Now you can point. هَذَا and هَذِهِ (“this”) and ذَلِكَ and تِلْكَ (“that”) let you name anything around you, and — like every word you've met so far — they combine directly with a noun to make a full sentence, no verb required.
Every Arabic passage has a small circle button — click it to hear it read aloud using your browser's own Arabic voice.
BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO
Use هَذَا (this, m.) and هَذِهِ (this, f.) correctly with any noun
Use ذَلِكَ and تِلْكَ (that) for something farther away
Ask and answer “what is this?”
Read the opening of Sūrat al-Baqarah, built on a demonstrative
TEACHER NOTES
Pacing: 40–50 min
Prerequisite check: Comfort with هو/هي from Chapter Two helps but isn't required.
Watch out for: Near/far (هذا vs ذلك) is often taught together — keep the drill grounded in real objects, not the page.
01 — LISTEN & REPEAT
حِوَارٌDialogue
Yūsuf points to objects around him and asks Maryam what they are.
YŪSUF
مَا هَذَا؟
mā hādhā?
What is this?
MARYAM
هَذَا قَلَمٌ.
hādhā qalam.
This is a pen.
YŪSUF
وَمَا هَذِهِ؟
wa mā hādhihi?
And what is this?
MARYAM
هَذِهِ سَاعَةٌ.
hādhihi sā‘ah.
This is a watch.
YŪSUF
وَذَلِكَ الْبِنَاءُ، مَا هُوَ؟
wa dhālika-l-binā’u, mā huwa?
And that building, what is it?
MARYAM
ذَلِكَ الْمَسْجِدُ. هُوَ بَيْتُ اللَّهِ.
dhālika-l-masjid. huwa baytu-llāh.
That is the mosque. It's the house of Allah.
02 — CORE WORDS
الْمُفْرَدَاتُVocabulary
هَذَا/هَذِهِ point at something near; ذَلِكَ/تِلْكَ point at something farther away.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
NEWهَذَا
hādhā
this (m.)
—
NEWهَذِهِ
hādhihi
this (f.)
—
NEWذَلِكَ
dhālika
that (m.)
—
NEWتِلْكَ
tilka
that (f.)
—
NEWقَلَمٌ
qalam
a pen
—
NEWكِتَابٌ
kitāb
a book
Root ك-ت-ب — كِتَابُ اللَّهِ, ‘the Book of Allah,’ is a name for the Qur'ān.
NEWبَيْتٌ
bayt
a house
Root ب-ي-ت — بَيْتُ اللَّهِ, ‘the House of Allah.’
NEWمَسْجِدٌ
masjid
a mosque
—
Also in this chapter's dialogue and reading.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
EARLYكِتَابٌ
kitāb
book
One of the most useful nouns in the whole course — worth fixing now.
EARLYحَدِيقَةٌ
ḥadīqah
garden
—
EARLYحَقِيبَةٌ
ḥaqībah
bag
—
EARLYسَاعَةٌ
sā‘ah
hour, clock, watch
—
EARLYيَوْمٌ / الْوَقْتُ
yawm / al-waqt
a day / the time
—
EARLYإِلَى
ilā
to, toward
—
EARLYكَثِيرٌ
kathīr
much, many
—
EARLYمِثْلَ
mithla
like, such as
—
EARLYهَدِيَّةٌ
hadiyyah
a gift
—
EARLYاُنْظُرْ / اُنْظُرِي
unẓur / unẓurī
look! (m./f.)
Useful classroom command.
03 — HOW THE LANGUAGE WORKS
رُكْنُ الْقَوَاعِدِGrammar Corner
Demonstratives agree in gender. Like the pronouns from Chapter Two, هَذَا/هَذِهِ act as the mubtada’ of a nominal sentence — and they must match the gender of the noun they point to.
هَذَا كِتَابٌ
hādhā kitāb This is a book. (m.)
هَذِهِ سَاعَةٌ
hādhihi sā‘ah This is a watch. (f.)
Watch what happens when ال is added: هَذَا الْكِتَابُ no longer means “this is a book” — it means “this book,” a description rather than a full sentence, because both parts are now definite. You'll use this distinction constantly.
Quick check: would you say هَذَا or هَذِهِ before سَاعَةٌ (watch, feminine)? (هَذِهِ.)
04 — READING THE SOURCE
وَقْفَةٌ قُرْآنِيَّةٌQur'ān Connection
The Qur'ān's second verse opens with exactly the word you just learned for “that.”
SŪRAT AL-BAQARAH — 2:2
ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ
That is the Book about which there is no doubt.
ذَٰلِكَ
dhālika
that
الْكِتَابُ
al-kitāb
the Book
لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ
lā rayba fīhi
no doubt in it
ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ is a complete nominal sentence — ذَلِكَ is the mubtada’, الْكِتَابُ its khabar: “That [is] the Book.” Many commentators note the verse speaks of the Qur'ān as something already known and awaited, even in its opening lines.
05 — SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE
عِبَارَاتٌ يَوْمِيَّةٌEveryday Phrases
Everyday phrases using “this” and “that.”
مِثْلُ هَذَا
mithlu hādhā — like this
هَذَا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ
hādhā kullu shay’ — that's everything
فِي هَذِهِ الْأَيَّامِ
fī hādhihi-l-ayyām — these days
مَا هَذَا؟
mā hādhā? — what is this?
مَنْ ذَلِكَ؟
man dhālika? — who is that?
إِلَى هَذَا الْحَدِّ
ilā hādhā-l-ḥadd — to this extent
فِي ذَلِكَ الْوَقْتِ
fī dhālika-l-waqt — at that time
بِهَذِهِ الْمُنَاسَبَةِ
bi-hādhihi-l-munāsabah — on this occasion
SKILLS PRACTICE
الِاسْتِمَاعُListening
Audio track 3.1
Aḥmad shows Salmā his new backpack. Listen first, script second.
AḨMAD
انْظُرِي! هَذِهِ حَقِيبَتِي الْجَدِيدَةُ.
SALMĀ
جَمِيلَةٌ! وَمَا هَذَا بِدَاخِلِهَا؟
AḨMAD
هَذَا كِتَابِي، وَهَذِهِ أَقْلَامِي.
SALMĀ
وَذَلِكَ الشَّيْءُ، مَا هُوَ؟
What is Aḥmad showing Salmā?
What two things does he say are inside it?
What does Salmā ask about at the end?
Reveal answers
1. His new backpack. 2. His book and his pens. 3. That thing (over there) — asking what it is.
SKILLS PRACTICE
التَّحَدُّثُSpeaking
Pair work
Partner drill. Point at three nearby objects and three farther-away objects, asking “مَا هَذَا/هَذِهِ؟” for the near ones and “مَا ذَلِكَ/تِلْكَ؟” for the far ones.
Recycling round. Use actual classroom objects for this — a كِتَاب or حَقِيبَة from the supplementary list above works well, so the new demonstratives attach to real vocabulary rather than abstract objects.
Letters
Word 1
Word 2
Tip
هَذَا vs هَذِهِ
هَذَا كِتَابٌ
هَذِهِ سَاعَةٌ
The only difference is the final sound — listen for gender agreement.
1. False — it's the mosque. 2. True. 3. False — it's a gift from his friend.
SKILLS PRACTICE
قِرَاءَةٌ حُرَّةٌFree Reading
Hover to check — no test, just read
A short passage using only words you've met so far. Just read for meaning — hover any word if you get stuck. Flip the switch to check whole sentences instead of single words.