The broken plural: not an ending but a rebuild
There are two plurals here. The first is the "sound" one: for feminine words on "a" — simply "aat" at the end. For masculine words on "uu(n)" — "mudjtamaʿ" → "mudjtamaʿuuna". The sound forms are predictable. For example: “في هذه المدينة سكان من كل البلد” — In this city there are residents from the whole country. A rule from the Arabic course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
There are two plurals here. The first is the "sound" one: for feminine words on "a" — simply "aat" at the end. For masculine words on "uu(n)" — "mudjtamaʿ" → "mudjtamaʿuuna". The sound forms are predictable.
The second is the broken one, jamʿ taksii r, and it is the main source of both the pain and the beauty. The word gets no ending — its insides are rebuilt. Just learn a few patterns: "sukkaan" — residents, "shuuub" — peoples, "buyuut" — houses, "madaain" — cities, "kutub" — books, "asmaaʾ" — names. There are a dozen patterns, and they repeat. Meeting a new word, look its plural up in the dictionary, as the shape of an irregular verb.
Words about people love the pattern "faaʿil → faʿʿaal": saakin → sukkaan — residents, taaiyr → tuyuur — birds. A long "aa" in the middle of a plural means that rebuilt shape. The singular is then recognized by the "i" at the start.
Table
| singular | plural | reading | pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| كتاب | كتب | kutub | fiʿaal |
| مدينة | مدن | mudun | faʿli |
| ساكن | سكان | sukkaan | faʿʿaal |
| شعب | شعوب | shuuuub | fuuul |
| بيت | بيوت | buyuut | faʿii l |
| عضو | أعضاء | aʿdaaʾ | afʿilaaʾ |
| لون | ألوان | alwaan | afʿaal |
By example
- في هذه المدينة سكان من كل البلدфи хазихи аль-мадиина суккаан мин куль аль-бальдIn this city there are residents from the whole country
- بيوت القرية صغيرة لكن نظيفةбуйуут аль-гария сагиира лякинн назиифаThe houses of the village are small but clean
- شعوب كثيرة في هذه المنطقةшуууб кясира фи хазихи аль-минтакаMany peoples live in this region
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Broken plural patterns in Arabic?
The second is the broken one, jamʿ taksii r, and it is the main source of both the pain and the beauty. The word gets no ending — its insides are rebuilt. Just learn a few patterns: "sukkaan" — residents, "shuuub" — peoples, "buyuut" — houses, "madaain" — cities, "kutub" — books, "asmaaʾ" — names.…
The plural of arabic nouns?
The second is the broken one, jamʿ taksii r, and it is the main source of both the pain and the beauty. The word gets no ending — its insides are rebuilt. Just learn a few patterns: "sukkaan" — residents, "shuuub" — peoples, "buyuut" — houses, "madaain" — cities, "kutub" — books, "asmaaʾ" — names.…
How to say cities and houses in Arabic?
The second is the broken one, jamʿ taksii r, and it is the main source of both the pain and the beauty. The word gets no ending — its insides are rebuilt. Just learn a few patterns: "sukkaan" — residents, "shuuub" — peoples, "buyuut" — houses, "madaain" — cities, "kutub" — books, "asmaaʾ" — names.…
The sukaan pattern in Arabic?
The second is the broken one, jamʿ taksii r, and it is the main source of both the pain and the beauty. The word gets no ending — its insides are rebuilt. Just learn a few patterns: "sukkaan" — residents, "shuuub" — peoples, "buyuut" — houses, "madaain" — cities, "kutub" — books, "asmaaʾ" — names.…
What does it look like in a Arabic example sentence?
“في هذه المدينة سكان من كل البلد” (фи хазихи аль-мадиина суккаан мин куль аль-бальд) — In this city there are residents from the whole country. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.