Arabic Possessive Pronouns With Examples (Dhamir muttasil)

Arabic Possessive Pronouns

Arabic possessive pronouns change based on the gender and number of the noun they are describing. They must match the gender and number of the noun being possessed, not the gender or number of the person who owns it.

What Are Arabic Possessive Pronouns?

Arabic possessive pronouns (ضمائر متصلة, dhamair muttasil) are used to indicate ownership and are attached to nouns to show who possesses them.

Arabic possessive pronouns are called ضمير متصل (dameer muttasil) in Arabic (plural: الضمائر المتصلة (admaa’ir al-muttasila)), and they include my, your, his, her, our, and their.

They show ownership of something. In Arabic, these pronouns are attached as suffixes to the noun being owned, similar to object pronouns.

Possesive Pronouns Arabic

The table below shows the complete possessive pronouns suffixes in Arabic, their transliterations and meanings.

ArabicTransliterationEnglish
ـي-ime
ـكَ-kayou (masc.)
ـكِ-kiyou (fem.)
ـه-huhim
ـها-haher
            Dual
ـنا-naus (two people)
ـكما-kumayou (two people)
ـهما-humathem (two people)
        Plural
ـنا-naus
ـكم-kumyou (masc.)
ـكن-kunnayou (fem.)
ـهم-humthem (masc.)
ـهن-hunnathem (fem.)

READ ALSO: Demonstrative Pronouns in Arabic With Examples (Ism Ishara)

Arabic Possessive Pronoun

Arabic Possessive Pronouns Attached To Nouns Examples

Arabic possessive pronouns are attached as suffixes to nouns to show ownership. Here’s a detailed explanation with examples:

Singular Possessive Pronouns

  1. Myـي (-i)
  • Example:كتابي (kitaabi) – My book.
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـي (-i) indicates “my.”
  1. Your (masculine)ـكَ (-ka)
  • Example:كتابكَ (kitaabuka) – Your book (to a male).
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـكَ (-ka) indicates “your” (to a male).
  1. Your (feminine)ـكِ (-ki)
  • Example:كتابكِ (kitaabuki) – Your book (to a female).
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـكِ (-ki) indicates “your” (to a female).
  1. Hisـهُ (-hu)
  • Example:كتابهُ (kitaabuhu) – His book.
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـهُ (-hu) indicates “his.”
  1. Herـهَا (-haa)
  • Example:كتابها (kitaabuhaa) – Her book.
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـهَا (-haa) indicates “her.”

Dual Possessive Pronouns

  1. Ourـنَا (-naa)
  • Example:كتابنا (kitaabuna) – Our book.
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـنَا (-naa) indicates “our.”
  1. Your (masculine, dual)ـكُمَا (-kuma)
  • Example:كتابكما (kitaabukuma) – Your book (to two males).
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـكُمَا (-kuma) indicates “your” (to two males).
  1. Your (feminine, dual)ـكُمَا (-kuma)
  • Example:كتابكما (kitaabukuma) – Your book (to two females).
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـكُمَا (-kuma) indicates “your” (to two females).
  1. Their (masculine, dual)ـهُما (-huma)
  • Example:كتابهما (kitaabuhuma) – Their book (two males).
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـهُما (-huma) indicates “their” (two males).
  1. Their (feminine, dual)ـهُما (-huma)
  • Example:كتابهما (kitaabuhuma) – Their book (two females).
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـهُما (-huma) indicates “their” (two females).

Plural Possessive Pronouns

  1. Your (masculine, plural)ـكُمْ (-kum)
  • Example:كتابكم (kitaabukum) – Your book (to multiple males).
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـكُمْ (-kum) indicates “your” (to multiple males).
  1. Your (feminine, plural)ـكُنَّ (-kunna)
  • Example:كتابكنَّ (kitaabukunna) – Your book (to multiple females).
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـكُنَّ (-kunna) indicates “your” (to multiple females).
  1. Their (masculine, plural)ـهُمْ (-hum)
  • Example:كتابهم (kitaabuhum) – Their book (multiple males).
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـهُمْ (-hum) indicates “their” (multiple males).
  1. Their (feminine, plural)ـهُنَّ (-hunna)
  • Example:كتابهنَّ (kitaabuhunna) – Their book (multiple females).
    • كتاب (kitaab) means “book,” and ـهُنَّ (-hunna) indicates “their” (multiple females).

These possessive pronouns are directly attached to the end of nouns to show ownership and must match the noun in gender and number.

Explanatory Note

The examples above show how possessive pronouns are attached to words. Here are some key points about these pronouns:

  • Attachment: These pronouns are not used alone; they are attached to a noun, verb, or particle.
  • Nouns: When attached to nouns, these pronouns appear in the genitive case as part of the Idafa phrase.
  • Particles: Pronouns attached to particles are also in the genitive case.
  • Verbs: When attached to verbs, these pronouns are in the accusative case, showing the object of the verb.
  • Case Ending: The letter before a singular, masculine, third-person pronoun suffix changes based on its vowel marking (dhamma, fatha, or kasrah).

Attaching pronoun suffixes to nouns shows ownership and makes the nouns definite. For example, “his pen” in Arabic combines قَلَم (qalam) with the suffix هُ (-hu), resulting in قَلَمُهُ (qalamuhu).

When a pronoun suffix is added, the noun no longer has nunation because it is definite. For example, “your pen” (masculine) is قَلَمُكَ (qalamuka), and “their pens” (masculine) is قَلَمُهُمْ (qalamuhum).

If the noun ends in ـة (taa’ marbuta), it is written and pronounced as ت (taa). For example, “your article” is مقالتكَ (maqaalatuka), pronounced as “maqaalatuka.” The case ending is placed between the ت and the suffix.

For dual nouns (ending in ـان or ـين), or sound masculine plurals (ending in ـون or ـين), the ن (nuun) is dropped for easier pronunciation. For example, “her (two) eyes” is عَينَيها (‘aynayhaa), and “eyes (two)” is عَينَين (‘ayniyn).

Nouns with possessive suffixes are definite, so adjectives describing them use the definite article ال (al-). For instance, “our beautiful cat” is قطتنا الجميلة (qittatuna al-jameela).

Arabic doesn’t have a possessive adjective for “its” because nouns are gendered. Instead, use ـه (-hu) for “his” and ـها (-haa) for “her.”

Similarly, possessive pronouns like “mine,” “yours,” “his,” and “hers” are not used separately in Arabic; instead, possessive suffixes are attached directly to the noun.

Arabic Possessive Suffixes To Particles

In Arabic, possessive suffixes can also be attached to particles to show ownership or relationship. Particles are small words that often include prepositions and conjunctions. Here’s how possessive suffixes work with particles:

Examples of Possessive Suffixes Attached to Particles

  1. لـ (li-): Used to indicate “for” or “belonging to.”
  • لِي (lii) – For me / my
    • Example: هذا كتابي (haadha kitaabi) – This is my book.
  • لَكَ (laka) – For you (masculine) / your
    • Example: هذا كتابك (haadha kitaabuka) – This is your book (to a male).
  • لَكِ (laki) – For you (feminine) / your
    • Example: هذا كتابكِ (haadha kitaabuki) – This is your book (to a female).
  • لَهُ (lahu) – For him / his
    • Example: هذا كتابه (haadha kitaabuhu) – This is his book.
  • لَهَا (lhaa) – For her / her
    • Example: هذا كتابها (haadha kitaabhaa) – This is her book.
  • لَنَا (lanaa) – For us / our
    • Example: هذا كتابنا (haadha kitaabuna) – This is our book.
  • لَكُمْ (lakum) – For you (plural masculine) / your
    • Example: هذا كتابكم (haadha kitaabukum) – This is your book (to multiple males).
  • لَكُنَّ (lakunna) – For you (plural feminine) / your
    • Example: هذا كتابكنَّ (haadha kitaabukunna) – This is your book (to multiple females).
  • لَهُمْ (lahum) – For them (masculine) / their
    • Example: هذا كتابهم (haadha kitaabuhum) – This is their book (to multiple males).
  • لَهُنَّ (lahunna) – For them (feminine) / their
    • Example: هذا كتابهنَّ (haadha kitaabuhunna) – This is their book (to multiple females).
  1. مِن (min): Used to indicate “from.”
  • مِنِّي (minnii) – From me
    • Example: هدية مني (hadiyyah minnii) – A gift from me.
  • مِنْكَ (minka) – From you (masculine)
    • Example: هدية منك (hadiyyah minka) – A gift from you (to a male).
  • مِنْكِ (minki) – From you (feminine)
    • Example: هدية منكِ (hadiyyah minki) – A gift from you (to a female).
  • مِنْهُ (minhu) – From him
    • Example: هدية منه (hadiyyah minhu) – A gift from him.
  • مِنْهَا (minhaa) – From her
    • Example: هدية منها (hadiyyah minhaa) – A gift from her.
  • مِنَّا (minnaa) – From us
    • Example: هدية منا (hadiyyah minnaa) – A gift from us.
  • مِنْكُمْ (minkum) – From you (plural masculine)
    • Example: هدية منكم (hadiyyah minkum) – A gift from you (to multiple males).
  • مِنْكُنَّ (minkunna) – From you (plural feminine)
    • Example: هدية منكنَّ (hadiyyah minkunna) – A gift from you (to multiple females).
  • مِنْهُمْ (minhum) – From them (masculine)
    • Example: هدية منهم (hadiyyah minhum) – A gift from them (to multiple males).
  • مِنْهُنَّ (minhunna) – From them (feminine)
    • Example: هدية منهنَّ (hadiyyah minhunna) – A gift from them (to multiple females).

Key Points

  • Possessive Suffixes as Suffixes: These suffixes are added directly to particles to indicate possession or relationship.
  • Genitive Case: When attached to particles, these possessive suffixes place the particle in the genitive case.
  • Pronunciation: The suffix changes based on the vowel marking of the preceding letter, just as with nouns.

By using possessive suffixes with particles, you can clearly indicate who is associated with or owns something in Arabic.

Similar Posts