Most nouns that end in ة are feminine, also the nouns for things: مَدْرَسَة (school), سَيَّارَة (car), شَجَرَة (tree). At the end of a word ة is read as a short a, so شَجَرَة is shajara. Look closely: ة has two dots on top, while ه has none. A few feminine words have no ة, for example أُمّ (mother), بِنْت (girl), شَمْس (sun) and عَيْن (eye). Masculine nouns for things, such as بَيْت (house) and كِتَاب (book), have no special ending. When you meet a new noun, look at its end first.
Ending
Gender
Examples
ة
feminine
مَدْرَسَة، سَيَّارَة
no ending
masculine
بَيْت، كِتَاب
no ending (a few words)
feminine
أُمّ، شَمْس، عَيْن
Worked examples
A school, a car and a tree. All three end in ة and are read with a short a.
مَma+دِيdī+نَةna
The word in steps: ma + dī + na. The fatha before ة gives the final a; the ة itself is not read as t.
A few feminine words have no ة. Compare them with a masculine word.
Class activity
Gender hunt. Look around your room and choose five things. Say the Arabic word if you know it, or look it up in this lesson: مَدْرَسَة، سَيَّارَة، شَجَرَة، طَاوِلَة، نَافِذَة. Write each word on paper, put two dots on every ة, and write “f” (feminine) next to it. Then write three masculine words with “m”: بَيْت، كِتَاب، قَلَم.
Practice
1
Press Listen. Is the word masculine or feminine?
Feminine, because it ends in a. The word is مَكْتَبَة (maktaba), “library”.
2
How do you read ة at the end of a noun?
As a short a: ghurfa.
3
Which noun is feminine: بَيْت or شَجَرَة?
شَجَرَة (shajara), tree: it ends in ة. بَيْت (bayt) is masculine.
4
The picture shows a car. Which word is it: سَيَّارَة or مَدْرَسَة?
سَيَّارَة (sayyāra). مَدْرَسَة (madrasa) is a school.
5
Look at the pictures of a house and a school. Which word is feminine: بَيْت or مَدْرَسَة?
مَدْرَسَة (madrasa), the school: it ends in ة. بَيْت (bayt), the house, is masculine.
