Lesson 64 · عَرَبِيٌّ
Saudi, Pakistani, Arabic: words ending in ـِيٌّ
Add ـِيٌّ to a place or thing to make a word meaning “from” or “related to” it: بَاكِسْتَانُ → بَاكِسْتَانِيٌّ (Pakistani), مِصْرُ → مِصْرِيٌّ (Egyptian). For a woman add ـةٌ: بَاكِسْتَانِيَّةٌ. This is called النِّسْبَةُ.
Learn with pictures
Tap a picture to hear the sentence.
Examples
أَنَا بَاكِسْتَانِيٌّanaa baakistaaniyyunI am Pakistani.
هِيَ سُعُودِيَّةٌhiya suʿuudiyyatunShe is Saudi.
مِنْ أَيْنَ أَنْتَ؟min ayna anta?Where are you from?
أَتَكَلَّمُ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ وَالْأُرْدِيَّةَatakallamu l-ʿarabiyyata wal-urdiyyataI speak Arabic and Urdu.
هٰذَا طَعَامٌ هِنْدِيٌّhaadhaa ṭaʿaamun hindiyyunThis is Indian food.
التَّقْوِيمُ الْهِجْرِيُّat-taqwiimu l-hijriyyuthe Hijri calendar
Key points
- Drop الـ and a final ـة or ـا first: السُّعُودِيَّةُ → سُعُودِيٌّ · مَكَّةُ → مَكِّيٌّ · أَمْرِيكَا → أَمْرِيكِيٌّ · الْهِنْدُ → هِنْدِيٌّ.
- It works for any noun, not only places: عَرَبٌ → عَرَبِيٌّ (Arab, Arabic) · إِسْلَامٌ → إِسْلَامِيٌّ (Islamic) · يَوْمٌ → يَوْمِيٌّ (daily) · هِجْرَةٌ → هِجْرِيٌّ (Hijri).
- Languages use the feminine, because لُغَةٌ is feminine: الْعَرَبِيَّةُ Arabic · الْأُرْدِيَّةُ Urdu · الْإِنْجِلِيزِيَّةُ English. Plural for men: بَاكِسْتَانِيُّونَ; for women: بَاكِسْتَانِيَّاتٌ.
Practice
Tap a question to see the answer.
Make the word for “an Egyptian woman”.
مِصْرِيَّةٌ miṣriyyatun
Say “My friend is Turkish.” (تُرْكِيَا)
صَدِيقِي تُرْكِيٌّ ṣadiiqii turkiyyun
Make “daily” from يَوْمٌ.
يَوْمِيٌّ yawmiyyun