Learn Arabic Alphabet From Alif To Yaa
Let's start with the Arabic alphabet, as this is the basis for the other lessons. Here are some basic characterstics of the Arabic writing system:
- The Arabic alphabet contains 28 letters.
- Arabic is written from right to left.
- In Arabic short vowels are generally not written.
- Arabic letters change their shape according to their position in a word.
Let's go through these points in more detail.
The Arabic alphabet contains 28 letters.
This means that the Arabic alphabet contains only two more letters than the English alphabet (26 letters). However, unlike English, the Arabic letters are always pronounced in the same way. In English the letter "c" is sometimes pronounced like an "s" (ceasar) and sometimes like a "k" (cucumber). Or, to take another example, "gh" is sometimes pronounced "f" (enough) and sometimes pronounced "g" (ghost). In Arabic, the letters always retain their sound.
Arabic is written from right to left.
English, of course, is written from left to right like this.
Arabic, on the other hand is written from right to left:Sure, this takes some getting used to, but is not that hard with enough practice.
In Arabic short vowels are generally not written.
There are three short vowels in Arabic: a short "u" (as in "look"), a short "a" (as in "can") and a short "i" (as in "with"). Usually these short vowels are simply omitted in writing. Long vowels (such as the "ee" in "tree") are written. A sentence such as:
"The book in the tree is very ugly and rotten."
becomes
"Th bk 'n th tree 's vr 'gl 'nd rttn."
This omission of short vowels can be very difficult in the beginning, because it's difficult to guess which short vowels exactly are missing. As you learn more about Arabic grammar you will be able to "guess" the missing short vowels and pronounce unknown words.
Arabic letters change their shape according to their position in a word.
The Arabic script is essentially a cursive script, much like handwritten English. I.e. almost all the letters within a word are connected to each other. This necessitates certain changes in their shapes. If you write an English word cursively, then you will also make certain changes to the letters. For example, the letter "s" will be connected to the letter on the left with a diagonal stroke if that preceding letter is e.g. an "n".
PR O N U N C I AT I O N K EY
a ashort <a> sound like in the name “Matt”
ا ā long <a> sound like in the English word “mad” ء ’ aglottal stop
ب b the same as our English <b>; “bread” ت t the same as our English <t>; “tea”
ث th like the <th>-sound in “three”; but not like the <th> in “there”! ج dj as in the <j>-sound in the name “John”
ح H similar to the Englishletter “h”, but stronger and morefrom the throat
خ kh like the <ch> soundin the English word “loch”;if you know German, it’s the
<ch> sound in the word “Sprache”
د d the same as our English <d>; “door”
ذ dh like the <th> sound in “there”; but not like the <th> in “three”!
ر r similar to the English<r> sound at thebeginning of a word, e.g. in “road”,but more towards the front of the tongue and trilled like the Spanish “r”
ز z the same as our English <z>; “zoo”
س s the same as our English <s>; “serpent” ش sh the same as our English <sh>; “shine”
ص S similar to the English letter “s”, but more emphatic and “darker” ض D similar to the English letter “d”, but more emphatic and “darker” ط T similar to the English letter “t”, but more emphatic and “darker” ظ Z sounds like a “darker” version of the Arabic “dh” sound
ع c this sounds like a high-pitched version of the English <a> sound, but from the back ofthe throat
غ gh the same position of the throat as above, but the tongue touches the roof of the mouth;like a French “r”
ف f the same as our English <f>; “ferry”
ق q like the English letter“k”, but producedfrom much furtherback the throat and much “darker”
ك k the same as our English <k>; “kilo” ل l the same as our English <l>; “look”
م m the same as our English <m>; “mouse” ن n the same as our English <n>;“nose”
ه h the same as our English <h>; “hurricane”و w thesame as our English <w>; “water”
u the same as the <u> sound in the English word “should” و ū along <u> sound as in ourEnglish word “boom”
ي y the same as our English <y>; “year”
ي ī along <i> sound, like the two “e”s in “three”
* The six letters marked with an asterisk (*) cannot be connected to the left.
Pronounce the Medium group of Arabic Letters:
Pronounce the difficult group of Arabic Letters:
Putting letters together to form wordssalaam means "peace" in Arabic. To write the word start from the right and connect all the letters:
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