Plural Forms in Arabic

Arabic has two kinds of plural. The sound plural adds an ending, like ⁨مُعَلِّم⁩ and ⁨مُعَلِّمُون⁩ (teachers). The broken plural changes the vowels inside the word, like ⁨كِتَاب⁩ and ⁨كُتُب⁩ (books).

The Masculine Sound Plural

Many words for men and male groups add ⁨ـُون⁩. After a preposition, and when the word is the object of a verb, the ending is ⁨ـِين⁩.

The Feminine Sound Plural

Words for women drop ⁨ة⁩ and add ⁨ـَات⁩. Many words for things, and most long or borrowed words, take ⁨ـَات⁩ too. This ending never changes.

Broken Plurals

Most common nouns have a broken plural. The three root letters stay, but the vowels and the shape around them change. The plural follows a pattern, but you can't always guess which one, so learn each plural with its singular.

• Some words have a plural that looks nothing like the singular, such as ⁨اِمْرَأَة⁩ and ⁨نِسَاء⁩ (women).
• A few words have two plurals, such as ⁨شَهْر⁩ with ⁨شُهُور⁩ and ⁨أَشْهُر⁩ (months).

Plurals and Agreement

A plural of people takes a plural adjective and a plural verb. A plural of things is treated as feminine singular: ⁨الْكُتُب جَدِيدَة⁩ (the books are new), ⁨هٰذِهِ سَيَّارَات⁩ (these are cars).

Common Mistakes

• Adding ⁨ـُون⁩ to a word for things: say ⁨كُتُب⁩, not ⁨كِتَابُون⁩.
• Keeping ⁨ة⁩ before ⁨ـَات⁩: say ⁨طَالِبَات⁩, not ⁨طَالِبَةَات⁩.
• Using ⁨ـُون⁩ after a preposition: say ⁨مَعَ الْمُهَنْدِسِين⁩, not ⁨مَعَ الْمُهَنْدِسُون⁩.
• Using ⁨هٰؤُلَاءِ⁩ for things: say ⁨هٰذِهِ بُيُوت⁩, not ⁨هٰؤُلَاءِ بُيُوت⁩.

Example Sentences