أَوْزَان الأَفْعَالThe ten verb Forms
awzān al-afʿāl
Western grammars number the patterns I–X; the Arabic tradition names them by their pattern (af ʿala, istafʿala). Each Form shifts the root's meaning in a typical direction. The meanings below are tendencies, not laws: always check the dictionary for the actual word. AI
The words behind the terms
مَزِيدaugmented (Forms II–X)mazīd
Root ز ي د · increase
Letters are 'added' to the bare root (mujarrad, 'stripped').
The ten Forms
| Form | Perfect | Imperfect | Verbal noun | Participles | Typical sense |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | فَعَلَ / فَعِلَ / فَعُلَ | يَفْعُلُ / يَفْعِلُ / يَفْعَلُ | various | فَاعِل / مَفْعُول | The basic sense of the root. |
| II | فَعَّلَ | يُفَعِّلُ | تَفْعِيل | مُفَعِّل / مُفَعَّل | Makes intransitive verbs causative and intensifies transitive ones: ʿalima 'know' → ʿallama 'teach'; sawwā 'shape, fashion'. |
| III | فَاعَلَ | يُفَاعِلُ | مُفَاعَلَة / فِعَال | مُفَاعِل / مُفَاعَل | Doing the action with or toward someone: kataba 'write' → kātaba 'correspond with'. |
| IV | أَفْعَلَ | يُفْعِلُ | إِفْعَال | مُفْعِل / مُفْعَل | Causative: wajada 'find, be' → awjada 'bring into being'; ṭalaʿa 'rise' → aṭlaʿa 'make see, show'. |
| V | تَفَعَّلَ | يَتَفَعَّلُ | تَفَعُّل | مُتَفَعِّل / مُتَفَعَّل | Reflexive or resultative of II: jallā 'make clear' → tajallā 'become manifest, disclose oneself'. |
| VI | تَفَاعَلَ | يَتَفَاعَلُ | تَفَاعُل | مُتَفَاعِل / مُتَفَاعَل | Reciprocal, or appearing to do: taʿālā 'be exalted'. |
| VII | اِنْفَعَلَ | يَنْفَعِلُ | اِنْفِعَال | مُنْفَعِل | Passive or reflexive of I, undergoing the action: kasara 'break' → inkasara 'be broken'. |
| VIII | اِفْتَعَلَ | يَفْتَعِلُ | اِفْتِعَال | مُفْتَعِل / مُفْتَعَل | Reflexive, or doing for oneself: faqura → iftaqara 'be in need'; waṣafa 'describe' → ittaṣafa 'be qualified by'. |
| IX | اِفْعَلَّ | يَفْعَلُّ | اِفْعِلَال | مُفْعَلّ | Colours and bodily defects: iḥmarra 'turn red'. Rare. |
| X | اِسْتَفْعَلَ | يَسْتَفْعِلُ | اِسْتِفْعَال | مُسْتَفْعِل / مُسْتَفْعَل | Seeking or considering: khalafa 'succeed' → istakhlafa 'appoint as successor (khalīfa)'; ʿadda 'count' → istaʿadda 'make oneself ready' (istiʿdād, preparedness). |
Form explorer
| Form | Perfect | Imperfect | Verbal noun | Active part. | Passive part. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| II | خَلَّفَ | يُخَلِّفُ | تَخْلِيف | مُخَلِّف | مُخَلَّف |
| III | خَالَفَ | يُخَالِفُ | مُخَالَفَة | مُخَالِف | مُخَالَف |
| IV | أَخْلَفَ | يُخْلِفُ | إِخْلَاف | مُخْلِف | مُخْلَف |
| V | تَخَلَّفَ | يَتَخَلَّفُ | تَخَلُّف | مُتَخَلِّف | مُتَخَلَّف |
| VI | تَخَالَفَ | يَتَخَالَفُ | تَخَالُف | مُتَخَالِف | مُتَخَالَف |
| VII | اِنْخَلَفَ | يَنْخَلِفُ | اِنْخِلَاف | مُنْخَلِف | — |
| VIII | اِخْتَلَفَ | يَخْتَلِفُ | اِخْتِلَاف | مُخْتَلِف | مُخْتَلَف |
| Xin our texts | اِسْتَخْلَفَ | يَسْتَخْلِفُ | اِسْتِخْلَاف | مُسْتَخْلِف | مُسْتَخْلَف |
Built mechanically from the patterns: many of these forms are not used, and Form I's vowels must be learned for each verb. Check the root page for the words actually attested.
In the texts (453 occurrences; 24 distinct shown)
- مَـٰلِكِفَاعِلملكQuran 1:4:1 · active participle · Form I
- نَعْبُدُفَعَلَعبدQuran 1:5:2 · Form I
- نَسْتَعِينُاِسْتَفْعَلَعونQuran 1:5:4 · Form X
- ٱهْدِنَافَعَلهديQuran 1:6:1 · Form I
- ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَمُسْتَفْعِلقومQuran 1:6:3 · active participle · Form X
- أَنْعَمْتَأَفْعَلَنعمQuran 1:7:3 · Form IV
18 more
- ٱلْمَغْضُوبِمَفْعُولغضبQuran 1:7:6 · passive participle · Form I
- ٱلضَّآلِّينَضللQuran 1:7:9 · active participle · Form I
- شَاءَفعلشيأFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · Form I
- يَبْلُغُهَافَعَلبلغFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · Form I
- يَرَىفَعَلرأيFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · Form I
- شِئْتَفعلشيأFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · Form I
- قُلْتَفعلقولFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · Form I
- جَامِعٍفاعِلجمعFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · active participle · Form I
- يَحْصُرُفَعَلحصرFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · Form I
- مُتَّصِفًامُفْتَعِلوصفFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · active participle · Form VIII
- وَيَظْهرُفَعَلظهرFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · Form I
- يَكُونُفعلكونFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · Form I
- تَظْهَرُفَعَلظهرFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · Form I
- يُعْطِيهَاأَفْعَلَعطوFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · Form IV
- المَنْظُورُمَفْعُولنظرFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · passive participle · Form I
- يَكُنْفعلكونFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · Form I
- يَظْهَرُفَعَلظهرFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · Form I
- كَانَفعلكونFaṣṣ Ādam ¶2 · Form I
Reference
In the classics3 books · disputed · definitions
- Qaṭr al-nadāIbn HishāmSection: The hamza of ism, pronounced with kasra or ḍamma, and the other words that begin with a connecting hamza
- The AlfiyyaIbn MālikMorphology (at-Taṣrīf) (vv. 915–937)Section on the Addition of the Connecting Hamza (hamzat al-waṣl) (vv. 938–942)with Ibn ʿAqīl's commentary under each verse
- al-ShāfiyaIbn al-ḤājibThe past tense verb and its patternsPattern of the quadriliteral verbThe imperfect (present) verbAugmented letters
- DisputedIbn al-Anbārī, al-Inṣāf
In Form V and VI imperfects with two tāʾs (tatanāwalu → tanāwalu), which tāʾ is dropped?Kufa: the prefix tāʾ · Basra: the tāʾ of the pattern · he sides with Basra
Question 93: مسألة المحذوف من التاءين المبدوء بهما المضارع
فإن المحذوف منهما تاء المضارعة دون الأصلية نحو تناول وتلون
Kufa[The Kufans:] the one dropped is the tāʾ of the imperfect, not the original one, as in tanāwalu and talawwanu. al-Inṣāf, lines 7006–7007 (vol. 2, p. 648) ↗
وذهب البصريون إلى أن المحذوف منهما التاء الأصلية دون تاء المضارعة
BasraThe Basrans held that the one dropped is the original tāʾ, not the tāʾ of the imperfect. al-Inṣāf, line 7008 (vol. 2, p. 648) ↗
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 7018 (vol. 2, p. 648) ↗
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 · 2 definitions
الثلاثي: ما كان ماضيه على ثلاثة أحرف أصول.
The triliteral [al-thulāthī]: that whose past tense consists of three radical letters. AI
OpenITI · Taʿrīfāt, line 1472الرباعي: ما كان ماضيه على أربعة أحرف أصول.
The quadriliteral [al-rubāʿī]: that whose past tense consists of four radical letters. AI
OpenITI · Taʿrīfāt, line 2215
Arabic texts from OpenITI (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0); English titles and translations are AI. All the classics →