Tanwin and Shaddah

Sukun means no vowel: The Sukun (سُكُون) is a small circle written above a letter, and it means "no vowel here". The letter is read with no sound after it. For example, in مِنْ (from), the نْ carries a Sukun — you say "min", and stop.

Shaddah means double: The Shaddah (شَدَّة) looks like a small "w" written above a letter, and it means "say this letter twice, as one strong sound". In the name مُحَمَّد (Muhammad), the مّ is doubled. In رَبِّ (Lord), the بّ is doubled.

Tanwin adds an "n" sound: Tanwin (تَنْوِين) is a doubled Haraka at the end of a word, and it adds a light "n" sound. There are three forms: ً (double Fatha) = "-an", ٍ (double Kasra) = "-in", and ٌ (double Damma) = "-un".

Tanwin means "a", not "the": Tanwin also tells you the word is indefinite — like "a" in English, not "the". كِتَابٌ (kitābun) means "a book". Add ال (al-) and take the Tanwin away, and you get الْكِتَابُ (al-kitāb) — "THE book". This small mark is the door to Arabic grammar: the three Tanwin forms match the three cases you will meet in Chapter 3.

Example

One word, two meanings: كِتَابٌ = "a book" (Tanwin Damma, "-un"). كِتَابًا = "a book" as an object (Tanwin Fatha, "-an"). كِتَابٍ = "of a book" (Tanwin Kasra, "-in"). Same word, same letters — only the ending changes, and the ending changes the job of the word in the sentence.

Key Terms

• Tanwin (تَنْوِين) — a doubled Haraka at the end of a word, adding an "n" sound and marking the word as indefinite
• Sukun (سُكُون) — the mark meaning "no vowel here"
• Shaddah (شَدَّة) — the mark meaning "say this letter twice, as one strong sound"
• Definite and indefinite (معرفہ اور نکرہ) — "the book" (الْكِتَابُ) versus "a book" (كِتَابٌ)

Quran or Hadith

Quran 1:2 — الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ — "All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds." — to be checked. Listen for the Shaddah in رَبِّ — the doubled بّ — and the Kasra after it. Reading this one verse aloud practises both marks at once.

Fresh diagram to be drawn: The word كِتَاب shown three times — كِتَابٌ (-un), كِتَابًا (-an), كِتَابٍ (-in) — with the Tanwin highlighted in gold and the English meaning under each.