Understanding the Ism al-Mafʿul in Levantine Arabic 

The aim of today’s episode is to help Levantine Arabic learners understand how the ism al-mafʿūl works. We often spend time discussing Arabic grammar in episodes of this podcast. We do this because, in second language acquisition, there are two types of learning that researchers talk about: implicit learning and explicit learning. Knowing more about how these processes work can help you understand where understanding aids in acquisition and when it could be unnecessary. 

Implicit learning often occurs at a subconscious level and happens without even knowing you are learning something. Explicit learning, on the other hand, is brought about by explicit instruction, when we are being directly taught about the language and the way it works. This is particularly helpful when it comes to grammar rules. All overt language instruction falls under this category. Anytime you are being taught about grammar, this is explicit instruction. 

Now, it’s important to know that researchers debate how much explicit language instruction can contribute to better language production. In other words, knowing the rules has not been proven to help us acquire the language. However, once we have established a solid threshold of language that we do understand, many find learning about the language helpful, as it helps us sort information that we already know. Categorizing language, or making sense of it, builds our confidence. That is true for some learners. For others, just producing language without knowing the why behind it all is just fine. 

As you listen to today’s episode, keep this in mind. We are going to talk about how to build the ism al-mafʿūl, not because it will make you speak the language more proficiently, but because sometimes identifying a pattern can cause things to click. Perhaps it will help you notice something new. When you’re hearing Arabic spoken around you, you may find what you learn here in this episode helps bring attention to language usage in a way you haven’t noticed before. It can offer an aha moment that brings to light something that we didn’t see before about Levantine Arabic’s internal structures. All this to say, while learning the rules doesn’t necessarily help us acquire the language or speak it more fluently, discussing grammar can help us learn about what we have already acquired, and that can be quite satisfying. It reinforces and confirms that which we have already become familiar with. I find that, in some ways, it makes Arabic less mysterious, helping us feel that yes, it is indeed attainable. I hope that happens for you today. 

What is the ism al-mafʿūl? 

So let’s now dive into better understanding the ism al-mafʿūl. The first thing to know is that every ism al-mafʿūl is considered a descriptive. It’s a description of a condition: that is, the condition after the action has taken place. These forms follow the same masculine, feminine, and plural patterns that other descriptives and the ism al-fāʿil follow. Unlike the ism al-fāʿil, which describes the doer of the action, the ism al-mafʿūl describes the object or person after the action—the thing the action has happened to, the state it is currently in after the action occurred. It doesn’t matter how long ago something was broken or painted or canceled; the ism al-mafʿūl describes the current condition it is in at the moment. The vase is broken. The walls are painted. The appointment is canceled. In English, we call this the past or passive participle, which acts as an adjective. For example, the teacher opened the door, so the door is open. The young man broke the window. The window is broken. He wrote down the instructions. The instructions are written. My brother washed the car. The car is washed. Open, broken, understandable, written, and washed all describe these resulting conditions. In Arabic, they are examples of the ism al-mafʿūl. 

Forming the ism al-mafʿūl from three-letter verbs 

Having established that, the second thing to know is that ism al-mafʿūl forms are created from the past-tense form of verbs. Arabic is like a tree, and the root of the tree is found in the form of the past tense of verbs in the “he” conjugation. This is the root from which everything else in Arabic is built. Depending on how many letters make up the root form of the verb, the ism al-mafʿūl will follow a particular pattern. Let me explain. For verb roots made of three letters, to create the ism al-mafʿūl, a mīm (م) is added at the beginning with a fatḥah ( ـَ ), and a wāw (و) is added, becoming the second-to-last letter. Have you ever felt that everything in Arabic starts with an mmm sound? Well, this is why. All ism al-mafʿūl forms begin with a mīm (م). Here are a few you’re surely familiar with:

• مَكْتُوب (Written)

• مَكْسُور (Broken)

• مَسْمُوع (Heard)

• مَفْتُوح (Opened)

• مَطْبُوخ (Cooked)

• مَشْحُون (Charged)

• مَشْرُوب (Drunk).

• مَعْرُوف (Known / Famous)

• مَمْسُوح (Wiped / Erased)

• مَجْرُوح (Wounded / Injured)

• مَحْرُوق (Burnt)

• مَنْفُوخ (Inflated / Puffed)

• مَخْصُوم (Makhṣūm / Discounted / Deducted)

• مَدْفُوع (Paid)

Below are some examples of ism al-mafʿūl forms that come from three-letter verb roots. We recorded these in a simple pattern with a sentence that first uses the verb in the past tense and then the noun in its new condition after the action has been done to it. We’ve left them in the masculine form, both the verb and the object, to make it easier to hear the pattern in repetition. I’m giving you a lot of these examples because it’s the most common pattern you’ll hear. 

• The student wrote the letter on his notebook. The letter is written.

  • الطالب كتب الحرف على الدفتر. الحرف مكتوب

• The employee charged the laptop. The laptop is charged.

  • الموظف شحن اللابتوب. اللابتوب مشحون

• My brother heard a loud sound or voice. The sound or voice is heard.

  • أخوي سمع صوت عالي. الصوت مسموع

• The police caught the thief. The thief is caught.

  • الشرطي مسك الحرامي. الحرامي ممسوك

• The painter painted the house. The house is painted.

  • الدهّين دهن البيت. البيت مدهون

• The young man wiped the shelf. The shelf is wiped down.

  • الشّب مسح الرّف. الرّف ممسوح

• The thief stole the phone. The phone is stolen.

  • السارق سرق التلفون. التلفون مسروق

• The employee sent the email to the manager. The email is sent.

  • الموظف بعث الإيميل للمدير. الإيميل مبعوث

• The nurse injured his finger. His finger is injured.

  • الممرض جرح إصبعه. إصبعه مجروح

• The man withdrew the money from his account. The money is withdrawn.

  • الزلمة سحب المبلغ من حسابه. المبلغ مُسحَب

• The farmer planted the onions. The onions are planted.

  • المزارع زرع البصل. البصل مزروع

• The baker baked the bread. The bread is baked.

  • الخبّاز خبز الخبز. الخبز مخبوز

• The butcher chopped the parsley. The parsley is chopped.

  • اللحّام فرم البقدونس. البقدونس مفروم

• The renter paid the rent. The rent is paid.

  • المستأجر دفع الأجار. الأجار مدفوع.

Masculine, feminine, and plural forms 

As we said before, the ism al-mafʿūl follows the same pattern as the ism al-fāʿil and descriptives, ṣifāt. There is a masculine form, a feminine form, and a plural. To describe a feminine object, we add the ta marbuta (ة) at the end, which makes an “a” or “eh” sound. For plurals, we add a yāʾ (ي) and a nun (ن): “een.” Here are some examples. 

مفروم

• البصل مفروم (The onions are chopped.)

• اللحمة مفرومة (The meat is minced/chopped.)

• البقدونس والكزبرة مفرومين (The parsley and cilantro are chopped.)

مضروب

• الحرامي مضروب (The thief is beaten/hit.)

• السيارة مضروبة (The car is hit/damaged.)

• الأولاد مضروبين (The boys/children are beaten/hit.)

منكوش

• الشعر منكوش (The hair is messy/frizzy.)

• الأرض منكوشة (The ground is dug up / The floor is messy.)

• الغرف منكوشين (The rooms are messy/untidy.)

متلوب

Verbs beginning with mīm (م) and doubled letters 

This might be obvious, but if the original root of the verb starts with a mīm (م), you still add an additional mīm (م). Fun fact: verbs that have a shaddah ( ـّ ) are sometimes thought of as two-letter verbs in the root form, but because of the shaddah ( ـّ ), each is technically considered a three-letter verb. They therefore follow the same pattern that three-letter verb roots do. That makes it easier. The shaddah ( ـّ ) is kind of a shortcut, but the sound or letter repeats twice, so thankfully the ism al-mafʿūl still follows the same pattern. Here are some examples. 

• قَصّ: مَقْصُوص (Cut / sheared)

• حَطّ: مَحْطُوط (Placed / put)

• صَبّ: مَصْبُوب (Poured / cast)

• حَبّ: مَحْبُوب (Loved / liked)

• رَشّ: مَرْشُوش (Sprinkled / sprayed)

• بَلّ: مَبْلُول (Wet / soaked)

• كَبّ: مَكْبُوب (Dumped / spilled)

• حَلّ: مَحْلُول (Solved / dissolved)

• شَمّ: مَشْمُوم (Smelled)

• لَمّ: مَلْمُوم (Gathered / collected)

The verbs put or placed, poured, spilled, cut with scissors, gathered, and collected—as in garbage, laundry, or toys—follow the same pattern: a mīm (م) with a fatḥah ( ـَ ) and a wāw (و) inserted as the second-to-last letter. Here are some examples of those:

Negating the ism al-mafʿūl with mish or mū 

Just like descriptives or the ism al-fāʿil, the ism al-mafʿūl is negated by adding either mish or mū. 

• مِشْ مَفْهُوم / مُوْ مَفْهُوم (Not understandable.)

• الفكرة مش مَفْهُومَة. الكلمات مش مَفْهُومِينَ (The idea is not understandable. The words are not understandable.)

Here are a few more examples of how we negate the ism al-mafʿūl: 

• الكتاب مو مَقْرُوء (The book is unread.)

• الرسالة مش مَقْرُوءَة (The message is unread.)

• التعليمات مش مَقْرُوءِينَ كويس (The instructions are not read well.)

• الامتحان مش مَكْتُوب (The exam is not written.)

• الجملة مو مَكْتُوبَة (The sentence is not written.)

• القصص مو مَكْتُوبِينَ (The stories are not written.)

Exceptions: verbs ending in alif maqṣūrah (ى) 

OK, let’s talk about exceptions to the three-letter root rule. There are three letters we consider vowels in Arabic: the alif (ا), the wāw (و), and the yāʾ (ي). Whenever a root form ends with the alif maqṣūrah (ى), the ism al-mafʿūl pattern changes. Now, the last letter becomes a yāʾ (ي) instead of a wāw (و): 

• طفى: مَطْفِي (He turned off / Turned off)

• رمى: مَرْمِي (He threw / Thrown)

• بنى: مَبْنِي (He built / Built)

• حشى: مَحْشِي (He stuffed / Stuffed)

• نسي: مَنْسِي (He forgot / Forgotten)

• سقى: مَسْقِي (He watered / Watered)

• أبوي طفى التلفزيون. التلفزيون مَطْفِيّ (My dad turned off the TV. The TV is turned off.)

• اخوي نسي تلفونه. التلفون مَنْسِيّ (My brother forgot his phone. His phone is forgotten.)

• المدير لغى الاجتماع. الاجتماع مُلْغِيّ (The manager canceled the meeting. The meeting is canceled.)

• الزلمة كوى القميص. القميص مَكْوِيّ (The man ironed the shirt. The shirt is ironed.)

Just as the verb changes from the past to the future—as in “he threw something” and “he will throw something”—the alif maqṣūrah (ى) becomes a yāʾ (ي) in the future tense, just as it does for the ism al-mafʿūl: 

• لغى: مُلْغِي (He canceled / Canceled)

• حمى: مَحْمِي (He protected / Protected)

• شوى: مَشْوِي (He grilled / Grilled)

• طوى: مَطْوِي (He folded / Folded)

• ضوى: مُضَوِّي (He turned on a light / Illuminated)

• كوى: مَكْوِي (He ironed / Ironed)

The four-letter verb pattern 

Now, let’s discuss the four-letter verbs in the root form. These have a shaddah ( ـّ ) in the middle, so again, the shaddah ( ـّ ) is considered two letters. This means the verb will follow a four-letter pattern—yet a different pattern. For these verbs, the ism al-mafʿūl still has a mīm (م) at the beginning, but there is now a sukūn ( ـْ ) placed above it rather than a fatḥah ( ـَ ) over the first letter. Because of this, the first sound is “em” rather than “ma,” and the second-to-last letter retains the shaddah ( ـّ ) and also has a fatḥah ( ـَ ) added to the letter itself, rather than inserting a wāw (و) as in the previous examples. 

Here are some examples of the ism al-mafʿūl that follow this pattern: 

• قطّع: مْقَطَّع (He/It is chopped / cut into pieces)

• كنّس: مْكَنَّس (He/It is swept)

• سجّل: مْسَجَّل (He/It is recorded)

• كرّم: مْكَرَّم (He/It is honored)

• ركّب: مْرَكَّب (He/It is installed / assembled)

• جهّز: مْجَهَّز (He/It is prepared / ready)

• رتّب: مْرَتَّب (He/It is tidy / organized)

• غسّل: مْغَسَّل (He/It is washed)

• وظّف: مْوَظَّف (He/It is employed)

• نظّف: مْنَظَّف (He/It is cleaned)

• سكّر: مْسَكَّر (He/It is closed)

• ولّع: مْوَلَّع (He/It is lit / turned on)

• وقف: مْوَقَّف (He/It is stopped / paused)

• وزّن: مْوَزَّن (He/It is weighed)

• درّب: مْدَرَّب (He/It is trained)

• حرّك: مْحَرَّك (He/It is moved)

• قدّم: مْقَدَّم (He/It is presented / submitted)

• غيّر: مْغَيَّر (He/It is changed)

• عقّم: مْعَقَّم (He/It is sterilized)

• وقع: مْوَقَّع (He/It is signed)

• حدد: مْحَدَّد (He/It is specified / determined)

Sentences & Examples

•  The grandfather swept the house. The house is swept.

  • الجدّ كنّس البيت. البيت مْكَنَّس

• The manager hired the young man. The young man is hired.

  • المدير وظّف الشّب. الشّب مْوَظَّف

• The young man prepared or readied the food. The food is prepared or ready.

  • الشّب جهّز الأكل. الأكل مْجَهَّز

• The boy tidied the house. The house is tidy.

  • الولد رتّب البيت. البيت مْرَتَّب

• My brother washed his hair. His hair is washed.

  • أخوي غسّل شعره. شعره مْغَسَّل

• The chef cleaned the chicken. The chicken is clean.

  • الطّباخ نظّف الجاج. الجاج مْنَظَّف

• The boy colored the notebook. The notebook is colorful/colored.

  • الولد لوّن الدفتر. الدفتر مْلَوَّن

• The trainer trained the employee. The employee is trained.

  • المدرب درّب الموظف. الموظف مْدَرَّب

• The nurse sterilized the equipment or device. The device is sterilized.

  • الممرض عقّم الجهاز. الجهاز مْعَقَّم 

The five- and six-letter verb patterns 

The final variant is made from five- or six-letter verb roots. Fewer of these are commonly used in spoken Levantine Arabic. Here are some examples. This time, let’s see if you can identify the pattern. 

• مُسْتَخْدَم (Used).

• مُسْتَعْمَل (Second-hand / Used).

• مُسْتَبْعَد (Excluded / Unlikely).

• مُقْتَرَح (Suggested / Proposed).

• مُعْتَمَد (Approved / Certified).

• مُحْتَرَم (Respected)

• مُنْتَخَب (Elected)

• مُتَوَقَّع (Expected)

Did you hear (or see, if you’re reading) the pattern? If you said that now a ḍammah ( ـُ ) has been added to the mīm (م) and a fatḥah ( ـَ ) to the second-to-last letter of the word, you are correct. The ḥarakāt pattern is now a mīm (م) with a ḍammah ( ـُ ), and the second-to-last letter has a fatḥah ( ـَ ). 

Here’s some examples:

• The doctor utilized the device or equipment. The device or equipment is utilized.

  • الدكتور استخدم الجهاز. الجهاز مُسْتَخْدَم

• The man used the phone. The phone is now used.

  • الزلمة استعمل التلفون. التلفون مُسْتَعْمَل

• The employee proposed or suggested a solution to the problem. The solution is suggested.

  • الموظف اقترح حل للمشكلة. الحل مُقْتَرَح

• The teacher respected the student. The student is respected.

  • المعلم احترم الطالب. الطالب مُحْتَرَم

• The student expected success on the exam. The success is expected.

  • الطالب اتوقع النجاح بالامتحان. النجاح مُتَوَقَّع

Learning pronunciation and everyday usage 

Remember, though, that when we are writing spoken Arabic in text messages, you won’t see the ḥarakāt written. 

You still need to learn to pronounce these by listening well. As I pointed out early in the episode, knowing the proper ḥarakāt in your head does not always mean your tongue knows how to pronounce them or that you will know how to use them proficiently. This comes from lots of exposure to language. There’s no substitute. Hearing Arabic speakers use them helps us know how they are used. What we hear a lot is what we say a lot. That’s why a good language coach will help you understand usage more than they will spend time explaining rules. 

Practice: pairing the ism al-mafʿūl with nouns 

Another good strategy I’d like to mention—and you know I mention this one often—is to always give attention and time to learning components of language alongside their frequent partners. 

A great exercise to do with the ism al-mafʿūl that you are learning is to ask, “Which nouns can be described by using this?” So many learners skip this step and, as a result, miss a wonderful chance to really grasp all the fun applications the ism al-mafʿūl can have and all the functions or meanings that this brings to light. Diced, chopped, and minced are the same in Arabic: Mafroom (مَفْرُوم), mafroome (مَفْرُومَة), mafroomin (مَفْرُومِينَ) Minced meat, diced vegetables, and chopped parsley or cilantro. In fact, in Levantine Arabic, to say someone was pulverized, as in to really beat them up, uses the same ism al-mafʿūl as well, “The shabaab beat the kid to a bloody pulp, and now he’s pulverized,” or something like that. This is also a great way to learn culture alongside language. What comes to mind quickly and naturally when your coach thinks of madrub (مَضْرُوب), for example? He or she may think of a thief that’s been roughed up by the police, an abused child, or a car that has been in an accident. 

Another great example: nakash (نَكَشَ) / mankoosh (مَنْكُوش). We recently made a fun reel for our Instagram page on this verb because it has so many functions. Your hair can be messy. Your room can be ransacked. A problem or the past can be dug up. The land can be tilled. You use it to provoke someone or to poke at them. There are so many ways to use this verb. Can you see how taking time to do an association exercise with your coach on the ism al-mafʿūl and how it’s used can really inform you? This can make your proficiency stronger. As we always say at Shababeek, “The usage is the meaning.” In other words, knowing a word’s definition alone is not enough. You need to know how to use the language. And knowing the nouns that the ism al-mafʿūl can describe goes a long way in improving your ability to use this form in your everyday speech. 

Knowing the things that we describe as maṭlūb (مَطْلُوب), for example, helps us discover that it can mean several things: ordered, requested, asked of you, or wanted. A criminal is wanted. The food was ordered. This is asked of you. In fact, the more I talk to Arabs about the functions of each ism al-mafʿūl I know, or think I know, the more surprised I am at how many meanings or functions they can have in Levantine Arabic. This aspect of discovery is one of the things I love most about learning another language; finding ways that it works uniquely in Levantine Arabic makes learning fun. I hope you give this association exercise a try. I think it will not only help you to understand the words better, but also help you know how to apply them when speaking. 

Additional resources 

We hope this episode, like all the other episodes we’ve done on aspects of Levantine spoken Arabic, has been an aid to you in your learning. As an additional help to you we have created an interactive table below which covers the grammar rules addressed in this episode. 

If you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed, feel free to schedule a coaching session. As always, reach out to us through the website if you have any ideas for future episodes. We’re here to serve you and to help you stay encouraged as you learn spoken Levantine Arabic.