Language/South-levantine-arabic/Grammar/Gender

South Levantine Arabic Grammar - Gender

Hi South Levantine Arabic learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be discussing the gender rules of South Levantine Arabic. We will look at how to identify the gender of nouns and adjectives, as well as how to use them in sentences. Let's get started!

Gender of Nouns

In South Levantine Arabic, nouns are either masculine or feminine. This means that when you use a noun in a sentence, you must also use the correct gender form of the verb or adjective. For example, if you are talking about a man, you must use the masculine form of the verb or adjective.

The gender of a noun can usually be identified by its ending. Masculine nouns usually end in a consonant, while feminine nouns usually end in a vowel. However, there are some exceptions to this rule.

Examples

South Levantine Arabic	Pronunciation	English Translation
رجل	rajul	man
عائلة	ʿāʾila	family
كتاب	kitāb	book
بيت	bayt	house

As you can see from the examples above, the nouns ending in consonants (رجل and كتاب) are masculine, while the nouns ending in vowels (عائلة and بيت) are feminine.

Gender of Adjectives

Adjectives in South Levantine Arabic also have gender forms. The gender of an adjective is determined by the gender of the noun it is describing. For example, if you are describing a man, you must use the masculine form of the adjective.

Examples

South Levantine Arabic	Pronunciation	English Translation
ذكي	dhakī	intelligent (masculine)
ذكية	dhakiyya	intelligent (feminine)
جميل	jamīl	beautiful (masculine)
جميلة	jamīla	beautiful (feminine)

As you can see from the examples above, the masculine form of the adjective ends in a consonant (ذكي and جميل), while the feminine form ends in a vowel (ذكية and جميلة).

Quiz

Test your knowledge of South Levantine Arabic gender rules with this quiz:

1. What is the gender of the noun عائلة?
2. a. Masculine
3. b. Feminine
4. What is the gender of the adjective ذكي?
5. a. Masculine
6. b. Feminine

Answers:

1. b. Feminine
2. a. Masculine

Practice

To improve your South Levantine Arabic Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

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➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Related Lessons

• Negation
• Adjectives
• Pronouns
• Conditional Mood
• Plurals
• Questions