Definite and indefinite / المَعْرِفة والنَكِرة

Indefinite / النَكِرة

The concept of definite and indefinite in Arabic slightly differ from English in the way that there’s no indefinite article in Arabic. So to say ‘a man’ for example, we will use the word without article and without complement: رَجُلٌ (rajulun).

This indefiniteness will be noted by the presence of a final tanwīn, except in the case of a diptote noun, a dual, or a masculine external plural.

The tanwīn / التَنْوِين

The tanwīn, or nunation, represents the sound of a ن at the end of a word. While the ن is not written, it is indicated by doubling the final vowel. Mastering tanwīn is a key aspect of beginner Arabic grammar as it helps indicate that a noun or adjective is indefinite. The indefinite forms for the three main cases are as follows:

• Nominative indefinite (مَرْفُوع نَكِرة): The word ends with a double ḍamma:

( ُُ )  or ( ٌ )  /…un/ 

Note: The form of the double ḍamma ( ،ٌ  ) is the commonest of the two alternatives.

• Accusative indefinite (مَنْصُوب نَكِرة): The word ends with a double fatḥa and an extra alif ا (except if the noun ends with a ة, أ or  اء) which is not pronounced as a long vowel a :

( ا ً ) /…an/ 

• Genitive indefinite (مَجْرُور نَكِرة): The word ends with a double kasra:

(  ٍ ) /…in/ 

Note: Certain nouns can be grammatically indefinite yet semantically definite – especially the male proper nouns that are not followed by any articles such as Muḥammad(un) / مُحَمَّدٌ or Karīm(un) / كرِيمٌ which will both end with the tanwīn.

Note 2: In spoken Arabic the pronunciation of nunation/tanwīn (تَنْوِين), i.e. /…un/, /…an/ and /…in/ in nouns, is rare.

Definite article / أداة التَعْرِيف

In Arabic, the only definite article is ال al… which appears at the start of all nouns and adjectives. When an indefinite form becomes definite, it removes its nunation /…n/ and a single vowel takes its place on or under the final consonant – for instance:

In Arabic, the definite article ال /al/ is utilized more often than in English. One of its causes can be attributed to nouns signifying abstract concepts, general gatherings, and broad terms which take on the definite form – for instance:

As you explore these grammar rules, you’ll find that they form the foundation of Arabic sentence structure. If you’re looking to build a solid foundation in the language, you can learn Arabic easily with ArabiKey.