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Basic Arabic Alphabet
» Arabic Letters » Basic
Punctuation Marks » Arabic Numbers »
Quick Test
One of the most daunting things about Islam for those who have converted is
reading Arabic - after all, it's a totally different alphabet. However, most
of the letters used have an English equivalent, and coupled with the fact
that there are only three basic vowel sounds (as opposed to the five used in
English and other Western languages), the Arabic alphabet isn't really as
difficult to learn as it first appears.
Arabic Letters
A single straight line above a letter is
equivalent to the letter 'A'. A single straight line below a letter is
equivalent to the letter 'I'. A small loop above a letter is equivalent to
the letter 'U'.
The table below is organised into three
columns; the first shows each individual letter along with it's name and the
Roman letters that are usually used for transliteration purposes; the second
column shows how each letter would look when placed at the beginning, middle
and end of a word; the third column gives brief guidelines on pronunciation
when used with the three vowels detailed above.
|
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
apostrophes). Its 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 separately.
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.
٠= 0 |
١= 1 |
٢= 2 |
٣= 3 |
٤= 4 |
٥= 5 |
٦= 6 |
٧= 7 |
٨= 8 |
٩= 9 |
Quick Test
Using the tables above, can you work out
these common words? Click on the arabic words for the answers.
1.
اِسْلَم
2.
مُسْلِم
3.
قُرْعَن
4.
مُحَمَّد
5.
صَلَوتْ
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The
Holy Quran Quotes
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“O you who believe! Be afraid of Allaah and give up what remains (due to you) from Ribaa (from now onward) if you are (really) believers”
(Al-Baqarah, 2:278)
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