Arabic Adjectives: Agreement, Patterns and Descriptive Phrases

In this Arabic grammar lesson, we will study Arabic adjectives. This concept is essential for describing a person, an object, a place, a quality, a color or a state.

In Arabic, an adjective is called نَعْتٌ or صِفَةٌ. The noun it describes is called مَنْعُوتٌ or مَوْصُوفٌ.

Adjectives are essential for building more precise sentences in Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic and Quranic Arabic. They follow important agreement rules and appear in many recognizable patterns.

What is an adjective in Arabic?

An adjective describes a noun. It can indicate a quality, a color, a defect, a state or a characteristic.

In English, we say for example: a small boy, a new bag, a big house or a red book. In Arabic, this construction also exists, but the adjective usually comes after the noun it describes.

Examples:

• وَلَدٌ صَغِيرٌ: a small boy;
• الْحَقِيبَةُ الْجَدِيدَةُ: the new bag;
• مِنْدِيلٌ وَسِخٌ: a dirty tissue;
• طَالِبَةٌ ذَكِيَّةٌ: an intelligent female student.

The descriptive phrase in Arabic

The descriptive phrase is called الْمُرَكَّبُ الْوَصْفِيُّ or الْمُرَكَّبُ التَّوْصِيفِيُّ. It is made up of a noun and an adjective.

It can also be called:

• النَّعْتُ وَالْمَنْعُوتُ: the adjective and the described noun;
• الصِّفَةُ وَالْمَوْصُوفُ: the description and the described noun.

In this construction, the first word is the described noun, and the second word is the adjective that qualifies it.

The adjective comes after the noun

In Arabic, the adjective usually comes after the noun. This is an important difference from English, where the adjective usually comes before the noun.

• كِتَابٌ جَدِيدٌ: a new book;
• بَيْتٌ كَبِيرٌ: a big house;
• غُرْفَةٌ نَظِيفَةٌ: a clean room;
• العُصْفُورُ طَيْرٌ جَمِيلٌ: the sparrow is a beautiful bird.

Adjective agreement with the noun

The Arabic adjective follows the noun it describes in several grammatical elements. It agrees with it in:

• definite or indefinite state;
• masculine or feminine gender;
• number: singular, dual or plural;
• grammatical case: nominative, accusative or genitive.

This rule is fundamental for reading and writing Arabic correctly.

Definite and indefinite agreement

If the noun is indefinite, the adjective is also indefinite. If the noun is definite with ال, the adjective also takes ال.

Quranic examples

وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
And for them is a great punishment. 2:7

إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ
Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy. 36:60

اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ
Guide us to the straight path. 1:6

Gender agreement: masculine and feminine

If the noun is masculine, the adjective is masculine. If the noun is feminine, the adjective is feminine. Very often, the feminine adjective takes a ة, called tā’ marbūṭah.

• مُهَنْدِسٌ شَهِيرٌ: a famous engineer;
• تُفَّاحَةٌ لَذِيذَةٌ: a tasty apple;
• طَالِبَةٌ ذَكِيَّةٌ: an intelligent female student;
• غُرْفَةٌ نَظِيفَةٌ: a clean room.

Quranic examples

النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ
The piercing star. 86:3

فَهُوَ فِي عِيشَةٍ رَّاضِيَةٍ
He will be in a pleasant life. 101:7

نَاصِيَةٍ كَاذِبَةٍ خَاطِئَةٍ
A lying, sinful forelock. 96:16

Number agreement

If the noun is singular, dual or plural, the adjective usually follows the same form. However, irregular plurals and inanimate objects follow a special rule.

بَلْ هُوَ قُرْآنٌ مَّجِيدٌ
Rather, it is a glorious Quran. 85:21

بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ
Rather, they are clear verses. 29:49

Special case: irregular plurals and inanimate objects

When the described noun is an irregular plural or refers to inanimate objects, the adjective is often feminine singular.

فِيهَا سُرُرٌ مَّرْفُوعَةٌ
Therein are raised couches. 88:13

وَنَمَارِقُ مَصْفُوفَةٌ
And cushions lined up. 88:15

Agreement in grammatical case

The adjective also follows the grammatical case of the noun. If the noun is nominative, the adjective is nominative. If the noun is accusative, the adjective is accusative. If the noun is genitive, the adjective is genitive.

• هَذَا مُدَرِّسٌ جَدِيدٌ: this is a new teacher;
• الْقَلَمُ فِي الْحَقِيبَةِ الصَّغِيرَةِ: the pen is in the small bag;
• الْمَاءُ فِي كَأْسٍ مَكْسُورٍ: the water is in a broken glass;
• ذَهَبَ أَحْمَدُ إِلَىٰ صَدِيقٍ مَرِيضٍ: Ahmad went to a sick friend.

Quranic examples by case

Nominative case

ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
That is the great success. 44:57

Accusative case

جَزَاءً مِّن رَّبِّكَ عَطَاءً حِسَابًا
A reward from your Lord, a sufficient gift. 78:36

Genitive case

لِيَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ
For a tremendous Day. 83:5

Main adjective patterns in Arabic

Many Arabic adjectives follow recognizable patterns. These patterns help students memorize vocabulary and understand word meanings.

The pattern فَاعِلٌ: active participle

The pattern فَاعِلٌ is often used to form an active participle or an adjective related to an action or quality.

Examples:

• صَالِحٌ: righteous;
• عَالِمٌ: learned, scholar;
• عَابِدٌ: worshipper.

وَلَا أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ
Nor am I a worshipper of what you worship. 109:4

The pattern فَعِيلٌ

The pattern فَعِيلٌ is very common in Arabic. It often expresses a stable or strong quality.

Examples:

• كَرِيمٌ: noble, generous;
• عَظِيمٌ: great, tremendous;
• رَحِيمٌ: merciful;
• قَدِيرٌ: powerful;
• عَلِيمٌ: all-knowing, learned;
• حَكِيمٌ: wise.

وَاللَّـهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
And Allah is Knowing and Wise. 9:15

لَّهُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ
For them are degrees with their Lord, forgiveness and a noble provision. 8:4

The pattern فَعُولٌ

The pattern فَعُولٌ often expresses an intense or repeated quality.

Examples:

• ظَلُومٌ: very unjust;
• غَفُورٌ: Forgiving;
• رَءُوفٌ: compassionate.

إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَظَلُومٌ كَفَّارٌ
Indeed, mankind is very unjust and ungrateful. 14:34

وَاللَّـهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. 2:218

وَاللَّـهُ رَءُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ
And Allah is Kind to His servants. 3:30

The pattern فَعْلانُ

The pattern فَعْلانُ often expresses a state, a feeling or a strong quality. Some adjectives of this type usually do not take tanwīn.

Examples:

• غَضْبَانُ: angry;
• رَحْمَانُ: the Most Merciful;
• عَطْشَانُ: thirsty;
• جَوْعَانُ: hungry;
• فَرْحَانُ: joyful.

الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
The Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful. 1:3

فَرَجَعَ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ غَضْبَانَ أَسِفًا
So Moses returned to his people angry and grieved. 20:86

The pattern فَعَّالٌ

The pattern فَعَّالٌ may express intensity or repetition of a quality.

Example:

• جَبَّارٌ: powerful, compelling.

الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ
The Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. 59:23

Adjectives of color and defect

Adjectives expressing colors and certain defects often follow specific patterns.

Quranic examples with colors

وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ
Eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread. 2:187

وَاضْمُمْ يَدَكَ إِلَىٰ جَنَاحِكَ تَخْرُجْ بَيْضَاءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ
And draw in your hand to your side; it will come out white without disease. 20:22

وَمِنَ الْجِبَالِ جُدَدٌ بِيضٌ وَحُمْرٌ مُّخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهَا وَغَرَابِيبُ سُودٌ
And among the mountains are streaks, white and red, of varying colors and very black. 35:27

Examples with defects or physical states

صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ فَهُمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ
Deaf, dumb and blind, so they will not return. 2:18

The adjective in an annexation structure

In an annexation structure, called الإِضَافَةُ, the adjective may sometimes describe the first noun or the second noun. The meaning changes according to grammatical case and agreement.

بَيْتُ اللَّهِ الْحَرَامُ
The Sacred House of Allah.

تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ
These are the verses of the clear Book. 26:2

Compare also:

• بَيْتُ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمُ: the glorious House of Allah;
• بَيْتُ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ: the House of Allah, the Glorious.

The difference in grammatical case helps identify which noun is being described by the adjective.

How to memorize Arabic adjectives

To memorize Arabic adjectives, it is recommended to learn each adjective with a simple noun. This helps students remember adjective position and agreement.

Examples to memorize:

• كِتَابٌ جَدِيدٌ: a new book;
• بَيْتٌ كَبِيرٌ: a big house;
• طَالِبَةٌ ذَكِيَّةٌ: an intelligent female student;
• غُرْفَةٌ نَظِيفَةٌ: a clean room;
• رَجُلٌ صَالِحٌ: a righteous man;
• طَرِيقٌ مُزْدَحِمٌ: a crowded road.

This method supports progressive learning of Arabic vocabulary, Arabic grammar and pronunciation.

Learn Arabic grammar with a teacher

The adjective is an essential concept for learning Arabic online, understanding simple texts and progressing in Classical Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic.

To go further, you can follow our online Arabic courses, review the basics of the Arabic alphabet or download our free books to learn Arabic.

Students who want to understand Quranic examples can also strengthen their Quranic Arabic with a teacher.

FAQ — Arabic adjectives

How do you say adjective in Arabic?

An adjective is called نَعْتٌ or صِفَةٌ. The described noun is called مَنْعُوتٌ or مَوْصُوفٌ.

Where is the adjective placed in Arabic?

In Arabic, the adjective usually comes after the noun it describes, as in كِتَابٌ جَدِيدٌ, “a new book”.

What does the Arabic adjective agree with?

The adjective agrees with the noun in definite or indefinite state, gender, number and grammatical case.

What is the pattern for colors in Arabic?

Colors often follow the pattern أَفْعَلُ in the masculine singular and فَعْلاءُ in the feminine singular, such as أَبْيَضُ and بَيْضَاءُ.

Why do some plurals take a feminine singular adjective?

In Arabic, irregular plurals and nouns referring to inanimate objects often take a feminine singular adjective, as in سُرُرٌ مَّرْفُوعَةٌ.

Conclusion

In this lesson, we studied Arabic adjectives, their position after the noun, their agreement rules and their main patterns. We saw that the Arabic adjective follows the noun in state, gender, number and grammatical case.

We also studied several common patterns such as فَاعِلٌ, فَعِيلٌ, فَعُولٌ, فَعْلانُ and فَعَّالٌ, as well as the forms used for colors and certain defects.

Understanding adjectives helps students read, analyze and build Arabic sentences more accurately. With a progressive method, regular examples and correction from a teacher, this rule becomes much clearer.