Nouns: Masculine & Feminine

Arabic Nouns — Gender

Every Arabic noun is either masculine (مذكر) or feminine (مؤنث). Adjectives must match the gender of the noun.

Masculine (مذكر)

Default form — no special ending.

Examples: كِتَاب (kitab - book) · رَجُل (rajul - man) · بَيْت (bayt - house)

Feminine (مؤنث)

Usually ends in ة (Ta Marbuta).

Examples: مَدْرَسَة (madrasa - school) · مَرْأَة (mar'a - woman) · غُرْفَة (ghurfa - room)

Exceptions (feminine without ة)

Some words are grammatically feminine by convention:

Adjective Agreement

الكتاب الكبير (al-kitab al-kabir) — The big book (m)

المدرسة الكبيرة (al-madrasa al-kabeera) — The big school (f)

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