Identification of Arabic Vowels and Tanwin (Nunation) – Basic 3 Islamic Studies Lesson Note (Second Term)

What We Will Learn Today

• The three main Arabic vowels (harakat)
• What Tanwin (Nunation) is
• How to identify and pronounce vowels and Tanwin
• The difference between regular vowels and Tanwin

Arabic Vowels (Harakat)

The Three Main Vowels:

1. Fathah (َ)

• Shape: Small line above the letter
• Sound: “a” (as in “cat”)
• Example: بَ = “ba”

2. Kasrah (ِ)

• Shape: Small line below the letter
• Sound: “i” (as in “sit”)
• Example: بِ = “bi”

3. Dhammah (ُ)

• Shape: Small circle or curl above the letter
• Sound: “u” (as in “put”)
• Example: بُ = “bu”

Tanwin (Nunation)

What is Tanwin? Tanwin means double vowels that add an “n” sound at the end.

The Three Types of Tanwin:

1. Tanwin Fath (ً)

• Shape: Double Fathah
• Sound: “an”
• Example: بًا = “ban”

2. Tanwin Kasr (ٍ)

• Shape: Double Kasrah
• Sound: “in”
• Example: بٍ = “bin”

3. Tanwin Dhamm (ٌ)

• Shape: Double Dhammah
• Sound: “un”
• Example: بٌ = “bun”

How to Identify Them

Regular Vowels vs. Tanwin:

Easy Way to Remember:

• One mark = regular vowel (a, i, u)
• Two marks = Tanwin (an, in, un)

Reading Practice

With Regular Vowels:

• كَتَبَ (kataba) = he wrote
• لَعِبَ (la’iba) = he played
• شَرِبَ (shariba) = he drank

With Tanwin:

• كِتَابًا (kitāban) = a book
• وَلَدٍ (waladin) = of a boy
• بَيْتٌ (baytun) = a house

What We Learned

• Arabic has three main vowels: Fathah (a), Kasrah (i), Dhammah (u)
• Tanwin is double vowels that add “n” sound: an, in, un
• Regular vowels have one mark, Tanwin has two marks
• Tanwin usually comes at the end of words

EXERCISES

1. Identify the vowel type (write V for vowel, T for Tanwin):

1. َ = ____
2. ٌ = ____
3. ِ = ____
4. ً = ____
5. ُ = ____
6. ٍ = ____

1. Write the sound for each mark:

1. َ = ____
2. ً = ____
3. ِ = ____
4. ٌ = ____
5. ُ = ____
6. ٍ = ____

1. Circle the Tanwin marks:

بَ بٌ بِ بً بُ بٍ

1. Match the mark with its name:

1. َ → Tanwin Dhamm
2. ٌ → Fathah
3. ِ → Tanwin Kasr
4. ٍ → Kasrah

1. True or False:

1. Tanwin has two marks. ( )
2. Kasrah sounds like “a”. ( )
3. Tanwin adds “n” sound. ( )
4. Dhammah goes below the letter. ( )

1. Reading Practice: Read these letters with their marks:

1. تَ = ____
2. سٌ = ____
3. مِ = ____
4. لً = ____
5. رُ = ____
6. نٍ = ____

Memory Tip: Regular vowels are like single steps, Tanwin are like double steps with an “n” sound at the end!