Mastering Arabic Possessive Pronouns: Attached Suffixes

Attached Pronouns: Possession (الإِضَافَة)

Adding Suffixes to Express Ownership

To say something belongs to you or someone else in Arabic, you simply attach a small suffix to the end of the noun. Note that when you add a possessive suffix, the noun automatically becomes definite, so you do not use "Al-" at the beginning.

Complete Possessive Suffixes

Let's use the word Kitāb (كِتَاب) meaning "Book" as our example:

English Meaning	Suffix	Arabic Word (Kitāb)	Transliteration
Singular (1 Person)
My	ـِي	كِتَابِي	Kitāb-ī
Your (Masc.)	ـُكَ	كِتَابُكَ	Kitābu-ka
Your (Fem.)	ـُكِ	كِتَابُكِ	Kitābu-ki
His	ـُهُ	كِتَابُهُ	Kitābu-hu
Her	ـُهَا	كِتَابُهَا	Kitābu-hā
Dual (2 People)
Your (Dual)	ـُكُمَا	كِتَابُكُمَا	Kitābu-kumā
Their (Dual)	ـُهُمَا	كِتَابُهُمَا	Kitābu-humā
Plural (3+ People)
Our	ـُنَا	كِتَابُنَا	Kitābu-nā
Your (M. Plural)	ـُكُمْ	كِتَابُكُمْ	Kitābu-kum
Your (F. Plural)	ـُكُنَّ	كِتَابُكُنَّ	Kitābu-kunna
Their (M. Plural)	ـُهُمْ	كِتَابُهُمْ	Kitābu-hum
Their (F. Plural)	ـُهُنَّ	كِتَابُهُنَّ	Kitābu-hunna

The Ta Marbuta (ة) Rule

If a feminine noun ends in Ta Marbuta (ة), it must change into a regular T (ت) before you attach the suffix.

Example: Sayyāratun (سَيَّارَة) car → Sayyāratī (سَيَّارَتِي) my car.

Practice: Use the word Ismun (اِسْمٌ) meaning "Name" to say "Your name" (masculine). It should be Ismuka (اِسْمُكَ).