In English, we have Singular (one item) and Plural (two or more). But in Arabic, "Two" gets its very own special category! It's called Al-Muthanna (The Dual). Let's learn the suffix that turns "a book" into "two books".
To make any singular noun refer to exactly two things, remove the Tanween `ٌ` and add the suffix اَانِ (-aani) to the end of the word.
Watch how singular nouns (both male and female) transform into pairs.
| Singular (One) | Dual (Two) | Translation |
|---|---|---|
|
قَلَمٌ A pen |
قَلَمَانِ Qalamaani |
Two pens |
|
بَيْتٌ A house |
بَيْتَانِ Baytaani |
Two houses |
|
*طَالِبَةٌ A student (f) |
طَالِبَتَانِ Taalibataani |
Two students (f) |
|
بِنْتٌ A girl |
بِنْتَانِ Bintaani |
Two girls |
Remember the Mirror Rule? If a noun is Dual, its adjective MUST also take the `ـَانِ` suffix to match it!