الذين / اللواتي

Relative Words for Plurals

Level 3

Arabic uses specific relative pronouns for plural groups of people. الذين (alladhīna) is used for masculine or mixed-gender groups, while اللواتي (allawātī) is used for feminine groups.

How It Works

In Modern Standard Arabic, relative pronouns (Asmā’ al-Mawṣūla) act as bridges between a definite noun and a clause that describes it.

1. Gender Distinctions:

  • الذين (alladhīna): Used for a group of men or a mixed group of men and women. It is the most common plural relative pronoun.
  • اللواتي (allawātī): Used exclusively for groups of women. Note that اللاتي and اللائي are equally standard and common synonyms found in literature and formal speech.

2. The Definiteness Rule:
A relative pronoun is used whenever the noun it describes is definite. This includes nouns with الـ, proper names (like names of cities or people), and nouns made definite through possession. For example: 'My friends whom I love' (أصدقائي الذين أحبهم). If the noun is indefinite, the relative pronoun is omitted entirely.

3. The Human vs. Non-Human Rule:
These plural pronouns are reserved for rational beings (humans). For plural objects or animals, Arabic uses the feminine singular pronoun التي due to the rule of non-human plural agreement.

4. The Returning Pronoun (Al-‘Ā’id):
Arabic requires a resumptive pronoun to 'return' to the noun if the relative pronoun is not the subject of the following clause. This occurs when the relative pronoun is the object of a verb (e.g., 'the students whom I saw them' - الطلاب الذين رأيتُهم) or the object of a preposition (e.g., 'the students whom I played with them' - الطلاب الذين لعبتُ معهم).

Examples (4)

  1. الطلاب الذين درسوا نجحوا.

    The students who studied passed.

    Word by Word: The-students who they-studied they-passed.

    Here, الذين is used because 'students' (الطلاب) is a masculine plural human noun.

  2. شكرتُ المعلمات اللواتي علّمنني.

    I thanked the teachers (f.) who taught me.

    Word by Word: I-thanked the-teachers(f.) who(f.pl.) they(f.)-taught-me.

    اللواتي is used to match the feminine plural human noun 'teachers' (المعلمات).

  3. هؤلاء هم المهندسون الذين بنوا البيت.

    These are the engineers who built the house.

    Word by Word: These they the-engineers who they-built the-house.

    الذين connects the definite noun 'the engineers' to the action they performed.

  4. رأيتُ النساء اللواتي يعملن في المستشفى.

    I saw the women who work in the hospital.

    Word by Word: I-saw the-women who(f.pl.) they(f.)-work in the-hospital.

    اللواتي is used for a group of women; the following verb also takes the feminine plural suffix.

Common Mistakes

  • Using الذين for non-human objects.

    الكتب الذين قرأتها مفيدة.
    الكتب التي قرأتها مفيدة.

    Non-human plurals like 'books' (الكتب) are treated as feminine singular in Arabic and must use التي, not الذين.

  • Confusing the plural الذين with the dual اللذين.

    الطالبان الذين نجحا...
    الطالبان اللذان نجحا...

    الذين (one 'lām') is for plural (3+). For two people (dual), you must use اللذان or اللذين (two 'lāms').

  • Using a relative pronoun for an indefinite noun.

    قابلتُ طلاباً الذين يدرسون العربية.
    قابلتُ طلاباً يدرسون العربية.

    If the noun is indefinite (طلاباً), no relative pronoun is used. The clause follows the noun directly.

How It Connects

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الذين / اللواتيLevel 3Relative Words for Plurals

Learn This First

To use plural relative pronouns correctly, you must first understand the basic function of relative words (who/which) in the singular. Additionally, you need a firm grasp of Arabic gender and number systems, as these pronouns must agree with the noun they describe in both gender (masculine vs. feminine) and number (plural).