Lesson 110: The Nisba Adjective

The ending ـِيٌّ, kasra followed by a doubled yāʾ with tanwīn, is called يَاءُ النِّسْبَةِ, the yāʾ of relation, and the adjective it makes is اَلنِّسْبَةُ, the nisba. It relates a person or thing to a place, a people, a family, a trade, a material or an idea: مِصْرِيٌّ Egyptian from مِصْرُ, عَرَبِيٌّ Arab, Arabic from عَرَبٌ, يَوْمِيٌّ daily from يَوْمٌ, ذَهَبِيٌّ golden from ذَهَبٌ, عِلْمِيٌّ scientific from عِلْمٌ. English does the same with many endings, -ian, -ish, -ic, -al, -ly; Arabic needs only one. The nisba is a normal adjective: it follows its noun, takes the article and the three cases, and has a feminine in ـِيَّةٌ and sound plurals.

Rule 1: 1. Formation from a plain noun

Remove the tanwīn and add ـِيٌّ: مِصْرُ gives مِصْرِيٌّ, حَرْبٌ war gives حَرْبِيٌّ military, شَرْقٌ gives شَرْقِيٌّ eastern, وَطَنٌ homeland gives وَطَنِيٌّ national. A noun with the article keeps it: اَلْحَيُّ الشَّرْقِيُّ the eastern quarter. Nouns of the shape فَعِيلَةٌ usually lose their ي together with the ة: مَدِينَةٌ gives مَدَنِيٌّ civil, urban, Medinan, قَبِيلَةٌ gives قَبَلِيٌّ tribal (but طَبِيعَةٌ nature keeps it: طَبِيعِيٌّ natural); masculine فَعِيلٌ keeps its ي; and a few short words restore a lost radical: أَبٌ gives أَبَوِيٌّ paternal, أَخٌ gives أَخَوِيٌّ brotherly, سَنَةٌ gives سَنَوِيٌّ annual, نَبِيٌّ gives نَبَوِيٌّ prophetic.

أُصْدِرَ أَمْرٌ رَسْمِيٌّ مِنَ الْحَاكِمِ الْعَسْكَرِيِّ.
uṣdira amrun rasmiyyun mina l-ḥākimi l-ʿaskariyyi
An official order was issued by the military governor.
رَسْمِيٌّ from رَسْمٌ 'rule, official regulation'; عَسْكَرِيٌّ from عَسْكَرٌ 'army'.
تَصْدُرُ الْجَرِيدَةُ الْمَحَلِّيَّةُ كُلَّ صَبَاحٍ وَهِيَ جَرِيدَةٌ يَوْمِيَّةٌ.
taṣduru l-jarīdatu l-maḥalliyyatu kulla ṣabāḥin wa-hiya jarīdatun yawmiyyatun
The local newspaper comes out every morning; it is a daily paper.
يَسْكُنُ عَمِّي فِي الْحَيِّ الْجَنُوبِيِّ قُرْبَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ الْوَطَنِيَّةِ.
yaskunu ʿammī fi l-ḥayyi l-janūbiyyi qurba l-madrasati l-waṭaniyyati
My uncle lives in the southern quarter near the national school.
اَلْمَسْجِدُ النَّبَوِيُّ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ، وَالسُّوَرُ الْمَدَنِيَّةُ نَزَلَتْ فِيهَا.
al-masjidu n-nabawiyyu fi l-madīnati, wa-s-suwaru l-madaniyyatu nazalat fīhā
The Prophet's Mosque is in Medina, and the Medinan sūras were revealed there.
نَبَوِيٌّ from نَبِيٌّ, مَدَنِيٌّ from مَدِينَةٌ.
عُقِدَ الِاجْتِمَاعُ السَّنَوِيُّ لِلشَّرِكَةِ أَمْسِ.
ʿuqida l-ijtimāʿu s-sanawiyyu li-sh-sharikati amsi
The company's annual meeting was held yesterday.

Rule 2: 2. Nouns ending in ة, ـِيَّة and ـِيَا

The feminine ending ة is dropped before the nisba: تِجَارَةٌ commerce gives تِجَارِيٌّ commercial, صِنَاعَةٌ industry gives صِنَاعِيٌّ industrial, وِزَارَةٌ gives وِزَارِيٌّ ministerial, مَكَّةُ gives مَكِّيٌّ Meccan, شُرْطَةٌ gives شُرْطِيٌّ policeman. The endings ـِيَّةُ and ـِيَا of place names are dropped whole: اَلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ gives إِسْكَنْدَرِيٌّ Alexandrian, سُورِيَا gives سُورِيٌّ Syrian, تُرْكِيَا gives تُرْكِيٌّ Turkish, لِيبِيَا gives لِيبِيٌّ Libyan. So too the long ـَا of foreign country names: فَرَنْسَا gives فَرَنْسِيٌّ French, أَمْرِيكَا gives أَمْرِيكِيٌّ American, أَلْمَانِيَا gives أَلْمَانِيٌّ German.

اُفْتُتِحَ الْمَعْرِضُ الصِّنَاعِيُّ فِي قَاعَةِ الْغُرْفَةِ التِّجَارِيَّةِ.
uftutiḥa l-maʿriḍu ṣ-ṣināʿiyyu fī qāʿati l-ghurfati t-tijāriyyati
The industrial exhibition was opened in the hall of the chamber of commerce.
وَصَلَ وَفْدٌ سُورِيٌّ وَوَفْدٌ تُرْكِيٌّ إِلَى الْعَاصِمَةِ.
waṣala wafdun sūriyyun wa-wafdun turkiyyun ila l-ʿāṣimati
A Syrian delegation and a Turkish delegation arrived in the capital.
تَعَلَّمَتْ أُخْتِي اللُّغَةَ الْفَرَنْسِيَّةَ فِي جَامِعَةٍ فَرَنْسِيَّةٍ.
taʿallamat ukhti l-lughata l-faransiyyata fī jāmiʿatin faransiyyatin
My sister learned French at a French university.
اَلسُّوَرُ الْمَكِّيَّةُ أَقْصَرُ مِنَ السُّوَرِ الْمَدَنِيَّةِ عَادَةً.
as-suwaru l-makkiyyatu aqṣaru mina s-suwari l-madaniyyati ʿādatan
The Meccan sūras are usually shorter than the Medinan ones.

Rule 3: 3. Nouns ending in ـَا / ـَى and ـَاء

When a short noun ends in alif or alif maqṣūra, that alif becomes و before the nisba: دُنْيَا world gives دُنْيَوِيٌّ worldly, مَعْنًى meaning gives مَعْنَوِيٌّ of meaning, abstract, moral, فَتًى young man gives فَتَوِيٌّ. The feminine ending ـَاءُ likewise turns its hamza into و: صَحْرَاءُ desert gives صَحْرَاوِيٌّ desert-, سَمَاءٌ gives سَمَاوِيٌّ heavenly, بَيْضَاءُ gives بَيْضَاوِيٌّ oval. Names of countries of more than four letters simply drop the alif, as you saw: فَرَنْسَا, فَرَنْسِيٌّ; but note اَلنِّمْسَا Austria gives نِمْسَاوِيٌّ.

هٰذِهِ أُمُورٌ دُنْيَوِيَّةٌ لَا دِينِيَّةٌ.
hādhihi umūrun dunyawiyyatun lā dīniyyatun
These are worldly matters, not religious ones.
تَسْكُنُ قَبَائِلُ كَثِيرَةٌ فِي الْمَنَاطِقِ الصَّحْرَاوِيَّةِ.
taskunu qabāʾilu kathīratun fi l-manāṭiqi ṣ-ṣaḥrāwiyyati
Many tribes live in the desert regions.
اَلْفَرْقُ بَيْنَ الْكَلِمَتَيْنِ مَعْنَوِيٌّ لَا لُغَوِيٌّ.
al-farqu bayna l-kalimatayni maʿnawiyyun lā lughawiyyun
The difference between the two words is one of meaning, not of form.
مَعْنَوِيٌّ from مَعْنًى; لُغَوِيٌّ from لُغَةٌ: the ة drops and the original و of the root reappears.

Rule 4: 4. From singular or plural?

The nisba is formed from the singular even when the sense is plural: كُتُبٌ مَدْرَسِيَّةٌ school books, from مَدْرَسَةٌ not مَدَارِسُ. A few plurals have become words in their own right and give their own nisba: دُوَلٌ states gives دُوَلِيٌّ international (beside دَوْلِيٌّ from the singular دَوْلَةٌ), عُمَّالٌ gives عُمَّالِيٌّ labour-, workers', صُحُفٌ newspapers gives صُحُفِيٌّ journalist (also صَحَفِيٌّ), أَخْلَاقٌ morals gives أَخْلَاقِيٌّ moral. When in doubt, go to the singular.

اِشْتَرَكَتِ الْمَدِينَةُ فِي مَعْرِضٍ دُوَلِيٍّ لِلصِّنَاعَاتِ الْيَدَوِيَّةِ.
ishtarakati l-madīnatu fī maʿriḍin duwaliyyin li-ṣ-ṣināʿāti l-yadawiyyati
The city took part in an international exhibition of handicrafts.
يَدَوِيٌّ from يَدٌ, with the و of the root restored.
حَضَرَ الِافْتِتَاحَ صُحُفِيُّونَ مَحَلِّيُّونَ وَأَجَانِبُ.
ḥaḍara l-iftitāḥa ṣuḥufiyyūna maḥalliyyūna wa-ajānibu
Local and foreign journalists attended the opening.
عَقَدَتِ النِّقَابَةُ الْعُمَّالِيَّةُ اجْتِمَاعَهَا فِي قَاعَةِ الْمَدْرَسَةِ.
ʿaqadati n-niqābatu l-ʿummāliyyatu jtimāʿahā fī qāʿati l-madrasati
The workers' union held its meeting in the school hall.

Rule 5: 5. The feminine ـِيَّة and abstract nouns

The feminine of the nisba adds ة: مِصْرِيَّةٌ, تِجَارِيَّةٌ, اَللُّغَةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ the Arabic language. This feminine, used on its own, is Arabic's great maker of abstract nouns: حُرِّيَّةٌ freedom from حُرٌّ free, إِنْسَانِيَّةٌ humanity from إِنْسَانٌ, جِنْسِيَّةٌ nationality from جِنْسٌ kind, race, أَهَمِّيَّةٌ importance from أَهَمُّ more important, مَسْؤُولِيَّةٌ responsibility from مَسْؤُولٌ responsible, even كَيْفِيَّةٌ manner, how-ness from كَيْفَ and كَمِّيَّةٌ quantity from كَمْ. Institutions take the same ending: بَلَدِيَّةٌ municipality from بَلَدٌ, جُمْهُورِيَّةٌ republic from جُمْهُورٌ public, كُلِّيَّةٌ faculty, college from كُلٌّ.

اَلْحُرِّيَّةُ أَغْلَى مِنَ الذَّهَبِ.
al-ḥurriyyatu aghlā mina dh-dhahabi
Freedom is more precious than gold.
مَا جِنْسِيَّةُ هٰذَا الصُّحُفِيِّ؟ هُوَ تُرْكِيُّ الْجِنْسِيَّةِ.
mā jinsiyyatu hādha ṣ-ṣuḥufiyyi? huwa turkiyyu l-jinsiyyati
What is this journalist's nationality? He is Turkish by nationality.
تُرْكِيُّ الْجِنْسِيَّةِ: the nisba as first term of an iḍāfa, 'Turkish of nationality'.
لِلتَّطْعِيمِ أَهَمِّيَّةٌ كَبِيرَةٌ لِصِحَّةِ الْأَطْفَالِ.
li-t-taṭʿīmi ahammiyyatun kabīratun li-ṣiḥḥati l-aṭfāli
Vaccination is of great importance for children's health.
بَحَثَ الْمَجْلِسُ كَيْفِيَّةَ تَوْزِيعِ الْمَاءِ عَلَى الْأَحْيَاءِ.
baḥatha l-majlisu kayfiyyata tawzīʿi l-māʾi ʿala l-aḥyāʾi
The council discussed how to distribute the water among the quarters.

Rule 6: 6. The nisba as a noun: nationality and profession

Used alone, the nisba is a noun: مِصْرِيٌّ an Egyptian, عَرَبِيٌّ an Arab, أَجْنَبِيٌّ a foreigner. It declines as a triptote, مِصْرِيٌّ، مِصْرِيٍّ، مِصْرِيًّا, and takes the sound plurals, مِصْرِيُّونَ / مِصْرِيِّينَ, feminine مِصْرِيَّاتٌ; a few have broken plurals that must be learned: عَرَبِيٌّ plural عَرَبٌ, أَجْنَبِيٌّ plural أَجَانِبُ, تُرْكِيٌّ plural أَتْرَاكٌ. Many trades are nisbas: صُحُفِيٌّ journalist, شُرْطِيٌّ policeman, جُمْرُكِيٌّ customs officer, مَصْرِفِيٌّ banker, بَحْرِيٌّ sailor. The dual is regular: صُحُفِيَّانِ, صُحُفِيَّيْنِ.

اَلسُّيَّاحُ الْأَجَانِبُ كَثِيرُونَ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ الْقَدِيمَةِ.
as-suyyāḥu l-ajānibu kathīrūna fi l-madīnati l-qadīmati
Foreign tourists are many in the old city.
سَأَلَ الْجُمْرُكِيُّ الْمُسَافِرِينَ عَنْ حَقَائِبِهِمْ.
saʾala l-jumrukiyyu l-musāfirīna ʿan ḥaqāʾibihim
The customs officer asked the travellers about their bags.
تَحَدَّثَ الْمُحَافِظُ إِلَى الصُّحُفِيِّينَ بَعْدَ الِاجْتِمَاعِ.
taḥaddatha l-muḥāfiẓu ila ṣ-ṣuḥufiyyīna baʿda l-ijtimāʿi
The governor spoke to the journalists after the meeting.
Genitive sound plural ـِيِّينَ.
فِي الْمُؤْتَمَرِ عَرَبٌ وَأَتْرَاكٌ وَأَلْمَانٌ.
fi l-muʾtamari ʿarabun wa-atrākun wa-almānun
At the conference there are Arabs, Turks and Germans.
Broken plurals of three nisbas of nationality.

Forming the nisba

The ending is always ـِيٌّ; what changes is what the noun gives up before it.
Noun ends in	Rule	Noun	Nisba
a consonant	add ـِيٌّ	شَرْقٌ، عِلْمٌ، مِصْرُsharqun, ʿilmun, miṣru	شَرْقِيٌّ، عِلْمِيٌّ، مِصْرِيٌّsharqiyyun, ʿilmiyyun, miṣriyyuneastern, scientific, Egyptian
ة	drop ة, add ـِيٌّ	تِجَارَةٌ، صِنَاعَةٌ، مَكَّةُtijāratun, ṣināʿatun, makkatu	تِجَارِيٌّ، صِنَاعِيٌّ، مَكِّيٌّtijāriyyun, ṣināʿiyyun, makkiyyuncommercial, industrial, Meccan
ـِيَّة / ـِيَا	drop the whole ending	اَلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ، سُورِيَا، تُرْكِيَاal-iskandariyyatu, sūriyā, turkiyā	إِسْكَنْدَرِيٌّ، سُورِيٌّ، تُرْكِيٌّiskandariyyun, sūriyyun, turkiyyunAlexandrian, Syrian, Turkish
long ـَا (foreign names)	drop the alif	فَرَنْسَا، أَمْرِيكَا، أَلْمَانِيَاfaransā, amrīkā, almāniyā	فَرَنْسِيٌّ، أَمْرِيكِيٌّ، أَلْمَانِيٌّfaransiyyun, amrīkiyyun, almāniyyunFrench, American, German
short ـَا / ـَى	alif becomes و	دُنْيَا، مَعْنًىdunyā, maʿnan	دُنْيَوِيٌّ، مَعْنَوِيٌّdunyawiyyun, maʿnawiyyunworldly, abstract
ـَاء	hamza becomes و	صَحْرَاءُ، سَمَاءٌṣaḥrāʾu, samāʾun	صَحْرَاوِيٌّ، سَمَاوِيٌّṣaḥrāwiyyun, samāwiyyundesert, heavenly
فَعِيلَة and short words	ي dropped / lost و restored	مَدِينَةٌ، قَبِيلَةٌ، سَنَةٌ، أَخٌmadīnatun, qabīlatun, sanatun, akhun	مَدَنِيٌّ، قَبَلِيٌّ، سَنَوِيٌّ، أَخَوِيٌّmadaniyyun, qabaliyyun, sanawiyyun, akhawiyyuncivil, tribal, annual, brotherly
a lexicalised plural	nisba from the plural	دُوَلٌ، عُمَّالٌ، صُحُفٌduwalun, ʿummālun, ṣuḥufun	دُوَلِيٌّ، عُمَّالِيٌّ، صُحُفِيٌّduwaliyyun, ʿummāliyyun, ṣuḥufiyyuninternational, labour, journalist

The Nisba Adjective

Step 1 of 5: Learn

Rule 1: 1. Formation from a plain noun

Rule 2: 2. Nouns ending in ة, ـِيَّة and ـِيَا

Rule 3: 3. Nouns ending in ـَا / ـَى and ـَاء

Rule 4: 4. From singular or plural?

Rule 5: 5. The feminine ـِيَّة and abstract nouns

Rule 6: 6. The nisba as a noun: nationality and profession

Forming the nisba

Vocabulary

Step 2 of 5: Read

Various events and news

Notes

Comprehension

In the Quran

Step 3 of 5: Practice

Exercises

Step 4 of 5: Quiz

Translate from Arabic to English

Translate from English to Arabic

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

How many questions would you like?

Step 5 of 5: Finish