A Conversational Course in Qur'ānic Arabic

لُغَةُ القُرْآنِ

Part 5 · Chapter Thirty-Seven · Verb Forms & Dictionary Skills · Opening Chapter

نَظْرَةٌ عَامَّةٌ عَلَى الصَّرْفِ

Sarf Overview — Reading Hans Wehr

Everything you've learned across this course — the perfect and imperfect tenses, the imperative, the maṣdar, the active and passive participles, the passive verb — all of it has, until now, been built almost entirely from Form I roots. But most roots don't stop at Form I. This chapter shows you the ten derived forms (أَوْزَانُ الْفِعْل) as a complete map, and — just as importantly — shows you exactly how to find any of them inside a Hans Wehr dictionary entry.

Every Arabic passage has a small circle button — click it to hear it read aloud using your browser's own Arabic voice.

BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO

See all ten verb forms (أَوْزَان) laid out as one map, with their basic meaning-shift
Understand how Hans Wehr organises an entry: root first, then Form I, then II, III... by Roman numeral
Find a word's root by stripping away prefixes, infixes, and known patterns
Know what to expect from each of the next nine chapters

TEACHER NOTES

Pacing: 50–60 min — a conceptual chapter, budget discussion time.

Prerequisite check: None specific, but this changes how students should read every later chapter.

Watch out for: This is the natural moment to point students at the Course Vocabulary Glossary and show them how root-based lookup actually works.

01 — THE FULL PICTURE, FIRST

رُكْنُ الْقَوَاعِدِGrammar Corner

The ten forms, as one map. Every derived form starts from the same three root letters (here shown as ف ع ل, the placeholder Arabic grammarians have used for a thousand years) and reshapes them for a related, predictable meaning-shift.

Particle	Says	Meaning	Status
فَعَلَ (I)	fa‘ala	the base meaning	ALREADY LEARNED
فَعَّلَ (II)	fa‘‘ala	causative / intensive	COMING SOON
فَاعَلَ (III)	fā‘ala	did it with/to someone	COMING SOON
أَفْعَلَ (IV)	af‘ala	causative (a second way)	COMING SOON
تَفَعَّلَ (V)	tafa‘‘ala	did Form II to oneself	COMING SOON
تَفَاعَلَ (VI)	tafā‘ala	did it to one another	COMING SOON
انْفَعَلَ (VII)	infa‘ala	passive/reflexive	COMING SOON
افْتَعَلَ (VIII)	ifta‘ala	did it for oneself	COMING SOON
افْعَلَّ (IX)	if‘alla	became a colour/defect	COMING SOON
اسْتَفْعَلَ (X)	istaf‘ala	sought, requested, considered	COMING SOON

How Hans Wehr is organised. Roots are listed alphabetically by their letters, ignoring any pattern — so كِتَاب (a book) is found under the root ك-ت-ب, filed alphabetically at ك, not at م for مَكْتَبَة (library) or under any prefix. Underneath the root, Hans Wehr gives the Form I verb and its meaning, then lists whichever of Forms II–X that root actually uses, each marked with its Roman numeral (II, III, IV...), followed by that form's maṣdar, participles, and any special notes — exactly the nine-slot table you've now met in Parts Four and Five.

Finding the root. Strip away everything that isn't one of the three (or four) original letters: the ا-س-ت of Form X, the تَـ of Forms V/VI, the ة/ون/ات of noun endings, and so on. مُسْتَخْدَمٌ, for instance, strips down to خ-د-م once you remove مُسْتَـ (Form X's participle prefix) and the ending — you'll get faster at this with practice.

Quick check: what root would you look up مُتَعَلِّمٌ (a learner) under? (ع-ل-م — strip the مُتَـ prefix and the doubled ل is just the pattern, not a fourth root letter.)

02 — LISTEN & REPEAT

حِوَارٌDialogue

Yūsuf shows Maryam how to use a paper Hans Wehr dictionary for the first time. Listen twice, then read aloud.

MARYAM

كَيْفَ أَجِدُ هَذِهِ الْكَلِمَةَ فِي الْقَامُوسِ؟

kayfa ajidu hādhihi-l-kalimata fi-l-qāmūs?

How do I find this word in the dictionary?

YŪSUF

أَوَّلًا، ابْحَثِي عَنِ الْجِذْرِ، لَا عَنِ الْكَلِمَةِ كَمَا هِيَ.

awwalan, ibḥathī ‘ani-l-jidhr, lā ‘ani-l-kalimati kamā hiya.

First, look for the root, not the word as it appears.

MARYAM

وَكَيْفَ أَعْرِفُ الْجِذْرَ؟

wa kayfa a‘rifu-l-jidhr?

And how do I know the root?

YŪSUF

احْذِفِي كُلَّ حَرْفٍ زَائِدٍ حَتَّى تَصِلِي إِلَى ثَلَاثَةِ حُرُوفٍ أَصْلِيَّةٍ.

iḥdhifī kulla ḥarfin zā’idin ḥattā taṣilī ilā thalāthati ḥurūfin aṣliyyah.

Remove every extra letter until you reach three original letters.

03 — CORE WORDS

الْمُفْرَدَاتُVocabulary

The vocabulary of dictionary skills itself — words you'll use for the rest of this course and beyond.

Arabic	Says	Meaning	Note
NEWقَامُوسٌ / مُعْجَمٌ	qāmūs / mu‘jam	a dictionary, lexicon	Both words are common; Hans Wehr calls itself a قاموس.
NEWجِذْرٌ	jidhr	a root	The three (or four) original letters.
NEWوَزْنٌ	wazn	a pattern, ‘weight’	How a root is poured into a form — e.g. فَاعِلٌ is a وزن.
NEWحَرْفٌ أَصْلِيٌّ	ḥarfun aṣliyy	an original (root) letter	As opposed to a زَائِد, ‘extra,’ letter.
NEWحَرْفٌ زَائِدٌ	ḥarfun zā’id	an extra (added) letter	Prefixes/infixes like ت, م, س, ا that aren't part of the root.
NEWبَحَثَ / يَبْحَثُ	baḥatha / yabḥathu	he searched / he searches	بَحَثَ عَنْ — to search for.
NEWمُشْتَقٌّ	mushtaqq	derived	Every form II–X word is مشتق from a Form I root.
NEWتَرْتِيبٌ أَبْجَدِيٌّ	tartībun abjadiyy	alphabetical order	How roots are sequenced within the dictionary.

Also in this chapter's dialogue and reading.

Arabic	Says	Meaning	Note
EARLYالْقَامُوسُ	al-qāmūs	the dictionary	Directly relevant — this is the chapter that teaches dictionary skills.
EARLYبِسُهُولَةٍ	bi-suhūlah	easily	Adverb form of سَهْل from Chapter Fifteen.
EARLYأَوَّلًا	awwalan	firstly	—

04 — READING THE SOURCE

وَقْفَةٌ قُرْآنِيَّةٌQur'ān Connection

A short verse that happens to contain a Form I verb and its Form IV cousin side by side — a preview of what ‘derived forms’ really means.

SŪRAT AL-BAQARAH — 2:22 (PHRASE)

الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ فِرَاشًا

[He] who made the earth a resting place for you.

الَّذِي

alladhī

who

جَعَلَ

ja‘ala

made (Form I)

لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ

lakumu-l-arḍ

for you, the earth

فِرَاشًا

firāshan

a resting place, bed

جَعَلَ here is plain Form I. Over the next nine chapters, you'll see this same root-and-pattern logic applied again and again — by the end of Part Five you'll be able to recognise a verb's form on sight, and look up any root you don't yet know.

05 — SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE

عِبَارَاتٌ يَوْمِيَّةٌEveryday Phrases

Everyday phrases for talking about words and dictionaries.

مَا مَعْنَى هَذِهِ الْكَلِمَةِ؟

mā ma‘nā hādhihi-l-kalimah? — what does this word mean?

ابْحَثْ عَنِ الْجِذْرِ

ibḥath ‘ani-l-jidhr — look for the root

هَذَا مُشْتَقٌّ مِنْ...

hādhā mushtaqqun min... — this is derived from...

بِأَيِّ وَزْنٍ هَذَا؟

bi-ayyi waznin hādhā? — what form/pattern is this?

انْظُرْ فِي الْقَامُوسِ

unẓur fi-l-qāmūs — check the dictionary

نَفْسُ الْجِذْرِ

nafsu-l-jidhr — the same root

حَرْفٌ زَائِدٌ فَقَطْ

ḥarfun zā’idun faqaṭ — just an extra letter

سَهُلَ عَلَيَّ الْبَحْثُ

sahula ‘alayya-l-baḥth — the search became easy for me

SKILLS PRACTICE

الِاسْتِمَاعُListening

Audio track 37.1

Aḥmad teaches Salmā how to strip a word down to its root. Listen first, script second.

SALMĀ

كَيْفَ أَعْرِفُ جِذْرَ مُتَعَلِّمٍ؟

AḨMAD

احْذِفِي الْمِيمَ وَالتَّاءَ فِي الْأَوَّلِ، يَبْقَى عَلِمَ.

SALMĀ

إِذًا الْجِذْرُ عَلِمَ، يَعْنِي ع-ل-م؟

AḨMAD

بِالضَّبْطِ! سَتَجِدِينَهُ فِي الْقَامُوسِ تَحْتَ حَرْفِ الْعَيْنِ.

What word is Salmā trying to find the root of?
What does Aḥmad tell her to remove?
Which letter should she look under in the dictionary?

Reveal answers

1. مُتَعَلِّمٌ (a learner). 2. The م and ت at the start. 3. ع (the letter ‘ayn).

SKILLS PRACTICE

التَّحَدُّثُSpeaking

Pair work

Partner drill. Give your partner three words from earlier chapters (مُسْلِمٌ, مُتَعَلِّمٌ, مَكْتُوبٌ) and have them strip each down to its three-letter root out loud.

Recycling round. Have students explain the dictionary look-up steps aloud, in order, using أَوَّلًا، ثُمَّ (Chapter Nine) as connectors.

SKILLS PRACTICE

الْقِرَاءَةُReading

Read silently, then aloud

Read once for meaning, then aloud.

الصَّرْفُ عِلْمٌ يَدْرُسُ تَغَيُّرَ صِيغَةِ الْكَلِمَةِ. كُلُّ كَلِمَةٍ عَرَبِيَّةٍ تَقْرِيبًا مُشْتَقَّةٌ مِنْ جِذْرٍ ثُلَاثِيٍّ. مَنْ يَعْرِفُ الْجِذْرَ يَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ يَجِدَ أَيَّ كَلِمَةٍ فِي الْقَامُوسِ بِسُهُولَةٍ. لِهَذَا سَنَتَعَلَّمُ فِي الدُّرُوسِ الْقَادِمَةِ أَوْزَانَ الْفِعْلِ مِنَ الثَّانِي إِلَى الْعَاشِرِ.

1) مَاذَا يَدْرُسُ عِلْمُ الصَّرْفِ؟

أ) مَعَانِيَ الْكَلِمَاتِ فَقَطْب) تَغَيُّرَ صِيغَةِ الْكَلِمَةِج) تَارِيخَ اللُّغَةِد) قَوَاعِدَ النَّحْوِ فَقَطْ

2) مِنْ أَيْنَ تُشْتَقُّ مُعْظَمُ الْكَلِمَاتِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ؟

أ) مِنَ الْفَارِسِيَّةِب) مِنْ جِذْرٍ ثُلَاثِيٍّج) لَا مَصْدَرَ لَهَاد) مِنَ الْقَامُوسِ مُبَاشَرَةً

3) مَاذَا سَنَتَعَلَّمُ فِي الدُّرُوسِ الْقَادِمَةِ؟

أ) أَوْزَانَ الْفِعْلِ مِنَ الثَّانِي إِلَى الْعَاشِرِب) الْأَعْدَادَج) الْأَلْوَانَد) لَا شَيْءَ جَدِيدًا

Reveal answers

1. ب — تَغَيُّرَ صِيغَةِ الْكَلِمَةِ 2. ب — مِنْ جِذْرٍ ثُلَاثِيٍّ 3. أ — أَوْزَانَ الْفِعْلِ مِنَ الثَّانِي إِلَى الْعَاشِرِ

SKILLS PRACTICE

الْكِتَابَةُWriting

On paper or in your notebook

Sentence building. Put these words in the correct order, then translate.

الْكَلِمَةِ صِيغَةِ تَغَيُّرَ يَدْرُسُ الصَّرْفُ
ثُلَاثِيٍّ جِذْرٍ مِنْ مُشْتَقَّةٌ
بِسُهُولَةٍ الْكَلِمَةَ يَجِدُ الْجِذْرَ يَعْرِفُ مَنْ

Guided writing. Pick three words you've learned anywhere in this course and write out, in Arabic, what root each one comes from.

06 — CHAPTER EXERCISES

التَّدْرِيبَاتُExercises

1اخْتَرِ الْإِجَابَةَ الصَّحِيحَةَChoose the correct answer

1. Hans Wehr organises roots:

a) by meaningb) alphabetically by root lettersc) by frequency in the Qur'ānd) randomly

2. A وَزْن is:

a) a rootb) a pattern a root is poured intoc) a dictionaryd) a case ending

3. To find a word's root, you should:

a) look at the first three letters, no matter whatb) strip away prefixes, infixes, and endings that aren't originalc) guessd) look at the last three letters only

4. How many derived forms (beyond Form I) does this course's Part Five cover?

a) 5b) 7c) 9d) 12

Reveal answers

1. b 2. b 3. b 4. c

2صِلْ كُلَّ كَلِمَةٍ بِمَعْنَاهَاMatch each item to its meaning

جِذْرٌ
وَزْنٌ
حَرْفٌ زَائِدٌ
قَامُوسٌ
مُشْتَقٌّ

derived
a dictionary
an extra letter
a pattern
a root

Reveal answers

1–e, 2–d, 3–b, 4–a, 5–c

3تَرْجِمْ إِلَى الْإِنْجِلِيزِيَّةِTranslate into English

Self-check — type your answer, then compare with the model answer below. This one isn’t scored.

ابْحَثِي عَنِ الْجِذْرِ.
هَذَا مُشْتَقٌّ مِنْ عَلِمَ.
بِأَيِّ وَزْنٍ هَذَا؟
انْظُرْ فِي الْقَامُوسِ.

Reveal answers

1. Look for the root.
2. This is derived from ‘alima.
3. What form/pattern is this?
4. Check the dictionary.

4تَرْجِمْ إِلَى الْعَرَبِيَّةِTranslate into Arabic

Self-check — type your answer, then compare with the model answer below. This one isn’t scored.

How do I find this word in the dictionary?
First, look for the root.
This word is derived from a three-letter root.

Reveal answers

١) كَيْفَ أَجِدُ هَذِهِ الْكَلِمَةَ فِي الْقَامُوسِ؟
٢) أَوَّلًا، ابْحَثْ عَنِ الْجِذْرِ.
٣) هَذِهِ الْكَلِمَةُ مُشْتَقَّةٌ مِنْ جِذْرٍ ثُلَاثِيٍّ.

5أَكْمِلِ الْحِوَارَComplete the dialogue

Word bank: الْجِذْرِ — حَرْفٍ — حُرُوفٍ — الْقَامُوسِ

مريم: كَيْفَ أَجِدُ هَذِهِ الْكَلِمَةَ فِي ؟
يوسف: ابْحَثِي عَنِ .
مريم: وَكَيْفَ أَعْرِفُهُ؟
يوسف: احْذِفِي كُلَّ زَائِدٍ حَتَّى تَصِلِي إِلَى ثَلَاثَةِ أَصْلِيَّةٍ.

Reveal answers

الْقَامُوسِ — الْجِذْرِ — حَرْفٍ — حُرُوفٍ

6صَحِيحٌ أَمْ خَطَأٌ؟True or false? (based on the reading passage)

يُوسُفُ يَنْصَحُ مَرْيَمَ بِالْبَحْثِ عَنِ الْكَلِمَةِ كَمَا هِيَ، لَا عَنِ الْجِذْرِ.true / false

الْقَامُوسُ يُرَتِّبُ الْجُذُورَ أَبْجَدِيًّا.true / false

مَعْظَمُ الْكَلِمَاتِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ لَيْسَ لَهَا جِذْرٌ.true / false

Reveal answers

1. False — he tells her to search for the root, not the word as-is. 2. True. 3. False — most words do have a root.

SKILLS PRACTICE

قِرَاءَةٌ حُرَّةٌFree Reading

Hover to check — no test, just read

A short passage using only words you've met so far. Just read for meaning — hover any word if you get stuck. Flip the switch to check whole sentences instead of single words.

Word Sentence

أَبْحَثُ عَنْ جِذْرِ هَذِهِ الْكَلِمَةِ فِي الْقَامُوسِ. لِكُلِّ فِعْلٍ جِذْرٌ وَوَزْنٌ. الْحَرْفُ الْأَصْلِيُّ فِي الْجِذْرِ. وَالْحَرْفُ الزَّائِدُ مُشْتَقٌّ مِنَ الْوَزْنِ. فَعَلَ هُوَ الْمَعْنَى الْأَصْلِيُّ. وَأَفْعَلَ وَتَفَعَّلَ مَعَانٍ جَدِيدَةٌ. الْقَامُوسُ مُرَتَّبٌ تَرْتِيبًا أَبْجَدِيًّا. أَوَّلًا ابْحَثْ عَنِ الْجِذْرِ بِسُهُولَةٍ.

SKILLS PRACTICE — NEW

مُحَادَثَةٌ حُرَّةٌConversation Practice

Chat with Yūsuf or Maryam using only what you've learned so far — type it or say it out loud, your choice.

تَمَّ الدَّرْسُ السَّابِعُ وَالثَّلَاثُونَ بِحَمْدِ اللَّهِ

Chapter Thirty-Seven complete — next chapter: Form II (فَعَّلَ)