To say “my book,” Arabic doesn't add a separate word — it attaches a single letter or two straight onto the noun. This chapter gives you the full set of these possessive suffixes, turning كِتَابٌ (a book) into كِتَابِي (my book), كِتَابُكَ (your book), and كِتَابُهُ (his book).
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
Attach the possessive suffixes ي، كَ، كِ، هُ، هَا to any noun
Say and recognise family members and belongings as ‘mine/yours/his/hers’
Recognise the pronoun هُوَ used for emphasis between two definite nouns
Read the opening of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, built almost entirely on possession
TEACHER NOTES
Pacing: 40–50 min
Prerequisite check: Pronouns and nouns from Phase 1.
Watch out for: This is the first “my/your/his” chapter — the recycling drill deliberately pulls nouns from three earlier chapters to test retention.
01 — LISTEN & REPEAT
حِوَارٌDialogue
Yūsuf and Maryam talk about their families. Listen twice, then read aloud.
na‘am, hādhā baytī. wa hādhā abī, wa hādhihi ummī.
Yes, this is my house. And this is my father, and this is my mother.
YŪSUF
وَذَلِكَ الرَّجُلُ، مَنْ هُوَ؟
wa dhālika-r-rajul, man huwa?
And that man, who is he?
MARYAM
ذَلِكَ جَدِّي. أَبُوهُ رَبَّى أَبِي.
dhālika jaddī. abūhu rabbā abī.
That is my grandfather.
YŪSUF
اللَّهُ رَبِّي وَرَبُّكِ.
Allāhu rabbī wa rabbuki.
Allah is my Lord and your Lord.
MARYAM
صَدَقْتَ. هُوَ رَبُّنَا جَمِيعًا.
ṣadaqt. huwa rabbunā jamī‘an.
You're right. He is the Lord of all of us.
02 — CORE WORDS
الْمُفْرَدَاتُVocabulary
Attach each suffix directly to a noun, dropping its tanwīn.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
NEW‑ِي
‑ī
my
كِتَابِي — my book.
NEW‑ُكَ/‑ُكِ
‑uka / ‑uki
your (m./f.)
كِتَابُكَ / كِتَابُكِ.
NEW‑ُهُ
‑uhu
his, its
كِتَابُهُ.
NEW‑ُهَا
‑uhā
her, its
كِتَابُهَا.
NEW‑ُنَا
‑unā
our
كِتَابُنَا.
NEWأَبٌ/أُمٌّ
ab / umm
father / mother
أَبِي، أُمِّي.
NEWجَدٌّ
jadd
grandfather
—
NEWرَبٌّ
rabb
Lord
رَبِّي — one of the most repeated words in the Qur'ān.
Also in this chapter's dialogue and reading.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
EARLYصَدَقْتَ
ṣadaqta
you're right! (lit. "you spoke truly")
A genuinely useful conversational phrase, worth teaching as a fixed expression.
EARLYوَطَنٌ
waṭan
homeland
—
EARLYبِإِذْنِ
bi-idhni
with the permission of
—
03 — HOW THE LANGUAGE WORKS
رُكْنُ الْقَوَاعِدِGrammar Corner
Possessive suffixes attach directly to nouns. Drop the tanwīn and add the appropriate suffix.
كِتَابٌ → كِتَابِي
kitāb → kitābī a book → my book
رَبٌّ → رَبُّكَ
rabb → rabbuka a lord → your Lord
بَيْتٌ → بَيْتُهَا
bayt → baytuhā a house → her house
The pronoun of separation. When both halves of a nominal sentence are definite, Arabic often inserts هُوَ between them for clarity and emphasis.
اللَّهُ هُوَ الْحَقُّ
Allāhu huwa-l-ḥaqq Allah, He is the Truth.
Quick check: how would you say “your (f.) house,” starting from بَيْتٌ? (بَيْتُكِ.)
04 — READING THE SOURCE
وَقْفَةٌ قُرْآنِيَّةٌQur'ān Connection
The opening sūrah of the Qur'ān, and its second verse leans entirely on possession and description.
SŪRAT AL-FĀTIḤAH — 1:2
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ
al-ḥamdu lillāh
praise be to Allah
رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
rabbi-l-‘ālamīn
Lord of all the worlds
رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (‘Lord of the worlds’) is a description of اللَّهِ using the same possessive-chain logic you're learning here — you'll formalise this exact pattern, called iḍāfah, in the very next chapter.
05 — SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE
عِبَارَاتٌ يَوْمِيَّةٌEveryday Phrases
Everyday phrases built on possession.
بِإِذْنِ رَبِّي
bi-idhni rabbī — with my Lord's permission
يَا رَبِّ
yā rabbi — O my Lord
فِي بَيْتِنَا
fī baytinā — in our house
مَعَ أَبِيكَ وَأُمِّكَ
ma‘a abīka wa ummik — with your father and mother
صَدِيقُهُ الْعَزِيزُ
ṣadīquhu-l-‘azīz — his dear friend
أُخْتُهَا الْكَبِيرَةُ
ukhtuhā-l-kabīrah — her older sister
جَارُنَا الطَّيِّبُ
jārunā-ṭayyib — our kind neighbour
وَطَنُنَا
waṭanunā — our homeland
SKILLS PRACTICE
الِاسْتِمَاعُListening
Audio track 9.1
Aḥmad introduces his family to Salmā. Listen first, script second.
AḨMAD
هَذَا أَبِي، وَهَذِهِ أُمِّي.
SALMĀ
وَمَنْ ذَلِكَ الرَّجُلُ؟
AḨMAD
ذَلِكَ جَدِّي، أَبُو أَبِي.
SALMĀ
مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ! أُسْرَتُكَ جَمِيلَةٌ.
Who does Aḥmad introduce first?
Who is the man he introduces next?
What does Salmā say about his family?
Reveal answers
1. His father and mother. 2. His grandfather (his father's father). 3. That it's a beautiful family.
SKILLS PRACTICE
التَّحَدُّثُSpeaking
Pair work
Partner drill. Point to (or name) three people and say “هَذَا/هَذِهِ ___ي” (‘this is my ___’), using a new noun each time.
Recycling round. Draw the three nouns from family (Chapter Seven), objects (Chapter Four), and places (Chapter Three) rather than one category, so the "my ___" pattern gets exercised across the vocabulary students actually have.
1. False — the passage says it is small. 2. True. 3. False — the passage doesn't say this; they're together.
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.