This and that: haadhaa, haadhihi, dhaalika, tilka
There are four demonstratives here, and they are built like little phrases: haadhaa — this (m.), haadhihi — this (f.), dhaalika — that (m.), tilka — that (f.) Near and far are told apart the same way as hunaa and hunaaka — here and over there. For example: “هذا الهاتف جديد, ذلك قديم” — This telephone is new, that one is old. A rule from the Arabic course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
There are four demonstratives here, and they are built like little phrases: haadhaa — this (m.), haadhihi — this (f.), dhaalika — that (m.), tilka — that (f.). Near and far are told apart the same way as hunaa and hunaaka — here and over there.
After a demonstrative the noun takes the article: haadhaa al-haatif — this telephone. Without the article the phrase does not sound: the demonstrative and the article hold hands, and they cannot be parted.
The demonstrative copies the gender: haadhihi ash-shaasha — this screen, dhaalika as-saiyaara — that car. The demonstrative itself stands before the word, and the feature after: haadhaa al-haatif al-jadiid — this new telephone.
In speech a particle glues onto the near demonstrative, and haadhaa al-walad sounds like "haadhw-al-walad". In writing it is spelled whole — one of the few differences between speech and the book.
Table
| masculine | feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| this (near) | هذا الهاتف — haadhaa al-haatif | هذه الشاشة — haadhihi ash-shaasha |
| that (far) | ذلك الهاتف — dhaalika al-haatif | تلك الشاشة — tilka ash-shaasha |
| in the plural | هؤلاء — haaʾulaaʾi (these) | هؤلاء — haaʾulaaʾi |
| after a preposition | بهذا — bi-haadhaa (with this) | بهذه — bi-haadhihi (with this) |
By example
- هذا الهاتف جديد, ذلك قديمхаза аль-хаатиф джадид, заальика кадиимThis telephone is new, that one is old
- هذه الشاشة كبيرةхазихи аш-шааша кябираThis screen is big
- من هذا الرجل؟мин хаза ар-раджуль؟Who is this man?
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
This and that: how does it work in Arabic?
There are four demonstratives here, and they are built like little phrases: haadhaa — this (m.), haadhihi — this (f.), dhaalika — that (m.), tilka — that (f.) Near and far are told apart the same way as hunaa and hunaaka — here and over there.
What does it look like in a Arabic example sentence?
“هذا الهاتف جديد, ذلك قديم” (хаза аль-хаатиф джадид, заальика кадиим) — This telephone is new, that one is old. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.