المُفْرَد وَالمُثَنَّى وَالجَمْعSingular, dual, plural
al-mufrad wa-l-muthannā wa-l-jamʿ
Arabic has a dual, used for any pair. Plurals are either sound (an ending) or broken (a new pattern). Non-human plurals are treated as feminine singular. AI
The words behind the terms
جَمْع التَّكْسِيرbroken pluraljamʿ al-taksīr
Root ك س ر · breaking
The singular's shape is 'broken' and rebuilt: ṣūra → ṣuwar, ism → asmāʾ.
جَمْع سَالِمsound pluraljamʿ sālim
Root س ل م · safe, intact
The singular stays intact and an ending is added: ʿālam → ʿālamūn / ʿālamīn.
مُثَنَّىdualmuthannā
Root ث ن ي · folding, making two
yadāni 'two hands': Faṣṣ Ādam's 'with My two hands' (bi-yadayya).
In the texts (204 occurrences; 24 distinct shown)
- ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَفَاعَلِينعلمQuran 1:2:4
- نَعْبُدُفَعَلَعبدQuran 1:5:2 · Form I
- نَسْتَعِينُاِسْتَفْعَلَعونQuran 1:5:4 · Form X
- ٱهْدِنَافَعَلهديQuran 1:6:1 · Form I
- ٱلَّذِينَQuran 1:7:2
- عَلَيْهِمْQuran 1:7:4
18 more
- ٱلضَّآلِّينَضللQuran 1:7:9 · active participle · Form I
- أَسْمَاؤُهُسموFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1
- أَعْيَانَهَاأَفْعالعينFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1
- مُتَّصِفًامُفْتَعِلوصفFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · active participle · Form VIII
- مَجْلُوَّةٍFaṣṣ Ādam ¶2
- مَحَلًّاحللFaṣṣ Ādam ¶2
- إِلَهِيًّافِعٰلِيّألهFaṣṣ Ādam ¶2 · relative adjective (nisba)
- الأَقْدَسِأَفْعَلقدسFaṣṣ Ādam ¶2 · elative / colour adjective
- المَلَائِكَةُفَعْأَلملكFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3
- قُوىقويFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3
- كَالقُوَىقويFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3
- عَالٍعيلFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3
- الحَقَائِقِفَعِيلَةحققFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3
- الأَوْصَافِفَعْلوصفFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3
- قَوَابِلَفَواعِلقبلFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3
- وَأَسْفَلَهُأَفْعَلسفلFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3 · elative / colour adjective
- صُوَرِفُعلَةصورFaṣṣ Ādam ¶4
- لِأَرْوَاحِهِفُعلروحFaṣṣ Ādam ¶4
Reference
What Ibn Ājurrūm saysChapter on Knowing the Signs of Declension (iʿrāb)
بَابُ مَعْرِفَةِ عَلَامَاتِ الْإِعْرَابِ
لِلرَّفْعِ أَرْبَعُ عَلَامَاتٍ: الضَّمَّةُ، وَالْوَاوُ، وَالْأَلِفُ، وَالنُّونُ.
The nominative (rafʿ) has four signs: the ḍamma, the wāw, the alif, and the nūn.
فَأَمَّا الضَّمَّةُ فَتَكُونُ عَلَامَةً لِلرَّفْعِ فِي أَرْبَعَةِ مَوَاضِعَ: فِي الِاسْمِ الْمُفْرَدِ، وَجَمْعِ التَّكْسِيرِ، وَجَمْعِ الْمُؤَنَّثِ السَّالِمِ، وَالْفِعْلِ الْمُضَارِعِ الَّذِي لَمْ يَتَّصِلْ بِآخِرِهِ شَيْءٌ.
As for the ḍamma, it is a sign of the nominative (rafʿ) in four places: in the singular noun (al-ism al-mufrad), the broken plural (jamʿ al-taksīr), the sound feminine plural (jamʿ al-muʾannath al-sālim), and the present tense verb (al-fiʿl al-muḍāriʿ) to whose end nothing is attached.
وَأَمَّا الْوَاوُ فَتَكُونُ عَلَامَةً لِلرَّفْعِ فِي مَوْضِعَيْنِ: فِي جَمْعِ الْمُذَكَّرِ السَّالِمِ وَفِي الْأَسْمَاءِ الْخَمْسَةِ، وَهِيَ: أَبُوكَ وَأَخُوكَ وَحَمُوكَ وَفُوكَ وَذُو مَالٍ.
As for the wāw, it is a sign of the nominative (rafʿ) in two places: in the sound masculine plural (jamʿ al-mudhakkar al-sālim) and in the Five Nouns (al-asmāʾ al-khamsa), which are: abūka (your father), akhūka (your brother), ḥamūka (your father-in-law), fūka (your mouth), and dhū māl (possessor of wealth).
وَأَمَّا الْأَلِفُ فَتَكُونُ عَلَامَةً لِلرَّفْعِ فِي تَثْنِيَةِ الْأَسْمَاءِ خَاصَّةً.
As for the alif, it is a sign of the nominative (rafʿ) only in the dual (tathniya) of nouns.
Vowelling and English: AIWhole chapter and text →
In the classics7 books · why the rule holds · disputed · definitions
- The ĀjurrūmiyyaIbn ĀjurrūmChapter on Knowing the Signs of Declension (iʿrāb)
- Qaṭr al-nadāIbn HishāmSection: The kinds of inflection (iʿrāb) are fourChapter on number: from three to nine, the number is always put in the feminine with a masculine noun and in the masculine with a feminine noun
- The AlfiyyaIbn MālikThe Declinable and the Indeclinable (vv. 15–51)Numerals (vv. 726–745)Nouns Ending in Short Alif and Nouns Ending in Long Alif with Hamza (vv. 771–777)How to Form the Dual of the Maqṣūr and the Mamdūd, and Their Sound Plurals (vv. 778–790)The Broken Plural (vv. 791–832)with Ibn ʿAqīl's commentary under each verse
- Shudhūr al-dhahabIbn HishāmWords inflected like duals and sound masculine pluralsNumerals: gender agreement and the specifying noun
- Mughnī al-labībIbn Hishāmكلا وكلتا
- al-ShāfiyaIbn al-ḤājibThe plural
- Sībawayh, al-KitābSībawayhThe dualBroken plurals of singular nouns
Why?al-Zajjājī, al-ĪḍāḥThe dual is one noun joined to another of the same wording, shortened to one with a sign: shorter than repeating. Plurals have many patterns because quantities differ.
التثنية ما معناها؟ قلنا له: هو ضم اسم إلى اسم مثله في اللفظ
What is the meaning of the dual? We say: it is joining a noun to another of the same wording. al-Īḍāḥ, lines 1497–1498 (vol. 1, p. 121) ↗
فيكون ذلك أخصر من تكرير الاسم
And that is shorter than repeating the noun. al-Īḍāḥ, line 1502 (vol. 1, p. 121) ↗
والجموع تختلف في الكمية والأعداد في قلتها وكثرتها
Plurals differ in quantity and number, in their fewness and their manyness. al-Īḍāḥ, lines 1507–1509 (vol. 1, p. 121) ↗
English: AI translation AI The summary lines are ours.
al-Zajjājī (d. 337/949), al-Īḍāḥ fī ʿilal al-naḥw, ed. Māzin al-Mubārak (Beirut: Dār al-Nafāʾis, 5th ed., 1406/1986). Digital text: 0337IbnIshaqZajjaji.IdahCilalNahw.Sham19Y0143170-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
- DisputedIbn al-Anbārī, al-Inṣāf
In the dual and the sound plural, are the alif, wāw and yāʾ the case endings themselves?Kufa: yes, like the short vowels · Basra: no: they are letters that carry the case · he sides with Basra
Question 3: مسألة القول في إعراب المثنى والجمع على حده
ذهب الكوفيون إلى أن الألف والواو والياء في التثنية والجمع بمنزلة الفتحة والضمة والكسرة في أنها إعراب
KufaThe Kufans held that the alif, wāw and yāʾ in the dual and the plural are like the fatḥa, ḍamma and kasra, in being the case itself. al-Inṣāf, lines 349–350 (vol. 1, p. 33) ↗
وذهب البصريون إلى أنها حروف إعراب
BasraThe Basrans held that they are letters that carry the case. al-Inṣāf, line 352 (vol. 1, p. 33) ↗
VerdictHe gives the Basran proofs, then answers the Kufans’ arguments one by one; that is how he sides with Basra:
وأما الجواب عن كلمات الكوفيين
As for the answer to the Kufans' arguments… al-Inṣāf, line 414 (vol. 1, p. 36) ↗
al-Akhfash, al-Mubarrad and al-Māzinī: neither, but signs of the case.
English: AI translation AI The summary lines are ours.
Ibn al-Anbārī (d. 577/1181), al-Inṣāf fī masāʾil al-khilāf bayna al-naḥwiyyīn al-Baṣriyyīn wa-l-Kūfiyyīn, ed. Muḥammad Muḥyī al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd (Damascus: Dār al-Fikr; year not recorded by OpenITI). Digital text: 0577AbuBarakatAnbari.InsafFiMasail.JK001424-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
Are kilā and kiltā (‘both’) dual in form as well as in meaning?Kufa: dual in form and meaning · Basra: singular in form, dual in meaning · he sides with Basra
Question 62: مسألة كلا وكلتا مثنيان لفظا ومعنى أو معنى فقط
ذهب الكوفيون إلى أن كلا وكلتا فيهما تثنية لفظية ومعنوية
KufaThe Kufans held that kilā and kiltā are dual in wording and in meaning. al-Inṣāf, line 4703 (vol. 2, p. 439) ↗
وذهب البصريون إلى أن فيهما إفرادا لفظيا وتثنية معنوية والألف فيهما كالألف في عصا ورحا
BasraThe Basrans held that they are singular in wording and dual in meaning, their alif like the alif of ʿaṣā and raḥā. al-Inṣāf, lines 4706–4707 (vol. 2, p. 439) ↗
VerdictHe gives the Basran proofs, then answers the Kufans’ arguments one by one; that is how he sides with Basra:
وأما الجواب عن كلمات الكوفيين
As for the answer to the Kufans' arguments… al-Inṣāf, line 4780 (vol. 2, p. 449) ↗
English: AI translation AI The summary lines are ours.
Ibn al-Anbārī (d. 577/1181), al-Inṣāf fī masāʾil al-khilāf bayna al-naḥwiyyīn al-Baṣriyyīn wa-l-Kūfiyyīn, ed. Muḥammad Muḥyī al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd (Damascus: Dār al-Fikr; year not recorded by OpenITI). Digital text: 0577AbuBarakatAnbari.InsafFiMasail.JK001424-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt · 5 definitions
المثنى: ما لحق آخره ألف أو ياء، مفتوح ما قبلها، ونون مكسورة.
The dual [al-muthannā]: that to whose end is attached an alif or a yāʾ preceded by fatḥa, together with a nūn bearing kasra. AI
OpenITI · Taʿrīfāt, line 4031جمع المكسر: هو ما تغير فيه بناء واحده، كرجال.
The broken plural [jamʿ al-mukassar]: that in which the form of its singular is changed, such as rijāl. AI
OpenITI · Taʿrīfāt, line 1583جمع المذكر: ما لحق آخره واو مضموم ما قبلها، أو ياء مكسور ما قبلها، ونون مفتوحة.
The masculine plural [jamʿ al-mudhakkar]: that to whose end is attached a wāw preceded by ḍamma, or a yāʾ preceded by kasra, together with a nūn bearing fatḥa. AI
OpenITI · Taʿrīfāt, line 1577جمع المؤنث: هو ما لحق آخره ألف وتاء، سواء كان لمؤنث كمسلمات، أو مذكر كدريهمات.
The feminine plural [jamʿ al-muʾannath]: that to whose end alif and tāʾ are attached, whether it is for a feminine, such as muslimāt, or a masculine, such as durayhimāt. AI
OpenITI · Taʿrīfāt, line 1580جمع القلة: هو الذي يطلق على عشرة فما دونها من غير قرينة، وعلى ما فوقها بقرينة.
The plural of paucity [jamʿ al-qilla]: that which is applied to ten and fewer without a contextual indication [qarīna], and to what is above ten with a contextual indication. AI
OpenITI · Taʿrīfāt, line 1584
Arabic texts from OpenITI (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0); English titles and translations are AI. All the classics →