In this lesson, we will discuss different patterns to form nouns of instrument and nouns of intensity or repetition in Palestinian-Jordanian Levantine Arabic.
Table of Contents
Nouns of Instrument
Nouns of instrument are special derived nouns that describe an instrument, machine, or tool used to perform a specific action. Most nouns of instrument follow one of these three patterns:
| I | II | III |
| مِـــفْــعَــال mif ‘āl | مِـــفْـــعَـــل mif ‘al | مِـــفْـــعَـــلِـــة mif ‘aleh |
Here are some examples:
| I | فَـــتَـــح fataḥ he opened | —> | مِـــفْــــتَــــاح miftāḥ key |
| I | نَـــشَـــر nashar he sawed | —> | مِــنْـــشَـــار minshār saw |
| I | حَــــرَث ḥarath he ploughed | —> | مِـــحْــــرَاث miḥrāth plow |
| II | صَـــعَــــد ṣa‘ad he went up or ascended | —> | مِـــصْـــعَـــد † miṣ‘ad elevator |
| II | كَـــبَــــس kabas he pressed | —> | مِـــكْـــبَـــس mikbas piston or press |
| II | كَـــــوَى kawa he ironed | —> | مِـــكْـــوَى * mikwa iron |
| III | نِـــشِـــف nishif it dried | —> | مِـــنْـــشَـــفِـــة minshafeh towel |
| III | كَـــنَّـــس kannas he swept | —> | مِـــكْـــنَـــسِـــة miknaseh broom |
| III | سَـــطَّـــر saṭṭar he drew lines | —> | مِـــسْـــطَـــرَة misṭarah ruler |
| III | فَـــــرَم faram he ground | —> | مِـــفْـــرَمِـــة miframeh meat grinder |
† The MSA word مِـصْـعَـد (miṣ‘ad) is not the common choice in daily speech. Instead, people often use أَصَـــنْــصِــيـــر (’aṣanṣeyr), borrowed from the French ‘ascenseur.’
* If the final root radical is weak—و (w) or ي (y)—Form II becomes مِــفْــعَــى (mif‘a).
Nouns of Intensity or Repetition
Nouns of intensity or repetition follow the pattern فَـــعَّــال (fa‘‘āl) for masculine nouns and فَـــعَّــالِـــة (fa‘‘āleh) for feminine nouns.
For example, the word for ‘liar’ in MSA is كَـــاذِب (kādhib), which follows the pattern فَــاعِــل (fā‘il). However, to describe someone who lies frequently, we use the word كَـــذَّاب (kadhdhāb), which follows the pattern فَـــعَّــال (fa‘‘āl) to indicate intensity and repetition of the action. In Levantine Arabic, كَـــاذِب (kādhib) is almost never used; instead, كَــذَّاب (kadhdhāb) is the common form.
Most derived nouns that emphasize intensity or repetition refer to either a profession or instrument.
Here are examples of nouns of intensity or repetition used as names of tools and instruments:
| جَـــــال † jāl he roamed | —> | جَــــوَّال jawwāl mobile phone | فَـــتَـــح fataḥ he opened | —> | فَـــتَّــاحَـــة fattāḥah bottle opener |
| غَـــسَـــل ghasal he washed | —> | غَـــسَّـــالِـــة ghassāleh washer | نِـــشِـــف nishif it dried | —> | نَــــشَّـــافِـــة nashshāfeh dryer |
| دَفَّــــى * daffa he/it warmed | —> | دَفَّــــايِـــة daffāyeh heater | قَـــلَـــى * qala he fried | —> | قَــــلَّايِـــة qallāyeh frying pan |
| سِـــمِـــع simi‘ he heard | —> | سَـــمَّـــاعَـــة sammā‘ah headphone | مَـــــصّ maṣṣ he sucked | —> | مَـــصَّـــاصَـــة maṣṣāṣah drinking straw |
| دَبّ dabb he walked noisily | —> | دَبَّـــابِـــة dabbābeh military tank | دَبَّـــــس dabbas he stapled | —> | دَبَّــاسِـــة dabbāseh stapler |
† If the middle root radical is weak—و (w) or ي (y), the pattern فَـــعَّــال (fa‘‘āl) becomes فَـــوَّال (fawwāl) if the middle radical is و (w), or فَـــيَّــال (fayyāl) if the middle radical is ي (y).
* If the final root radical is weak—و (w) or ي (y), the patterns فَـــعَّــال (fa‘‘āl) and فَـــعَّــالِــة (fa‘‘āleh) become فَـــعَّــاي (fa‘‘āy) and فَـــعَّــايِــة (fa‘‘āyeh), respectively.
As for workers in professions that use this pattern, here are some examples:
| نَــــجَــــر najar he carved wood | —> | نَــــجَّــــار najjār carpenter | حَـــــدَّد ḥaddad he specified | —> | حَـــــدَّاد ḥaddād blacksmith |
| خَـــيَّــــط khayyaṭ he sewed/stitched | —> | خَـــيَّــــاط khayyāṭ tailor | طَـــبَــخ ṭabakh he cooked | —> | طَـــبَّــاخ ṭabbākh chef |
| جَـــــرَح jaraḥ he wounded | —> | جَـــــرَّاح jarrāḥ surgeon | صَـــاد ṣād he hunted | —> | صَـــيَّـــاد ṣayyād hunter, fisherman |
| خَـــبَـــز khabaz he baked | —> | خَـــبَّـــاز khabbāz baker | حَـــلَـــق ḥalaq he shaved | —> | حَـــــلَّاق ḥallāq barber |
| جَــــرّ jarr he dragged | —> | جَــــرَّار jarrār drawer | فَــــرَّش farrash he brushed | —> | فَــــرَّاش farrāsh janitor |
The feminine form of the above nouns is obtained by adding a ة (tā’ marbūṭah) ‘tied-t’ to the end of the word.
In many cases, the name of the profession itself often follows the pattern فْـــعَـــالِـــة (f‘āleh) or فِـــعَـــالِـــة (fi‘āleh). For example:
| نَــــجَّــــار najjār carpenter | —> | نْــــجَــــارَة njārah carpentry | حَـــــلَّاق ḥallāq barber | —> | حْــــلَاقَـــة ḥlāqah shaving/haircut |
| خَـــيَّــــاط khayyāṭ tailor | —> | خْـــيَــاطَـــة khyāṭah sewing | جَـــــرَّاح jarrāḥ surgeon | —> | جِــــرَاحَـــة jirāḥah surgery |
Other lessons in Level VI: