For autodidact students of Arabic, the pronoun هِيَ (hiya) — "she" — opens a window onto one of Arabic's most pervasive grammatical features: grammatical gender. Every noun in Arabic is either masculine or feminine, and هِيَ is the pronoun for all feminine nouns, not just people. The sun (الشَّمْسُ), the city (المَدِينَةُ), the soul (الرُّوحُ) — all are grammatically هِيَ.
Arabic is a pro-drop language: the subject pronoun is usually omitted because the verb ending already encodes person, gender, and number. هِيَ is used when the speaker wants to emphasise, clarify, or contrast. When it appears, it carries weight. Understanding when Arabic uses and drops هِيَ is one of the key steps from beginner to intermediate reading.
Link to course index: https://latinum.substack.com/p/index
FAQ: What does هِيَ (hiya) mean in Arabic? هِيَ is the independent third-person feminine singular pronoun, meaning "she" for people and "it" for grammatically feminine nouns. It is used as a subject pronoun for emphasis, contrast, or clarification when the context would otherwise be ambiguous. The attached (suffix) form of the same pronoun is ـهَا (-hā), used for direct objects and possessives: رَأَيْتُهَا (I saw her), كِتَابُهَا (her book).
In the following 15 examples you will encounter هِيَ across a range of contexts: descriptions of people, inanimate feminine nouns, emphasis and contrast, and equational sentences. The duplex interlinear format gives direct script-to-meaning access on line (a) and phonetic support on line (b).
Educational Note: This material is designed for English speakers learning Arabic script and grammar through the Latinum Institute's proven interlinear method.
Key Takeaways: - هِيَ (hiya) is the independent 3rd person feminine singular pronoun — "she" for people, "it" for feminine nouns - Arabic assigns grammatical gender to all nouns; هِيَ covers all feminine nouns, animate and inanimate - Arabic is pro-drop: هِيَ is often omitted because the verb form already shows feminine subject - The attached/suffix form is ـهَا (-hā): رَأَيْتُهَا (I saw her), كِتَابُهَا (her book) - هِيَ is used for emphasis, contrast (هِيَ, not he), and in equational sentences without a verb
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
Arabic is written right-to-left. The two-letter word هِيَ is one of the shortest and most frequent words in the language. In unvocalised text (without diacritics), it appears as هي — learners must learn to read both the fully vocalised form and the bare consonantal form.
The two letters: هـ (hāʾ) is a voiceless glottal fricative, similar to English h but produced with less friction. ي (yāʾ) is a palatal approximant like English y. Together they form هِيَ: h + short i + y + short a.
Grammatical gender in Arabic: Most feminine nouns end in ـَةٌ (tāʾ marbūṭa), the "tied t" — a letter that looks like ة and is pronounced -a(tun) when followed by a vowel, or silent -a when in pause. However, many feminine nouns have no feminine marker and must be memorised: شَمْس (sun), أَرْض (earth), يَد (hand), نَفْس (soul), حَرْب (war). These are all grammatically هِيَ.
Transliteration: hiya. The short i under هـ and the short a on ي are both pronounced.
Common learner mistakes: - Using هُوَ (huwa, he/it-masc.) for grammatically feminine nouns — every Arabic noun has fixed gender - Confusing هِيَ (hiya, she) with هُيَ (not a word) — only هِيَ and هُوَ exist as 3rd sg. independent pronouns - Forgetting that Arabic verbs agree with their subjects in gender: she says = تَقُولُ (not يَقُولُ) - Omitting هِيَ when emphasis is intended — its presence is meaningful
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
34.1a هِيَ she طَالِبَةٌ student [FEM] مُجْتَهِدَةٌ hardworking [FEM]
34.1b (hiya) she (ṭālibatun) student [FEM] (mujtahidatun) hardworking [FEM]
34.2a هِيَ she تَسْكُنُ lives فِي in القَاهِرَةِ Cairo-GEN
34.2b (hiya) she (taskunu) lives (fī) in (al-Qāhirati) Cairo-GEN
34.3a مَنْ who هِيَ she [PRED] ؟
34.3b (man) who (hiya) she [PRED] ?
34.4a هِيَ she الَّتِي who/that [FEM-REL] أَخْبَرَتْنِي told-me
34.4b (hiya) she (allatī) who/that [FEM-REL] (akhbaratnī) told-me
34.5a كَانَتْ was [FEM] هِيَ she المُدَرِّسَةَ the-teacher [FEM]-ACC الأُولَى the-first [FEM]-ACC
34.5b (kānat) was [FEM] (hiya) she (al-mudarrisata) the-teacher [FEM]-ACC (al-ūlā) the-first [FEM]-ACC
34.6a الشَّمْسُ the-sun هِيَ it [FEM] نَجْمٌ star كَبِيرٌ large
34.6b (ash-shamsu) the-sun (hiya) it [FEM] (najmun) star (kabīrun) large
34.7a هِيَ she أَذْكَى smarter مِنْهُ than-him بِكَثِيرٍ by-much-GEN
34.7b (hiya) she (adhkā) smarter (minhu) than-him (bi-kathīrin) by-much-GEN
34.8a هَلْ is هِيَ she فِي in البَيْتِ the-house-GEN الآنَ now ؟
34.8b (hal) is (hiya) she (fī) in (al-bayti) the-house-GEN (al-āna) now ?
34.9a هِيَ she لَا not تَعْرِفُ knows الجَوَابَ the-answer-ACC
34.9b (hiya) she (lā) not (taʿrifu) knows (al-jawāba) the-answer-ACC
34.10a قَالَتْ said [FEM] هِيَ she [EMPH] وَلَمْ and-not يَقُلْ said [JUSS] هُوَ he شَيْئًا anything-ACC
34.10b (qālat) said [FEM] (hiya) she [EMPH] (wa-lam) and-not (yaqul) said [JUSS] (huwa) he (shayʾan) anything-ACC
34.11a هَذِهِ this [FEM] المَدِينَةُ the-city هِيَ it [FEM] عَاصِمَةُ capital-NOM البِلَادِ the-country-GEN
34.11b (hādhihi) this [FEM] (al-madīnatu) the-city (hiya) it [FEM] (ʿāṣimatu) capital-NOM (al-bilādi) the-country-GEN
34.12a هِيَ she نَفْسُهَا herself لَمْ not [PAST-NEG] تُصَدِّقْ believed [JUSS] مَا what سَمِعَتْهُ she-heard-it
34.12b (hiya) she (nafsuhā) herself (lam) not [PAST-NEG] (tuṣaddiq) believed [JUSS] (mā) what (samiʿathu) she-heard-it
34.13a كَانَتْ was [FEM] هِيَ she [EMPH] السَّبَبَ the-reason-ACC
34.13b (kānat) was [FEM] (hiya) she [EMPH] (as-sababa) the-reason-ACC
34.14a هِيَ she تَقُولُ says الصَّوَابَ the-right-thing-ACC دَائِمًا always
34.14b (hiya) she (taqūlu) says (aṣ-ṣawāba) the-right-thing-ACC (dāʾiman) always
34.15a لَيْسَتْ is-not [FEM] هِيَ she الوَحِيدَةَ the-only-one [FEM]-ACC هُنَا here
34.15b (laysat) is-not [FEM] (hiya) she (al-waḥīdata) the-only-one [FEM]-ACC (hunā) here
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
34.1 هِيَ طَالِبَةٌ مُجْتَهِدَةٌ "She is a hardworking student."
34.2 هِيَ تَسْكُنُ فِي القَاهِرَةِ "She lives in Cairo."
34.3 مَنْ هِيَ؟ "Who is she?"
34.4 هِيَ الَّتِي أَخْبَرَتْنِي "She is the one who told me."
34.5 كَانَتْ هِيَ المُدَرِّسَةَ الأُولَى "She was the first teacher."
34.6 الشَّمْسُ هِيَ نَجْمٌ كَبِيرٌ "The sun is a large star."
34.7 هِيَ أَذْكَى مِنْهُ بِكَثِيرٍ "She is much smarter than him."
34.8 هَلْ هِيَ فِي البَيْتِ الآنَ؟ "Is she at home now?"
34.9 هِيَ لَا تَعْرِفُ الجَوَابَ "She doesn't know the answer."
34.10 قَالَتْ هِيَ وَلَمْ يَقُلْ هُوَ شَيْئًا "She spoke and he said nothing."
34.11 هَذِهِ المَدِينَةُ هِيَ عَاصِمَةُ البِلَادِ "This city is the capital of the country."
34.12 هِيَ نَفْسُهَا لَمْ تُصَدِّقْ مَا سَمِعَتْهُ "She herself did not believe what she had heard."
34.13 كَانَتْ هِيَ السَّبَبَ "She was the reason."
34.14 هِيَ تَقُولُ الصَّوَابَ دَائِمًا "She always says what is right."
34.15 لَيْسَتْ هِيَ الوَحِيدَةَ هُنَا "She is not the only one here."
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
34.1 هِيَ طَالِبَةٌ مُجْتَهِدَةٌ
34.2 هِيَ تَسْكُنُ فِي القَاهِرَةِ
34.3 مَنْ هِيَ؟
34.4 هِيَ الَّتِي أَخْبَرَتْنِي
34.5 كَانَتْ هِيَ المُدَرِّسَةَ الأُولَى
34.6 الشَّمْسُ هِيَ نَجْمٌ كَبِيرٌ
34.7 هِيَ أَذْكَى مِنْهُ بِكَثِيرٍ
34.8 هَلْ هِيَ فِي البَيْتِ الآنَ؟
34.9 هِيَ لَا تَعْرِفُ الجَوَابَ
34.10 قَالَتْ هِيَ وَلَمْ يَقُلْ هُوَ شَيْئًا
34.11 هَذِهِ المَدِينَةُ هِيَ عَاصِمَةُ البِلَادِ
34.12 هِيَ نَفْسُهَا لَمْ تُصَدِّقْ مَا سَمِعَتْهُ
34.13 كَانَتْ هِيَ السَّبَبَ
34.14 هِيَ تَقُولُ الصَّوَابَ دَائِمًا
34.15 لَيْسَتْ هِيَ الوَحِيدَةَ هُنَا
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
These are the grammar rules for هِيَ (hiya) — "she / it (feminine)":
The Arabic Pronoun System — Independent Forms: Arabic has two sets of pronouns: independent (free-standing) and attached (suffixes). The independent pronouns are used as subjects for emphasis, contrast, or in verbless equational sentences. The full third-person set:
- هُوَ (huwa) — he / it (masculine singular) - هِيَ (hiya) — she / it (feminine singular) - هُمَا (humā) — they two (dual, masc. or fem.) - هُمْ (hum) — they (masculine plural) - هُنَّ (hunna) — they (feminine plural)
The attached (suffix) form of هِيَ: When the pronoun functions as a direct object or possessive, it attaches to the verb or noun as the suffix ـهَا (-hā): - رَأَيْتُهَا (raʾaytuhā) — I saw her - كِتَابُهَا (kitābuhā) — her book - قَالَ لَهَا (qāla lahā) — he said to her
Pro-drop and when to use هِيَ: Arabic verbs encode person, gender, and number in their endings. The feminine third-person singular present verb begins with تَـ (ta-): تَكْتُبُ (she writes), تَقُولُ (she says), تَذْهَبُ (she goes). Because gender is already expressed in the verb, هِيَ is typically omitted. It appears when: - Emphasis is needed: هِيَ قَالَتْ ذَلِكَ، لَيْسَ هُوَ (She said that, not he) - The sentence has no verb (equational sentence): هِيَ طَبِيبَةٌ (She is a doctor) - Contrast is intended: هِيَ تَفْهَمُ وَهُوَ لَا يَفْهَمُ (She understands and he does not) - Clarity after a long subject: هَذِهِ المَسْأَلَةُ الصَّعْبَةُ هِيَ... (This difficult question is...)
Grammatical gender in Arabic: All Arabic nouns have fixed grammatical gender, regardless of natural sex. The default marker of feminine nouns is the tāʾ marbūṭa (ـَة): مَدْرَسَةٌ (school, fem.), طَالِبَةٌ (female student). However, many nouns are feminine without this ending — they must be memorised: - شَمْسٌ (shamsun) — sun (fem.) - أَرْضٌ (arḍun) — earth/ground (fem.) - نَارٌ (nārun) — fire (fem.) - حَرْبٌ (ḥarbun) — war (fem.) - يَدٌ (yadun) — hand (fem.) - نَفْسٌ (nafsun) — soul/self (fem.)
All of these take هِيَ as their pronoun and feminine verb forms.
The هِيَ of identity (ضَمِيرُ الفَصْلِ ḍamīr al-faṣl): When هِيَ appears between a definite subject and a definite predicate, it functions as a separator/identificatory pronoun: هَذِهِ المَدِينَةُ هِيَ عَاصِمَةُ البِلَادِ (This city — it is the capital). This use of هِيَ/هُوَ makes clear that the sentence is an identity statement, not a description.
Negation with هِيَ: Present: هِيَ لَا تَفْهَمُ (lā + present verb, she does not understand). Past: هِيَ لَمْ تَفْهَمْ (lam + jussive). Equational negative: لَيْسَتْ هِيَ... (laysatهِيَ..., she is not...) — note the feminine form لَيْسَتْ (laysat) of the defective verb لَيْسَ.
Common Mistakes: - Using هُوَ for grammatically feminine nouns — every Arabic noun has fixed gender - Overusing هِيَ as English uses "she" — Arabic drops it when the verb makes gender clear - Using masculine verb agreement when the subject is هِيَ — always use the feminine verb form - Confusing ـهَا (suffix, her/its) with هِيَ (independent, she/it)
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
In classical Arabic literature, هِيَ carries a weight beyond grammar. The great female figures of Arabic literary tradition — the poetess Al-Khansāʾ, the mystic Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya, the queen Bilqīs, the narrator Shahrazād — are characterised through the third person feminine: what she said, what she did, what she knew. The pronoun marks both presence and authority.
Modern Arabic literature continues this tradition. The novels of Nawal El Saadawi (نَوَال السَّعْدَاوِي), Hanan al-Shaykh (حَنَان الشَّيْخ), and Ahlam Mosteghanemi (أَحْلَام مُسْتَغَانِمِي) centre female protagonists whose inner lives are rendered entirely through هِيَ, فَعَلَتْ, قَالَتْ — she, she did, she said.
Grammatical gender and cultural reading: Because Arabic assigns gender to all nouns, the pronoun هِيَ is constantly present even in abstract discussion. When an Arab thinker writes about الحَقِيقَةُ (truth, feminine), الحُرِّيَّةُ (freedom, feminine), or الرُّوحُ (soul, feminine), the feminine هِيَ implicit in every verb form carries a resonance English lacks. This is one reason Arabic prose can feel more embodied and less abstract than its English translations.
The suffix form ـهَا in everyday speech: In spoken Arabic, ـهَا is among the most frequent syllables in the language — every third-person feminine reference attaches it to verbs and nouns. Learning to hear and produce it fluently is an early milestone.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
الخنساء (Al-Khansāʾ, c. 575–645 CE) — ديوان الخنساء (Dīwān al-Khansāʾ)
Tumāḍir bint ʿAmr al-Ḥārith, known as Al-Khansāʾ, is the most celebrated female poet in the classical Arabic canon. Her elegies for her brothers — especially Ṣakhr — are considered among the finest examples of Arabic rithāʾ (elegy). This couplet, from her lament, shows هِيَ in its full emphatic function: the woman who asks already knows the answer, and هِيَ marks that terrible knowledge.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
وَقَائِمَةٍ (wa-qāʾimatin) and-a-standing-woman-GEN تَسْأَلُنِي (tasʾaluniˉ) asks-me عَنْ (ʿan) about أَخِي (akhī) my-brother-GEN وَهِيَ (wa-hiya) and-she تَعْلَمُ (taʿlamu) knows أَنَّهُ (annahu) that-he لَا (lā) not يُجِيبُ (yujību) answers
F-B: Authentic Text with Translation
وَقَائِمَةٍ تَسْأَلُنِي عَنْ أَخِي / وَهِيَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ لَا يُجِيبُ
"And a woman who stands asking me about my brother / while she knows that he will not answer."
F-C: Authentic Text Only
وَقَائِمَةٍ تَسْأَلُنِي عَنْ أَخِي / وَهِيَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ لَا يُجِيبُ
F-D: Grammar and Vocabulary Notes
وَقَائِمَةٍ (wa-qāʾimatin): genitive after an implied preposition of accompaniment — "and [with] a standing woman." قَائِمَة is the active participle of قَامَ (to stand), feminine form, in the genitive because it follows the implied رُبَّ (how many a...) — a classical Arabic rhetorical device.
تَسْأَلُنِي (tasʾaluniˉ): present tense, 3rd person feminine singular of سَأَلَ (saʾala, "to ask") + ني (nī, me). The feminine verb agrees with قَائِمَة as subject.
وَهِيَ تَعْلَمُ: the wāw here is the wāw of circumstance (واو الحال), and هِيَ is the subject of the circumstantial clause. تَعْلَمُ is feminine present of عَلِمَ (to know). The هِيَ is explicit here — it could have been omitted — but Al-Khansāʾ includes it for emphasis: she knows. The weight falls on the pronoun.
أَنَّهُ لَا يُجِيبُ: أَنَّ introduces a nominal clause in the accusative; هُ (he) refers to her dead brother; يُجِيبُ is the masculine present of أَجَابَ (to answer/respond).
F-E: Literary Commentary
This couplet is built on a devastating irony: the woman who asks is not ignorant — هِيَ تَعْلَمُ — she knows. The act of asking is ritual, a performance of grief that refuses to accept what is already known. Al-Khansāʾ places هِيَ at the pivot of the line: after the verb of asking, before the verb of knowing, the pronoun stands between question and terrible certainty. It is هِيَ — emphatically, pointedly she — who carries both the question and the knowledge. No English translation fully captures the weight the Arabic pronoun places on that feminine subject.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
A descriptive narrative portrait of Maryam, a teacher in a small Egyptian town. The passage is built to show هِيَ in all its grammatical registers: as subject of verbs, in equational sentences, in emphasis and contrast, and applied to inanimate feminine nouns in her world.
34.16a مَرْيَمُ Maryam مُدَرِّسَةٌ teacher [FEM] وَهِيَ and-she تَعْمَلُ works فِي in مَدْرَسَةٍ school-GEN صَغِيرَةٍ small [FEM]-GEN
34.16b (Maryamu) Maryam (mudarrisatun) teacher [FEM] (wa-hiya) and-she (taʿmalu) works (fī) in (madrasatin) school-GEN (ṣaghīratin) small [FEM]-GEN
34.17a هِيَ she تُحِبُّ loves عَمَلَهَا her-work-ACC وَتُؤْمِنُ and-believes بِهِ in-it
34.17b (hiya) she (tuḥibbu) loves (ʿamalahā) her-work-ACC (wa-tuʾminu) and-believes (bihi) in-it
34.18a قَالَتْ said [FEM] هِيَ she [EMPH] ذَاتَ one [FEM] يَوْمٍ day-GEN أَنَا I لَمْ not [PAST-NEG] أَخْتَرْ chose [JUSS] التَّعْلِيمَ teaching-ACC بَلْ rather اخْتَارَنِي it-chose-me
34.18b (qālat) said [FEM] (hiya) she [EMPH] (dhāta) one [FEM] (yawmin) day-GEN (anā) I (lam) not [PAST-NEG] (akhtari) chose [JUSS] (at-taʿlīma) teaching-ACC (bal) rather (ikhtāranī) it-chose-me
34.19a طُلَّابُهَا her-students يُحِبُّونَهَا love-her لِأَنَّهَا because-she هِيَ she [EMPH] صَادِقَةٌ honest [FEM] مَعَهُمْ with-them
34.19b (ṭullābuhā) her-students (yuḥibbūnahā) love-her (li-annahā) because-she (hiya) she [EMPH] (ṣādiqatun) honest [FEM] (maʿahum) with-them
34.20a المَدْرَسَةُ the-school [FEM] هِيَ it [FEM] بَيْتُهَا her-home-NOM الثَّانِي the-second
34.20b (al-madrasatu) the-school [FEM] (hiya) it [FEM] (baytuhā) her-home-NOM (ath-thānī) the-second
34.21a هِيَ she تَصِلُ arrives إِلَى to المَدْرَسَةِ the-school-GEN قَبْلَ before الجَمِيعِ everyone-GEN
34.21b (hiya) she (taṣilu) arrives (ilā) to (al-madrasati) the-school-GEN (qabla) before (al-jamīʿi) everyone-GEN
34.22a الغُرْفَةُ the-room [FEM] هِيَ it [FEM] صَغِيرَةٌ small [FEM] لَكِنَّهَا but-it [FEM] مُضِيئَةٌ bright [FEM]
34.22b (al-ghurfatu) the-room [FEM] (hiya) it [FEM] (ṣaghīratun) small [FEM] (lākinnahā) but-it [FEM] (muḍīʾatun) bright [FEM]
34.23a هِيَ she لَا not تَتْرُكُ leaves طَالِبًا student-ACC دُونَ without إِجَابَةٍ answer-GEN
34.23b (hiya) she (lā) not (tatruку) leaves (ṭāliban) student-ACC (dūna) without (ijābatin) answer-GEN
34.24a سَأَلَهَا asked-her أَحَدُ one-NOM الطُّلَّابِ the-students-GEN مَنْ who هِيَ she فِي in رَأْيِهَا her-opinion-GEN أَعْظَمُ greatest امْرَأَةٍ woman-GEN فِي in التَّارِيخِ history-GEN
34.24b (saʾalahā) asked-her (aḥadu) one-NOM (aṭ-ṭullābi) the-students-GEN (man) who (hiya) she (fī) in (raʾyihā) her-opinion-GEN (aʿẓamu) greatest (imraʾatin) woman-GEN (fī) in (at-tārīkhi) history-GEN
34.25a فَكَّرَتْ thought [FEM] مَرْيَمُ Maryam ثُمَّ then قَالَتْ said [FEM] هِيَ she [EMPH] الَّتِي who [FEM-REL] صَنَعَتِ made [FEM] الفَرْقَ the-difference-ACC بِصَمْتٍ in-silence-GEN
34.25b (fakkarat) thought [FEM] (Maryamu) Maryam (thumma) then (qālat) said [FEM] (hiya) she [EMPH] (allatī) who [FEM-REL] (ṣanaʿati) made [FEM] (al-farqa) the-difference-ACC (bi-ṣamtin) in-silence-GEN
34.26a الكَلِمَةُ the-word [FEM] هِيَ it [FEM] سِلَاحُهَا her-weapon-NOM وَالصَّبْرُ and-patience هُوَ it [MASC] دِرْعُهَا her-shield-NOM
34.26b (al-kalimatu) the-word [FEM] (hiya) it [FEM] (silāḥuhā) her-weapon-NOM (wa-aṣ-ṣabru) and-patience (huwa) it [MASC] (dirʿuhā) her-shield-NOM
34.27a هِيَ she لَا not تُفَرِّقُ distinguishes بَيْنَ between طَالِبٍ student-GEN وَطَالِبَةٍ and-female-student-GEN
34.27b (hiya) she (lā) not (tufarriqu) distinguishes (bayna) between (ṭālibin) student-GEN (wa-ṭālibatin) and-female-student-GEN
34.28a بَعْدَ after سَنَوَاتٍ years-GEN طَوِيلَةٍ long [FEM]-GEN هِيَ she لَا not تَزَالُ still تُدَرِّسُ teaches بِنَفْسِ with-same الحَمَاسِ the-enthusiasm-GEN
34.28b (baʿda) after (sanawātin) years-GEN (ṭawīlatin) long [FEM]-GEN (hiya) she (lā) not (tazālu) still (tudarrisu) teaches (bi-nafsi) with-same (al-ḥamāsi) the-enthusiasm-GEN
34.29a قَالَ said مُدِيرُ director-NOM المَدْرَسَةِ the-school-GEN هِيَ she خَيْرُ best-NOM مَنْ who عَمِلَ worked مَعَنَا with-us
34.29b (qāla) said (mudīru) director-NOM (al-madrasati) the-school-GEN (hiya) she (khayru) best-NOM (man) who (ʿamila) worked (maʿanā) with-us
34.30a هِيَ she لَيْسَتْ is-not [FEM] مُجَرَّدَ merely مُدَرِّسَةٍ teacher [FEM]-GEN هِيَ she مَنَارَةٌ lighthouse [FEM]
34.30b (hiya) she (laysat) is-not [FEM] (mujarrada) merely (mudarrisatin) teacher [FEM]-GEN (hiya) she (manāratun) lighthouse [FEM]
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
34.16 مَرْيَمُ مُدَرِّسَةٌ وَهِيَ تَعْمَلُ فِي مَدْرَسَةٍ صَغِيرَةٍ "Maryam is a teacher and she works in a small school."
34.17 هِيَ تُحِبُّ عَمَلَهَا وَتُؤْمِنُ بِهِ "She loves her work and believes in it."
34.18 قَالَتْ هِيَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ: أَنَا لَمْ أَخْتَرِ التَّعْلِيمَ بَلِ اخْتَارَنِي "She said one day: I did not choose teaching — rather, it chose me."
34.19 طُلَّابُهَا يُحِبُّونَهَا لِأَنَّهَا هِيَ صَادِقَةٌ مَعَهُمْ "Her students love her because she is honest with them."
34.20 المَدْرَسَةُ هِيَ بَيْتُهَا الثَّانِي "The school is her second home."
34.21 هِيَ تَصِلُ إِلَى المَدْرَسَةِ قَبْلَ الجَمِيعِ "She arrives at the school before everyone."
34.22 الغُرْفَةُ هِيَ صَغِيرَةٌ لَكِنَّهَا مُضِيئَةٌ "The room is small but bright."
34.23 هِيَ لَا تَتْرُكُ طَالِبًا دُونَ إِجَابَةٍ "She never leaves a student without an answer."
34.24 سَأَلَهَا أَحَدُ الطُّلَّابِ: مَنْ هِيَ فِي رَأْيِهَا أَعْظَمُ امْرَأَةٍ فِي التَّارِيخِ؟ "One of the students asked her: Who, in her opinion, was the greatest woman in history?"
34.25 فَكَّرَتْ مَرْيَمُ ثُمَّ قَالَتْ: هِيَ الَّتِي صَنَعَتِ الفَرْقَ بِصَمْتٍ "Maryam thought, then said: She who made a difference in silence."
34.26 الكَلِمَةُ هِيَ سِلَاحُهَا وَالصَّبْرُ هُوَ دِرْعُهَا "The word is her weapon and patience is her shield."
34.27 هِيَ لَا تُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ طَالِبٍ وَطَالِبَةٍ "She makes no distinction between male and female students."
34.28 بَعْدَ سَنَوَاتٍ طَوِيلَةٍ هِيَ لَا تَزَالُ تُدَرِّسُ بِنَفْسِ الحَمَاسِ "After many long years she still teaches with the same enthusiasm."
34.29 قَالَ مُدِيرُ المَدْرَسَةِ: هِيَ خَيْرُ مَنْ عَمِلَ مَعَنَا "The school director said: She is the best person who has ever worked with us."
34.30 هِيَ لَيْسَتْ مُجَرَّدَ مُدَرِّسَةٍ — هِيَ مَنَارَةٌ "She is not merely a teacher — she is a lighthouse."
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
34.16 مَرْيَمُ مُدَرِّسَةٌ وَهِيَ تَعْمَلُ فِي مَدْرَسَةٍ صَغِيرَةٍ
34.17 هِيَ تُحِبُّ عَمَلَهَا وَتُؤْمِنُ بِهِ
34.18 قَالَتْ هِيَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ: أَنَا لَمْ أَخْتَرِ التَّعْلِيمَ بَلِ اخْتَارَنِي
34.19 طُلَّابُهَا يُحِبُّونَهَا لِأَنَّهَا هِيَ صَادِقَةٌ مَعَهُمْ
34.20 المَدْرَسَةُ هِيَ بَيْتُهَا الثَّانِي
34.21 هِيَ تَصِلُ إِلَى المَدْرَسَةِ قَبْلَ الجَمِيعِ
34.22 الغُرْفَةُ هِيَ صَغِيرَةٌ لَكِنَّهَا مُضِيئَةٌ
34.23 هِيَ لَا تَتْرُكُ طَالِبًا دُونَ إِجَابَةٍ
34.24 سَأَلَهَا أَحَدُ الطُّلَّابِ: مَنْ هِيَ فِي رَأْيِهَا أَعْظَمُ امْرَأَةٍ فِي التَّارِيخِ؟
34.25 فَكَّرَتْ مَرْيَمُ ثُمَّ قَالَتْ: هِيَ الَّتِي صَنَعَتِ الفَرْقَ بِصَمْتٍ
34.26 الكَلِمَةُ هِيَ سِلَاحُهَا وَالصَّبْرُ هُوَ دِرْعُهَا
34.27 هِيَ لَا تُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ طَالِبٍ وَطَالِبَةٍ
34.28 بَعْدَ سَنَوَاتٍ طَوِيلَةٍ هِيَ لَا تَزَالُ تُدَرِّسُ بِنَفْسِ الحَمَاسِ
34.29 قَالَ مُدِيرُ المَدْرَسَةِ: هِيَ خَيْرُ مَنْ عَمِلَ مَعَنَا
34.30 هِيَ لَيْسَتْ مُجَرَّدَ مُدَرِّسَةٍ — هِيَ مَنَارَةٌ
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
Wāw of circumstance — وَهِيَ تَعْمَلُ: the wāw + independent pronoun + present verb creates a circumstantial clause. وَهِيَ تَعْمَلُ (and-she works / while she works) adds a simultaneous background situation to the main clause. This construction appears throughout Arabic narrative prose.
لِأَنَّهَا هِيَ (li-annahā hiya): the conjunction لِأَنَّ (because) + suffix pronoun ـهَا (she/it-fem.) is followed by an emphatic هِيَ. The double reference — suffix + independent pronoun — adds weight: "because she, she herself, is honest." This emphatic doubling is a feature of Arabic rhetorical style.
The ضَمِيرُ الفَصْلِ (ḍamīr al-faṣl, separator pronoun): الغُرْفَةُ هِيَ صَغِيرَةٌ uses هِيَ between subject and predicate not to mean "she" but to mark the boundary of the predication and prevent the sentence from being read as a relative clause (the small room). This grammatical هِيَ/هُوَ is called the faṣl pronoun and is an important stylistic feature of formal Arabic.
لَا تَزَالُ + present verb: the construction لَا تَزَالُ... (she does not cease to...) means "she still..." It is the negative imperfect of زَالَ, a defective verb used almost exclusively in this negative construction. لَا يَزَالُ (he still), لَا تَزَالُ (she still), لَا نَزَالُ (we still).
هِيَ مَنَارَةٌ — the nominal metaphor: the final sentence uses هِيَ in a pure equational (verbless) sentence to deliver a metaphorical identification. There is no verb "is" in Arabic; the juxtaposition of pronoun and indefinite predicate noun creates the meaning. The indefinite مَنَارَةٌ (a lighthouse) rather than definite المَنَارَةُ keeps the identification open and evocative rather than specific.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
هِيَ (hiya) — IPA: /hi.ja/
- هـ (h): voiceless glottal fricative — similar to English h in "he", produced at the glottis with minimal friction. Lighter than the pharyngeal ح (ḥ) of Lesson 33. - كسرة (kasra) under هـ: the short i vowel — a short front vowel as in English "hit" - ي (y): palatal approximant as in English "yes" — the transition glide between the short i and the final vowel - فتحة (fatḥa) on ي: short a — as in English "hat" but short
The word is two syllables: HI-ya. Neither is heavy, so stress falls on the first: HI-ya.
Distinction from هُوَ (huwa, he): note the vowels — هِيَ has short i then short a; هُوَ has short u then short a (with a wāw glide). Confusing them is a grammatical error that changes the gender reference entirely.
The suffix form ـهَا (-hā): a single heavy syllable, always stressed when it ends a word: kitāb-HĀ (her book), raʾaytu-HĀ (I saw her). The long ā is genuine and should be held.
Common errors: - Pronouncing هِيَ as a long syllable — both vowels are short - Confusing هِيَ with هَيَّ (hayyy, not a standard word) — keep the vowels short and distinct - Dropping the final -ya — the word must end with the palatal glide and short a
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
---