Lesson 7 · أَنَا
I, you, he, she
Pronouns work like هٰذَا: put one before a noun or describing word and you have a sentence. أَنَا طَالِبٌ means “I am a student”. Arabic has two words for “you”: أَنْتَ when you speak to a man and أَنْتِ when you speak to a woman.
Learn with pictures
Tap a picture to hear the sentence.
Examples
أَنَا طَالِبٌanaa ṭaalibunI am a student
أَنْتَ مُدَرِّسٌanta mudarrisunYou are a teacher (to a man)
أَنْتِ طَبِيبَةٌanti ṭabiibatunYou are a doctor (to a woman)
هُوَ مُهَنْدِسٌhuwa muhandisunHe is an engineer
هِيَ مُمَرِّضَةٌhiya mumarriḍatunShe is a nurse
نَحْنُ مِنْ بَاكِسْتَانَnaḥnu min baakistaanaWe are from Pakistan
هُمْ فِي الْمَسْجِدِhum fil-masjidiThey are in the mosque
أَنَا مَشْغُولٌanaa mashghuulunI am busy
Key points
- أَنَا (anaa) I · أَنْتَ (anta) you, to a man · أَنْتِ (anti) you, to a woman · هُوَ (huwa) he · هِيَ (hiya) she
- نَحْنُ (naḥnu) we · هُمْ (hum) they
- The describing word matches the person: هُوَ مَرِيضٌ (he is ill), هِيَ مَرِيضَةٌ (she is ill).
Practice
Tap a question to see the answer.
Say “I am an engineer”.
أَنَا مُهَنْدِسٌ anaa muhandisun
Speaking to a woman, say “You are a student”.
أَنْتِ طَالِبَةٌ anti ṭaalibatun
Which pronoun? ___ مُمَرِّضَةٌ (She is a nurse.)
هِيَ مُمَرِّضَةٌ hiya mumarriḍatun