Spelling rules for Arabic tanween and Aleph: مَساءًا or مَساءً?

In this article, we’ll check how to spell Arabic words correctly when they take nunation (تَنْوِينٌ) in the accusative case.

We will look at tricky words and consider why they are written that way and what this might have to do with the root.

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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