ظَنَّ (ẓanna) means to think, to suppose. It is a doubled Form I verb from the root ظ ن ن (ẓ-n-n): ظَنَّ (ẓanna) in the past, يَظُنُّ (yaẓunnu) in the present and ظُنَّ (ẓunna) as a command. The tables below give its full conjugation in all 13 persons, active and passive, vowelled, with its participles and verbal noun.
Every form of ẓanna on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for ظَنَّ, which is also the source of its verbal noun.
Ẓanna at a glance
| Root | ظ ن ن (ẓ-n-n), starting with the letter ẓāʾ |
| Form | Form I, pattern فَعَلَ (faʿala) |
| Verb type | doubled |
| Past, he | ظَنَّ (ẓanna) |
| Present, he | يَظُنُّ (yaẓunnu) |
| Command, you (one man) | ظُنَّ (ẓunna) or ظُنِّ (ẓunni) or اُظْنُنْ (uẓnun) |
| Active participle | ظَانّ (ẓānn) |
| Passive participle | مَظْنُون (maẓnūn) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | ظَنّ (ẓann) |
Past tense of ẓanna
The past tense (al-māḍī) of ẓanna keeps the doubled letter together before a vowel ending (ظَنَّ (ẓanna), ظَنُّوا (ẓannū)) and splits it before a consonant ending (ظَنَنْتُ (ẓanantu), ظَنَنَّ (ẓananna)).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | ظَنَنْتُ | ẓanantu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | ظَنَنَّا | ẓanannā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | ظَنَنْتَ | ẓananta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | ظَنَنْتِ | ẓananti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | ظَنَنْتُمَا | ẓanantumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | ظَنَنْتُمْ | ẓanantum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | ظَنَنْتُنَّ | ẓanantunna |
| he · هو huwa | ظَنَّ | ẓanna |
| she · هي hiya | ظَنَّتْ | ẓannat |
| they two m. · هما humā | ظَنَّا | ẓannā |
| they two f. · هما humā | ظَنَّتَا | ẓannatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | ظَنُّوا | ẓannū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | ظَنَنَّ | ẓananna |
Present tense of ẓanna
In the present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) the doubled letter of ẓanna stays together everywhere except before the feminine plural -na: يَظُنُّ (yaẓunnu) but يَظْنُنَّ (yaẓnunna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَظُنُّ | aẓunnu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَظُنُّ | naẓunnu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَظُنُّ | taẓunnu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَظُنِّينَ | taẓunnīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَظُنَّانِ | taẓunnāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَظُنُّونَ | taẓunnūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَظْنُنَّ | taẓnunna |
| he · هو huwa | يَظُنُّ | yaẓunnu |
| she · هي hiya | تَظُنُّ | taẓunnu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَظُنَّانِ | yaẓunnāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَظُنَّانِ | taẓunnāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَظُنُّونَ | yaẓunnūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَظْنُنَّ | yaẓnunna |
Subjunctive and jussive of ẓanna
After لم (lam, did not) the he-form of ẓanna has three correct spellings, يَظُنَّ (yaẓunna) or يَظُنِّ (yaẓunni) or يَظْنُنْ (yaẓnun), because the doubled letter may merge or split; after لن (lan, will not) it has one, يَظُنَّ (yaẓunna).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَظُنَّ (aẓunna) | أَظُنَّ (aẓunna) or أَظُنِّ (aẓunni) or أَظْنُنْ (aẓnun) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَظُنَّ (naẓunna) | نَظُنَّ (naẓunna) or نَظُنِّ (naẓunni) or نَظْنُنْ (naẓnun) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَظُنَّ (taẓunna) | تَظُنَّ (taẓunna) or تَظُنِّ (taẓunni) or تَظْنُنْ (taẓnun) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَظُنِّي (taẓunnī) | تَظُنِّي (taẓunnī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَظُنَّا (taẓunnā) | تَظُنَّا (taẓunnā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَظُنُّوا (taẓunnū) | تَظُنُّوا (taẓunnū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَظْنُنَّ (taẓnunna) | تَظْنُنَّ (taẓnunna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَظُنَّ (yaẓunna) | يَظُنَّ (yaẓunna) or يَظُنِّ (yaẓunni) or يَظْنُنْ (yaẓnun) |
| she · هي hiya | تَظُنَّ (taẓunna) | تَظُنَّ (taẓunna) or تَظُنِّ (taẓunni) or تَظْنُنْ (taẓnun) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَظُنَّا (yaẓunnā) | يَظُنَّا (yaẓunnā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَظُنَّا (taẓunnā) | تَظُنَّا (taẓunnā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَظُنُّوا (yaẓunnū) | يَظُنُّوا (yaẓunnū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَظْنُنَّ (yaẓnunna) | يَظْنُنَّ (yaẓnunna) |
Imperative of ẓanna
The command has the same choice as the jussive, ظُنَّ (ẓunna) or ظُنِّ (ẓunni) or اُظْنُنْ (uẓnun); with an ending the letter is always doubled: ظُنِّي (ẓunnī), ظُنُّوا (ẓunnū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | ظُنَّ or ظُنِّ or اُظْنُنْ | ẓunna or ẓunni or uẓnun |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | ظُنِّي | ẓunnī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | ظُنَّا | ẓunnā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | ظُنُّوا | ẓunnū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اُظْنُنَّ | uẓnunna |
Passive of ẓanna
The doubled letter of ẓanna stays together in the passive: ظُنَّ (ẓunna) in the past, يُظَنُّ (yuẓannu) in the present.
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | ظُنِنْتُ (ẓunintu) | أُظَنُّ (uẓannu) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | ظُنِنَّا (ẓuninnā) | نُظَنُّ (nuẓannu) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | ظُنِنْتَ (ẓuninta) | تُظَنُّ (tuẓannu) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | ظُنِنْتِ (ẓuninti) | تُظَنِّينَ (tuẓannīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | ظُنِنْتُمَا (ẓunintumā) | تُظَنَّانِ (tuẓannāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | ظُنِنْتُمْ (ẓunintum) | تُظَنُّونَ (tuẓannūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | ظُنِنْتُنَّ (ẓunintunna) | تُظْنَنَّ (tuẓnanna) |
| he · هو huwa | ظُنَّ (ẓunna) | يُظَنُّ (yuẓannu) |
| she · هي hiya | ظُنَّتْ (ẓunnat) | تُظَنُّ (tuẓannu) |
| they two m. · هما humā | ظُنَّا (ẓunnā) | يُظَنَّانِ (yuẓannāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | ظُنَّتَا (ẓunnatā) | تُظَنَّانِ (tuẓannāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | ظُنُّوا (ẓunnū) | يُظَنُّونَ (yuẓannūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | ظُنِنَّ (ẓuninna) | يُظْنَنَّ (yuẓnanna) |
Participles and verbal noun of ẓanna
In the active participle the two identical letters merge: ظَانّ (ẓānn). The passive participle keeps the two identical letters apart: مَظْنُون (maẓnūn). Form I verbal nouns follow no single pattern, so ظَنّ (ẓann) has to be learned with the verb, or looked up under ẓ-n-n in one of the dictionaries in our guide.
Why ẓanna conjugates this way
The second and third root letters of ظَنَّ (ẓanna) are the same, ن (n), so it is a doubled verb. When a vowel follows the third letter the two merge into one letter with a shadda (ظَنَّ (ẓanna), يَظُنُّ (yaẓunnu)); before a consonant ending they come apart again (ظَنَنْتُ (ẓanantu), يَظْنُنَّ (yaẓnunna)). That is why the jussive and the command have more than one correct spelling. Marra (to pass) is doubled too, and changes in the same places.
Ẓanna in sentences
أظن ذلك.
I think so.
The verb: أَظُنُّ (aẓunnu), present, I. Source: Tatoeba sentence 616376 by saeb (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
ظنت أني طبيب.
She thought that I was a doctor.
The verb: ظَنَّتْ (ẓannat), past, she. Source: Tatoeba sentence 493250 by saeb (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of ẓanna?
The present tense of ظَنَّ (ẓanna) is يَظُنُّ (yaẓunnu) for he, أَظُنُّ (aẓunnu) for I and تَظُنُّ (taẓunnu) for you (one man). The doubled letter splits only before the feminine plural -na, as in يَظْنُنَّ (yaẓnunna).
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of ẓanna?
ظَنّ (ẓann), from Wiktionary: Form I verbal nouns have no fixed pattern. The active participle is ظَانّ (ẓānn), and the passive participle مَظْنُون (maẓnūn).
Is ẓanna a regular verb?
It is regular for a doubled verb: its last two root letters merge with a shadda (ظَنَّ (ẓanna)) and split before a consonant ending (ظَنَنْتُ (ẓanantu)).