ـهُ
-humasculine
In Arabic, 'him' can be expressed through different forms such as the suffix ـهُ (-hu) or the independent pronoun إِيَّاهُ. Wiktionary also lists ـهِ (-hi).
Meaning: accusative / direct object (pron)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ـهُ | -hu | masculine |
| ـهِ | -hi | masculine |
| إِيَّاهُ | ʔiyyāhu | masculine |
The term is used to denote a masculine person in the accusative or direct object case. Depending on the sentence structure, you will use a suffix attached to a word or an independent pronoun standing alone.
Which one should you use?
The suffix ـهُ is attached directly to the end of a verb or a noun. In contrast, إِيَّاهُ is an independent pronoun. This independent form is used when you want to emphasize the object or when the object is separated from the verb.
How do you pronounce it?
-hu
Did you know?
- In Arabic, you can attach multiple pronouns to one word. You could attach the suffix for 'him' and the suffix for 'me' to the same verb to mean 'he gave it to him and to me'.
- The pronoun إِيَّاهُ is rarely used in everyday spoken dialects. In most modern spoken Arabic, the suffix ـهُ or a modified version of it is used exclusively for 'him'.
- The suffix ـهُ can attach to a noun to show possession, effectively meaning 'his'. Because Arabic uses the same form for 'him' and 'his', the meaning is determined entirely by the word it is attached to.
Example sentences for Arabic are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “him” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
