Arabic makes plurals in two ways: by adding an ending (a "sound" plural), or by changing the vowels inside the word (a "broken" plural).
Sound plurals: add an ending
-in is mostly for male people and occupations:
- خدام ← خدامينkhddam → khddaminworker → workers
-at is for most feminine nouns, and many borrowed words:
- طابلة ← طابلاتtabla → tablattable → tables
- طوموبيل ← طوموبيلاتtomobil → tomobilatcar → cars
Broken plurals: the word changes shape
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| كتاب ktab | كتوب ktub | book |
| دار dar | ديور dyur | house |
| ولد weld | ولاد wlad | boy, child |
| بنت bent | بنات bnat | girl |
| راجل rajel | رجال rjal | man |
| كلب kelb | كلاب klab | dog |
| شرجم sherjem | شراجم shrajem | window |
There's no reliable way to predict a broken plural. Learn each one with its singular.
Collective nouns
Many foods and plants have a "collective" form. Add -a for one item:
- تفاحteffa7apples (in general)
- تفاحةteffa7aone apple