Learning the Arabic Alphabet – Joining Letters
Learning Arabic can be very intimidating and may take a long time, however there are a number of
practical methods to successfully do that. First of all, you have to learn the Arabic alphabet, memorize
the names of its letters, their sounds, and their shapes and forms.
The Arabic letters take on up to four different shapes depending on their position in a word: Isolated,
initial, medial or final. Often, there are systematic relationships between those different shapes.
Moreover, many letters share a common base and are being distinguished from one another by
additional signs (usually dots) above or below their central part.
Contextual forms
Arabic English
Isolated End Middle Beginning Name Name Translit. Description
ʾalif is a long “a” sound a
in the word “salaam” or a
ا ـﺎ ـﺎ ا الف ʾalif ʾ/ā in “apple”.
bāʾ is the equivilent of th
English letter “b”. It is
pronounced like the “b” i
ﺏ ـب ـبـ بـ باء bāʾ b “boy”
tāʾ is one of two “t” soun
this one is almost like a
little “t”. It is pronounced
ﺕ ـت ـتـ تـ تاء tāʾ t like the “t” in “ten”.
ṯāʾ is pronounced like the
“th” in the words “though
ﺙ ـث ـثـ ثـ ثاء ṯāʾ ṯ and “thanks”
ǧīm is pronounced like th
English “j” such as in the
ﺝ ـج ـجـ جـ جيم ǧīm ǧ (also j, g) names “Jim” and “Jill”.
ḥāʾ has no exact equivilen
in the English language. I
is similar to an “h” but it’
heavier. When you are
trying to pronounce it try
ﺡ ـح ـحـ حـ حاء ḥāʾ ḥ panting while saying “ha
خاء ḫāʾ ḫ (also kh, x) ḫāʾ(khaa’) has no English
ﺥ ـخ ـخـ خـ equivilent. The closest
translation would be to
pronounce it like the “ch”
in the German word
“Bach.”
Contextual forms
Arabic English
Isolated End Middle Beginning Name Name Translit. Description
dāl is similar to the Engli
“d”. It is pronounced like
the “d” in the word “drea
ﺩ ـد ـد د دال dāl d or in “dead”.
in north african contries,
like Morocco, ḏāl is
pronounced like the “th”
the words “this” and “tha
however, this letter has no
english equivilent in midd
eastern contries. It is
somewhat similar to a “z”
but not exactly. Try sayin
“z” with a “d” in front of
ﺫ ـذ ـذ ذ ذال ḏāl ḏ (also dh, ð) “dz”.
rāʾ is similar to the rolled
“r” in Spanish. As in the
ﺭ ـر ـر ر راء rāʾ r word “arriba”.
zāy is similar to the engli
“z”. it is pronounced like
ﺯ ـز ـز ز زاي zāy z the “z” in the word “zoo”
sīn is similar to the englis
“s”. It is pronounced as th
“s” in the words “skin” an
ﺱ ـس ـسـ سـ سين sīn s “Steve”.
šīn (sheen) is similar to th
english letter combination
“sh”. It is pronounced as
“s” in the words “ship” an
ﺵ ـش ـشـ شـ شين šīn š (also sh) “sheet”.
ṣād has no english
equivilent but it is a
velarized “s”, simular to “
but produced by elevating
the tongue toward the vel
ﺹ ـص ـصـ صـ صاد ṣād ṣ ridge.
dād has no english
equivilent but it is similar
a “d”. It’s a deeper “d ”
pronounced with the tong
rised high against the vela
ﺽ ـض ـضـ ضـ ضاد ḍād ḍ ridge.
Contextual forms
Arabic English
Isolated End Middle Beginning Name Name Translit. Description
ṭāʾ has no english equivilen
but it is similar to a “t”. It’s
like a hard “t”. It’s a deeper
“t” pronounced with the
tongue rised high against th
ﻁ ـط ـطـ طـ طاء ṭāʾ ṭ velar ridge.
while in north african
contries, like Morocco, this
letter is pronounced as
velarized conterpart to ḏāl,
It’s pronounced as velarize
conterpart to “z” in middle
eastern contries (inclding
ﻅ ـظ ـظـ ظـ ظاء Dhaʾ/ẓāʾ ẓ Egypt).
ʿayn is probaly the hardest
sounds for an English speak
to produce. It has no englis
equivilent at all and does no
even sound close to any let
in the English language. It
feels and sounds somewhat
like you are gagging while
saying “ah”. It’s like the fir
ﻉ ـع ـعـ عـ عين ʿayn ʿ sound in the hip-hop “a’igh
ġayn is another unfamiliar
sound for an English speak
to produce. it is pronounced
like the frensh “r” in
ﻍ ـغ ـغـ غـ غين ġayn ġ (also gh) “France”.
fāʾ is similar to the English
“f”.It is pronounced like the
“f” in the words “fun” and
ف ـف ـفـ فـ فاء fāʾ f “life”
qāf has no exact English
equivilent although it is
sometimes similar to the
English letter “q”. To
pronounce it close the back
ﻕ ـق ـقـ قـ قاف qāf q you throat and say “chough
kāf is similar to the English
“k”. It is pronounced like th
“k” in the words “Keven” a
ﻙ ـك ـكـ كـ كاف kāf k “kit”.
lām is similar to the English
“l”. It is pronounced like th
“l” in the words “luck” and
ﻝ ـل ـلـ لـ الم lām l “love”.
mīm is similar to the Englis
“m”. It is pronounced like t
“m” in the words “month”
ﻡ ـم ـمـ مـ ميم mīm m and “mice”.
Contextual forms
Arabic English
Isolated End Middle Beginning Name Name Translit. Description
nūn is similar to the English
“n”. It is pronounced like th
“n” in the words “noon” and
ن ـن ـنـ نـ نون nūn n “night”.
هاء hāʾ h hāʾ is similar to the English
ﻩ ـه ـهـ هـ “h”. It is pronounced like th
“h” in the words “have” and
“hat”. Ho! Ho! Ho!
wāw is similar to the Englis
letters “w” and “o”. It is
pronounced like the “w” in
words “waow” and “William
It is pronounced like the “oo
in the words “food” and
ﻭ ـو ـو و واو wāw w / ū / aw “good”.
yāʾ is similar to the English
“y”. It is pronounced like th
“y” in the words “yellow” a
“yes”. It is also pronounced
like the “ee” in “breeze” and
“freeze”. Sometimes the lett
( يyā ʾ) will appear without
two dots underneath it. this
will be addressed in later
ﻱ ـي ـيـ يـ ياء yāʾ y / ī / ay lessons.
