Lesson 2 · ذٰلِكَ
That is…: near and far
Use هٰذَا for something near you and ذٰلِكَ (dhaalika, that) for something further away. The sentence pattern stays the same: ذٰلِكَ نَجْمٌ, “That is a star”.
Learn with pictures
Tap a picture to hear the sentence.
Examples
ذٰلِكَ بَيْتٌdhaalika baytunThat is a house
ذٰلِكَ نَجْمٌdhaalika najmunThat is a star
هٰذَا قَمِيصٌhaadhaa qamiiṣunThis is a shirt
مَا ذٰلِكَ؟maa dhaalika?What is that?
ذٰلِكَ جَبَلٌdhaalika jabalunThat is a mountain
مَنْ ذٰلِكَ؟man dhaalika?Who is that?
ذٰلِكَ إِمَامٌdhaalika imaamunThat is an imam
أَذٰلِكَ مَسْجِدٌ؟a-dhaalika masjidun?Is that a mosque?
Key points
- Near: هٰذَا. Far: ذٰلِكَ.
- Questions work the same way: مَا ذٰلِكَ؟ (What is that?) and مَنْ ذٰلِكَ؟ (Who is that?).
- Both words are for masculine nouns. The feminine forms come in Lesson 5.
Practice
Tap a question to see the answer.
Say “That is a mountain”.
ذٰلِكَ جَبَلٌ dhaalika jabalun
Ask “What is that?”
مَا ذٰلِكَ؟ maa dhaalika?
Near or far: هٰذَا نَجْمٌ?
هٰذَا haadhaa
Near. For a star far away, you would say ذٰلِكَ نَجْمٌ.