Grammar term · Sarf · morphology
الْوَزْن (الْمِيزَان الصَّرْفِيّ)
al-wazn (al-mizan al-sarfi)
Morphological scale (wazn/mizan)
Sarf · morphologyRoot structurecore term47,336+ in the Qur'an
Also written: Sarf · Mizan · Meezan · Roots · Word scales
In one line
The sarf scale: weigh any word against فعل — fa for the first radical, 'ayn for the second, lam for the third — and its pattern appears.
Classical definition
المِيزَانُ الصَّرْفِيُّ صِيغَةٌ مِنَ الفَاءِ وَالعَيْنِ وَاللَّامِ تُقَابَلُ بِهَا حُرُوفُ الكَلِمَةِ لِمَعْرِفَةِ أَصْلِيِّهَا مِنْ زَائِدِهَا.
“The morphological scale is a template built of fa, 'ayn and lam against which the letters of a word are matched, extra letters being reproduced as they are.”
(بتصرف من شذا العرف)
Key words in the Arabic
الْمِيزَان الصَّرْفِيّthe sarf scale
تُقَابَلُ بِهَاare matched against it
Understand it
The mizan is sarf's notation: كَتَبَ weighs فَعَلَ, كَاتِب weighs فَاعِل, اسْتَغْفَرَ weighs اسْتَفْعَلَ — root letters map to ف/ع/ل and added letters appear in the weight unchanged. Two words with one weight share one grammar: know that مَجْلِس is مَفْعِل and you know مَسْجِد, مَغْرِب and a hundred others. It is the single tool that turns Arabic's vastness into a short list of shapes.
How to spot it
Recognition test
Replace the three radicals with ف، ع، ل, copy every other letter and vowel as-is: the result is the wazn. If a radical has vanished (يَعِدُ → يَعِلُ… properly يَعِدُ weighs يَعِلُ), the scale shows the loss.
Related terms