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Intermediate

Idāfa (Possession)

The genitive construct

Noun + noun = possession

Placing two nouns together (possessed + possessor) expresses 'of'. The second noun is genitive.

💬 Examples
بابُ البَيتِ
baabu al-bayti
the door of the house
📝 First noun no ال, second genitive
كِتابُ الطالِبِ
kitaabu aṭ-ṭaalibi
the student's book
📝 Idafa chain
The first term takes no ال and no tanwin

The possessed noun loses both its article and its nunation; definiteness comes from the second term.

💬 Examples
سَيّارةُ المُديرِ
sayyaaratu al-mudiiri
the manager's car
📝 سيارة has no ال
مِفتاحُ بَيتٍ
miftaaḥu baytin
a key of a house
📝 Indefinite idafa
Chains of idafa

Idafa can chain; only the final noun may carry ال.

💬 Examples
بابُ بَيتِ المُديرِ
baabu bayti al-mudiiri
the door of the manager's house
📝 Three-term chain
كِتابُ مُعَلِّمِ المَدرسةِ
kitaabu mu'allimi al-madrasati
the book of the school's teacher
📝 Only the last term has ال