Few general notes about looking up words in Arabic dictionaries
1. Determining article The in Arabic is expressed by adding Alif and
Laam at the beginning of a word. If Alif and laam are not there then
A and AN is assumed.
َ َ
i.e. a garden  ٌ‫ح ِديقة‬
َ َ
the garden ٌ‫ديقة‬
ِ ‫الح‬
Determining article THE is not written in dictionaries. Therefore in
conventional dictionaries you will not find ‫ الحديقة‬but you will need to
َ َ
look for ٌ‫ح ِديقة‬
2. Nouns that with Alif and Laam (The-determining article ) loose
tanween at the end and are written with a single vowel.
i.e. a garden 
َ َ
ٌ‫يقة‬
ٌ ‫ح ِد‬
َ َ
the garden  ٌ‫يقة‬
ٌ ‫الح ِد‬
Words in dictionaries usually do not contain tanween.