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
-iin is mostly for male people and occupations:
- مدرس ← مدرسينmudarris → mudarrisiinteacher → teachers
- مهندس ← مهندسينmuhandis → muhandisiinengineer → engineers
-aat is for most feminine nouns (drop the -a first), and for many borrowed words:
- عربية ← عربيات3arabiyya → 3arabiyyaatcar → cars
- محطة ← محطاتma7atta → ma7attaatstation → stations
- تليفون ← تليفوناتtilifoon → tilifoonaatphone → phones
Broken plurals: the word changes shape
Most everyday nouns have a broken plural. The root letters stay, but the vowels between them change.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| كتاب kitaab | كتب kutub | book |
| بيت beet | بيوت buyuut | house |
| ولد walad | ولاد wilaad | boy |
| بنت bint | بنات banaat | girl |
| راجل raagil | رجالة rigaala | man |
| كلب kalb | كلاب kilaab | dog |
| شباك shibbaak | شبابيك shababiik | window |
There are patterns (CuCuC, CiCaaC, CuCuuC…), but no reliable way to predict which one a noun takes. Learn each plural together with its singular.
Collective nouns: apples, trees, eggs
Many foods, plants and animals have a "collective" form that means the stuff in general. Add -a to get one item, and -aat to count several.
- تفاحtuffaa7apples (in general)
- تفاحةtuffaa7aone apple
- تلات تفاحاتtalat tuffaa7aatthree apples