ـة

The Feminine Ending ة

Level 1

The Tāʾ Marbūṭa (ة) is a special letter used to mark feminine gender in Arabic. It only appears at the end of nouns and adjectives and changes its pronunciation based on whether you pause or continue speaking.

How It Works

The Tāʾ Marbūṭa (ة) is essential for understanding Grammatical Gender in Arabic. Here are its key characteristics:

  • Placement: It only ever appears at the end of a word. It cannot be used in the middle or at the start.
  • Gender Marking: Most masculine nouns and adjectives become feminine by adding this ending. For example, طالِب (student, m.) becomes طالِبة (student, f.).
  • Pronunciation: This is the most unique part. In a state of waqf (وَقْف - pause), it sounds like a soft 'h' or is silent (e.g., madrasa). However, in a state of waṣl (وَصْل - connection) to the next word or when adding a case ending, it is pronounced as a clear 't' (e.g., madrasatun).
  • Writing: It usually follows the short vowel 'a' (fatha), but it can also follow a long vowel Alif, as in حياة (life) or صلاة (prayer). If you add a possessive suffix like 'my', the 'tied' T 'unties' and becomes a regular Tāʾ Maftūḥa (ت). For example: سَيّارة (car) → سَيّارَتي (my car).
  • Intensive Function: Beyond gender, it can be added to certain adjectives to indicate intensity or exaggeration, such as علّامة (a very learned person) or نسّابة (a great genealogist).
  • Masculine Plurals: Interestingly, the ة also appears at the end of certain masculine Plurals That Reshape the Word, such as أساتذة (professors) or قضاة (judges).
  • Exceptions: While usually feminine, some masculine names like حَمزة (Hamza) or أُسامة (Osama) end in ة. These are grammatically feminine in form but refer to males.

Examples (4)

  1. مُدَرِّسَة جَدِيدَة

    A new (female) teacher

    Word by Word: teacher (f.) new (f.)

    Both the noun and the adjective use the Tāʾ Marbūṭa to show they are feminine.

  2. هَذِهِ سَيّارَةُ المُدِيرِ

    This is the director's car.

    Word by Word: This (f.) car (of) the director

    In this possessive phrase (Idafa), the ة in 'sayyāra' is pronounced as a 't' because it connects to the next word.

  3. تُفّاحَة واحِدَة

    One apple

    Word by Word: apple (unit) one (f.)

    The ة is used here as a 'singulative' marker to turn the collective 'apples' into a single unit.

  4. مَدْرَسَتي كَبِيرَة

    My school is big.

    Word by Word: school-my big (f.)

    Notice how the ة in 'madrasa' changes to a regular ت when the suffix 'my' is attached.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the two dots when writing.

    مدرسه
    مدرسة

    Without the dots, the letter is a Hāʾ (ه), which often functions as the pronoun 'his'. Writing 'madrasah' without dots could be misread as 'his teacher' (mudarrisahu) instead of 'school'.

  • Using Tāʾ Marbūṭa on verbs.

    ذَهَبَة
    ذَهَبَتْ

    The Tāʾ Marbūṭa is strictly for nouns and adjectives. Feminine verbs must use the 'open' Tāʾ (ت).

How It Connects

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

ـةLevel 1The Feminine Ending ة

Learn This First

To understand the feminine ending (Ta Marbuta), a learner must first be familiar with the Arabic script and the fundamental concept that Arabic nouns and adjectives are categorized by gender.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

And 4 more in the full list.

Words in This Pattern

ة