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

### The Diminutive (التصغير)

In Arabic, you can modify the internal vowel structure of a noun to express that something is miniature, cute and endearing, or even petty and contemptible. This is known as the diminutive.

To create it, we use specific patterns like **فُعَيْل** for three-letter roots and **فُعَيْعِل** for four-letter roots. The hallmark of these patterns is a Damma on the first letter, a Fatha on the second, and an added Ya' (ي) in the middle. If a word has a long vowel—like the Alif in book (كتاب)—it adapts to the pattern (becoming كتيب, a booklet).

{{item:1157629}}

If the original noun is feminine and ends in a Taa Marbuta (ة), the diminutive form keeps it. For example, a tree (شجرة) becomes a bush or little tree (شجيرة).

{{item:1157632}}

### Basic Roots and Endearment

For standard three-letter roots, the **فُعَيْل** pattern is straightforward. A dog (كلب) becomes a puppy (كليب), and a river (نهر) becomes a little stream (نهير). This is frequently used to describe physical smallness.

{{item:1157636}}

{{item:1157638}}

The diminutive is also perfect for expressing affection towards animals or people, such as calling a cat (قطة) a little kitten (قطيطة).

{{item:1157641}}

### Time, Contempt, and Weak Letters

The diminutive has versatile uses beyond literal size. It can refer to a small piece of something, like a leaflet (وريقة), or describe a brief span of time, such as a "short while" (سويعة) derived from an hour (ساعة).

{{item:1157644}}

{{item:1157647}}

It can also be used pejoratively to belittle someone. Turning a man (رجل) into a "little man" (رجيل) is a way to express disdain and contempt.

{{item:1157651}}

Finally, for words with weak letters like Alif (ا) or Waw (و) in the middle, the diminutive pattern often reveals or modifies that weak root letter. For instance, a door (باب) transforms into a small gate or door (بويب).

{{item:1157656}}

The diminutive (فعيل)

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)

Broken plurals

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)

Question	Answer
booklet	كتيبkutayyib
I read a small booklet about the history of the city.	قرأت كتيبا صغيرا عن تاريخ المدينة.qara'tu kutayyiban saghîran 'an târîkhi al-madînati.
This booklet is very useful for the students.	هذا الكتيب مفيد جدا للطلاب.hâdhâ l-kutayyibu mufîdun jiddan lit-tullâb.
bush	شجيرةshujayra
We planted a small bush in the garden because it is beautiful.	زرعنا شجيرة صغيرة في الحديقة لأنها جميلة.zara'nâ shujayratan sagheeratan fee al-hadeeqati li'annahâ jameelatun.
puppy	كليبkulayb
The puppy almost hid behind the bush.	كاد الكليب يختبئ وراء الشجيرة.kâda al-kulaybu yakhtabi'u warâ'a ash-shujayrah
stream	نهيرnuhayr
The small stream flows near the mountain.	يجري النهير الصغير قرب الجبل.yajrī an-nuhayru s-saghīru qurba l-jabali
I like to walk beside the stream in the evening.	أحب أن أمشي بجانب النهير مساء.uhibbu an amshiya bijânibi an-nuhayri masâ'an
The boy is playing with the puppy now.	يلعب الولد مع الكليب الآن.yal'abu alwaladu ma'a alkulaybi al-âna.
We found a lost puppy in the street at night.	وجدنا كليبا ضائعا في الشارع ليلا.wajadnâ kulayban dhâ'i'an fi ash-shâri'i laylan
kitten	قطيطةqutayta
This kitten is white and has a beautiful face.	هذه القطيطة بيضاء وجميلة الوجه.hâdhihi al-quteytatu baydâ'u wa jamîlatu al-wajhi
The kitten slept on the bed because the weather is cold.	نامت القطيطة على السرير لأن الجو بارد.nâmati l-quteytatu 'alâ s-sarîri li'anna l-jawwa bâridun
leaflet	وريقةwurayqa
I wrote the phone number on a small piece of paper.	كتبت رقم الهاتف على وريقة.katabtu raqama al-hâtifi 'alâ wurayqah
A leaflet fell from the large book.	سقطت وريقة من الكتاب الكبير.saqatat wuraiqatun mina alkitâbi alkabîri
short while	سويعةsuwayah
I will wait for you for a short while at the station.	سوف أنتظرك سويعة في المحطة.sawfa antaziruka suwayatan fil-mahattah
He slept for a short while in the afternoon.	نام سويعة بعد الظهر.nâma suwayatan bada az-zuhri.
little man	رجيلrujayl
That little man talks a lot.	ذلك الرجيل كثير الكلام.dhâlika r-rujaylu kathîru l-kalâm
I do not like this arrogant little man.	لا أحب هذا الرجيل المتكبر.lâ uhibbu hâdhâ ar-rujayla al-mutakabbira
asterisk	نجيمةnujayma
The student drew an asterisk next to the difficult question.	رسم الطالب نجيمة بجانب السؤال الصعب.rasama al-tâlibu nujaymatan bijânibi al-su'âli al-sa'bi
We see a beautiful little star in the sky at night.	نرى نجيمة جميلة في السماء ليلا.narâ nujaymatan jamîlatan fî s-samâ'i laylan
small door	بويبbuwayb
We entered the garden through a small gate.	دخلنا الحديقة من بويب صغير.dakhalnâ al-hadîqata min buwaybin saghîrin.
The small door is closed today.	البويب مغلق اليوم.al-buwaybu mughlaqun al-yawma