Learn the Arabic Alphabet → 1 About the Arabic Alphabet

Arabic Letter	Name	Approximate English Sound
ا	Alif	“a” as in “apple” or “father” (depends on surrounding vowels)
ب	Ba	“b” as in “bat”
ت	Ta	“t” as in “top”
ث	Tha	“th” as in “think” (voiceless)
ج	Jim	“j” as in “jelly”
ح	Ha	Deep “h”, like a whispered “h” sound
خ	Kha	“ch” as in German “Bach” or Scottish “loch”
د	Dal	“d” as in “dog”
ذ	Dhal	“th” as in “that” (voiced)
ر	Ra	Rolled “r”, similar to the Spanish “r”
ز	Zay	“z” as in “zebra”
س	Sin	“s” as in “sun”
ش	Shin	“sh” as in “she”
ص	Sad	Emphatic “s”, deeper sound from the throat
ض	Dad	Emphatic “d”, deeper and stronger
ط	Ta	Emphatic “t”, deep and strong
ظ	Za	Emphatic “th” as in “those”
ع	Ain	Guttural sound, no direct English equivalent (voiced pharyngeal)
غ	Ghayn	Similar to French “r”, pronounced in the back of the throat
ف	Fa	“f” as in “fun”
ق	Qaf	Deep “k” sound, produced further back in the throat
ك	Kaf	“k” as in “kite”
ل	Lam	“l” as in “lamp”
م	Mim	“m” as in “man”
ن	Nun	“n” as in “nice”
ه	Ha	“h” as in “hat” but softer
و	Waw	“w” as in “water” or long “u” as in “moon” when used as a vowel
ي	Ya	“y” as in “yes” or long “ee” as in “see” when used as a vowel
ء	Hamza	Glottal stop, like the sound break in “uh-oh”
ى	Alif Maqsura	Similar to a long “a” as in “cat” (occurs at the end of words)

end	middle	beginning	by itself
ـب	ـبـ	بـ	ب

Curriculum

Learn the Arabic Alphabet

1 About the Arabic Alphabet

The Letters Baa, Taa & THaa

ج

ث

ت

ب

ا

اَللُّغَةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ

ـب

ـبـ

بـ

ب

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