هي
hiya
In Arabic, 'she is' is translated as هي (hiya).
The phrase is used to identify or describe a female person or animal.
Which one should you use?
إنها is a formal option for saying 'she is'.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Modern Standard Arabic, the pronoun هي (she) also functions as the verb 'is' in a nominal sentence.
How do you pronounce it?
hiya
Did you know?
- While هي means 'she', it is also used in certain poetic or formal contexts to refer to the 'soul' or 'essence' of a thing, personifying abstract concepts as female.
- The pronoun هي is structurally related to the Proto-Semitic root *šiʔa, a linguistic ancestor shared by many languages across the Middle East and East Africa.
- While هي is used for females, it is also used for some objects that are grammatically feminine even if they have no biological gender.
Examples in context
- هل تعرف من هي؟Do you know who she is?This sentence is useful for practicing the placement of هي in a question.Tatoeba #407068 by saeb, translation #308085 by CK
- هو يعلم أين هي.He knows where she is.This sentence shows how to use هي in a sentence regarding location.Tatoeba #11977227 by dididodo, translation #8495307 by Amastan
- أنت تعلم من هي.You know who she is.This sentence demonstrates how to use هي in a declarative statement.Tatoeba #11985961 by dididodo, translation #1828604 by Amastan
- هي طالبة.She is a student.
- هي مهندسة.She is an engineer.
- إنها طبيبة.She is a doctor.
- إنها محامية.She is a lawyer.
- دي مغنية.She is a singer.
- دي ممثلة.She is an actress.
- 63 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a new neighbor.
- مريم Maryamهي جارتنا الجديدة.hiya jairatuna al-jadida.She is our new neighbor.
- زياد Ziadهل هي لطيفة؟hal hiya latifa?Is she kind?
- مريم Maryamنعم، هي طيبة جداً.na'am, hiya tayyiba jiddan.Yes, she is very kind.
- زياد Ziadهذا رائع.hadha ra'i'.That is great.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries هي, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
