English has no masculine and feminine words, so this feels strange to UK children. Three rules cover most of what they need.
Rule 1: the ة ending
Most words ending in ة are feminine: مَدْرَسَة (school), سَيَّارَة (car), غُرْفَة (room).
Rule 2: describing words match
| Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|
| وَلَد كَبِير (a big boy) | بِنْت كَبِيرَة (a big girl) |
| بَيْت جَمِيل (a beautiful house) | مَدْرَسَة جَمِيلَة (a beautiful school) |
| هُوَ سَعِيد (he is happy) | هِيَ سَعِيدَة (she is happy) |
Rule 3: “you” and “he/she”
- أَنْتَ (anta): you, to a boy. أَنْتِ (anti): you, to a girl.
- هُوَ (huwa): he. هِيَ (hiya): she.
Practice games
- Describe the family: “أَبِي طَوِيل, أُمِّي طَوِيلَة.”
- Sort the cards: pictures of objects; your child sorts them into “ة” and “no ة” piles.
- Talk to a sibling: use أَنْتَ or أَنْتِ correctly.
A few exceptions
Some words are feminine without ة, such as شَمْس (sun) and أُمّ (mother). Teach these one at a time, as they come up.
Teacher’s tip: don’t correct every gender mistake in conversation. Fix one pattern a week; children who are corrected constantly stop speaking.
Related: What is ta marbuta?
