What is a اسم مصدر in Arabic?

In the Arabic language, recognizing the differences between words is key to understanding their meanings. This article explores two Arabic words: تَغْنِيَةٌ and غِناءٌ. Although they are often translated the same, small differences highlight unique aspects of Arabic grammar and sound.

Let’s make it practical: Do تَغْنِيَةٌ and غِناءٌ both mean the same? There is almost no difference in meaning. But there is a tiny one.

Although both words are often translated as singing or song, precisely speaking, غِناءٌ is song and تَغْنِيَةٌ is singing.

They are both a مَصْدَر of the verb: غَنَّى. But why do they look different?

You might know that the مَصْدَر of a II-verb (فَعَّلَ) follows a cer­tain pattern: تَفْعِيل

For example: دَرَّسَ – تَدْرِيسٌ

This is correct for regular verbs. But the pattern looks different if the last letter of the root is a حَرْف عِلّة – one of these tricky letters, namely و or ي. The pattern then changes to: تَفْعِيلة

This is why the مَصْدَر of the verb غَنَّى is written like this: تَغْنِية

Now, what about the second word: غِناء?

This is called the اِسْم الْمَصْدَر. Normally, a اِسْم مَصْدَر is shorter than the original مَصْدَر.

Why does it almost mean the same as تَغْنِية?

1. The masdar represents the action of the verb and
2. the Ism al-Masdar is pointing more to the result / outcome of the action.

For native speakers, the regular form of the مَصْدَر is a bit difficult to pronounce. So, a simplified pronunciation became popular following the pattern of I-verb (فعل).

To sum it up: The original مَصْدَر is تَغْنِية and is called الْمَصْدَر الأَصْلِيّ. However, native speakers prefer to use the word غِناء instead. This is called the اِسْم الْمَصْدَر. Normally, a اِسْم مَصْدَر is shorter than the original مَصْدَر.

Forms like this occur quite often in Arabic and exist for almost all verb patterns. But before dealing with them, let us have a closer look again at the correct pronunciation of the word: غناء

So watch out for the pronunciation as without vowels, the words for song and wealth look the same!

Here are some examples for the اِسْم الْمَصْدَر:

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