What Is Tanween In Arabic: Fatha, Kasra And Dhamma Examples

In this lesson, we will be looking at what is tanween in Arabic, examples, types, rules and many more. 

What Is Tanween In Arabic?

Tanween is written in Arabic as تَنْوِينٌ. It is called nunation and stands for an extra نْ at the end of a noun, which you pronounce but do not write. It practically means that you add a pronounced “n”-ending to an indefi­nite noun if you mark it with case endings. Tanween indicates a specific grammatical function in the word.

Tanween Rules

There are three important rules to remember regarding tanween.

First Rule

Tanween is only placed on the last letter in a word. You will never find the Tanween in the middle or beginning of the word.

Second Rule

Tanween is a combination of the respective short vowel and the letter noon with sukoon (noon sakin) i.e.

• ـَ + نْ =  ـً
• اَ + نْ = اً 

• ـُ + نْ =  ـٌ
• اُ + نْ = اٌ 

• ـِ + نْ =  ـٍ
• اِ + نْ = اٍ 

However, we can’t replace a tanween with noon sakin, because tanween has some grammatical purposes to serve.

Third Rule

Tanween with fatha is always written with an extra alif ا, i.e.

• باً
• تاً 
• داً
• مَرْحَبًا

However, there are two exceptions to this rule of extra alif with tanween fatha.

If the last letter of the word is ta marboota ة, then extra alif would not be written, e.g.

• فَتْحَةً 
• كَسْرَةً 
• حَرَكَةً 

If the word ends in the letter hamza (ء) and the second last letter is alif (ا), then extra alif would not be written, e.g.

• مَاءً
• سَمَاءً

Types Of Tanween

There are three types of Tanween:

Tanween al-fatHah

Tanween fath (تنوين فتح) is marked with two fat-has and an additional alif ا at the end of the word. It’s pronounced as “an”. Examples:

• ولدً
• بنتً
• قلمً

Tanween Fatha Examples

• The businessman opened a new shop فَتَحَ التَّاجِر دُكَانًا جَدِيْدًا
• I found a key in the street وَجَدْتُ مُفْتَاحًا فِي الشَّارِع
• I saw a girl in the garden  رَأَيْتُ بِنْتًا فِي الحَدِيْقَة
• My father bought a new car  اِشْتَرَى أَبِي سَيَّارَةً جَدِيْدَةً

Tanween al-fatHah at the end of the indefinite noun means that this noun is in the accusative case.

Since they represent the receiver of the action, each noun in these examples is مَفْعُول. Note that there are other positions in which the noun is مَنْصُوب.

In example 3, جَدِيْدةً is an adjective, and it follow the preceding noun in gender and tanween (i.e. case).

Tanween Addhammah

Tanween dhamm (تنوين ضمة) is marked with two dhammas at the end of the word. It’s pronounced as “un”. Examples

• ولدٌ
• بنتٌ
• قلمٌ

Tanween Dhamma Examples

• This is a bag   هذه حقيبةٌ
• A boy went came out of the room  خَرَجَ ولدٌ مِنَ الغُرْفَةِ
• The boy is small   الولد صغيرٌ

Tanween al-DHammah at the end of the indefinite noun means that the noun is in the nominative case.

Read Adjectives In Arabic: 200+ List Of Common Arabic Adjectives

Tanween Al-kasrah

Tanween Al-kasrah is marked with two kasras written under the last letter of the word. It’s pronounced as “in”. Examples

• ولدٍ
• بنتٍ
• قلمٍ

Tanween Kasra Examples

• The traveler slept under a tree  نَامَ المُسَافِر تَحْتَ شَجِرَةٍ
• I wrote with a new pen  كَتَبْتُ بَـقَلَمٍ جَدِيْدٍ
• The child eats with a spoon  يَأكُلُ الطِّفْل بِـمِلْعَقَةٍ

Tanween al-kasrah at the end of the indefinite noun means that this noun is in the genitive case. Since preceded by a preposition, every noun in these examples is مَجْرُور.

Note

Tanween is always added to the end of the indefinite noun. The position of this noun in the sentence determines the type of tanween to add. 

If the indefinite noun is a subject, a topic, or a predicate, it gets taween damma. If the indefinite noun is an object, it gets tanween fatha. And if it is after a preposition, it gets tanween kasrah.

Tanween Letters

Here is the list of tanween letters in Arabic:

Tanween Dhamma	Tanween Kasra	Tanween fatha
أٌ	إٍ	ءًا
بٌ	بٍ	بًا
تٌ	تٍ	تًا
ثٌ	ثٍ	ثًا
جٌ	جٍ	جًا
حٌ	حٍ	حًا
خٌ	خٍ	خًا
دٌ	دٍ	دًا
ذٌ	ذٍ	ذًا
رٌ	رٍ	رًا
زٌ	زٍ	زًا
سٌ	سٍ	سًا
شٌ	شٍ	شًا
صٌ	صٍ	صًا
ضٌ	ضٍ	ضًا
طٌ	طٍ	طًا
ظٌ	ظٍ	ظًا
عٌ	عٍ	عًا
غٌ	غٍ	غًا
فٌ	فٍ	فًا
قٌ	قٍ	قٌ
كٌ	كٍ	كًا
لٌ	لٍ	لًا
مٌ	مٍ	مًا
نٌ	نٍ	نًا
هٌ	هٍ	هًا
وٌ	وٍ	وًا
يٌ	يٍ	يًا

Conclusion

Overall, tanween is a crucial aspect of Arabic grammar and pronunciation that plays a key role in the formation and interpretation of words in the language. Its proper understanding and use are essential for effective communication and comprehension in Arabic.