שشHebrabic

Grammar · Nouns & the Noun Phrase · 4 min

Pronouns: You Already Know These

אני, אתה, הוא, אנחנו — now hear them in Arabic

If there is one table in this course you will absorb in a single read, it is this one. The independent pronouns of Arabic and Hebrew are practically the same words — same ancestor, light phonetic weathering. Read the table out loud and enjoy it.

ArabicLatinHebrew lettersHebrewEnglish
أَنَاanāאנאאֲנִיI
أَنْتَantaאנתאַתָּהyou (m.)
أَنْتِantiאנתאַתְּyou (f.)
هُوَhuwaהוהוּאhe
هِيَhiyaהיהִיאshe
نَحْنُnaḥnuנחןאֲנַחְנוּwe
أَنْتُمantumאנתםאַתֶּםyou (m. pl.)
أَنْتُنَّantunnaאנתןאַתֶּןyou (f. pl.)
هُمhumהםהֵםthey (m.)
هُنَّhunnaהןהֵןthey (f.)
Independent pronouns, side by side

Notice that Arabic, like Hebrew, splits "you" by gender — أَنْتَ to a man, أَنْتِ to a woman, exactly אַתָּה vs. אַתְּ. In writing they look identical (أنت); the vowel does the work, just as אתה and את differ mostly in vowels. Arabic also splits the plural "you" and "they" by gender, which classical Hebrew does too (אתם/אתן, הם/הן).

Pronoun sentences — no verb "to be"

  • أَنَا مُعَلِّم
    אנא מעלםanā muʿallim

    I am a teacher

    אני מורה أَنِي مُورِيani more

    Pronoun + noun = full sentence. Hebrew works identically: no copula needed.

  • هِيَ طَالِبَة
    הי טאלבהhiya ṭāliba

    she is a student

    היא תלמידה هِي تَالْمِيدَاhi talmida

  • أَنْتَ مِن حَيْفَا؟
    אנת מן חיפא?anta min Ḥayfā?

    are you (m.) from Haifa?

    אתה מחיפה? أَتَا مِخِيفَا؟ata mekheifa?

    مِن is Hebrew מִן — the same preposition, letter for letter.

  • هُوَ وَلَد وَهِيَ بِنْت
    הו ולד והי בנתhuwa walad wa-hiya bint

    he is a boy and she is a girl

    הוא ילד והיא ילדה هُو يِلِد ڤِهِي يَالْدَاhu yeled vehi yalda

    وَ (wa-) is Hebrew's וְ־, prefixed the same way.

How the street says it (Levantine)

Levantine pronouns worth recognizing

  • إِحْنَا
    אחנאiḥna

    we (Levantine)

    אנחנו أَنَاخْنُوanakhnu

    Spoken Arabic dropped the first syllable of naḥnu and grew an i- — landing startlingly close to אֲנַחְנוּ.

  • إِنْتُو
    אנתוintu

    you (pl., Levantine)

    אתם أَتِمatem

    One plural "you" for everyone — spoken Arabic merged the genders, like everyday Hebrew uses אתם.

  • هُمِّه
    המהhumme

    they (Levantine)

    הם هِمhem