Adjectives in Arabic: The Rule of Agreement (As-Sifah)

Arabic Adjectives: As-Sifah (الصِّفَة)

The Art of Description and Agreement

In Arabic, an adjective (Sifah) behaves like a shadow of the noun it describes (Mawsuf). It follows the noun in the sentence and must agree with it perfectly in several ways. If the noun is feminine, the adjective must become feminine. If the noun has "Al-", the adjective must also have "Al-".

The 4 Rules of Agreement

The adjective must match the noun in:

1. Gender: Masculine noun → Masculine adjective.
2. Definiteness: If the noun has Al-, the adjective needs Al-.
3. Number: Singular, Dual, or Plural.
4. Case: The vowel on the last letter must match.

Common Adjectives in Action

English Phrase	Arabic Structure	Transliteration
A big house	بَيْتٌ كَبِيرٌ	Baytun kabīrun
The big house	اَلْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ	Al-baytu al-kabīru
A new car	سَيَّارَةٌ جَدِيدَةٌ	Sayyāratun jadīdatun
The new car	اَلسَّيَّارَةُ الْجَدِيدَةُ	As-sayyāratu al-jadīdatu

Must-Know Adjectives

📏 Large: كَبِير (Kabīr)

🔍 Small: صَغِير (Saghīr)

✨ New: جَدِيد (Jadīd)

📜 Old: قَدِيم (Qadīm)

🛠️ Broken: مَكْسُور (Maksūr)

Practice: If Qalamun (Pen) is masculine, and you want to say "The broken pen," how would you change the adjective Maksūr to match?
Answer: اَلْقَلَمُ الْمَكْسُورُ (Al-qalamu al-maksūru)