Gender
In one line
Understand it
English has he, she and it. Arabic has no it. Every ism — a person, a place, an idea, a stone — is treated as مُذَكَّر or مُؤَنَّث, and everything that agrees with it must follow.
Three questions settle it, in order.
The gender map — three steps, in order
| # | Ask | If yes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Is it real (حَقِيقِي) — something with actual biological gender? | Treat it as it is: a man is masculine, a woman feminine |
| 2 | Does it carry a sign of femininity at the end? | Feminine |
| 3 | Does it belong to a usage category? | Feminine |
| — | None of the three | Masculine — the default |
Work them in order and stop at the first yes.
Most isms you meet fall straight through to the default. Masculine is not a claim about the world — it is what is left when no sign and no usage applies.
Feminine by sign, and feminine by usage
| Route | ||
|---|---|---|
| By sign | ة | ta' marbuta — جَنَّة, صَلَاة |
| By sign | ـاء | alif mamduda — صَحْرَاء |
| By sign | ـى | alif maqsura — كُبْرَى |
| By usage | — | body parts that come in pairs — يَد, عَيْن, أُذُن |
| By usage | — | places, cities and most countries — مِصْر, مَكَّة |
| By usage | — | fire, wind and wine — نَار, رِيح |
| By usage | — | a small remembered set — أَرْض, دَار |
A word feminine by usage carries no sign at all. Its agreement is what gives it away: تَطْلُعُ الشَّمْسُ, never يَطْلُعُ.
How to spot it
In the Qur'an
Related terms
Common questions
How do I know a word is feminine when it carries no visible sign?
By what agrees with it. A word feminine by usage — many places, body parts that come in pairs, a small remembered set — carries no mark at all. Its verb, its adjective or its demonstrative is what gives it away.
Next in the guideمُذَكَّرWhat is the masculine (mudhakkar)? →Updated