Broken Plurals in Arabic

Overview

Broken plurals (جمع التكسير) are irregular plural forms created by changing the internal vowel pattern of a singular noun rather than adding a suffix. They are called "broken" because the original word structure is rearranged. This is one of the most distinctive features of Arabic morphology and is directly connected to the root and pattern system.

At the A2 level, you need to know that broken plurals are actually the most common type of plural in Arabic -- the majority of nouns, especially non-human ones, form their plurals this way. While each broken plural must be memorized alongside its singular, common patterns emerge that make learning them more manageable over time.

A crucial grammar rule: non-human broken plurals are treated as feminine singular for agreement purposes. So you say كتب جديدة (new books) with a feminine singular adjective, not a plural one.

How It Works

Common Broken Plural Patterns

Singular Pattern	Plural Pattern	Example
فِعال (fi'aal)	فُعُل (fu'ul)	كتاب → كتب (books)
فَعْل (fa'l)	فُعول (fu'uul)	بيت → بيوت (houses)
فَعَل (fa'al)	فِعال (fi'aal)	رجل → رجال (men)
فَعيل (fa'iil)	فُعَلاء (fu'alaa')	صديق → أصدقاء (friends)
فاعِل (faa'il)	فُعَّال (fu''aal)	طالب → طلاب (students)
فَعْلة (fa'la)	فُعَل (fu'al)	غرفة → غرف (rooms)
مَفْعَل (maf'al)	مَفاعِل (mafaa'il)	مكتب → مكاتب (offices)

Comparing Sound and Broken Plurals

Noun	Sound Plural	Broken Plural	Which Is Used
معلم (teacher)	معلمون	--	Sound (male human)
كتاب (book)	--	كتب	Broken
مدرسة (school)	مدرسات	مدارس	Broken is more common
سيارة (car)	سيارات	--	Sound (feminine with ات)

Examples in Context

Arabic	English	Note
كتاب → كتب	book → books	Common pattern
رجل → رجال	man → men	fi'aal plural
بيت → بيوت	house → houses	fu'uul plural
مدينة → مدن	city → cities	Short broken plural
ولد → أولاد	boy → boys	af'aal plural
قلم → أقلام	pen → pens	af'aal plural
شارع → شوارع	street → streets	fawaa'il plural
طبيب → أطباء	doctor → doctors	af'ilaa' plural
صورة → صور	picture → pictures	Short plural
يوم → أيام	day → days	af'aal plural

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
كتابون (sound plural for books)	كتب	كتاب requires a broken plural
كتب جديدون (plural adjective)	كتب جديدة (fem. singular adj.)	Non-human plurals take feminine singular agreement
Guessing plural patterns randomly	Learning each noun's plural individually	While patterns exist, the specific plural must be verified
Applying one pattern to all nouns	Recognizing that different singulars use different patterns	There are over 30 broken plural patterns

Usage Notes

Broken plurals are a feature inherited from ancient Semitic languages. While they require more memorization than sound plurals, they are deeply integrated into Arabic at every level. Dictionaries typically list the plural alongside the singular, and good Arabic textbooks present them together. With time, you will develop an intuition for which pattern a word is likely to follow.

Practice Tips

• Always learn a noun with its plural: كتاب/كتب, بيت/بيوت, رجل/رجال. Make flashcards with both forms.
• Group nouns by their plural pattern. Once you see that بيت/بيوت, عين/عيون, and شيخ/شيوخ all follow فُعول, the pattern becomes easier to predict.
• Remember the golden rule: non-human broken plurals = feminine singular agreement. Practice this until it is automatic.

Related Concepts

• Sound Plurals