13 Patterns of Broken Plurals in Arabic with Examples
Dear student, if you've read and learned my previous notes about singular, dual, and plurals in Arabic, you must know that there are two type of plurals in Arabic, they are sound plural ( الْجَمْعُ السَّالِمُ ) and broken plural ( الْجَمْعُ الْمُكَسَّرُ or جَمْعُ التَّكْسِيْرِ ).
Before continuing on learning about broken plurals more detail, I will recap the lesson "sound plural".
Recap the previous lesson - sound plural in Arabic
There are two kinds of sound plural in Arabic, they are:
1. Sound masculine plural (جَمْعُ المُذَكَّرِ السَّالِمِ)
Example of sound masculine plural
Singular: مُدَرِّسٌ = a teacher.
Plural:
- Nominative case (مَرْفُوْعٌ) is: مُدَرِّسُوْنَ = teachers.
- Accusative case (مَنْصُوْبٌ) is: مُدَرِّسِيْنَ = teachers.
- Genitive case (مَجْرُوْرٌ) is: مُدَرِّسِيْنَ = teachers.
2. Sound feminine plural (جَمْعُ المُؤَنَّثِ السَّالِمِ)
Example of sound feminine plural
Singular: مُدَرِّسَةٌ = a (female) teacher.
Plural:
- Nominative case (مَرْفُوْعٌ) is: مُدَرِّسَاتٌ = female teachers.
- Accusative case (مَنْصُوْبٌ) is: مُدَرِّسَاتٍ = female teachers.
- Genitive case (مَجْرُوْرٌ) is: مُدَرِّسَاتٍ = female teachers.
13 Broken Plurals Forms in Arabic - Video lesson version
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You can watch another video lesson about singular and plural form in Arabic here :
https://learnarabicstepbystep.blogspot.com/2021/07/singular-plural-in-arabic-language-pdf.html
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Broken Plural ( جَمْعُ التَّكْسِيْرِ )
Now, I will show you the list of broken plural patterns.
In addition to this, I also present you some examples for each patterns.
I highly recommend memorizing the plural forms of new vocabulary as you encounter them. Pay close attention to the underlying patterns; categorizing these words by their pluralization rules will significantly speed up your progress.
Below are the patterns:
1. فُعَّالٌ
Examples:
- طَالِبٌ (singular) - طُلاَّبٌ (plural) = student.
- عَامِلٌ (singular) - عُمَّالٌ (plural) = worker
- تَاجِرٌ (singular) - تُجَّارٌ (plural) = merchant.
2. فِعَالٌ
Examples:
- جَبَلٌ (singular) - جِبَالٌ (plural) = mountain.
- كَبِيْرٌ (singular) - كِبَارٌ (plural) = big
- رَجُلٌ (singular) - رِجَالٌ (plural) = man
3. أَفْعَالٌ
Examples:
- قَلَمٌ (singular) - أَقْلاَمٌ (plural) = pen
- وَلَدٌ (singular) - أَوْلاَدٌ (plural) = child
- زَوْجٌ (singular) - أَزْوَاجٌ (plural) = husband
4. فُعُوْلٌ
Examples:
- ضَيْفٌ (singular) - ضُيُوْفٌ (plural) = guest
- قَلْبٌ (singular) - قُلُوْبٌ (plural) = heart
- بَيْتٌ (singular) - بُيُوْتٌ (plural) = house.
5. فِعْلَةٌ
Examples:
- أَخٌ (singular) - إِخْوَةٌ (plural) = brother
- فَتًى (singular) - فِتْيَةٌ (plural) = youth
6. فُعُلٌ
Examples:
- كِتَابٌ (singular) - كُتُبٌ (plural) = book
- رَسُوْلٌ (singular) - رُسُلٌ (plural) = messenger
- جَدِيْدٌ (singular) - جُدُدٌ (plural) = new
7. فُعَلاَءُ
This patters has no tanwiin (مَمْنُوْعٌ مِنَ الصَّرْفِ).
Examples:
- فَقِيْرٌ (singular) - فُقَرَاءُ (plural) = poor
- زَمِيْلٌ (singular) - زُمَلاَءُ (plural) = colleague
- وَزِيِرٌ (singular) - وُزَرَاءُ (plural) = minister
8. أَفْعِلاَءُ
This patters has no tanwiin (مَمْنُوْعٌ مِنَ الصَّرْفِ).
Examples:
- غَنِيٌّ (singular) - أَغْنِيَاءُ (plural) = rich
- نَبِيٌّ (singular) - أَنْبِيَاءُ (plural) = prophet
- طَبِيْبٌ (singular) - أَطِبَّاءُ (plural) = doctor
9. مَفَاعِلُ
This patters has no tanwiin (مَمْنُوْعٌ مِنَ الصَّرْفِ).
Examples:
- مَكْتَبٌ (singular) - مَكَاتِبُ (plural) = desk
- فُنْدُقٌ (singular) - فَنَادِقٌ (plural) = hotel
- مَسْجِدٌ (singular) - مَسَاجِدُ (plural) = masjid
10. مَفَاعِيْلُ
This patters has no tanwiin (مَمْنُوْعٌ مِنَ الصَّرْفِ).
Examples:
- مِفْتَاحٌ (singular) - مَفَاتِيْحُ (plural) = key
- فِنْجَانٌ (singular) - فَنَاجِيْنُ (plural) = cup
- صُنْدُوْقٌ (singular) - صَنَادِيْقُ (plural) = box
11. أَفْعِلَةٌ
Examples:
- سُؤَالٌ (singular) - أَسْئِلَةٌ (plural) = question
- جَوَابٌ (singular) - أَجْوِبَةٌ (plural) = answer
- طَعَامٌ (singular) - أَطْعِمَةٌ (plural) = food
12. أَفْعُلٌ
Examples:
- شَهْرٌ (singular) - أَشْهُرٌ (plural) = month
- نَفْسٌ (singular) - أَنْفُسٌ (plural) = soul/self
- رِجْلٌ (singular) - أَرْجُلٌ (plural) = foot
13. فُعْلاَنٌ
Examples:
- قَمِيْصٌ (singular) - قُمْصَانٌ (plural) = shirt
- بَلَدٌ (singular) - بُلْدَانٌ (plural) = country
Broken Plurals Summary Table
| No. | Pattern (وَزْن) | Singular (مُفْرَد) | Plural (جَمْع) | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | فُعَّالٌ | طَالِبٌ عَامِلٌ تَاجِرٌ |
طُلاَّبٌ عُمَّالٌ تُجَّارٌ |
Student Worker Merchant |
| 2 | فِعَالٌ | جَبَلٌ كَبِيْرٌ رَجُلٌ |
جِبَالٌ كِبَارٌ رِجَالٌ |
Mountain Big Man |
| 3 | أَفْعَالٌ | قَلَمٌ وَلَدٌ زَوْجٌ |
أَقْلاَمٌ أَوْلاَدٌ أَزْوَاجٌ |
Pen Child Husband |
| 4 | فُعُوْلٌ | ضَيْفٌ قَلْبٌ بَيْتٌ |
ضُيُوْفٌ قُلُوْبٌ بُيُوْتٌ |
Guest Heart House |
| 5 | فِعْلَةٌ | أَخٌ فَتًى |
إِخْوَةٌ فِتْيَةٌ |
Brother Youth |
| 6 | فُعُلٌ | كِتَابٌ رَسُوْلٌ جَدِيْدٌ |
كُتُبٌ رُسُلٌ جُدُدٌ |
Book Messenger New |
| 7 | فُعَلاَءُNo Tanwiin | فَقِيْرٌ زَمِيْلٌ وَزِيِرٌ |
فُقَرَاءُ زُمَلاَءُ وُزَرَاءُ |
Poor Colleague Minister |
| 8 | أَفْعِلاَءُNo Tanwiin | غَنِيٌّ نَبِيٌّ طَبِيْبٌ |
أَغْنِيَاءُ أَنْبِيَاءُ أَطِبَّاءُ |
Rich Prophet Doctor |
| 9 | مَفَاعِلُNo Tanwiin | مَكْتَبٌ فُنْدُقٌ مَسْجِدٌ |
مَكَاتِبُ فَنَادِقٌ مَسَاجِدُ |
Desk Hotel Masjid |
| 10 | مَفَاعِيْلُNo Tanwiin | مِفْتَاحٌ فِنْجَانٌ صُنْدُوْقٌ |
مَفَاتِيْحُ فَنَاجِيْنُ صَنَادِيْقُ |
Key Cup Box |
| 11 | أَفْعِلَةٌ | سُؤَالٌ جَوَابٌ طَعَامٌ |
أَسْئِلَةٌ أَجْوِبَةٌ أَطْعِمَةٌ |
Question Answer Food |
| 12 | أَفْعُلٌ | شَهْرٌ نَفْسٌ رِجْلٌ |
أَشْهُرٌ أَنْفُسٌ أَرْجُلٌ |
Month Soul/Self Foot |
| 13 | فُعْلاَنٌ | قَمِيْصٌ بَلَدٌ |
قُمْصَانٌ بُلْدَانٌ |
Shirt Country |
Arabic Broken Plural Digital Flashcards
Interactive Flashcard
Select a pattern from the menu to see the details and examples.
Mastering Arabic nouns requires a complete picture. To deepen your understanding of plural forms, we highly recommend exploring these essential lessons:
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