Chinese (Mandarin)

Spanish

English

Hindi

Arabic (Modern Standard)

Portuguese

Bengali

Russian

Japanese

Punjabi

German

Javanese

Malay

Telugu

Vietnamese

Korean

French

Marathi

Tamil

Urdu

Turkish

Italian

Chinese, Yue / Cantonese

Thai

Gujarati

Chinese, Jin

Chinese, Min Nan

Dari

Farsi

Polish

Pashto

Kannada

Chinese, Xiang

Malayalam

Sundanese

Hausa

Odia

Burmese

Chinese, Hakka

Ukrainian

Bihari, Bhojpuri

Tagalog

Yoruba

Bihari, Maithili

Uzbek

Sindhi

Amharic

Fula

Romanian

Oromo

Igbo

Azerbaijani

Chinese, Gan

Dutch

Kurdish, Central

Kurdish, Northern

Kurdish, Southern

Malagasy

Lahnda, Saraiki

Nepali

Sinhalese

Chittagonian

Zhuang

Khmer

Turkmen

Assamese

Madurese

Somali

Marwari

Bihari, Magahi

Haryanvi

Hungarian

Chhattisgarhi

Greek

Chewa

Dakhini

Akan, Twi

Akan, Fante

Kazakh

Chinese, Min Bei

Sylheti

Zulu

Czech

Kinyarwanda

Marwari, Dhundhari

Haitian Creole

Chinese, Min Dong

Ilocano

Quechua

Kirundi

Swedish

Hmong

Shona

Uyghur

Hiligaynon

Mossi

Xhosa

Belarusian

Balochi

### Broken Plurals

Unlike regular plurals that simply add a suffix to the end of the word, many Arabic nouns form their plural by altering their internal vowels or adding extra letters. These are called "broken plurals."

Because broken plurals follow several different internal patterns, it is best to memorize the plural form alongside the singular noun.

{{item:1086004}}

{{item:1086014}}

### Non-Human Plurals are Feminine Singular

Here is one of the most important rules in Arabic grammar: **all non-human plurals are treated as feminine singular**.

When you talk about groups of inanimate objects, places, or concepts—such as days (أيام), months (أشهر), or banks (بنوك)—they are grammatically feminine singular.

This means that any adjectives describing them must take the feminine singular form (ending in the tied taa', ة). Notice how the singular adjectives in the sentences below describe plural words:

{{item:1085999}}

{{item:1086002}}

{{item:1086012}}

### Pointing to Non-Human Plurals

Because non-human plurals are treated as feminine singular, you must also use the feminine singular word for "this" or "these" (هذه) when pointing to them, rather than a plural word.

{{item:1086016}}

{{item:1086009}}

{{item:1086018}}

Broken plurals

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

interrogative

noun

numeral

particle

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite article and locatives (الـ)

Basic noun gender (ة)

Sun and moon letters

Singular subject pronouns (أنا، أنت، هو، هي)

Indefinite nouns and nominal sentences (ـٌ)

Demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (هذا / هذه)

Separate prepositions (في، من، إلى، على)

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Yes/No questions (هل، أ)

Basic questions (من، ما، أين)

Singular possessive pronouns (ـي، ـك، ـه، ـها)

Plural subject pronouns (نحن، أنتم، هم)

Plural possessive pronouns (ـنا، ـكم، ـهم)

Noun possession

Attached prepositions (بـ، لـ، كـ)

Pronouns with prepositions

Having and possessing (عند، لـ، مع)

Regular plural nouns (ـون، ـين، ـات)

Dual nouns (ـان / ـين)

Plural and distant demonstratives (هؤلاء، ذلك، تلك)

Non-human plural agreement

Present tense singular verbs

Verbal sentences (VSO)

Present tense plural verbs

Topicalized sentences (SVO)

The indefinite accusative case (ـاً)

Verb object pronouns (-ني، -ك، -ه)

Present tense negation (لا)

Question words with verbs (متى، كيف...)

Adverbs of time and place

The future tense (سـ / سوف)

Intentions and desires (أن)

Negating states and possession (ليس)

Past tense singular suffixes

Past tense plural suffixes

Negating past events (ما)

Singular commands

Numbers 1 to 10

Number agreement for 1 and 2 (واحد، اثنان)

Asking how many (كم)

Numbers 3 to 10 (ثلاثة إلى عشرة)

Ordinal numbers 1 to 10 (الأول، الثاني)

Basic conjunctions (فـ، أو، لكن)

Ordering at a café (واحد، اثنان)

Food and drink with conjunctions (و، ف، أو، لكن)

There is and there are (هناك / ليس هناك)

Direct address (يا)

Giving reasons (لأنّ)

Relative pronouns (الذي / التي)

Quantifiers (كل / بعض)

The past tense of 'to be' (كان)

Past possession

Numbers 11 to 19 and tens to 80

Telling time (الساعة)

This book vs this is a book (هذا الكتاب، هذا كتاب)

Greetings (مرحبا، السلام عليكم)

How are you? and goodbye (كيف حالك، مع السلامة)

Nationalities (مصري، مصرية)

Roots and patterns (كتب، كتاب، مكتب)

Politeness (من فضلك، آسف)

Complex possession chains

Colors and traits (أفعل / فعلاء)

Plural colors and traits (فُعْل)

Comparative adjectives (أفعل من)

Superlative adjectives (أفعل)

Adverbs of manner (ـاً)

The nominative case (ـُ)

The genitive case (ـِ)

The accusative case (ـَ)

Dual noun cases (ـان / ـين)

Masculine plurals and 'the best of' (أفضل النجارين)

Emphasizing sentences (إنّ)

Connecting clauses (أنّ)

Reporting speech (قال إنّ)

Expressing contrast (لكنّ)

Comparison and probability (كأنّ, لعلّ)

Distant plural pointing (أولئك)

Plural relative pronouns (الذين, اللواتي)

Past habits (كان + present)

Ongoing actions (ما زال)

Masculine plurals online (مبرمجون، مؤثرون)

Perfective past (قد)

Probability (قد)

The subjunctive mood (أن)

Expressing purpose (لـ)

Question	Answer
day	يومyawm
week	أسبوعusbû'
The days of the week are long.	أيام الأسبوع طويلة.ayyâmu l-usbû'i tawîlah.
month	شهرshahr
year	عامâmun
The months of the year are fast.	أشهر العام سريعة.ashhurul-âmi sarîah
work	عملamal
The work days are long.	أيام العمل طويلة.ayyâmu al-'amali tawîlah
thing	شيءshay'
I have new works and things.	عندي أعمال وأشياء جديدة.3indî a3mâlun wa ash-yâ'un jadîdah
place	مكانmakân
country	بلدbalad
These places are in hot countries.	هذه الأماكن في بلاد حارة.hâdhihi al-amâkinu fî bilâdin hârratin
bank	بنكbank
Where are the banks in this place?	أين البنوك في هذا المكان؟ayna al-bunûku fî hâdhâ al-makân؟
Are the banks closed now?	هل البنوك مغلقة الآن؟hal albunûku mughlaqatun al'âna?
film	فيلمfîlm
We have old films.	عندنا أفلام قديمة.'indanâ aflâmun qadîmah
The manager traveled to poor countries.	سافر المدير إلى بلاد فقيرة.sâfara al-mudîru ilâ bilâdin faqîratin
These years and months are fast.	هذه الأعوام والأشهر سريعة.hâdhihi al-a'wâmu wal-ash'huru sarî'ah
The films are enjoyable these weeks.	الأفلام ممتعة هذه الأسابيع.al'aflâmu mumti'atun hâdhihi al'asâbî'a.
What are these new things?	ما هذه الأشياء الجديدة؟mâ hâdhihi l-ashyâ'u l-jadîdah?

Contributors