ضمائر الماكية

ضمائر الماكية
my, your, his, her

Category

possession, suffix, pronoun

 

Level

Beginner

A possessive suffix is an ending to a word that indicates possession, similar to the English possessive apostrophe-'s'. Possessive suffixes are the Arabic equivalents of the words "my", "your", "his", "her", "our", and "their".

Formation

noun + suffix

Singular
my friend - صديقتي
(to a man) your friend - صديقتُكَ
(to a woman) your friend - صديقتُكِ
his friend - صديقتُهُ
her friend - صديقتُها

Dual
your friend - صديقتُكُما
their friend - صديقتُهُما

Plural
our friend - صديقتنا
your friend - صديقتُكُمْ
(to 3 or more women) your friend - صديقتُكُنَّ
their friend - صديفتُهُمْ
(about 3 or more women) their friend - صديفتُهُنَّ

Example Sentences

هذا أخي وإسمه روبرت.

haadha 'akhii wa ismuhu ruubart.
This is my brother and his name is Robert.

هذه أختي وإسمها سارة.

haadhihi 'ukhtii wa ismuha saara.
This is my sister and her name is Robert.

هل هذا كتابكَ؟

hal haadha kitaabuka?
Is this your book?

كيف حالكِ؟

kayfa Haaluki?
How are you? (lit. How is your condition?)

إسمي تيموثي. وأنتَ؟

ismii tiimuuthii. wa 'anta?
My name is Timothy. And you?

Notes

In Modern Standard Arabic, the possessive suffixes and personal pronouns rhyme (with the exception of انا and نَحْنُ). Be careful with the second person forms, where the 't' sounds become 'k' sounds.

In many regional dialects, the suffixes are pronounced a little differently.
ismuka -> ismak
ismuki -> ismik
ismuhu -> ismuu
ismuha -> ismmha

When pronounced slowly and carefully, all the vowels are heard in Modern Standard Arabic. But when spoken rapidly, some sounds get left out as words are slurred together.

ma ismuhu? -> maasmuhu or maasmuu