Lesson 41: Broken Plurals

Step 1 of 5: Learn

Arabic has two kinds of plural. The sound plural (اَلْجَمْعُ السَّالِمُ) adds an ending and leaves the word whole: مُدَرِّسٌ → مُدَرِّسُونَ, غُرْفَةٌ → غُرُفَاتٌ. The broken plural (جَمْعُ التَّكْسِيرِ) changes the shape of the word itself: بَابٌ → أَبْوَابٌ, مِفْتَاحٌ → مَفَاتِيحُ. The root letters stay, but the vowels move, and letters may be added before, inside or after. Most masculine nouns that are not persons, and many that are, take a broken plural. There is no rule that tells you which pattern a noun will use, so every noun should be learned together with its plural.

Rule 1: 1. Four ways of breaking a word

Looking at how the singular is altered, broken plurals fall into four groups: (1) internal change only; (2) internal change plus an ending; (3) internal change plus a prefix; (4) internal change plus both a prefix and an ending.

سَقْفٌ ← سُقُوفٌ
saqfun → suqūfun
a roof → roofs
(1) internal change only.
غُرْفَةٌ ← غُرَفٌ
ghurfatun → ghurafun
a room → rooms
(1) internal change; the ة is lost.
جَارٌ ← جِيرَانٌ
jārun → jīrānun
a neighbour → neighbours
(2) internal change + ending ـَان.
فَقِيرٌ ← فُقَرَاءُ
faqīrun → fuqarāʾu
a poor man → the poor
(2) internal change + ending ـَاء.
قَلَمٌ ← أَقْلَامٌ
qalamun → aqlāmun
a pen → pens
(3) internal change + prefix أَ.
سَرِيرٌ ← أَسِرَّةٌ
sarīrun → asirratun
a bed → beds
(4) prefix أَ + ending ـَة.
طَعَامٌ ← أَطْعِمَةٌ
ṭaʿāmun → aṭʿimatun
a food → foods
(4) prefix + ending.

The commonest broken-plural patterns

Patterns are named with the root ف ع ل. The four patterns marked with a single ḍamma (فُعَلَاءُ، مَفَاعِلُ، مَفَاعِيلُ، فَوَاعِلُ) take no tanwīn; lesson 46 explains why.
Pattern	Singular	Plural	Meaning
فُعُول	سَقْفٌ	سُقُوفٌ	roof
فُعُول	صَحْنٌ	صُحُونٌ	plate
فُعُول	ضَيْفٌ	ضُيُوفٌ	guest
أَفْعَال	قَلَمٌ	أَقْلَامٌ	pen
أَفْعَال	لَوْنٌ	أَلْوَانٌ	colour
أَفْعَال	صَاحِبٌ	أَصْحَابٌ	friend, owner
فِعَال	جَمَلٌ	جِمَالٌ	camel
فِعَال	كَبِيرٌ	كِبَارٌ	big
فِعَال	صَغِيرٌ	صِغَارٌ	small
فُعَّال	طَالِبٌ	طُلَّابٌ	student
فُعَّال	كَاتِبٌ	كُتَّابٌ	writer, clerk
أَفْعُل	شَهْرٌ	أَشْهُرٌ	month
أَفْعُل	رِجْلٌ	أَرْجُلٌ	foot, leg
أَفْعِلَة	سَرِيرٌ	أَسِرَّةٌ	bed
أَفْعِلَة	جَوَابٌ	أَجْوِبَةٌ	answer
فُعْلَان / فِعْلَان	جِدَارٌ	جُدْرَانٌ	wall
فُعْلَان / فِعْلَان	جَارٌ	جِيرَانٌ	neighbour
فُعَل	غُرْفَةٌ	غُرَفٌ	room
فُعَل	صُورَةٌ	صُوَرٌ	picture
فُعَلَاءُ	فَقِيرٌ	فُقَرَاءُ	poor
فُعَلَاءُ	عَالِمٌ	عُلَمَاءُ	scholar
مَفَاعِلُ	مَطْبَخٌ	مَطَابِخُ	kitchen
مَفَاعِلُ	مَنْزِلٌ	مَنَازِلُ	house, dwelling
مَفَاعِيلُ	مِفْتَاحٌ	مَفَاتِيحُ	key
مَفَاعِيلُ	مِصْبَاحٌ	مَصَابِيحُ	lamp
مَفَاعِيلُ	صُنْدُوقٌ	صَنَادِيقُ	box, chest
فَوَاعِلُ	نَافِذَةٌ	نَوَافِذُ	window
فَوَاعِلُ	مَائِدَةٌ	مَوَائِدُ	dining table
فَوَاعِلُ	شَارِعٌ	شَوَارِعُ	street

Rule 2: 2. Plurals of things are feminine singular

This is the rule to carry away from the lesson. When a plural noun denotes things or animals, not persons, everything that agrees with it, adjective, pronoun, demonstrative, verb, is put in the feminine singular: اَلْأَبْوَابُ مَفْتُوحَةٌ the doors are open, هٰذِهِ الْغُرَفُ these rooms, أَيْنَ الْمَفَاتِيحُ؟ هِيَ عَلَى الْمَائِدَةِ where are the keys? they are on the table. It makes no difference whether the plural is broken (صُحُونٌ) or sound (حَيَوَانَاتٌ).

هٰذِهِ الْغُرَفُ وَاسِعَةٌ.
hādhihi-l-ghurafu wāsiʿatun
These rooms are spacious.
هٰذِهِ and وَاسِعَةٌ, both feminine singular.
اَلنَّوَافِذُ مَفْتُوحَةٌ وَالْأَبْوَابُ مُغْلَقَةٌ.
an-nawāfidhu maftūḥatun wa-l-abwābu mughlaqatun
The windows are open and the doors are closed.
أَيْنَ الْمَفَاتِيحُ؟ هِيَ فِي الصُّنْدُوقِ.
ayna-l-mafātīḥu? hiya fi-ṣ-ṣundūqi
Where are the keys? They are in the box.
The pronoun for things in the plural is هِيَ.
اِشْتَرَيْتُ صُحُونًا جَدِيدَةً وَوَضَعْتُهَا فِي الْمَطْبَخِ.
ishtaraytu ṣuḥūnan jadīdatan wa-waḍaʿtuhā fi-l-maṭbakhi
I bought new plates and put them in the kitchen.
Adjective جَدِيدَةً and suffix ـهَا, both feminine singular.
اَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ الْكَبِيرَةُ فِي الْغَابَةِ.
al-ḥayawānātu-l-kabīratu fi-l-ghābati
The big animals are in the forest.
A sound plural of non-persons follows the same rule.
تِلْكَ الْمَصَابِيحُ قَدِيمَةٌ.
tilka-l-maṣābīḥu qadīmatun
Those lamps are old.
For things, 'those' is تِلْكَ, not أُولٰئِكَ.

Rule 3: 3. Plurals of persons keep plural agreement

Broken plurals that denote persons are treated as real plurals: the demonstrative is هٰؤُلَاءِ / أُولٰئِكَ, the adjective is plural (sound or broken), and the pronoun is هُمْ.

هٰؤُلَاءِ الرِّجَالُ تُجَّارٌ.
hāʾulāʾi-r-rijālu tujjārun
These men are merchants.
اَلطُّلَّابُ مُجْتَهِدُونَ.
aṭ-ṭullābu mujtahidūna
The students are diligent.
Broken plural subject, sound plural predicate.
جِيرَانُنَا فُقَرَاءُ وَلٰكِنَّهُمْ كُرَمَاءُ.
jīrānunā fuqarāʾu wa-lākinnahum kuramāʾu
Our neighbours are poor but they are generous.
أُولٰئِكَ الْأَطِبَّاءُ مِنَ الْقَاهِرَةِ.
ulāʾika-l-aṭibbāʾu mina-l-qāhirati
Those doctors are from Cairo.

Things versus persons

اَلْكُتُبُ جَدِيدَةٌ.

al-kutubu jadīdatun

The books are new.

اَلطُّلَّابُ جُدُدٌ.

aṭ-ṭullābu jududun

The students are new.

Same adjective, two agreements: جَدِيدَةٌ feminine singular for the books, جُدُدٌ (a broken plural of جَدِيدٌ) for the students.

Vocabulary

Why do words end with “-un”?

The -un ending is called tanween (nunation). It marks indefinite nouns — similar to “a/an” in English.

كِتَابٌ (kitaabun) = a bookvsكِتَاب (kitaab) = book (base word)

To find the base word, simply remove the final “-un” sound (the double-stacked damma بٌ on the last letter).

مِفْتَاحٌ

miftāḥun

key

مِصْبَاحٌ

miṣbāḥun

lamp

صُنْدُوقٌ

ṣundūqun

box, chest

نَافِذَةٌ

nāfidhatun

window

مَائِدَةٌ

māʾidatun

dining table

مَطْبَخٌ

maṭbakhun

kitchen

سَقْفٌ

saqfun

roof, ceiling

جِدَارٌ

jidārun

wall

سَرِيرٌ

sarīrun

bed

صَحْنٌ

ṣaḥnun

plate, dish

سِكِّينٌ

sikkīnun

knife

صُورَةٌ

ṣūratun

picture

قَلَمٌ

qalamun

pen

ضَيْفٌ

ḍayfun

guest

جَارٌ

jārun

neighbour

طَالِبٌ

ṭālibun

student

طَبِيبٌ

ṭabībun

doctor, physician

فَقِيرٌ

faqīrun

poor

شَهْرٌ

shahrun

month

وَضَعَ / يَضَعُ

waḍaʿa / yaḍaʿu

to put, to place

Step 2 of 5: Read

Our house

بَيْتُنَا

Tap any word to look it up.

Notes

Comprehension

1.Where are the keys?
2.What is on the walls?
3.Why do many people enter the house?

In the Quran

قُلُوبِهِمْ
Surah Al-Baqarah · 2:7
قُلُوبِهِمْ: قُلُوبٌ, plural of قَلْبٌ 'heart', on the pattern فُعُول, in the genitive after عَلَى.
- قُلُوبِهِمْqulūbihimtheir hearts
Read in context
فُصِّلَتْ ءَايَـٰتُهُۥ
Surah Fussilat · 41:3
فُصِّلَتْ آيَاتُهُ: the subject آيَاتُهُ is a plural of things, so its verb فُصِّلَتْ is feminine singular.
- فُصِّلَتْfuṣṣilatare detailed
- ءَايَـٰتُهُۥāyātuhuits Verses
Read in context
وَبَشِّرِ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍۢ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ ۖ كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا۟ مِنْهَا مِن ثَمَرَةٍۢ رِّزْقًۭا ۙ قَالُوا۟ هَـٰذَا ٱلَّذِى رُزِقْنَا مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَأُتُوا۟ بِهِۦ مُتَشَـٰبِهًۭا ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِيهَآ أَزْوَٰجٌۭ مُّطَهَّرَةٌۭ ۖ وَهُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ
Surah Al-Baqarah · 2:25
جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ: الْأَنْهَارُ (أَفْعَال, plural of نَهْرٌ) is the subject of the feminine singular verb تَجْرِي, and the suffix ـهَا refers back to the plural جَنَّاتٍ.
Read in context
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ عَنْهَا لَا تُفَتَّحُ لَهُمْ أَبْوَٰبُ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَلَا يَدْخُلُونَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ حَتَّىٰ يَلِجَ ٱلْجَمَلُ فِى سَمِّ ٱلْخِيَاطِ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
Surah Al-A'raf · 7:40
لَا تُفَتَّحُ لَهُمْ أَبْوَابُ السَّمَاءِ: the broken plural أَبْوَابُ 'doors' with a feminine singular verb تُفَتَّحُ.
Read in context

Step 3 of 5: Practice

Exercises

Strict harakat

Exercise 1 of 90/0 correct

Transform

Give the plural (pattern أَفْعَال):

قَلَمٌ

Step 4 of 5: Quiz

Translate from Arabic to English

Type your translation, then check it. Spelling and vowel marks are graded leniently.

1.

فِي بَيْتِنَا غُرَفٌ كَثِيرَةٌ وَنَوَافِذُ وَاسِعَةٌ.

2.

أَيْنَ الْمَفَاتِيحُ؟ هِيَ عَلَى الْمَائِدَةِ.

3.

اَلصُّحُونُ الْجَدِيدَةُ فِي الْمَطْبَخِ.

4.

هٰؤُلَاءِ الطُّلَّابُ مُجْتَهِدُونَ.

5.

وَضَعَ الضُّيُوفُ الْأَقْلَامَ فِي الصُّنْدُوقِ.

6.

جِيرَانُنَا فُقَرَاءُ وَأَوْلَادُهُمْ صِغَارٌ.

Translate from English to Arabic

Type your translation, then check it. Spelling and vowel marks are graded leniently.

1.

The doors are open.

2.

These lamps are old.

3.

The doctors are in the big house.

4.

I saw beautiful pictures on the walls.

5.

Where are the knives? They are in the kitchen.

6.

The guests sat on the new beds.

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