Nouns That Refuse Nunation

Level 3

Diptotes (الممنوع من الصرف) are specific Arabic nouns and adjectives that are 'partially declinable.' They differ from regular nouns in two ways: they never take nunation (tanwīn), and they take a fatḥah (-a) instead of a kasrah (-i) in the genitive case, provided they are not definite.

How It Works

In Modern Standard Arabic, most nouns are 'triptotes,' meaning they show three case endings with tanwīn. However, الممنوع من الصرف (Diptotes) are restricted.

1. The Rules of Diptotes:

  • No Tanwīn: You cannot say 'Aḥmadun'; it must be 'Aḥmadu'.
  • Genitive Fatḥah: In the genitive case, they take a fatḥah instead of a kasrah. This applies when the diptote is a standalone noun after a preposition or when it is the muḍāf ilayh of an iḍāfa. For example: ilā Landana (to London).

2. The 'Reversion' Rule:
If a diptote noun becomes definite—either by adding the definite article al- or by serving as the muḍāf (the first part) of an iḍāfa construction—it behaves like a normal noun and accepts a kasrah in the genitive case.

3. Common Categories:

  • Proper Names: All feminine proper names (Fāṭimatu), foreign names with more than three letters (Ibrāhīmu, Landanu), names ending in -ān (ʿUthmānu), names on the pattern Fuʿalu (ʿUmar, Zuḥal), compound names (Ḥaḍramawtu), and names following a verb pattern (Aḥmadu, Yazīdu) or ending in Tāʾ Marbūṭah (Ḥamzatu).
  • Adjectives: Colors and superlatives on the pattern afʿal (e.g., akbaru, aḥmaru), and adjectives on the pattern faʿlān whose feminine is faʿlā (e.g., ʿaṭshā/ʿaṭshānu).
  • Broken Plurals: Patterns like mafāʿil (masājidu) or mafāʿīl (mafātīḥu).
  • Feminine Endings: Nouns ending in alif maqṣūrah or alif mamdūdah, provided these endings are additional (zāʾidah) to the root letters (e.g., ṣaḥrāʾ).

4. The Three-Letter Rule:
Three-letter foreign masculine names with a sukūn on the middle letter (like Nūḥ and Lūṭ) are always triptotes and take full tanwīn. However, three-letter feminine names with a sukūn on the middle letter (like Hind or Miṣr) are flexible and can be treated as either diptotes or triptotes.

Examples (6)

  1. آمنّا بنوحٍ عليه السلام.

    We believed in Noah, peace be upon him.

    Word by Word: We-believed in-Noah (tanwīn kasrah) upon-him the-peace.

    Short foreign names with three letters and a sukūn on the middle letter, like 'Nūḥ', are always triptotes and take full tanwīn.

  2. سلمتُ على هندٍ.

    I greeted Hind.

    Word by Word: I-greeted on Hind (tanwīn kasrah).

    Three-letter feminine names with a sukūn on the middle letter, like 'Hind', are flexible; they can be treated as triptotes (with tanwīn) or diptotes.

  3. ذهبَ عمرُ إلى المكتبةِ.

    Umar went to the library.

    Word by Word: Went Umar (dammah) to the-library.

    'Umar' follows the 'Fuʿalu' pattern, which is a specific category of diptotes that does not take tanwīn.

  4. سافرتُ إلى دمشقَ.

    I traveled to Damascus.

    Word by Word: I-traveled to Damascus (fatḥah).

    'Damascus' is a foreign proper noun with more than three letters, making it a diptote. Even after the preposition 'ilā', it takes a fatḥah instead of a kasrah.

  5. صليتُ في مساجدَ كثيرةٍ.

    I prayed in many mosques.

    Word by Word: I-prayed in mosques (fatḥah) many (tanwīn kasrah).

    'Masājida' is a diptote plural on the pattern 'mafāʿil'. It takes a fatḥah in the genitive. Note that its adjective 'kathīratin' is a regular noun and takes the standard tanwīn kasrah.

  6. أعجبتُ بالمساجدِ القديمةِ.

    I was impressed by the old mosques.

    Word by Word: I-was-impressed by-the-mosques (kasrah) the-old.

    Here, 'masājidi' takes a kasrah because it has the definite article 'al-'. The diptote rule is suspended when the noun is definite.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding tanwīn to diptote names.

    ذهب أحمدٌ إلى لندنٍ.
    ذهب أحمدُ إلى لندنَ.

    Ahmad and London are diptotes; they never take tanwīn. London also takes a fatḥah after the preposition 'ilā'.

  • Using a kasrah for an indefinite diptote in the genitive case.

    بحثتُ عن مصانعِ.
    بحثتُ عن مصانعَ.

    The word 'maṣāni‘' (factories) is a diptote plural. When indefinite and following a preposition, it must take a fatḥah.

  • Forgetting to use a kasrah when the diptote becomes definite.

    في المصانعَ الكبيرةِ.
    في المصانعِ الكبيرةِ.

    Once a diptote noun has 'al-', it 'reverts' to regular behavior and must take a kasrah in the genitive case.

How It Connects

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Nouns That Refuse NunationLevel 3

Learn This First

To understand 'Nouns That Refuse Nunation' (Al-Mamnu' min al-Sarf), you first need to be familiar with how standard nouns behave—specifically how they take nunation (tanween) and how they usually take a kasra (-i) in the genitive case. Additionally, since many of these nouns are identified by their word structure, a basic understanding of Arabic roots and patterns is very helpful.