Last updated: 2 years ago
How do you build the plural of adjectives in Egyptian Arabic?
Adjectives in Egyptian Arabic can be tricky. Sometimes you need to form the plural. An overview of the most common plural patterns of Egyptian adjectives.
Previously, we had looked at the basics of forming and using adjectives in Egyptian Arabic. We only focused on the singular form. Now, it is time to move on and check the plural.
Forming plurals is not so easy in Egyptian Arabic because you don’t hear them so often. But if you know two patterns, you can actually form the plurals of the most common adjectives.
The pattern fu3aal: فُعال
This pattern is pretty common and is used for many very basic adjectives.
Some examples.
| translation | singular | pronunciation | plural | pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| big | كِبِير | kibeer | كُبار | kubaar |
| tall | طَوِيل | Taweel | طَوال | Tuwaal |
| many | كِتِير | kiteer | كُتار | kutaar |
| cheap | رِخِيص | ri5eeS | رُخاص | ru5aaS |
| far | بِعِيد | be3eed | بُعاد | bu3aad |
| new | جِدِيد | gideed | جُداد | gudaad |
| old | قَدِيم | ‘adeem | قُدام | ‘udaam |
| nice | لَطِيف | laTeef | لُطاف | luTaaf |
| light | خَفِيف | 5afeef | خُفاف | 5ufaaf |
| heavy | تِقِيل | ti’eel | تُقال | tu’aal |
The ending “-een”: ين
Adjectives for human beings
That’s logic. You use a corrupted form of the standard plural ending of masculine sound plurals. It is always “-een” in Egyptian Arabic – no matter if the plural targets male or female human beings.
Some examples.
| translation | singular | pronunciation | plural | pronunciaton |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| good | كوَيِّي | kwayyes | كوَيِّسِين | kwayyiseen |
| bad | وِحِش | wi7ish | وِحْشِين | wi7sheen |
| quiet | هادِي | haadi | هادِيِن | hadyeen |
| sweet | حِلُو | 7ilw | حِلْوِين | 7ilween |
| terrific | هايِل | haayil | هايِلِين | hayleen |
What we have checked so far are adjectives that are mainly used for human beings – thus, the usual ending for human plurals does make sense, of course. But that is not the end of the story! Sometimes, the ending ين is used for non-human nouns!
Adjectives for non-human (inanimate) nouns
Let’s go directly to the examples as it is quite obvious what we are dealing here.
| translation | singular | pronunciation | plural | pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dry | ناشِف | naashef | ناشِفِين | nashfeen |
| expensive | غالِي | 3’aali | غالِييِن | 3’alyeen |
| cold | بارِد | baared | بارْدِين | bardeen |
Picture credit: Gerd Altmann from pixabay
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