Broken Plurals: Spot the Pattern!

Broken plurals cannot be predicted from a single rule — but you can learn to recognise the most common patterns (أَوْزَان). Knowing these 4 patterns will help you read Arabic text far more easily.

أَفْعَالٌ

af'aalun

Pattern 1

Long Alif added after the 1st root letter

Singular		Plural	Meaning
قَلَمٌ	→	أَقْلَامٌ	Pen
بَابٌ	→	أَبْوَابٌ	Door
لَوْنٌ	→	أَلْوَانٌ	Color
نَهْرٌ	→	أَنْهَارٌ	River

فُعُولٌ

fu'oolun

Pattern 2

All 3 root letters with Damma, then long Waw

Singular		Plural	Meaning
بَيْتٌ	→	بُيُوتٌ	House
قَلْبٌ	→	قُلُوبٌ	Heart
عَيْنٌ	→	عُيُونٌ	Eye
كِتَابٌ	→	كُتُبٌ*	Book

فِعَالٌ

fi'aalun

Pattern 3

Kasra on the 1st root letter, long Alif in the middle

Singular		Plural	Meaning
رَجُلٌ	→	رِجَالٌ	Man
جَبَلٌ	→	جِبَالٌ	Mountain
كَلْبٌ	→	كِلَابٌ	Dog
وَلَدٌ	→	أَوْلَادٌ*	Boy

فُعَّالٌ / فُعَلٌ

fu''aalun

Pattern 4

Common for people/occupational nouns

Singular		Plural	Meaning
طَالِبٌ	→	طُلَّابٌ	Student
تَاجِرٌ	→	تُجَّارٌ	Merchant
عَالِمٌ	→	عُلَمَاءُ	Scholar
صَاحِبٌ	→	أَصْحَابٌ*	Friend

* Note: Items marked with * don't perfectly fit the pattern — they are common exceptions that must be memorised. Arabic broken plurals always require some memorisation. Patterns help, but they're not a rule!

Pattern Recognition — Tap to reveal!

أَقْلَامٌ
Pattern: أَفْعَالٌ — Alif after 1st letter

Pens (plural of قَلَمٌ)

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بُيُوتٌ
Pattern: فُعُولٌ — long Waw in middle

Houses (plural of بَيْتٌ)

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رِجَالٌ
Pattern: فِعَالٌ — Kasra + long Alif

Men (plural of رَجُلٌ)

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طُلَّابٌ
Pattern: فُعَّالٌ — Damma + double 2nd letter

Students (plural of طَالِبٌ)

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