are feminine will be right far more often than chance. This lesson shows you why.
The feminine marker: ة (taa marbuta)
ة is literally a ت (t) wearing the costume of ه (h) — two dots on a round letter. At the end of a word it is pronounced as a simple -a. Here is the delicious part: Hebrew's ־ָה was also originally ־ַת, and Hebrew still reveals the hidden ת in the construct state — מלכה becomes מלכת (as in מלכת שבא). Arabic does the exact same trick, as we will see in the iḍāfa lesson. Both languages hide a t inside their feminine ending.
| Masculine | Latin | Feminine | Latin | Hebrew pair |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| مَلِك | malik | مَلِكَة | malika | מֶלֶךְ ← מַלְכָּה |
| كَلْب | kalb | كَلْبَة | kalba | כֶּלֶב ← כַּלְבָּה |
| طَالِب | ṭālib | طَالِبَة | ṭāliba | תַּלְמִיד ← תַּלְמִידָה |
| مُعَلِّم | muʿallim | مُعَلِّمَة | muʿallima | מוֹרֶה ← מוֹרָה |
Everyday feminine nouns ending in ة
- مَدْرَسَةמדרסהmadrasa
school
בית ספר بِيت سِفِرbeit sefer
Root د-ر-س, the cousin of Hebrew ד-ר-ש — a madrasa is literally a מִדְרָשָׁה.
- مَدِينَةמדינהmadīna
city
עיר إِيرir
The same word as Hebrew מדינה — Arabic most likely picked it up via Aramaic — with the meaning drifting: city in Arabic, state in Hebrew.
- سَنَةסנהsana
year
שנה شَانَاshana
Same word as שנה — Hebrew ש regularly matches Arabic س.
- سَيَّارَةסיארהsayyāra
car
מכונית مِخُونِيتmekhonit
No Hebrew relative — but the ة instantly tells you it is feminine.
Feminine without the marker
Hebrew has a famous club of nouns that are feminine with no ־ָה in sight: עין, יד, רגל, אוזן, ארץ, שמש, אש, רוח. Arabic has the very same club — and it contains the very same words. Paired body parts, the earth, the sun, fire, wind and soul: feminine in both languages, because both inherited the list from the same ancestor.
| Arabic | Latin | Hebrew letters | Hebrew cousin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| عَيْن | ʿayn | עין | עַיִן | eye |
| يَد | yad | יד | יָד | hand |
| رِجْل | rijl | רג'ל | רֶגֶל | leg, foot |
| أُذُن | udhun | אד'ן | אֹזֶן | ear |
| أَرْض | arḍ | ארצ' | אֶרֶץ | land, earth |
| شَمْس | shams | שמס | שֶׁמֶשׁ | sun |
| نَار | nār | נאר | נֵר | fire (Hebrew נֵר: lamp) |
| رُوح | rūḥ | רוח | רוּחַ | spirit, soul |
Gender agreement in action
- عَيْن كَبِيرَةעין כבירהʿayn kabīra
a big eye
עין גדולה أَيِن گْدُولَاayin gdola
The adjective takes ة to agree — like גדולה. And كَبِير itself is Hebrew's כַּבִּיר (mighty).
- يَد صَغِيرَةיד צע'ירהyad ṣaghīra
a small hand
יד קטנה يَاد كْتَانَاyad ktana
صَغِير is the same root as צָעִיר (young): ص↔צ and غ↔ע, textbook sound shifts.
- مَدِينَة جَمِيلَةמדינה ג'מילהmadīna jamīla
a beautiful city
עיר יפה إِير يَافَاir yafa
Feminine noun, feminine adjective — ة on both, just as Hebrew puts ־ָה on both.
One honest caveat: the two languages occasionally disagree on an individual word's gender (for example, Arabic بَيْت is masculine like Hebrew בית, but some words diverge). When in doubt, check — but your Hebrew default is an excellent starting bet.