Broken Plurals in Arabic

Arabic has two main plural systems: the sound plural (regular, adding ة or ون) and the broken plural (irregular, changing the internal vowel pattern). Broken plurals are far more common and follow predictable patterns.

What is a Broken Plural?

The broken plural (الجمع التكسير, al-jam3u at-taksīr) changes the internal vowel pattern of the noun, “breaking” the word’s structure. This is similar to English plurals like “man → men” or “foot → feet.”

Common Broken Plural Patterns

Pattern 1: فُعَل (fu3al)

Pattern 2: فُعُل (fu3ul)

Pattern 3: فِعَال (fi3aal)

Pattern 4: فُعَلَاء (fu3alaa’)

Pattern 5: أَفْعَال (af3aal)

Pattern 6: فَعَائِل (fa3aa’il)

Sound Plurals (Regular)

For comparison, the sound plural adds a regular ending:

Broken Plural Rules by Noun Type

Human Nouns

Most human nouns follow these patterns:

Non-Human Nouns

Non-human nouns often follow different patterns:

Adjective Agreement with Broken Plurals

Broken plurals are treated as feminine singular for adjective agreement:

Important: Even though the plural noun refers to multiple items, the adjective is always feminine singular when describing broken plurals.

Common Mistakes

1. Using wrong plural pattern:

• ❌ كتابات (kitaabāt) for books
• ✅ كتب (kutub) for books

2. Wrong adjective agreement:

• ❌ كتب كبيرة (masculine plural adjective)
• ✅ كتب كبيرة (feminine singular adjective)

3. Confusing sound and broken plurals:

• ❌ معلمون (sound plural for non-human noun)
• ✅ معلم (broken plural) or معلمون (only for human nouns)

Cultural Notes

Broken plurals are essential for:

• Reading newspapers and literature — most nouns use broken plurals
• Religious texts — the Quran uses many broken plural forms
• Daily conversation — common nouns like كتب (books), رجال (men), نساء (women)

Tip: There is no single rule to predict the broken plural — you must learn the pattern for each noun. However, many nouns follow the most common patterns listed above, so learning the patterns helps you predict new plurals.