Learn Arabic Plural Pronouns (We-You-They)

Asmaa Akl

30 Dec 2019

Starting where we left off in our previous article, ‘Learn Arabic Pronouns (I-You-He-She)’, we will now continue with plural Arabic pronouns. Unlike plural English pronouns, that only deal with one form of a pronoun whether you’re addressing men or women, in Arabic, there are two forms of each pronoun; one for the masculine plural and one for the feminine plural. The only exception to this is the first person plural which has one form for both masculine and feminine usage. Other pronouns that do not exist in English are the dual masculine and feminine pronouns, used when you’re addressing two people of either gender.

Although it isn’t a prerequisite, it would be better if you understood Arabic Letters and Arabic Diacritics before continuing to read this article. If you aren’t familiar with them please check our articles for “Learn Arabic Letters” and “Learn Arabic Diacritics” or take our “Learn Arabic Letters” classes online.

First Personal Plural (We) نحن:

In Arabic, we use “We”نحن, pronounced as Nahno, to talk about ourselves in addition to others. There’s only one form of نحن used for groups of both women and men.

For a group of males
For a group of females

 

Note how the form stayed the same regardless of gender. However, this will change in the next plural Arabic pronouns.

 

The dual (أنتما):

 

This pronoun does not exist in English. While you learn Arabic pronouns, you will encounter the pronoun انتما pronounced as Antumawhen someone is addressing two people of either gender:

Both of you are happy

 

 

Second person plural (You) masculine أنتم, (You) feminine أنتن:

The second personal plural Arabic pronouns forms for ‘You’ are أنتم, pronounced as Atum and is the masculine form of the word, and أنتن, pronounced as Antun and is the feminine form of the word. You use these Arabic pronouns when you’re addressing a group of people. This can either be a group of men, where you’ll use أنتم or a group of women, where you will use أنتن.

The Arabic words (Mo'allimun - Mo'allimat) mean (Teachers)

 

Note: it is important to note that in case you are addressing a mixed gender group the masculine form أنتم is used in the Arabic Language.

 

Third person plural they (masculine) هم, they (feminine) هن:

Finally, we come to the last plural personal pronoun which is They. The 3rd person plural Arabic pronoun also has two forms, the masculine هم, pronounced as Hum and the feminine هن, pronounced as Hun. Unlike the second person plural pronoun, this pronoun is used when you’re talking about a group of people; not addressing them.

 

Note: it is important to note that in case you are speaking about a mixed gender group the masculine form هم is used in the Arabic Language.

We come to the end of the second article of this series where we managed to learn Arabic Pronouns – singular and plural. If you haven’t read our article ‘Learn Arabic Pronouns: I-You-He-She’, where we learn about the singular personal Arabic pronouns, please take a look. If these articles were useful to you, check our “Learn Arabic” classes which are custom made for those seeking to learn Arabic online. You are also welcome to take a look at the rest of our classes at Nour Academy. We offer a wide range of Arabic, Islamic, and Quran classes. If you want to learn Arabic letters check our “Learn Arabic letters” classes and “Al-Nourani Qaeda” Course. If you want to learn tajweed rules, check our “Learn Tajweed Rules” classes and finally if you wish to memorize the Quran check our “Quran Recitation and Memorization” classes.