The Arabic Alphabet

Arabic has 28 letters and is written from right to left. Most letters join the next one and change shape, so each has up to four forms. Short vowels are usually not written. Tap any letter to hear its name and its sound.

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All 28 letters

Tap any letter to hear its name and its sound.

أَلِف alif ā / ʼ · A long ā, or a seat for the glottal stop hamza (أ إ).
بَاء bāʼ b · b as in “bed”.
تَاء tāʼ t · t as in “ten”.
ثَاء thāʼ th · th as in “think”.
جِيم jīm j · j as in “jam” (said g in Egypt).
حَاء ḥāʼ ḥ · A strong, breathy h from deep in the throat.
خَاء khāʼ kh · Like ch in Scottish “loch” or German “Bach”.
دَال dāl d · d as in “dog”.
ذَال dhāl dh · th as in “this”.
رَاء rāʼ r · A rolled or tapped r.
زَاي zāy z · z as in “zoo”.
سِين sīn s · s as in “sun”.
شِين shīn sh · sh as in “shop”.
صَاد ṣād ṣ · A heavy s: the tongue pulls back and the sound is darker than س.
ضَاد ḍād ḍ · A heavy d, made like ص.
طَاء ṭāʼ ṭ · A heavy t, made like ص.
ظَاء ẓāʼ ẓ · A heavy th as in “this”; in many dialects a heavy z.
عَيْن ʿayn ʿ · A squeeze in the throat with the voice on; no English equivalent.
غَيْن ghayn gh · Like a French r, gargled in the throat.
فَاء fāʼ f · f as in “fish”.
قَاف qāf q · A k made further back, at the uvula.
كَاف kāf k · k as in “kite”.
لَام lām l · l as in “love”.
مِيم mīm m · m as in “moon”.
نُون nūn n · n as in “no”.
هَاء hāʼ h · h as in “hat”, said even at the end of a word.
وَاو wāw w / ū · w as in “water”, or a long ū.
يَاء yāʼ y / ī · y as in “yes”, or a long ī.

The four forms of every letter

A letter changes shape with its position in the word: alone, at the start, in the middle or at the end. The line (ـ) shows where it joins its neighbour.

Arabic letter forms: isolated, initial, medial and final
Letter	Alone	Start	Middle	End
alif never joins the next letter	ا	ا	ـا	ـا
bāʼ	ب	بـ	ـبـ	ـب
tāʼ	ت	تـ	ـتـ	ـت
thāʼ	ث	ثـ	ـثـ	ـث
jīm	ج	جـ	ـجـ	ـج
ḥāʼ	ح	حـ	ـحـ	ـح
khāʼ	خ	خـ	ـخـ	ـخ
dāl never joins the next letter	د	د	ـد	ـد
dhāl never joins the next letter	ذ	ذ	ـذ	ـذ
rāʼ never joins the next letter	ر	ر	ـر	ـر
zāy never joins the next letter	ز	ز	ـز	ـز
sīn	س	سـ	ـسـ	ـس
shīn	ش	شـ	ـشـ	ـش
ṣād	ص	صـ	ـصـ	ـص
ḍād	ض	ضـ	ـضـ	ـض
ṭāʼ	ط	طـ	ـطـ	ـط
ẓāʼ	ظ	ظـ	ـظـ	ـظ
ʿayn	ع	عـ	ـعـ	ـع
ghayn	غ	غـ	ـغـ	ـغ
fāʼ	ف	فـ	ـفـ	ـف
qāf	ق	قـ	ـقـ	ـق
kāf	ك	كـ	ـكـ	ـك
lām	ل	لـ	ـلـ	ـل
mīm	م	مـ	ـمـ	ـم
nūn	ن	نـ	ـنـ	ـن
hāʼ	ه	هـ	ـهـ	ـه
wāw never joins the next letter	و	و	ـو	ـو
yāʼ	ي	يـ	ـيـ	ـي

6 letters that never join the next one

ا د ذ ر ز و connect to the letter before them but never to the one after, so the next letter starts again in its start form. That is why Arabic words have small gaps.

ل followed by ا is written as one sign: لا (lā).

Short vowels (harakat)

Short vowels are small marks above or below a letter. Everyday Arabic (news, books, signs) leaves them out; the Quran, children’s books and learner texts write them.

Mark	Name	Sound
	Fatha	short a · ba
	Kasra	short i · bi
	Damma	short u · bu
بْ	Sukun	no vowel after the letter
بّ	Shadda	the letter is doubled

Sun and moon letters

The word for “the”, ال (al-), is written the same before every noun. Before the 14 sun letters the l is silent and the next letter is doubled; before the 14 moon letters you hear the l.

Sun letters

تثدذرزسشصضطظلن