Elementary Arabic Morphology 3
The Diminutive Form
What is the diminutive form?
What is the ruling of the diminutive form?
What happens in the diminutive form of quadriliteral nouns?
How is a word whose second letter is weak put into the diminutive form?
How is a word whose third letter is weak put into the diminutive form?
How is a word whose fourth letter is a wāw or an alif put into the diminutive form?
The diminutive form adding a yā' without a vowel sign after the second letter of a declinable noun to indicate smallness, for example: دُرَیهِمات, humiliation, for example: رُجَیل, or amazement, for example: بُنَيّ.
The ruling of the diminutive form is that the first letter of the word is given a dummah and the second letter is given a fathah, for example: عَبد becomes عُبَید.
If the word has four letters or more the letter after the yā' is given a kasrah, for example: دِرهَم becomes دُرَیهِم, unless it is connected to a feminine tā', for example: مهرة becomes مُهَیرَة or if it is a proper noun or an adjective that ends in an added alif and nūn, for example: سَلمان becomes سُلَیمان.
If the second letter of the word is weak and has been changed it will be changed back to its original form, for example: باب becomes بُوَیب.
If the weak letter is an alif or a wāw it will be changed into a doubled yā' in the diminutive form, for example: عَصا becomes عُصَيٌّ. If it is a yā' it is doubled in the diminutive form, for example: جمیل becomes جُمَیِّل.
If a word whose fourth letter is a wāw or alif is put into the diminutive form they will be changed into a yā', for example: عُصفور becomes عُصَیفیر.