This is the first in a series of basic Arabic lessons I wrote a few years ago. I thought it’s about time I freshened them up a little, made new printable sheets for them and shared them with you here.
These lessons are quite grammar focused and the explanations are suitable for school age students, but you can simplify the concept for younger children.
These words and these simple grammar structures are the key to start making simple sentences in Arabic.
Check the end of the post for some basic Arabic printable pages for children on this topic, and be sure to keep checking back as we will be adding more Arabic alphabet games, printables and work sheets to the site soon along with some basic vocabulary for kids.
In this lesson will we learn and practise how to form short sentences such as “this is a boy” and “that is a house”..
These are described grammatically as “equational sentences” and do not need any word for “is”.
This is… and That is…
To say “This is…” you take the word هذا and then simply add the name of the thing or person
To say “That is….” you take the word ذلك and then simply add the name of the thing or person
If the thing is feminine [eg Umm(mother) or Muslimah (female muslim)] then swap the word هذا for هذه
And ذلك for تلك (Differences with masculine and feminine words will be dealt with in its own lesson later)
This is summed up in the following table:
EXAMPLES
هذا ولد
(haadha walad) This is a boy
Although you just add the word for “this” and the word for “boy” it does not mean “this boy” it means “this IS a boy”.
هذا قلب
(haadha qalb) This is a heart
هذا محمّد
(haadha Mohammed) This is Mohammed
ذلك بيت
(dhaalika bayt) That is a house
ذلك مطبخ
(dhaalika matbakh) That is a kitchen
ذلك عليّ
(dhaalika Ali) That is Ali
هذه أمّ
(haadhihi umm) This is a mother
هذه ليلى
(haadhihi Layla) This is Layla
تلك مسلمة
(tilka muslima) That is a muslim lady
تلك عائشة
(tilka Aisha) That is Aisha
This boy is…
To expand on this, you may also want to say, for example “This boy is Rachid” rather than simply “This is Rachid”. So, how do make the change between “This is a boy.” and “This boy is…” ? Look at the examples below and spot the difference.
هذا ولد
Haadha walad.
This is a boy
هذا الولد
Haadha al walad…
This boy
As you can see, the difference is that “al” appeared. [As will learn and practise in the next lesson], “AL” is an Arabic “definate article” (ie it means “The”).
In English when we say “This boy” we know which boy is being talking about, it is a defininate boy – This boy, not just any boy. That is the logic behind the inclusion of “AL”
So, study the following examples :
هذا طالب
(haadha Taalib) This is a student
هذا الطالب مجتهد
(haadha aT Taalib mujtahid) This student is hard working
ذلك ولد
(dhaalika walad) That is a boy
ذلك الولد طالب
(dhaalika al walad Taalib) That boy is a student
هذه أمّ
(haadhihi Umm) This is a mother
هذه الأمّ مسلمة
(haadhihi al Umm muslima) This mother is muslim
تلك مسلمة
(tilka muslima) That is a muslim lady
تلك المسلمة عائشة
(tilka al muslima Aisha)
Asking what or who things are
The word for “what” in this context is ما .
Remember we are not using any word for “is” so simply put ما infront of haadha / dhaalika / haadhihi / tilka
The word for “who” in this context is من
Remember we are not using any word for “is” so simply put من
infront of haadha / dhaalika / haadhihi / tilka
Use ما when asking about non humans, and من
when asking about humans.
Examples
ما هذا؟ هذا قلم
(maa haadha? haadha qalam) what is this? this is a pen
من هذه؟ هذه نورة
(man haadhihi? haadhihi Noora) Who is this? This is Noora
ما ذلك؟ ذلك بيت
(maa dhaalika? dhaalika bayt) what is that? that is a house
ما تلك؟ تلك سيّارة
(maa tilka? tilka sayyaara) what is that? that is a car
من هذا؟ هذا يوسف
(man haadha? haadha yousef) who is this? This is Yousef
Is this a…?
To ask questions of the format “Is this a house?” we take the statement “this is a house” in arabic and add the word هلto the beginning.
هذا بيت
(haadha bayt) This is a house
هل هذا بيت؟
(hal haadha bayt?) Is this a house?
هذه الأمّ مسلمة
(haadhihi al umm muslima) This mother is muslim
هل هذه الأمّ مسلمة؟
(hal haadhihi al umm muslima?) Is this mother muslim?
To answer this question, we need the following words :
نعم = yes (na3am)
لا = no (laa)
Look at the following examples :
هل هذا بيت؟
(hal haadha bayt?) Is this a house?
لا, هذا مسجد
(laa, haadha masjid) No, this is a mosque
هل هذه الأمّ مسلمة؟
(hal haadhihi al umm muslima?) Is this mother muslim?
نعم, هذه الأمّ مسلمة
(na3am, haadhihi al umm muslima) Yes, this mother is muslim
Hadha and Hadhidhi Worksheets
Here are three simple worksheets for beginners on this topic.
Children can colour the pictures, and copy the Arabic phrase or Question. Two of the pages have a question and one is a statement. For the two question pages, encourage the children to write a simple answer sentence in Arabic in the line below.
This is an easy opportunity to practice Arabic handwriting with short sentences.
Is this a house? Arabic handwriting and colouring page
What is that? Car Arabic Handwriting and Coloring Page
That Boy is a Student Arabic Handwriting and Coloring Page
Download This and That Arabic Printables
Click the download button below the file preview for your free instant digital download of this 3 page PDF file.
The file includes three simple worksheets to help consolidate the meanings of the “this and that” words in Arabic.
We hope you found this Arabic lesson useful. Please feel free to share this blog post link with friends and family.
Let us know in the comments if you would like us to focus on a particular lesson and we will try to help.