Feminine Pronouns in Arabic Language (الضمائر المؤنثة)

Feminine Pronouns in Arabic Language (الضمائر المؤنثة) 

By: Yusuf Basirat Bolanle 

Introduction 

In Arabic, pronouns  (الضمائر) reflect both gender and number, meaning they change depending on whether the subject is masculine or feminine, singular, dual, or plural. Feminine pronouns are used when referring to females or feminine nouns. Here's a breakdown of the key feminine pronouns in Arabic:

Feminine Pronouns in Arabic

English        Arabic (Pronoun)          Notes

She                           هي                     She

Her                             (ها)        3rd person

                                             possessive singular 

                                             feminine 

You (f.)                     أنتِ 2nd person 

                                                singular feminine

Your (f.)                  ـكِ      Attached possessive                                                      suffix for feminine                                                          (e.g., كتابكِ =                                                               (your book)

They (f.)                    هنّ   3rd person plural

                                                             feminine

Them (f.)           لهنّ    Prepositional object                                                 

                                                (to them - feminine)

You (f. pl.)         أنتنّ   2nd person plural

                                               feminine

Key Points to Understand

1- Gender is Grammatical: In Arabic, all nouns are either masculine or feminine. Feminine pronouns agree with female gender and grammatically feminine nouns.

2- Suffixes Indicate Gender: In both pronouns and verb conjugations, the feminine form often ends in ـي or ـة (taa marbuta). Example:"He went" = ذهبَ"

She went" = ذهبتْ

3- Possessive and Object Suffixes: Arabic uses suffixes on nouns and verbs to indicate possession or objects. Example:

Her book = كتابها 

I saw her = رأيتها 

Feminine Verb Conjugation Example (Past Tense)

Subject                    Verb (to write)

She wrote - كتبتْ                      

You wrote (f. sing.)  -     كتبتِ 

They wrote (f.)      -        كتبنَ 

You wrote (f. pl.)  -        كتبتنَّ

Feminine in Context

هي طالبة ذكية

She is a smart student.

أنتِ معلمة رائعة

You (f.) are a wonderful teacher.

هنّ في المدرسة

They (f.) are at school.

Note:

If you're learning Arabic, recognizing and using feminine pronouns correctly is essential for proper grammar and communication — especially in formal Arabic (Fusha).