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Alphabet and Pronunciation

The Arabic alphabet consists of 28 letters, all of which are considered to be consonants. Vowels are designated by diacritic marks above or below the consonants. Modern Standard Arabic is generally written without short vowels, although vowels within words are pronounced. Vowels and nunation (an 'n' sound) are added to the ends of words to express a variety of grammatical functions.

Arabic script is cursive. The letters are joined by ligatures, much like cursive handwriting in English. Arabic is written from right to left, the opposite of English.

The chart below gives the letters of the Arabic alphabet, their names, their transliteration symbols, and their approximate pronunciations. The examples given below are meant as a general guide to pronunciation. Many of the sounds of English and Arabic are very different, so the best way to get a precise feel for the pronunciation of Arabic is to listen to it pronounced.

Letter:	Letter Name:	Transliteration Symbol:	Approximate Pronunciation:
ا	alif	aa	as in mad
ب	baa	b	as in boy
ت	taa	t	as in tip
ث	thaa	th	as in three
ج	jiim	j	as in jump
ح	Haa	H	as in hi, but heavily aspirated, with friction at back of throat
خ	khaa	kh	as in the Scottish word loch, but more raspy
د	daal	d	as in dog
ذ	dhaal	dh	as in this
ر	raa	r	as in red
ز	zaay	z	as in zoo
س	siin	s	as in same
ش	shiin	sh	as in ship
ص	Saad	S	as in sock, but heavier
ض	Daad	D	as in dog, but heavier
ط	Taa	T	as in talk, but heavier
ظ	DHaa	DH	as in this, but heavier
ع	aayn	'a	guttural sound, made by constricting air in the throat
غ	ghayn	gh	as in the French raison, like a gargle
ف	faa	f	as in fame
ق	qaaf	q	as in cough, but unaspirated
ك	kaaf	k	as in came
ل	laam	l	as in line
م	miim	m	as in made
ن	nuun	n	as in no
ه	haa	h	as in hi
و	waaw	w	as in win
ي	yaa	y	as in yes

In addition to the letters of the alphabet listed above, Arabic also has special signs and letters used to indicate short vowels and grammatical constructions, and for other purposes.

Sign	Name	Transliteration Symbol	Approximate Pronunciation
َ above	fatha	a	as in mat
ً above	fathatan	an	adds n to the end of the word (nunation)
ِ below	kasra	i	like ea as in bean
ٍ below	kasratan	in	adds n to the end of the word (nunation)
ُ	damma	u	as in put
ٌ	dammatan	un	adds n to the end of the word (nunation)
ّ	shadda	Double consonant (ex. dd or ll)	doubles the consonant
ْ	sukuun	none	indicates the lack of a vowel
ء	hamza	'	represents a glottal stop, which is a catch in your breath that sounds like the break in "uh-oh"
ﭐ	alif wasla	aa	omitted in the pronunciation when the word with the alif wasla at the beginning is preceded by another word; otherwise, pronounced like alif
آ	alif madda	aa	as in mad, at the beginning of a word
ﺃ	alif with hamza above	'	represents a glottal stop (the same sound as regular hamza), but at the beginning of a word
ﺇ	alif with hamza below	'	represents a glottal stop (the same sound as regular hamza), but at the beginning of a word; used when the glottal stop is followed by a short "i" sound.
ة	taa marbutta	a or t	may be pronounced as t prior to a vowel at the end of a word
ٰ	alif superscript	a	used to emphasize a stronger "fatha", as if there is a virtual alif; most often used in classical and formal writing, rather than daily writing or communications
ﻻ	laam followed by alif	laa	special form used when laam is followed by alif
ﻵ	laam followed by alif madda	laa	special form used when laam is followed by alif madda
ﻷ	laam followed by alif with hamza above	l'	special form used when laam is followed by alif with hamza above
ﻹ	laam followed by alif with hamza below	l'	special form used when laam is followed by alif with hamza below
ﺅ	waaw with hamza above	'	represents a glottal stop; usually preceded or followed by damma
ئ	yaa with hamza above	'	represents a glottal stop; usually preceded or followed by kasra
ى	alif maqsura	aa	as in mad, at the end of a word

Depending on the context, Arabic letters may take different shapes. Twenty-two of the twenty-eight Arabic letters have four variants: independent, initial, medial, and final. The remaining six letters - ا و د ذ ز ر - have only two variants, because they do not connect to the letters on their left.

Although at first glance, the shapes of the letters may appear to be very different depending on their positions, most letters have similar forms in all positions. The following chart shows variations in shape for each letter. Note how letters with similar independent forms (such as س and ش) have similar changes in the various positions:

Independent	Initial	Medial	Final
ﺍ	none	none	ﺎ
ﺏ	ﺑ	ﺒ	ﺐ
ت	ﺗ	ﺘ	ﺖ
ﺙ	ﺛ	ﺜ	ﺚ
ﺝ	ﺟ	ﺠ	ﺞ
ح	ﺣ	ﺤ	ﺢ
ﺥ	ﺧ	ﺨ	ﺦ
ﺩ	none	none	ﺪ
ﺫ	none	none	ﺬ
ﺭ	none	none	ﺮ
ﺯ	none	none	ﺰ
ﺱ	ﺳ	ﺴ	ﺲ
ﺵ	ﺷ	ﺸ	ﺶ
ﺹ	ﺻ	ﺼ	ﺺ
ﺽ	ﺿ	ﻀ	ﺾ
ﻁ	ﻃ	ﻄ	ﻂ
ظ	ﻇ	ﻈ	ﻆ
ع	ﻋ	ﻌ	ﻊ
ﻍ	ﻏ	ﻐ	ﻎ
ﻑ	ﻓ	ﻔ	ﻒ
ﻕ	ﻗ	ﻘ	ﻖ
ﻙ	ﻛ	ﻜ	ﻚ
ﻝ	ﻟ	ﻠ	ﻞ
م	ﻣ	ﻤ	ﻢ
ﻥ	ﻧ	ﻨ	ﻦ
ﻩ	ﻫ	ﻬ	ﻪ
ﻭ	none	none	ﻮ
ﻱ	ﻳ	ﻴ	ﻲ