Most Arabic nouns take tanween (the "n" sound at the end of indefinite words) and use a kasra (ِ) in the genitive case (e.g., after a preposition).
However, a special group of proper nouns called "diptotes" (الممنوع من الصرف) follow two strict rules:
- No Tanween: They take a single vowel (damma ُ or fatha َ) instead of a double vowel.
- Fatha instead of Kasra: In the genitive case, they take a fatha (َ) instead of a kasra (ِ).
Here are four common categories of diptote proper names:
Names Ending in ـان and Foreign Names
Proper names ending in Alif and Noon (e.g., عثمان) and foreign names (including non-Arabic cities like مدريد and برلين) are diptotes. Notice how عثمان takes a single damma as the subject, and مدريد takes a fatha despite coming after the preposition من.
| The consul Othman arrived from Madrid. | وصل القنصل عثمان من مدريد.wasala al-qunsulu othmânu min madrîd |
| The consul traveled to Berlin because of the crisis. | سافر القنصل إلى برلين بسبب الأزمة.sâfara al-qunsulu ilâ barlîna bisababi al-azmati |
Feminine Proper Names
All feminine proper names are diptotes, whether they end in a taa marbuta (خديجة) or not (زينب). After a preposition like مع, إلى, or من, they take a fatha.
| The diplomat smiled because of the coordination with Zainab. | ابتسم الدبلوماسي بسبب التنسيق مع زينب.ibtasama ad-diblômâsiyyu bisababi at-tansîqi ma'a zaynaba. |
| Zainab sent a message to Khadija. | أرسلت زينب رسالة إلى خديجة.arsalat zaynabu risâlatan ilâ khadîjah |
Verb-Like Proper Names
Some Arabic names share the exact pattern of a verb. For example, يزيد looks just like the present-tense verb "he increases." Because they resemble verbs, these names are diptotes.
| Yazeed is an excellent diplomat thanks to the coordination with Othman. | يزيد دبلوماسي ممتاز بفضل التنسيق مع عثمان.yazîdu diblûmâsiyyun mumtâzun bifadli at-tansîqi ma'a othmâna |
| We spoke with Yazeed about the delegation. | تحدثنا مع يزيد عن الوفد.tahaddathnâ maa yazîda ani al-wafdi. |
Seeing the endings
This course writes Arabic the way books and newspapers print it, without the short-vowel marks, so the ending this lesson is about is usually something you hear in the audio but cannot see in the drills. Here are some of them with every vowel written out:
| as written | fully vocalized | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| وصل القنصل عثمان من مدريد. | وَصَلَ القُنْصُلُ عُثْمَانُ مِنْ مَدْرِيدَ. | The consul Othman arrived from Madrid. |
| أرسلت زينب رسالة إلى خديجة. | أَرْسَلَتْ زَيْنَبُ رِسَالَةً إِلَى خَدِيجَةَ. | Zainab sent a message to Khadija. |
| تحدثنا مع يزيد عن الوفد. | تَحَدَّثْنَا مَعَ يَزِيدَ عَنِ الوَفْدِ. | We spoke with Yazeed about the delegation. |
A diptote name never takes tanween. As a subject it has a single damma, عُثْمَانُ, زَيْنَبُ, while the ordinary noun رِسَالَةً keeps its double vowel. After a preposition it takes a fatha where other nouns take a kasra: مِنْ مَدْرِيدَ, إِلَى خَدِيجَةَ, مَعَ يَزِيدَ, but عَنِ الوَفْدِ.
