نَامَ / يَنَامُ is the basic formal-MSA verb “sleep, fall asleep.” It is Form I from root ن-و-م and belongs to the hollow-wāw class. Its long vowel is not stable everywhere: compare نَامَ “he slept,” نِمْتُ “I slept,” لَمْ يَنَمْ “he did not sleep,” and the short imperative نَمْ “sleep!”
English speakers often expect one mechanical “remove the long vowel” rule. نام shows why principal parts matter: the shortened perfect has i in نمت, while the jussive and imperative have a in ينم / نم. These are inherited stem alternations, not choices based on meaning.
The other half of the sleep–wake contrast is استيقظ — wake up.
Principal parts and lexical profile
| Item | Verified form | Meaning or use |
|---|---|---|
| root and Form | ن-و-م، Form I | hollow-wāw, intransitive verb |
| perfect | نَامَ | he slept / fell asleep |
| imperfect | يَنَامُ | he sleeps / is sleeping |
| imperative | نَمْ | sleep! |
| maṣdar | نَوْمٌ | sleep, sleeping |
| active participle | نَائِمٌ | asleep, sleeping |
| basic passive | not productive | sleep has no ordinary patient |
| causative | أَنَامَ — يُنِيمُ | put someone to sleep |
The everyday finite verb and active participle divide the work differently. ينام can describe a habit or an event (“sleeps / is going to sleep”), while نائم directly presents the current state “asleep.” هو نائم الآن is therefore a concise answer to “Is he awake?”
نام الأطفال بعد رحلة طويلة
nāma l-ʾaṭfālu baʿda riḥlatin ṭawīla
The children fell asleep after a long journey. (Formal neutral.)
لا تتصل به الآن، فهو نائم
lā tattaṣil bihi l-ʾāna, fahuwa nāʾim
Do not call him now; he is asleep. (Formal neutral.)
The hollow alternation
The long ā appears in the citation form and the common third-person forms نَامَ، نَامَتْ، نَامَا، نَامُوا. It contracts to i with the mobile-t endings, ـنا, and feminine-plural ـنَ in the perfect: نِمْتُ، نِمْتَ، نِمْنَا، نِمْنَ. Most imperfect forms keep ā, including the singular indicative and subjunctive. The singular jussive and masculine-singular imperative shorten to a: لَمْ يَنَمْ، نَمْ. Feminine-plural forms use that short stem too: هُنَّ يَنَمْنَ، أَنْتُنَّ تَنَمْنَ، نَمْنَ.
| Environment | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| perfect, 1 sg. | نِمْتُ | I slept |
| indicative, 3 m.sg. | يَنَامُ | he sleeps / is sleeping |
| subjunctive after لن | لَنْ يَنَامَ | he will not sleep |
| jussive after لم | لَمْ يَنَمْ | he did not sleep |
| imperative | نَمْ، نَامِي، نَامُوا | sleep! (m.sg., f.sg., m./mixed pl.) |
In the five verbs the long stem vowel remains; mood deletes nūn: هم ينامون، لن يناموا، لم يناموا and أنت تنامين، لن تنامي. The visible short stem occurs in singular jussives and feminine-plural forms, not in every form after لم.
نمت ست ساعات فقط ليلة أمس
nimtu sitta sāʿātin faqaṭ laylata ʾams
I slept only six hours last night. (Formal neutral; duration as an accusative measure phrase.)
لم ينم الطبيب منذ بدء المناوبة
lam yanami ṭ-ṭabību mundhu badʾi l-munāwaba
The doctor has not slept since the shift began. (Formal; shortened jussive with a linking i.)
ناموا مبكرا لأن الحافلة ستغادر عند الفجر
nāmū mubakkiran liʾanna l-ḥāfilata satughādiru ʿinda l-fajr
Go to sleep early because the bus will leave at dawn. (Formal instruction to a group.)
Place, time, and duration
Use في for the containing place: نام في الغرفة / الفندق / السيارة. Use على for the supporting surface: نام على السرير / الأريكة / الأرض. These can coexist, just as with جلس: نام في الغرفة على الأريكة gives both the room and the surface.
نام المسافر في المطار على مقعد قرب البوابة
nāma l-musāfiru fī l-maṭāri ʿalā maqʿadin qurba l-bawwāba
The traveler slept in the airport on a seat near the gate. (Formal neutral.)
A point in clock time normally uses عند: نام عند العاشرة “he went to sleep at ten.” في الساعة العاشرة can also locate an event at ten, but عند is a clear general choice. Duration may be a direct measure phrase—نام ثماني ساعات—or a لمدة phrase. حتى identifies the endpoint: نام حتى الظهر.
نامت المريضة لمدة ساعتين بعد تناول الدواء
nāmati l-marīḍatu limuddati sāʿatayni baʿda tanāwuli d-dawāʾ
The patient slept for two hours after taking the medicine. (Formal neutral.)
ينام جدي عند التاسعة ويستيقظ قبل الفجر
yanāmu jaddī ʿinda t-tāsiʿati wayastayqiẓu qabla l-fajr
My grandfather goes to sleep at nine and wakes before dawn. (Formal neutral.)
Ranked senses and frequent extensions
The core sense covers both entering sleep and remaining asleep; surrounding aspect and time expressions distinguish them. With عن, the verb can mean that sleep caused someone to miss or neglect something: نام عن الموعد “slept through/missed the appointment by sleeping.” This is more specific than simply sleeping “at” a time.
نام الحارس عن موعد تبديل المناوبة
nāma l-ḥārisu ʿan mawʿidi tabdīli l-munāwaba
The guard slept through the shift-change time. (Formal neutral.)
In literary and journalistic personification, a city, street, conflict, or issue may “sleep,” meaning grow quiet or dormant. Such uses are expressive rather than the default way to say that a machine stopped or a project was suspended.
نامت المدينة بعد منتصف الليل إلا من أضواء الميناء
nāmati l-madīnatu baʿda muntaṣafi l-layli ʾillā min ʾaḍwāʾi l-mīnāʾ
The city fell asleep after midnight, except for the harbor lights. (Literary.)
Basic نام is intransitive, so it has no ordinary personal passive. To cause someone to sleep, use Form IV أنام. In everyday descriptions, جعله ينام “made him sleep” or ساعده على النوم “helped him sleep” may express the causal relation more naturally, depending on agency.
أنامت الأم طفلها بعد أن قرأت له قصة
ʾanāmati l-ʾummu ṭiflahā baʿda ʾan qaraʾat lahu qiṣṣa
The mother put her child to sleep after reading him a story. (Formal neutral; causative Form IV.)
High-frequency collocations
| Collocation | Meaning and register |
|---|---|
| نَامَ نَوْمًا عَمِيقًا | sleep deeply (neutral formal) |
| نَامَ مُبَكِّرًا / مُتَأَخِّرًا | go to sleep early / late (neutral) |
| نَامَ لِمُدَّةِ سَاعَتَيْنِ | sleep for two hours (neutral formal) |
| نَامَ عَنِ الْمَوْعِدِ | sleep through an appointment/time (neutral formal) |
| أَخَذَ قِسْطًا مِنَ النَّوْمِ | get some sleep (neutral formal) |
| نَوْمٌ عَمِيقٌ / هَادِئٌ / مُتَقَطِّعٌ | deep / peaceful / interrupted sleep |
Common Mistakes
Keeping the long vowel before ـتُ
❌ نامت مبكرا أمس
Incorrect for ‘I slept early’—نامت means ‘she slept’; first person uses the shortened stem نمت.
✅ نمت مبكرا أمس
nimtu mubakkiran ʾams
I went to sleep early yesterday.
Keeping the alif in the singular jussive
❌ لم ينام الطفل بعد
Incorrect after لم—the singular jussive shortens ينام to ينم.
✅ لم ينم الطفل بعد
lam yanami ṭ-ṭiflu baʿd
The child has not fallen asleep yet.
Building the imperative mechanically
❌ انم قليلا قبل الرحلة
Incorrect—the masculine-singular imperative is the short form نم, without an added initial alif.
✅ نم قليلا قبل الرحلة
nam qalīlan qabla r-riḥla
Sleep a little before the trip.
Confusing sleeping with going to bed
❌ نام إلى الفراش عند العاشرة
Incorrect—إلى الفراش belongs with ذهب ‘went to bed,’ not with نام in this meaning.
✅ ذهب إلى الفراش عند العاشرة لكنه لم ينم
dhahaba ʾilā l-firāshi ʿinda l-ʿāshirati lakinnahu lam yanam
He went to bed at ten, but he did not sleep.
Key Takeaways
- نام is hollow-wāw Form I: نام، نمت، ينام، لم ينم، نم.
- Use في for the containing place, على for the sleeping surface, عند for a clock time, and a measure phrase or لمدة for duration.
- نائم describes the state “asleep”; ينام can describe a habit or a sleep event.
- Basic نام is intransitive and has no routine personal passive; causative أنام means “put to sleep.”
- ذهب إلى الفراش means “go to bed,” which is not a guarantee that the person actually slept.
Related Topics
- وقف — standB1 — Conjugate the assimilated verb وقف, use its posture and stopping frames, and distinguish it from the causative أوقف.
- استيقظ — wake up as a Form X verb with initial yāʾ in the rootB1 — Conjugate استيقظ, retain its root-initial yāʾ, and distinguish intransitive waking from causative أيقظ.
- كان — beA2 — Reference the hollow verb كان across its full paradigm, copular and existential senses, predicate case, conditionals, and high-frequency collocations.