Arabic Letter Alternate Written Forms Pronunciation
ا Alif
A, I, U اـ
ـاـ
ـا اَ A, as in ample. اِ I, as in inside.
اُ U, as in chute.
ب Beh
B بـ
ـبـ
ـب بَ Ba, as in balloon. بِ Bi, as in biscuit.
بُ Bu, as in bull.
ت Teh
T تـ
ـتـ
ـت تَ Ta, as in tank. تِ Ti, as in tickle.
تُ Tu, as in tummy.
ث Theh
Th ثـ
ـثـ
ـث ثَ Tha, as in thanks. ثِ Thi, as in thick.
ثُ Thu, as in thud.
This letter is pronounced as a hard 'th' sound, as opposed to the softer sound of the letter ذ (dhaal) below.
ج Jiim
J جـ
ـجـ
ـج جَ Ja, as in jam. جِ Ji, as in jib.
جُ Ju, as in jump.
ح Hah
H حـ
ـحـ
ـح حَ Ha, as in happy. حِ Hi, as in him.
حُ Hu, as in hump.
The pronunciation of this letter is virtually identical to the letter ه (heh) below.
خ Khah
Kh خـ
ـخـ
ـخ خَ خِ خُ
This letter has no real English equivalents. It is best pronounced as a harsh, almost hacking form of the letter ح (hah) above. The letter خَ (usually transliterated as 'kha') should be pronounced as though the 'a' has been replaced with an 'or' (almost like 'caw').
د Daal
D دـ
ـدـ
ـد دَ Da, as in dad. دِ Di, as in did.
دُ Du, as in dud.
ذ Dhaal
Dh ذـ
ـذـ
ـذ ذَ Tha, as in than. ذِ Thi, as in this.
ذُ Thu, as in thus.
This letter is pronounced as a soft 'th' sound, as opposed to the harder sound of the letter ث (theh) above.
ر Rah
R رـ
ـرـ
ـر رَ Ro, as in rock.* رِ Ri, as in risk.
رُ Ru, as in ruin.
* Despite it's pronunciation, رَ is usually transliterated as 'ra' or 'râ'.
ز Zain
Z زـ
ـزـ
ـز زَ Za, as in zap. زِ Zi, as in zip.
زُ Zu, as in zulu'.
س Siin
S سـ
ـسـ
ـس سَ Sa, as in sad. سِ Si, as in sin.
سُ Su, as in super.
ش Shiin
Sh شـ
ـشـ
ـش شَ Sha, as in shabby. شِ Shi, as in shin.
شُ Shu, as in shun.
ص Saad
S صـ
ـصـ
ـص صَ Sor, as in sore.* صِ Si, as in sink.
صُ Su, as in sunk.
* Despite it's pronunciation, صَ is usually transliterated as 'sa' or 'sâ'. The other vowel sounds are virtually identical to the letter س (siin) above.
ض Daad
D ضـ
ـضـ
ـض ضَ Dor, similar to door.* ضِ Di, as in did.
ضُ Du, as in dud.
Despite it's pronunciation, ضَ is usually transliterated as 'da' or 'dâ'. The other vowel sounds are virtually identical to the letter د (daal) above.
ط Tah
T طـ
ـطـ
ـط طَ Tor.* طِ Ti, as in tickle.
طُ Tu, as in tutu.
Despite it's pronunciation, طَ is usually transliterated as 'ta' or 'tâ'. The other vowel sounds are virtually identical to the letter ت (teh) above.
ظ Zah
Z ظـ
ـظـ
ـظ ظَ Zor.* ظِ Zi, as in zither. ظُ Zu, as in Zulu.
* Despite it's pronunciation, ظَ is usually transliterated as 'zâ', 'tsa' or 'tza'. The other vowel sounds are virtually identical to the letter ز (zain) above.
ع Ain
'A, 'I, 'U عـ
ـعـ
ـع عَ A as in apple. عِ I, as in igloo.
عُ U, as in ugly.
The letter ع is usually transliterated as 'a, 'i or 'u (note the apostraphes). It's pronunciation is almost identical to the letter ا (alif) above, but slightly more abrupt.
غ Ghain
Gh غـ
ـغـ
ـغ غَ غِ غُ
The letter غ has no real English equivalents. It is usually transliterated as 'gh'. It must not be pronounced as a straight 'g', but more like the 'gh' in 'argh', almost silently. The best way to learn this letter would be to listen to a recording of Surat Al-Fatihah and pay attention to the last ayat as the letter غ occurs twice.
ف Feh
F فـ
ـفـ
ـف فَ Fa, as in fan. فِ Fi, as in fin.
فُ Fu, as in fun.
ق Qaf
Q قـ
ـقـ
ـق قَ Kor, similar to core.* قِ Ki, similar to keen.
قُ Ku, similar to curtain.
* Despite it's pronunciation, قَ is usually transliterated as 'qa' or 'qâ'. The other vowel sounds are quite similar to the letter ك (kaf) below, but with a slightly more rounded sound.
ك Kaf
K كـ
ـكـ
ـك كَ Ka, as in can. كِ Ki, as in kin.
كُ Ku, as in cuff.
ل Laam
L لـ
ـلـ
ـل لَ La, as in lack. لِ Li, as in lick.
لُ Lu, as in luck.
م Miim
M مـ
ـمـ
ـم مَ Ma, as in mack. مِ Mi, as in mick.
مُ Mu, as in muck.
ن Nuun
N نـ
ـنـ
ـن نَ Na, as in nan. نِ Ni, as in nick.
نُ Nu, as in nun.
ه Heh
H هـ
ـهـ
ـه هَ Ha, as in hand. هِ Hi, as in hiss.
هُ Hu, as in hun.
The pronunciation of this letter is virtually identical to that of the letter ح (hah) above.
و Waw
W وـ
ـوـ
ـو وَ Wa, as in wax. وِ Wi, as in wick.
وُ Wu, as in wood.
ي Yeh
Y يـ
ـيـ
ـي يَ Ya, as in yak. يِ Yi, as in yip.
يُ Yu, as in yuck.
Basic Punctuation
As with English, Arabic uses a number of punctuation marks. I will briefly detail the most commonly basic punctuation marks.
ّ This mark (called a 'shadda') positioned above a letter means that this letter is combined with the letter preceding it, rather than pronouncing the two letters seperately.
For example, the word اِنَّ is pronounced 'inna' (translated as 'truly' or 'verily'), rather than 'i na'.
ْ These marks (called a 'sukun') positioned above a letter means that this letter has no vowel. A mark similar to a small letter حـ (hah) can also used.
For example, the word قُلْ is pronounced 'qul' (translated as 'say').
ي و ا When used plain (without any marks or vowels) after another letter, the letter 'alif', 'yeh' or 'waw' will lengthen the pronounciation of the letter that preceeded it.
For example, مـا will be pronounced 'maa', rather than 'ma'.
آ This long, wavy mark written above the letter (called a 'madda') elongates that letter to a greater degree.
For example, مـآ (maa) will be read out twice as long as the example given above.
ً ٍ ٌ These marks change the vowel sound associated with a letter to either 'an', 'in' or 'un', instead of 'a', 'i' or 'u'.
There are also a number of more advanced puncuation marks used in Arabic, which affect the way certain words are read.
Arabic Numbers
The Arabic numbering system uses ten digits, just as we do.
۰= 0 ۱= 1 ۲= 2 ۳= 3 ۴= 4
۵= 5 ۶= 6 ۷= 7 ۸= 8 ۹= 9