Tanween adds a rhythmic quality to Arabic pronunciation while serving essential grammatical functions. This guide explains the marks you will see as -ً- , -ٌ- , and -ٍ- .
What is tanween?
Tanween (تنوين) is the doubling of short vowels (حركات) at the end of nouns or adjectives, creating an “n” sound that indicates indefiniteness. It is close to English “a” or “an”, though Arabic uses it more widely.
Tanween Fatha (-ً-) produces an “an” sound, as in كتاباً (kitāban) — “a book”. Tanween Damma (-ٌ-) produces “un”, as in كتابٌ (kitābun). Tanween Kasra (-ٍ-) produces “in”, as in كتابٍ (kitābin).
Two jobs: indefiniteness and case
When a noun is not specific, we apply tanween. رأيتُ كتاباً في المكتبة — “I saw a book in the library.” With الـ the noun is definite, so tanween is not used: رأيتُ الكتاب في المكتبة — “I saw the book in the library.”
Tanween Fatha marks the accusative (حالة النصب), often for objects of verbs. Tanween Damma marks the nominative (حالة الرفع), typically for subjects. Tanween Kasra marks the genitive (حالة الجر), commonly after prepositions.
A short history
Early Arabic writing had no vowel marks. In the 8th century, scholars including Abu al-Aswad al-Duʾali and Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi introduced حركات so Quranic recitation would not be misread. Later refinements added tanween and other signs — still used today to keep meaning and pronunciation clear.
Tanween in action
Fatha, often for objects: اشتريتُ قلماً جديداً — “I bought a new pen.” رأيتُ طائراً في الحديقة — “I saw a bird in the garden.”
Damma, often for subjects: هذا كتابٌ مفيدٌ — “This is a useful book.” عندي قميصٌ أزرقٌ — “I have a blue shirt.”
Kasra, commonly after prepositions: ذهبتُ إلى مسجدٍ قريبٍ — “I went to a nearby mosque.” اشتريتُ كتاباً من مكتبةٍ مشهورةٍ — “I bought a book from a famous library.”
The next time you see -ً- , -ٌ- , or -ٍ- at the end of a word, you are looking at a system that has kept Arabic precise for over a thousand years.