Tanween looks like two vowels stacked together. It simply adds an “n” sound.
The three tanween
| Mark | Name | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ـً | Fathatan | -an | كِتَابًا kitaban |
| ـٍ | Kasratan | -in | كِتَابٍ kitabin |
| ـٌ | Dammatan | -un | كِتَابٌ kitabun |
What it means
Tanween usually shows a word is indefinite: كِتَابٌ “a book”, while الْكِتَابُ is “the book”. A word doesn’t have both ال and tanween.
The extra alif
- Fathatan normally comes with an alif: كِتَابًا.
- Except on ة: رَحْمَةً.
When stopping
| Written | Read when stopping |
|---|---|
| أَحَدٌ | أَحَدْ |
| عَلِيمًا | عَلِيمَا |
See stopping on tanween.
Tanween and Tajweed
Tanween follows the same rules as noon sakinah: izhar, idgham, iqlab and ikhfa. See noon sakinah and tanween.
Teacher’s tip: say “tanween = the n-maker” to young children. Then read pairs: بَ / بً, بِ / بٍ, بُ / بٌ.
Related: Arabic vowels.
