There are 28 letters in the Arabic alphabet. Most of them are just the equivalent of the letters in English but written in an Arabic form. Luckily, most of them are pronounced exactly as they’re written. Like in English, the Arabic alphabet has a certain order. Here are the Arabic letters with their names underneath, going from right to left.
You’ll go through each letter and use examples for how to pronounce it. As you follow along, take out a notebook and practice writing and pronouncing the letters to get used to them.
Letters of the Arabic alphabet
The first letter, Alif
| Alif: ا = /a/ like in ‘umbrella‘. Alif is easy – it’s just like “a” in English and is a single, vertical line. |  |
The next 3 letters, Baa, Taa, and Thaa have similar shapes; just the dots are different:
| Baa’: ب = /b/ like in ‘bubble’. Baa has a dot beneath the boat-shape. |  |
Taa’: ت = /t/ like in ‘little’ – note that ت is said with a blast of air. Taa has
two dots above the boat-shape. |  |
| Thaa’: ث = /th/ like in ‘teeth‘. Thaa has three dots above the boat-shape. |  |
Jiim, Haa and Khaa have the same shape:
| Jiim: ج = /j/ like in ‘jam’ |  |
| Haa’: ح = Haa is a stronger version of /h/, but it comes from deeper in the throat. It’s like the sound you make when you have something spicy. Haa’ has no dots. |  |
| Khaa’: خ =Khaa is another tricky one. It’s like the sound you make when you laugh or even snort, coming from a deep part of the throat. Khaa has a dot above the shape |  |
Daal and (Th)aal – the angle-looking shapes:
| Daal: د =/d/ like in ‘day’ |  |
| (Th)aal: ذ = /th/ like in ‘that’ – this is different to Thaa (‘teeth‘). (Th)aal has one dot on top. |  |
Raa and Zaa: – these look like a stretched-out version of the previous two
| Raa: ر = /r/ like in ‘rain’ |  |
| Zaa: ز = /z/ like in ‘zoo’ |  |
Seen and Sheen
| Seen: س =/s/ like in ‘snack’ |  |
| Sheen: ش =/sh/ like in ‘sheep’ |  |
Saad and Daad
| Saad: ص = Like a /s/ but stronger, pronounced with your mouth in the shape of an ‘o’, somewhat like in ‘saw’ |  |
| Daad: ض = Like /dh/ b |  |
Ṯaa and Dhaa
| Taa: ط = /t/ A stronger emphasis on the “t”, somewhat like in ‘toffee’. |  |
| Dhaa: ظ = /dh/ Pronounced as if saying “Thwart” but more emphasis on the ‘Dh’ |  |
‘Ayn and Ghayn