ذلك / تلك

That (Far Things)

Level 1

ذلك (dhālika) and تلك (tilka) are the Modern Standard Arabic equivalents of the English word 'that'. They are used for distant objects or people.

How It Works

In Modern Standard Arabic, demonstrative pronouns change based on the gender, number, and distance of the object. While هذا and هذه are used for things nearby, ذلك, تلك, and أولئك are used for things at a distance ('that' or 'those').

1. Singular Agreement:

  • ذلك (dhālika): Used for masculine singular nouns. Example: ذلك الرجل (That man).
  • تلك (tilka): Used for feminine singular nouns. Example: تلك البنت (That girl).

2. Plural Agreement:

  • أولئك (ulā'ika): Used for human plurals, regardless of gender. Example: أولئك الناس (Those people).
  • تلك (tilka): Used for non-human plurals. Example: تلك الكتب (Those books).

3. Sentence Structure:

  • If the noun following the demonstrative has the definite article (al-), it forms a phrase: ذلك الكتاب (That book).
  • If the noun is indefinite, it forms a complete sentence: ذلك كتاب (That is a book).

4. Spelling Note:
ذلك and أولئك are pronounced with a long 'a' sound that is not written as an alif. Writing them as 'ذالك' or 'أولائك' are common spelling errors.

Examples (6)

  1. ذلك بيت بعيد.

    That is a far house.

    Word by Word: That house far.

    Here, ذلك is used because 'house' (بيت) is a masculine singular noun.

  2. تلك السيارة سريعة.

    That car is fast.

    Word by Word: That the-car fast.

    تلك is used because 'car' (سيارة) is a feminine singular noun.

  3. تلك نجوم في السماء.

    Those are stars in the sky.

    Word by Word: That stars in the sky.

    Even though 'stars' is plural, تلك is used because stars are non-human objects.

  4. أولئك معلمون مجتهدون.

    Those are hardworking teachers.

    Word by Word: Those teachers hardworking.

    أولئك is used here because it refers to a group of humans (teachers).

  5. ذلك الرجل أستاذي.

    That man is my professor.

    Word by Word: That the-man professor-my.

    ذلك points to a masculine person at a distance.

  6. أولئك طالبات في الجامعة.

    Those are female students at the university.

    Word by Word: Those students in the-university.

    أولئك is used for both masculine and feminine human plurals.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing the hidden alif in 'dhālika'.

    ذالك الكتاب قديم.
    ذلك الكتاب قديم.

    Although pronounced with a long 'a', the alif in 'dhālika' is not written in standard orthography.

  • Using the human plural 'ulā'ika' for objects.

    أولئك الكتب مفيدة.
    تلك الكتب مفيدة.

    In Arabic, non-human plurals (like books) usually take the feminine singular demonstrative 'tilka' instead of the plural form.

  • Choosing 'this' for something far away.

    Different Meaningهذا الجبل بعيد جداً.
    ذلك الجبل بعيد جداً.

    هذا الجبل بعيد جداً is a fine sentence: 'this' can point at something you are talking about, even if it is far. ذلك الجبل marks the mountain as distant from the speaker, so use it when the distance is the point.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ذلك / تلكLevel 1That (Far Things)

Learn This First

To learn the demonstrative pronouns for distant objects (ذلك and تلك), you first need to understand the concept of grammatical gender in Arabic. It is also helpful to be familiar with the near demonstratives (هذا and هذه) as they follow a similar logic, and to understand how these words function as subjects within a basic nominal sentence.

Words in This Pattern

ذلك