We discussed different types of nouns in Palestinian-Jordanian Levantine Arabic, such as verbal nouns, active participles, and passive participles in Level V, Lessons 2, 3, and 4, respectively. In this lesson, we will examine the main patterns used to form another type of nouns, namely nouns of place.
The most common pattern used to form nouns of place in Arabic is مَــفْــعَــل (maf‘al). Some nouns of place follow the feminine form of this pattern, obtained by adding a ة (tā’ marbūṭah) ‘tied-t’ to the end of the word.
Here are some examples:
| لِـــعِـــب li‘ib he played | —> | مَـــلْـــعَـــب mal‘ab playground | خَـــــرَج kharaj he exited | —> | مَـــخْـــرَج makhraj exit |
| دَرَس daras he studied | —> | مَـــدْرَسِـــة madraseh school | دَخَــــــل dakhal he entered | —> | مَــــدْخَــــل madkhal entrance |
| كَـــتَـــب katab he wrote | —> | مَـــكْـــتَـــب maktab desk/office | كَـــتَـــب katab he wrote | —> | مَـــكْـــتَـــبِـــة maktabeh library |
| خَـــبَـــز khabaz he baked | —> | مَـــخْـــبَـــز makhbaz bakery | طَـــبَـــخ ṭabakh he cooked | —> | مَـــطْـــبَـــخ maṭbakh kitchen |
| قَـــبَـــر qabar he entombed | —> | مَـــقْـــبَـــرَة maqbarah cemetery | صَـــنَـــع ṣana‘ he manufactured | —> | مَــصْـــنَـــع maṣna‘ factory |
| عَـــصَـــر ‘aṣar he squeezed | —> | مَــعْـــصَـــرَة ma‘ṣarah olive press | حَــــكَـــم ḥakam he ruled/ decreed | —> | مَــحْـــكَـــمِــة maḥkameh court |
| أَطْــــعَـــم ’aṭ‘am he fed | —> | مَـــطْــــعَـــم maṭ‘am restaurant | خَـــــزَّن khazzan he stored | —> | مَـــخْــــزَن makhzan warehouse |
Some nouns follow the pattern مَــفْــعِــل (maf‘il) or its feminine form مَــفْــعِــلِــة (maf‘ileh). For example:
| سَـــجَـــد sajad he prostrated | —> | مَـــسْـــجِـــد masjid mosque |
| نِـــــــزِل nizil he descended or settled down | —> | مَـــنْـــزِلِـــة manzileh status or standing |
The plural of most of these nouns of place follows the pattern مَــفَــاعِـــل (mafā‘il). For example:
| مَـــلْـــعَـــب mal‘ab playground | —> | مَـــلَاعِـــب malā‘ib playgrounds | مَـــخْـــرَج makhraj exit | —> | مَـــخَـــارِج makhārij exits |
| مَـــدْرَسِـــة madraseh school | —> | مَــــدَارِس madāris schools | مَــــدْخَــــل madkhal entrance | —> | مَــــدَاخِــــل madākhil entrances |
| مَـــسْـــجِـــد masjid mosque | —> | مَـــسْـــجِـــد masājid mosques | مَــصْـــنَـــع maṣna‘ factory | —> | مَــصَـــانِـــع maṣāni‘ factories |
Some nouns of place are derived from passive participles, especially Forms VII, VIII, and X:
| VII | VIII | X |
| مُــنْــفَــعَــل munfa‘al | مُــفْــتَــعَــل mufta‘al | مُــسْــتَــفْــعَــل mustaf ‘al |
Here are some examples:
| VII | اِنْــحَـــنَـــى inḥana he bent | —> | مُــــنْـــحَــــنَـــى † munḥana curve |
| VII | اِنْـــحَــــدَر inḥadar he declined | —> | مُـــنْـــحَــــدَر munḥadar slope |
| VIII | اِسْــــتَــــوَى istawa he mounted, sat on, or is equivalent to | —> | مُـــسْــــتَـــوَى † mustawa level |
| VIII | اِرْتَــــفَــــع irtafa‘ he rose | —> | مُــــرْتَـــفَـــع murtafa‘ high place |
| X | اِسْـــتَـــشْـــفَـــى istashfa he sought a cure | —> | مُــسْـــتَـــشْـــفَـــى † mustashfa hospital |
| X | اِسْـــتَـــوْطَـــن istawṭan he settled (permanently) in | —> | مُـــسْـــتَـــوْطَـــنِـــة mustawṭaneh settlement |
† If the final root radical is weak—و (w) or ي (y)—passive participle Forms VII, VIII, and X become مُــنْــفَــعَــى (munfa‘a), مُــفْــتَــعَــى (mufta‘a), and مُــسْــتَــفْــعَــى (mustaf‘a), respectively.
The plural of nouns of place following passive participle forms is often obtained by adding ـَـات (-āt) to the end of the singular form. For example:
| VII | مُــــنْـــحَــــنَـــى munḥana curve | —> | مُــــنْـــحَــــنَـــيَـــات † munḥanayāt curves |
| VIII | مُــــرْتَـــفَـــع murtafa‘ high place | —> | مُــــرْتَـــفَـــعَـــات murtafa‘āt high places |
| X | مُـــسْـــتَـــوْطَـــنِـــة mustawṭaneh settlement | —> | مُـــسْـــتَـــوْطَـــنَـــات mustawṭanāt settlements |
† The ى (’alif maqṣūrah) is changed to ي (y) before adding ـَـات (-āt) to the end of the singular form.
Next: Nouns of Instrument, Intensity, and Repetition
Back to: Special-Use Pronouns, Nouns, and Words
Other lessons in Level VI: