What is a vocative noun (munada)?
Call someone in Arabic and grammar follows: after يَا, a single name is built on damm (يَا زَيْدُ) while a mudaf takes nasab (يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ، يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا). The Quran's addresses — to the Prophet ﷺ, to the believers, to mankind — all run through this small system, so it repays learning early.
| Ruling | ||
|---|---|---|
| A single proper name | يَا مُحَمَّدُ | mabni, in mahall nasab |
| An intended indefinite | يَا رَجُلُ | mabni, in mahall nasab |
| An unintended indefinite | يَا رَجُلًا | mu'rab, mansub |
| A mudaf | يَا طَالِبَ الْعِلْمِ | mu'rab, mansub |
| A quasi-mudaf | يَا مُذَاكِرًا دَرْسَهُ | mu'rab, mansub |
The split is simple: call one definite thing and the noun freezes on its rafa sign in a nasab position; call anything longer or vaguer and it takes a real nasab ending.
The word نِدَاء (nidā') in everyday Arabic means calling out to someone.
نَادَى الرَّجُلَ (nādā al-rajula) — “he called the man”
As a grammatical term it means the noun being called — what stands after the calling particle.
Does the noun after the calling particle change its ending?
It can. A single word being called, or a name, keeps a damma and drops its tanwin; but a mudaf takes nasab. So the particle does not simply sit there — the shape of what follows it decides the ending.
Next in the guideالْمُضَاف إِلَى مَعْرِفَةٍWhat is a noun related to a definite (mudaf)? →Updated