Beginner
Pronouns
Possessive Pronouns
Master the possessive suffixes in Algerian Arabic
Key Points
- The possessive is a suffix attached to the noun: dar → dari (my house)
- -ou means “his”, -ha means “her”: darou, darha
- After a vowel: -ya, -k, -h (khouya, khouk, khouh)
- A noun ending in -a takes a t: khedma → khedmti (my work)
- Pronunciation varies by region: -koum or -kom, -houm or -hom
The principle
To say “my”, “your”, “his”…, Algerian doesn't put a word in front of the noun: it attaches a small ending, a suffix, to the end of the noun.
- dar (house) → dari (my house), darek (your house), darna (our house)
- ktab (book) → ktabi (my book), ktabhoum (their book)
The suffix is the same whether the thing owned is masculine or feminine: -i always means “my”.
His or her?
Just like in English, what matters is the owner: -ou for a man, -ha for a woman.
- darou: his house
- darha: her house
After a vowel
When the noun ends in a vowel, three suffixes change: -ya instead of -i, -k instead of -ek, -h instead of -ou.
- khouya (my brother), khouk (your brother), khouh (his brother)
Nouns ending in -a
A feminine noun ending in -a takes a t before the suffix:
- khedma (work) → khedmti (my work), khedmtek (your work)
Another way to say it
You can also put the suffix on ta3 (“of, belonging to”), after the noun: el ktab ta3i (the book of mine, my book). This is very common in everyday speech. You also hear nta3, which is just as correct.
Conjugation Table
| Pronoun | Arabic | Phonetic | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | ـِي / ـيَا | /-i / -ya/ | كتابي / داري - ktabi / dari : my book / my house |
| your (singular) | ـكْ | /-ek / -k/ | كتابك / دارك - ktabek / darek : your book / your house |
| his / her | ـُو / ـهَا | /-ou / -ha/ | كتابو / دارها - ktabou / darha : his book / her house |
| our | ـنَا | /-na/ | كتابنا / دارنا - ktabna / darna : our book / our house |
| your (plural) | ـكُمْ | /-koum/ | كتابكم / داركم - ktabkoum / darkoum : your book / your house (plural) |
| their | ـهُمْ | /-houm/ | كتابهم / دارهم - ktabhoum / darhoum : their book / their house |
Examples
وين راه تيليفوني؟
/win rah tilifouni?/
Where's my phone?
هادي دارنا
/hadi darna/
This is our house.
خويا راح بطوموبيلتو
/khouya ra7 b tomobiltou/
My brother left in his car.
يمّاك لاباس؟
/yemmak labas?/
Is your mother well?
كتابها على الطابلة
/ktabha 3la et-tabla/
Her book is on the table.
صاحبو جاي معاه
/sa7bou jay m3ah/
His friend is coming with him.
خدمتي بعيدة على الدار
/khedmti b3ida 3la ed-dar/
My work is far from home.
ولادكم في المدرسة؟
/wladkoum fel madrasa?/
Are your children at school? (plural)
دارهم قريبة على البحر
/darhoum 9riba 3la el b7ar/
Their house is near the sea.
خوك وين راه؟
/khouk win rah?/
Your brother, where is he?
صاحبتي جات معايا
/sa7bti jat m3aya/
My friend (female) came with me.
هادا باباك؟
/hada babak?/
Is this your father?