The forms
Arabic demonstratives agree with the noun in gender and number:
| Near ("this / these") | Far ("that / those") | |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | هَذَا (hādhā) | ذَلِكَ (dhālika) |
| feminine singular | هَذِهِ (hādhihi) | تِلْكَ (tilka) |
| plural (people) | هَؤُلَاءِ (hāʾulāʾi) | أُولَئِكَ (ulāʾika) |
Spelling notes: هَذَا, هَذِهِ, ذَلِكَ and هَؤُلَاءِ are pronounced with a long ā after the first letter that is not written as a full alif. In أُولَئِكَ the و is silent.
"This is a book" or "this book"?
The noun after the demonstrative tells you whether you have a sentence or a phrase:
| Arabic | Meaning |
|---|---|
| هَذَا كِتَابٌ. | This is a book. (noun without ال: sentence) |
| هَذَا الْكِتَابُ | this book (noun with ال: phrase) |
| هَذَا الْكِتَابُ جَدِيدٌ. | This book is new. |
| هَذِهِ سَيَّارَةٌ. | This is a car. |
| هَذِهِ السَّيَّارَةُ | this car |
| تِلْكَ الْمَدْرَسَةُ كَبِيرَةٌ. | That school is big. |
To say "This is the book", add the pronoun: هَذَا هُوَ الْكِتَابُ. For a feminine noun: هَذِهِ هِيَ السَّيَّارَةُ.
Plurals: people vs things
هَؤُلَاءِ and أُولَئِكَ are used for people (men, women or mixed):
- هَؤُلَاءِ طُلَّابٌ. — These are students.
- أُولَئِكَ الرِّجَالُ مُهَنْدِسُونَ. — Those men are engineers.
- هَؤُلَاءِ الْبَنَاتُ صَدِيقَاتِي. — These girls are my friends.
Plurals of things and animals are treated as feminine singular, so they take هَذِهِ and تِلْكَ:
- هَذِهِ كُتُبٌ. — These are books.
- هَذِهِ السَّيَّارَاتُ جَدِيدَةٌ. — These cars are new.
- تِلْكَ الْبُيُوتُ قَدِيمَةٌ. — Those houses are old.
As a pronoun
On their own, demonstratives work like "this one / that one":
- مَا هَذَا؟ — What is this?
- ذَلِكَ صَعْبٌ. — That is difficult.
Watch out as an English speaker
- "This book" needs ال on the noun. ✗ هَذَا كِتَابٌ جَدِيدٌ. for "this new book" (it means "This is a new book") / ✓ هَذَا الْكِتَابُ الْجَدِيدُ.
- English "these" works for everything; Arabic هَؤُلَاءِ is only for people. ✗ هَؤُلَاءِ الْكُتُبُ / ✓ هَذِهِ الْكُتُبُ (these books).
- "This" must match the noun's gender, even for things. ✗ هَذَا سَيَّارَةٌ. / ✓ هَذِهِ سَيَّارَةٌ.
Example dialogue
مَا هَذَا؟ — What is this?
هَذَا قَامُوسٌ عَرَبِيٌّ. — This is an Arabic dictionary.
وَمَنْ تِلْكَ الْبِنْتُ؟ — And who is that girl?
تِلْكَ أُخْتِي، وَهَؤُلَاءِ صَدِيقَاتُهَا. — That is my sister, and these are her friends.
وَهَذِهِ الْكُتُبُ لَهَا أَيْضًا. — And these books are hers too.