Arabic Personal Pronouns (Separate)

Level: Beginner. Separate pronouns are the standalone words for “I”, “you”, “he”, “she” and so on — the ones you use to point at yourself or someone else and build your first sentences. Arabic has more of them than English, because it marks gender and adds a special dual for exactly two.

The rule

A pronoun is a short word that stands in for a noun: instead of naming the person, you say “I”, “you” or “she”. The separate (منفصلة, munfaṣila) pronouns are full words that stand on their own, unlike the endings you attach to other words (those are a later topic).

Arabic sorts them by three things:

• Person — the speaker (I/we), the one spoken to (you), or the one spoken about (he/she/they).
• Gender — most forms have a masculine and a feminine version.
• Number — singular (one), dual (exactly two), and plural (three or more).

Because the pronoun already shows the person, you do not add a verb “to be” in the present: أنا طالب (anā ṭālib) means “I am a student”, with no separate word for “am”.

The separate pronouns

Gender, dual and number

Three points surprise English speakers:

• “You” is not one word. You choose by who you address: أنتَ (anta) to one man, أنتِ (anti) to one woman, أنتم (antum) to a group, أنتنّ (antunna) to a group of women.
• The dual is for exactly two. أنتما (antumā, you two) and هما (humā, they two) cover two people of any gender; for three or more you move to the plural.
• “They” splits by gender. هم (hum) is for men or a mixed group; هنّ (hunna) is only for women.

Example sentences

1. أَنَا طَالِبٌ.
   anā ṭālibun.
   I am a student.
   no word for 'am'
2. نَحْنُ أَصْدِقَاءٌ.
   naḥnu aṣdiqāʾu.
   We are friends.
3. أَنْتَ مُعَلِّمٌ.
   anta muʿallimun.
   You are a teacher.
   to a man
4. أَنْتِ مُعَلِّمَةٌ.
   anti muʿallimatun.
   You are a teacher.
   to a woman
5. هُوَ طَبِيبٌ.
   huwa ṭabībun.
   He is a doctor.
6. هِيَ طَبِيبَةٌ.
   hiya ṭabībatun.
   She is a doctor.
7. هُمَا أَخَوَانِ.
   humā akhawāni.
   They (two) are brothers.
   dual
8. أَنْتُمَا صَدِيقَانِ.
   antumā ṣadīqāni.
   You two are friends.
   dual
9. هُمْ طُلَّابٌ.
   hum ṭullābun.
   They are students.
   men / mixed
10. هُنَّ طَالِبَاتٌ.
    hunna ṭālibātun.
    They are students.
    women only
11. أَنْتُمْ عُمَّالٌ.
    antum ʿummālun.
    You are workers.
    to a group
12. أَنَا مِنْ مِصْرَ.
    anā min Miṣra.
    I am from Egypt.
13. هُوَ فِي البَيْتِ.
    huwa fī l-bayti.
    He is in the house.
14. هِيَ جَمِيلَةٌ.
    hiya jamīlatun.
    She is beautiful.
15. نَحْنُ مِنْ لُبْنَانَ.
    naḥnu min Lubnāna.
    We are from Lebanon.
16. أَنْتِ ذَكِيَّةٌ.
    anti dhakiyyatun.
    You are clever.
    to a woman
17. هَلْ أَنْتَ مُدَرِّسٌ؟
    hal anta mudarrisun?
    Are you a teacher?
    to a man
18. هُمْ فِي المَدْرَسَةِ.
    hum fī l-madrasati.
    They are at the school.

Common mistakes

• ❌ أَنْتَ (anta) to a woman → ✅ أَنْتِ (anti). The “you” form must match the person’s gender: أنتَ (anta) for a man, أنتِ (anti) for a woman.
• ❌ هُمْ (hum) for a group of women → ✅ هُنَّ (hunna). “They” splits by gender, so women take هنّ (hunna).
• ❌ أَنَا أَكُونُ طَالِبًا (anā akūnu ṭāliban) → ✅ أَنَا طَالِبٌ (anā ṭālibun). The present needs no verb “to be”; the pronoun is enough.
• ❌ هُمْ (hum) for exactly two → ✅ هُمَا (humā). Two people take the dual, not the plural.

A short conversation

A: مَنْ أَنْتَ؟ (man anta?) — Who are you? (to a man) B: أَنَا سَامِي. وَأَنْتِ؟ (anā Sāmī. wa-anti?) — I am Sami. And you? (to a woman) A: أَنَا لَيْلَى. هَلْ هُمَا صَدِيقَاكَ؟ (anā Laylā. hal humā ṣadīqāka?) — I am Layla. Are those two your friends? B: نَعَمْ، هُمْ طُلَّابٌ مِثْلِي. (naʿam, hum ṭullābun mithlī.) — Yes, they are students like me.

Usage notes

• Pronouns add emphasis. Because the verb already shows the person, a separate pronoun with a verb is used for stress or contrast: أَنَا كَتَبْتُ (anā katabtu) means “I wrote it (not someone else)”. In a nominal sentence (pronoun + noun/adjective) the pronoun is required.
• نحن (naḥnu) is “we” for any number. From two speakers upward, “we” is نحن (naḥnu); there is no separate dual “we” in standard use.
• Short endings you may hear. In careful speech هو (huwa) and هي (hiya) keep their final vowel; in fast speech it can shorten. The spelling stays the same.
• Spoken dialects differ. Everyday Arabic often reduces the set (for example dropping some dual and feminine-plural forms). This lesson gives Modern Standard Arabic, which keeps all twelve.

Compared with…

• Attached pronouns are the suffixes that mean “my / your / his” and mark objects: ـي (ī), ـكَ (ka), ـهُ (hu), as in كِتَابِي (kitābī, my book). They do the possessive and object work that separate pronouns do not. See the next point in the Arabic grammar section.

Quick recap before you practise.

Practice

Practice

Arabic separate pronouns practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Which pronoun do you use to say 'you' to one woman?

أنتَ (anta) أنتِ (anti) أنتم (antum) هي (hiya)

Check

Show answer

أنتِ (anti) — أنتِ (anti) is 'you' addressed to a single woman.

2 How do you refer to exactly two people, 'they two'?

هم (hum) هنّ (hunna) هما (humā) هو (huwa)

Check

Show answer

هما (humā) — The dual هما (humā) is used for exactly two.

3 Complete 'I am a student', then say the pronoun: ____ طالبٌ (ṭālibun). Type the transliteration of the missing pronoun.

Check

Hint: the speaker, first person singular

Show answer

anā — أنا (anā) is 'I'; the present needs no verb 'to be'.

4 Put the words in order: 'She is a doctor.'

طبيبةٌ (ṭabībatun)هي (hiya)

CheckReset

Show answer

هي (hiya) طبيبةٌ (ṭabībatun) — Pronoun first, then the predicate: هي طبيبةٌ (hiya ṭabībatun).

5 Match each pronoun to its meaning.

• نحن (naḥnu) Match for نحن (naḥnu) — choose — they (men / mixed)they (women)weyou (to one man)
• هم (hum) Match for هم (hum) — choose — they (men / mixed)they (women)weyou (to one man)
• هنّ (hunna) Match for هنّ (hunna) — choose — they (men / mixed)they (women)weyou (to one man)
• أنتَ (anta) Match for أنتَ (anta) — choose — they (men / mixed)they (women)weyou (to one man)

Check

Show answer

• نحن (naḥnu) → we
• هم (hum) → they (men / mixed)
• هنّ (hunna) → they (women)
• أنتَ (anta) → you (to one man)

نحن (naḥnu) we; هم (hum) men/mixed; هنّ (hunna) women; أنتَ (anta) one man.

Quiz

Check yourself

Arabic personal pronouns quiz

12 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.

0/12 0 answered

1. 1Which word means 'I'?

   A نحن (naḥnu) B أنا (anā) C هو (huwa) D أنتَ (anta)
   Show answer

   أنا (anā) — أنا (anā) is the first-person singular, 'I'.

2. 2To say 'you' to one man, use…

   A أنتِ (anti) B أنتَ (anta) C أنتم (antum) D هم (hum)
   Show answer

   أنتَ (anta) — أنتَ (anta) addresses a single man.

3. 3هي (hiya) means…

   A he B she / it (feminine) C they D we
   Show answer

   she / it (feminine) — هي (hiya) is 'she', and also 'it' for a feminine noun.

4. 4Which pronoun is the dual, 'they two'?

   A هم (hum) B هنّ (hunna) C هما (humā) D هو (huwa)
   Show answer

   هما (humā) — هما (humā) is the dual, used for exactly two.

5. 5'They' for a group of women only is…

   A هم (hum) B هنّ (hunna) C هما (humā) D أنتنّ (antunna)
   Show answer

   هنّ (hunna) — هنّ (hunna) is 'they' for women; هم (hum) is men or mixed.

6. 6How do you say 'I am a student' in the present?

   A أنا أكون طالبًا (anā akūnu ṭāliban) B أنا طالبٌ (anā ṭālibun) C أنا كان طالبًا (anā kāna ṭāliban) D طالبٌ أنا يكون (ṭālibun anā yakūnu)
   Show answer

   أنا طالبٌ (anā ṭālibun) — No verb 'to be' in the present: أنا طالبٌ (anā ṭālibun).

7. 7A single book, الكِتَاب (al-kitāb), is referred to as…

   A هو (huwa) B هي (hiya) C هم (hum) D it has no pronoun
   Show answer

   هو (huwa) — الكِتَاب (al-kitāb) is masculine, so 'it' is هو (huwa).

8. 8Which is the correct form for 'we'?

   A أنتم (antum) B نحن (naḥnu) C هم (hum) D أنا (anā)
   Show answer

   نحن (naḥnu) — نحن (naḥnu) is 'we' for any number of speakers.

9. 9You address a whole group of men with…

   A أنتَ (anta) B أنتما (antumā) C أنتم (antum) D أنتنّ (antunna)
   Show answer

   أنتم (antum) — أنتم (antum) is 'you' for a group of men or a mixed group.

10. 10Which statement is TRUE?

    A 'You' is one word in Arabic B The dual is for exactly two C 'They' never shows gender D 'We' has a special dual form
    Show answer

    The dual is for exactly two — The dual forms هما (humā) and أنتما (antumā) are used for exactly two.

11. 11A plural of non-human things takes which pronoun?

    A هم (hum) B هنّ (hunna) C هي (hiya), feminine singular D هما (humā)
    Show answer

    هي (hiya), feminine singular — Plurals of things act as feminine singular, so they take هي (hiya).

12. 12Type the transliteration of the pronoun for 'he', as in ____ طبيبٌ (ṭabībun), 'he is a doctor'.
    Check
    Show answer

    huwa — هو (huwa) is 'he' (and 'it' for a masculine noun).

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

• Back to the Arabic grammar section
• New here? Start with Start Learning Arabic Here