Learn Arabic › A1 › هُوَ
هُوَ
he /ˈhu.wa/
otherA1#28 most common
Also: it (referring to a masculine noun), is (copula in equational sentences), that one
Example sentences
هُوَ طالِبٌ.
He is a student.
هُوَ مِنْ مِصْرَ.
He is from Egypt.
هَلْ هُوَ هُنا؟
Is he here?
هذا هُوَ الكِتابُ الَّذي أُريدُهُ.
This is the book that I want.
لا أَعْرِفُ مَنْ هُوَ، لكِنَّهُ يَبْدو لَطيفًا.
I don't know who he is, but he seems nice.
هُوَ مَنْ قَرَّرَ أن نُسافِرَ رَغْمَ اعْتِراضِ الجَميعِ.
He is the one who decided that we should travel despite everyone's objections.
Word family
هِيَshe
هُمْthey (masc. pl.)
هُماthey (dual)هُنَّthey (fem. pl.)
ـهُhim / his (attached object/possessive pronoun)
Etymology
هُوَ is the inherited Semitic independent third-person masculine singular pronoun, going back to Proto-Semitic *šuʔa / *huʔa. It is not derived from a triliteral verbal root but belongs to the closed class of pronouns reconstructible across the whole family. The initial h- parallels the demonstrative/pronominal h- seen in several Semitic languages.
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