Tanween Fatḥa & Hamza: Spelling Rules for Accusative Arabic Nouns

This article details how to correctly spell Arabic words that take nunation (تَنْوِينٌ) in the accusative case, particularly focusing on tricky situations involving the Hamza (همزة).

We will analyze examples like مَساءًا versus مَساءً, providing clear rules for writing Arabic words when they take Tanween Fatḥa and end with a Hamza, and explaining whether an additional Aleph (ا) is required.

In our example in the headline, مَساءًا or مَساءً, we can say for sure that you need to write the تَنْوِين above the هَمْزة. But do you also need an extra Aleph (ا) after it? So what is correct?

Let’s take a look at similar examples to understand the problem:

If the word functions as a direct object (مَنْصُوب), it is written like this: جُزْءًا. For example: I want a piece.

The root literally means: to spend the winter. The ء belongs to the root. It was originally a و that was transformed to a ء.

Our example, مَساءً, is based on the root letters ش-ت-و. The ء belongs to the root and was originally a و. So we do not write an additional final Aleph.

Rules for writing the final aleph

Now we can derive the following two rules:

1. If there is an Aleph before the هَمْزة, you don’t write an Aleph after the هَمْزة if the word is in the مَنْصُوب–case.
2. If there is no Aleph before the هَمْزة, like in the word جُزْء, you write an Aleph after it. Why? The هَمْزة is part of the root!

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