It is used by many to begin any Language by teaching its Parts of Speech; however, logically it is better to begin our trip by teaching the Arabic Alphabet (Arabic Letters) as it is the reasonable starting point. Consider the absence of Alphabets then how we can form words and/or sentences?!
Arabic Alphabet Chart [29]
| pronunciation |
Transliterated |
Isolated |
pronunciation |
Initial |
Medial |
Final |
Transcription |
| أَلِف |
̛ālif |
ا |
Like A in Apple |
ا |
ـا |
ـا |
ā |
| بَاء |
bā̛ |
ب |
Like B in Baby |
بـ |
ـبـ |
ـب |
b |
| تَاء |
tā̛ |
ت |
Like T in Tree |
تـ |
ـتـ |
ـت ـة |
t |
| ثَاء |
thā̛ |
ث |
Like the Th in Theory |
ثـ |
ـثـ |
ـث |
th |
| جِيم |
jim |
ج |
Sometimes like the G in Girl or like the J in Jar |
جـ |
ـجـ |
ـج |
j |
| حَاء |
hā̛ |
ح |
Like the h in he yet light in pronunciation |
حـ |
ـحـ |
ـح |
h |
| خَاء |
khā̛ |
خ |
Like the Ch in the name Bach |
خـ |
ـخـ |
ـخ |
kh |
| دَال |
dāl |
د |
Like the D in Dad |
د |
ـد |
ـد |
d |
| ذَال |
zāl |
ذ |
Like the Th in The |
ذ |
ـذ |
ـذ |
z |
| رَاء |
rā̛ |
ر |
Like the R in Ram |
ر |
ـر |
ـر |
r |
| زَاي |
zāy |
ز |
Like the Z in zoo |
ز |
ـز |
ـز |
z |
| سِين |
sin |
س |
Like the S in See |
سـ |
ـسـ |
ـس |
s |
| شِين |
shin |
ش |
Like the Sh in She |
شـ |
ـشـ |
ـش |
sh |
| صَاد |
sād |
ص |
Like the S in Sad yet heavy in pronunciation |
صـ |
ـصـ |
ـص |
s |
| ضَاد |
dād |
ض |
Like the D in Dead yet heavy in pronunciation |
ضـ |
ـضـ |
ـض |
d |
| طَاء |
tā̛ |
ط |
Like the T in Table yet heavy in pronunciation |
طـ |
ـطـ |
ـط |
t |
| ظَاء |
ẓā̛ |
ظ |
Like the Z in Zorro yet heavy in pronunciation |
ظـ |
ـظـ |
ـظ |
ẓ |
| عَينٍ |
عain |
ع |
Has no real equivalent sometimes they replace its sound with the A sound like for example the name Ali for علي /عali/ |
عـ |
ـعـ |
ـع |
ع̛ |
| غَين |
ghain |
غ |
Like the Gh in Ghandi |
غـ |
ـغـ |
ـغ |
gh |
| فَاء |
fā̛ |
ف |
Like the F in Fool |
فـ |
ـفـ |
ـف |
f |
| قَاف |
qāf |
ق |
Like the Q in Queen yet heavy velar sound in pronunciation |
قـ |
ـقـ |
ـق |
q |
| كَاف |
kāf |
ك |
Like the K in Kate |
كـ |
ـكـ |
ـك |
k |
| لاَم |
lām |
ف |
Like the L in Love |
لـ |
ـلـ |
ـل |
l |
| مِيم |
mim |
م |
Like the M in Moon |
مـ |
ـمـ |
ـم |
m |
| نُون |
nun |
ن |
Like the N in Noon |
نـ |
ـنـ |
ـن |
n |
| هَاء |
hā̛ |
ه هـ |
Like the H in He |
هـ |
ـهـ |
ـه |
h |
| وَاو |
wāw |
, |
Like the W in the reaction of astonishment saying: WAW! |
ـو |
—- |
ـو |
W(aw, au, u) |
| يَاء |
yā̛ |
ي |
Like the Y in you |
يـ |
ـيـ |
ـي |
Y (ay, ai, ῑ) |
| هَمزَة |
hamza |
ء |
Latter will be discussed separately |
أ ؤ |
ـئـ |
ئ |
̛ |
| |
| أُ |
| إِ |
| |
| أَ |
Now, you can deduce from the herein above Chart that Arabic letters are 29 with the letter hamza, sometimes is regarded as a separate Letter. Further, in the first column above, you can see some dashes or symbols on the Arabic Letter above or below them; they are called Arabic vowels (Described later).
Consider the following three Arabic Letters Characteristics:
a- Letters are connected to form words.
b- Words have vowels on it (described later).
c- Some letters have dots on it.
Do you know that:
1- Arabic structure is different in Alphabet from any other Language.
2- Arabic letters form words by connecting them together.
3- Arabic Alphabet is written and read from right to left.
4- Arabic Letters’ writing has three forms: initial, medial, and final i.e. different in shape according to their position.
5- Letters in isolation and final are mostly the same in shape.
6- Letters in the initial and medial positions are mostly the same in shape.
7- There are many print forms, types of fonts and writing forms for Arabic; yet most common of which is /̛ān-naskh/ (normal writing) النَسخ and /̛ār-ruqعa/ الرِقعة. An elementary/ intermediate Reader/ Learner is advised to use /̛ān-naskh/ writing form.
8- You can find the correct pronunciation in Arabic just from the spelling of the word which is considered a no-trouble-trick of Arabic pronunciation.
9- Arabic Letters can be divided into two groups according to their position
1st Group
– Can’t be joined on the left side.
– Can be joined to a preceding letter but never to a following one.
– Then, all Arabic Letters in the Alphabet could be connected from both sides except the following mentioned Letters.(see table below)
2nd Group
– Change shape according to their position in the word.
| 1st Group (Non-Connecting Letters) |
1st Group Examples |
2nd Group (Connecting Letters) |
2nd Group Examples |
| ālif ا |
سَمَاء
/samā̛/
for “sky” |
عain ع |
Refer to the three Arabic Letters’ Writing Forms (initial – medial – final) |
| Dāl د |
الدَهر
/̛ād-dahr/
for “past life” |
ghain غ |
Refer to the three Arabic Letters’ Writing Forms (initial – medial – final) |
| zāl ذ |
الذَهب
/̛āz-zahab/
For “gold” |
kāf ك |
Refer to the three Arabic Letters’ Writing Forms (initial – medial – final) |
| rā̛ ر |
الرَمَادِي
/̛ā̛r-ramādy/
for “grey color” |
hā̛ ه هـ |
Refer to the three Arabic Letters’ Writing Forms (initial – medial – final) |
| zāy ز |
الزَمَان
/̛āz-zamān/
For “past” |
yā̛ ي |
Refer to the three Arabic Letters’ Writing Forms (initial – medial – final) |
| wāw و |
الوَطَن
/̛āl-watan/
for “homeland” |
hamza
ء
أُ
إِ
أَ |
Refer to the three Arabic Letters’ Writing Forms (initial – medial – final).
NB: this letter will be discussed later |
10- Few Arabic Written Letters could be only differentiated by their dots :
bā̛ ب
tā̛ ت
thā̛ ث |
jim ج
hā̛ ح
khā̛ خ |
dāl د
Zāl ذ
rā̛ ر
Zāy ز |
sin س
shin ش |
sād ص
dād ض |
tā̛ ط
ẓā̛ ظ |
عain ع
ghain غ |
fā̛ ف
qāf ق |
nun ن |
11- There are Confusing Arabic Written Letters phonetically-wise:
| Light Sound in Pronunciation |
Heavy Sound in Pronunciation |
| tā̛ ت |
tā̛ ط |
| Dāl د |
dād ض |
| zāl ذ |
ẓā̛ ظ |
| sin س |
sād ص |
| Kāf ك |
qāf ق |
12- The Letter tā̛ ت; sometimes it is written like the letter hā̛ in its final form ـهyet with two dots above it ـة. This letter is mostly seen in its final position to indicate a feminine gender ending and is termed ” tā̛ Marbutah”.
13- The Letters fā̛ and qāf in Moroccan Written Arabic are different in their shape as seen below:
| Position in word |
Isolated |
Initial |
Medial |
Final |
| Form of the letter fā̛ in Moroccan Arabic |
ڢ |
ڢـ |
ـڢـ |
ـڢ |
| Form of the letter qāf in Moroccan Arabic |
ڡ |
ڧـ |
ـڧـ |
ـڡ |
ARABIC ALPHABET- NAMES
- In this lesson we will learn the Arabic Alphabet (God Willing). The lesson is designed to teach the names of all the alphabets. Click on the letters to hear how the letter names are pronounced.
- Please note that some of these letters are very similar to English letter sounds e.g.: /Bā’/ is very close to the letter ‘B’ in the English language, this is a useful way to remember the sounds of the letters. However many letters have no equivalent sounds in English e.g.: /ξayn/, and some letters have subtle but important differences in pronunciation, e.g.: /Hā’/ which is pronounced with a lot more emphasis in the throat than the letter ‘H’ in English.
- In Arabic, it is preferred to use the ‘tanween’ (‘un’) to clarify the pronunciation – especially on the final letter of a word. We have used the tanween in the sounds below. For example – instead of /Bā’/ we have said ‘Bā-un’. The letter name is still /Bā’/ but we have used the ‘un’ to clarify the pronunciation.
- Finally, please note that the Arabic script is read from right to left. Please read the letters below starting from the right and reading each letter to the left.
| |
|
|
|
|
Arabic Character
|
|
/Jīm/
|
/Thā’/
|
/Tā’/
|
/Bā’/
|
/Alif/
|
Letter Name
|
|
j
|
th
|
t
|
b
|
a
|
Letter Sound
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
Arabic Character
|
|
/Râ’/
|
/Dhāl/
|
/Dāl/
|
/Khâ’/
|
/ħā’/
|
Letter Name
|
|
r
|
dh
|
d
|
kh
|
h
|
Letter Sound
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
Arabic Character
|
|
/đâd/
|
/ŝâd/
|
/Shīn/
|
/Sīn/
|
/Zāy/
|
Letter Name
|
|
d
|
s
|
sh
|
s
|
z
|
Letter Sound
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
Arabic Character
|
|
/Fā’/
|
/Ghayn/
|
/ξayn/
|
/Zâ’/
|
/ŧâ’/
|
Letter Name
|
|
f
|
gh
|
`
|
Z
|
t
|
Letter Sound
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
Arabic Character
|
|
/Nūn/
|
/Mīm/
|
/Lām/
|
/Kāf/
|
/Qâf/
|
Letter Name
|
|
n
|
m
|
l
|
K
|
q
|
Letter Sound
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
Arabic Character
|
| |
|
/Yā’/
|
/Wāw/
|
/Hā’/
|
Letter Name
|
| |
|
y
|
w
|
h
|
Letter Sound
|
| Arabic letters usage in Literary Arabic |
| Name |
Translit. |
Value (IPA) |
Contextual forms |
Isolated |
| Final |
Medial |
Initial |
| alif |
ā / ’ (also ʾ ) |
various, |
ـا |
ـا |
ا |
ا |
| including /aː/ [a] |
| bā’ |
b |
/b/ |
ـب |
ـبـ |
بـ |
ب |
| (sometimes /p/ in loanwords)[b] |
| tā’ |
t |
/t/ |
ـت |
ـتـ |
تـ |
ت |
| thā’ |
th (also ṯ ) |
/θ/ |
ـث |
ـثـ |
ثـ |
ث |
| jīm |
j (also ǧ, g ) |
[d͡ʒ] ~ [ʒ] ~ [ɡ] [c] |
ـج |
ـجـ |
جـ |
ج |
| ḥā’ |
ḥ |
/ħ/ |
ـح |
ـحـ |
حـ |
ح |
| khā’ |
kh (also ḫ, ḵ ) |
/x/ |
ـخ |
ـخـ |
خـ |
خ |
| dāl |
d |
/d/ |
ـد |
ـد |
د |
د |
| dhāl |
dh (also ḏ ) |
/ð/ |
ـذ |
ـذ |
ذ |
ذ |
| rā’ |
r |
/r/ |
ـر |
ـر |
ر |
ر |
| zayn / zāy |
z |
/z/ |
ـز |
ـز |
ز |
ز |
| sīn |
s |
/s/ |
ـس |
ـسـ |
سـ |
س |
| shīn |
sh (also š ) |
/ʃ/ |
ـش |
ـشـ |
شـ |
ش |
| ṣād |
ṣ |
/sˤ/ |
ـص |
ـصـ |
صـ |
ص |
| ḍād |
ḍ |
/dˤ/ |
ـض |
ـضـ |
ضـ |
ض |
| ṭā’ |
ṭ |
/tˤ/ |
ـط |
ـطـ |
طـ |
ط |
| ẓā’ |
ẓ |
[ðˤ] ~ [zˤ] |
ـظ |
ـظـ |
ظـ |
ظ |
| ‘ayn |
‘ (also ʿ ) |
/ʕ/ |
ـع |
ع |
عـ |
ع |
| ghayn |
gh (also ġ, ḡ ) |
/ɣ/ |
ـغ |
ـغـ |
غـ |
غ |
| (sometimes /ɡ/ in loanwords)[c] |
| fā’ |
f |
/f/ |
ـف |
ـفـ |
فـ |
ف[d] |
| (sometimes /v/ in loanwords)[b] |
| qāf |
q |
/q/ |
ـق |
ـقـ |
قـ |
ق[d] |
| (sometimes /ɡ/ in loanwords)[c] |
| kāf |
k |
/k/ |
ـك |
ـكـ |
كـ |
ك |
| (sometimes /ɡ/ in loanwords)[c] |
| lām |
l |
/l/ |
ـل |
ـلـ |
لـ |
ل |
| mīm |
m |
/m/ |
ـم |
ـمـ |
مـ |
م |
| nūn |
n |
/n/ |
ـن |
ـنـ |
نـ |
ن |
| hā’ |
h |
/h/ |
ـه |
ـهـ |
هـ |
ه |
| wāw |
w / ū / aw |
/w/, /uː/, /aw/, |
ـو |
ـو |
و |
و |
| sometimes /u/, /o/, and /oː/ in loanwords |
| yā’ |
y / ī / ay |
/j/, /iː/, /aj/, |
ـي |
ـيـ |
يـ |
ي[e] |
| sometimes /i/, /e/, and /eː/ in loanwords |
| ي |
و |
ه |
ن |
م |
ل |
ك |
ق |
ف |
غ |
ع |
ظ |
ط |
ض |
ص |
ش |
س |
ز |
ر |
ذ |
د |
خ |
ح |
ج |
ث |
ت |
ب |
ا |
| y |
w |
h |
n |
m |
l |
k |
q |
f |
gh |
‘ |
ẓ |
ṭ |
ḍ |
ṣ |
sh |
s |
z |
r |
dh |
d |
kh |
ḥ |
j |
th |
t |
b |
ā |
| غ |
ظ |
ض |
ذ |
خ |
ث |
ت |
ش |
ر |
ق |
ص |
ف |
ع |
س |
ن |
م |
ل |
ك |
ي |
ط |
ح |
ز |
و |
ه |
د |
ج |
ب |
ا |
| gh |
ẓ |
ḍ |
dh |
kh |
th |
t |
sh |
r |
q |
ṣ |
f |
‘ |
s |
n |
m |
l |
k |
y |
ṭ |
ḥ |
z |
w |
h |
d |
j |
b |
ā |
^a Alif can represent many phonemes in Literary Arabic:
Without diacritics: ا
initially: a, i /a, i/ or sometimes silent in the definite article ال (a)l-
medially or finally: ā /aː/.
Alif with hamzah above: أ
initially: ʾa, ʾu /ʔa, ʔu/
medially or finally: aʾ /ʔa/.
Alif with hamzah under: إ
initially: ʾi /ʔi/; doesn’t appear medially or finally (see hamza).
Alif with maddah : آ
initially, medially or finally: ʾā /ʔaː/.
^b /p/ and /v/ can be represented by پ and ڤ/ڥ or if unavailable, ب and ف/ڢ are used, respectively. The letters ب and ف can also be used for /p/ and /v/, or the letters پ and ڤ can be used in Egypt.
^c For Arabic language speakers, the phoneme /ɡ/ can be represented using different letters, depending on local dialects. ج is normally used in Egypt, also sometimes Yemen and Oman. ق is used where it represents the [ɡ] in local dialects. ك or غ are used where /ɡ/ doesn’t exist in local dialects. Other letters such as گ, ݣ or ڨ may also be used, but are not regarded as standard Arabic letters. Likewise, where ج represents [ɡ], it can be also used for /ʒ/~/d͡ʒ/, or the letter چ can be used in Egypt.
^d Fā’ and qāf are traditionally written in northwestern Africa as ڢ and ڧـ ـڧـ ـٯ, respectively, while the latter’s dot is only added initially or medially.
^e Yā’ in the isolated and the final forms in handwriting and print in Egypt, Sudan and sometimes other places, is always undotted ى, making it only contextually distinguishable from alif maqṣūrah.
See also Additional letters below.
Further notes
The letter alif originated in the Phoenician alphabet as a consonant-sign indicating a glottal stop. Today it has lost its function as a consonant, and, together with ya’ and wāw, is a mater lectionis, a consonant sign standing in for a long vowel (see below), or as support for certain diacritics (maddah and hamzah).
Arabic currently uses a diacritic sign, ﺀ, called hamzah, to denote the glottal stop [ʔ], written alone or with a carrier:
alone: ء
with a carrier: إ أ (above or under a alif), ؤ (above a wāw), ئ (above a dotless yā’ or yā’ hamzah).
In academic work, the hamzah (ء) is transliterated with the modifier letter right half ring (ʾ), while the modifier letter left half ring (ʿ) transliterates the letter ‘ayn (ع), which represents a different sound, not found in English.
Letters lacking an initial or medial version are never linked to the letter that follows, even within a word. The hamzah has a single form, since it is never linked to a preceding or following letter. However, it is sometimes combined with a wāw, yā’, or alif, and in that case the carrier behaves like an ordinary wāw, yā’, or alif.
The shape of the final yā’ is always undotted ى in both print and handwriting in Egypt and Sudan, mainly.
Modified letters
The following are not individual letters, but rather different contextual variants of some of the Arabic letters.
Conditional forms Name Translit. Phonemic Value (IPA)
Isolated Final Medial Initial
آ ـآ ـآ آ alif maddah ā /ʔaː/
ة ـة tā’ marbūṭah h or
t / h / ẗ /a/, /at/
ى ـى alif maqṣūrah[4] ā / ỳ /aː/
Ligatures
Components of a ligature for “Allah”:
1. alif
2. hamzat waṣl (همزة وصل)
3. lām
4. lām
5. shadda (شدة)
6. dagger alif (ألف خنجرية)
7. hāʾ
The use of ligature in Arabic is common. There is one compulsory ligature, that for lām + alif, which exists in two forms. All other ligatures (yā’ + mīm, etc.) are optional.
Contextual forms Name
Final Medial Initial Isolated
ﻼ ﻻ lām + alif
A more complex ligature that combines as many as seven distinct components is commonly used to represent the word Allāh.
The only ligature within the primary range of Arabic script in Unicode (U+06xx) is lām + alif. This is the only one compulsory for fonts and word-processing. Other ranges are for compatibility to older standards and contain other ligatures, which are optional.
lām + alif
لا
Note: Unicode also has in its Presentation Form B FExx range a code for this ligature. If your browser and font are configured correctly for Arabic, the ligature displayed above should be identical to this one, U+FEFB ARABIC LIGATURE LAM WITH ALEF ISOLATED FORM:
ﻻ
U+0640 ARABIC TATWEEL + lām + alif
ـلا
Note: Unicode also has in its Presentation Form B U+FExx range a code for this ligature. If your browser and font are configured correctly for Arabic, the ligature displayed above should be identical to this one:
U+FEFC ARABIC LIGATURE LAM WITH ALEF FINAL FORM
ﻼ
Another ligature in the Unicode Presentation Form A range U+FB50 to U+FDxx is the special code for glyph for the ligature Allāh (“God”), U+FDF2 ARABIC LIGATURE ALLAH ISOLATED FORM:
ﷲ
This is a work-around for the shortcomings of most text processors, which are incapable of displaying the correct vowel marks for the word Allāh in Koran. Because Arabic script is used to write other texts rather than Koran only, rendering lām + lām + hā’ as the previous ligature is considered faulty:[5] If one of a number of fonts (mry_KacstQurn, KacstOne, DejaVu Sans, Scheherazade, Lateef, Iranian Sans) is installed on a computer (Iranian Sans is support by Wikimedia web-fonts), the word will appear without diacritics.
lām + lām + hā’
لله or لله
alif + lām + lām + hā’
الله or الله
alif + lām + lām + U+0651 ARABIC SHADDA + U+0670 ARABIC LETTER SUPERSCRIPT ALEF + hā’
اللّٰه (DejaVu Sans and KacstOne don’t show the added superscript Alef)
An attempt to show them on the faulty fonts without automatically adding the gemination mark and the superscript alif, although may not display as desired on all browsers, is by adding the U+200d (Zero width joiner) after the first or second lām
(alif +) lām + lām + U+200d ZERO WIDTH JOINER + hā’
الله لله
Gemination
Further information: Shadda
Gemination is the doubling of a consonant. Instead of writing the letter twice, Arabic places a W-shaped sign called shaddah, above it. Note that if a vowel occurs between the two consonants the letter will simply be written twice. The diacritic only appears where the consonant at the end of one syllable is identical to the initial consonant of the following syllable. (The generic term for such diacritical signs is ḥarakāt).
General
Unicode Name Transliteration
0651
ّ ّ shaddah (consonant doubled)
Nunation
Main article: Nunation
Nunation (Arabic: تنوين tanwīn) is the addition of a final -n to a noun or adjective. The vowel before it indicates grammatical case. In written Arabic nunation is indicated by doubling the vowel diacritic at the end of the word.
Vowels
Users of Arabic usually write long vowels but omit short ones, so readers must utilize their knowledge of the language in order to supply the missing vowels. However, in the education system and particularly in classes on Arabic grammar these vowels are used since they are crucial to the grammar. An Arabic sentence can have a completely different meaning by a subtle change of the vowels. This is why in an important text such as the Qur’ān the three basic vowel signs (see below) are mandated, like the ḥarakāt and all the other diacritics or other types of marks, for example the cantillation signs.
Short vowels
Further information: Arabic diacritics
In the Arabic handwriting of everyday use, in general publications, and on street signs, short vowels are typically not written. On the other hand, copies of the Qur’ān cannot be endorsed by the religious institutes that review them unless the diacritics are included. Children’s books, elementary-school texts, and Arabic-language grammars in general will include diacritics to some degree. These are known as “vocalized” texts.
Short vowels may be written with diacritics placed above or below the consonant that precedes them in the syllable, called ḥarakāt. All Arabic vowels, long and short, follow a consonant; in Arabic, words like “Ali” or “alif”, for example, start with a consonant: ‘Aliyy, alif.
Short vowels
(fully vocalized text) Name Trans. Value
064E
َ fatḥah a /a/
064F
ُ ḍammah u /u/
0650
ِ kasrah i /i/
Long vowels
In the fully vocalized Arabic text found in texts such as Koran, a long ā following a consonant other than a hamzah is written with a short a sign (fatḥah) on the consonant plus an alif after it; long ī is written as a sign for short i (kasrah) plus a yā’; and long ū as a sign for short u (ḍammah) plus a wāw. Briefly, ᵃa = ā, ⁱy = ī and ᵘw = ū. Long ā following a hamzah may be represented by an alif maddah or by a free hamzah followed by an alif.
The table below shows vowels placed above or below a dotted circle replacing a primary consonant letter or a shaddah sign. For clarity in the table, the primary letters on the left used to mark these long vowels are shown only in their isolated form. Please note that most consonants do connect to the left with alif, wāw and yā’ written then with their medial or final form. Additionally, the letter yā’ in the last row may connect to the letter on its left, and then will use a medial or initial form. Use the table of primary letters to look at their actual glyph and joining types.
Long vowels
(fully vocalised text) Name Trans. Value
064E 0627
َا fatḥah alif ā /aː/
064E 0649
َى fatḥah alif maqṣūrah ā / á /aː/
064F 0648
ُو ḍammah wāw ū /uː/
0650 064A
ِي kasrah yā’ ī /iː/
In unvocalized text (one in which the short vowels are not marked), the long vowels are represented by the vowel in question: alif, alif maqṣūrah (or ya’), wāw, or yā’. Long vowels written in the middle of a word of unvocalized text are treated like consonants with a sukūn (see below) in a text that has full diacritics. Here also, the table shows long vowel letters only in isolated form for clarity.
Combinations وا and يا are always pronounced wā and yā respectively. The exception is when وا is the verb ending, where alif is silent, resulting in ū.
Long vowels
(unvocalized text) Name Trans. Value
0627
ا (implied fatḥah) alif ā /aː/
0649
ى (implied fatḥah) alif maqṣūrah ā / aỳ /aː/
0648
و (implied ḍammah) wāw ū / uw /uː/
064A
ي (implied kasrah) yā’ ī / iy /iː/
In addition, when transliterating names and loanwords, Arabic language speakers write out most or all the vowels as long (ā with ا alif, ē and ī with ي ya’, and ō and ū with و wāw), meaning it approaches a true alphabet.
Diphthongs
The diphthongs /aj/ and /aw/ are represented in vocalized text as follows:
Diphthongs
(fully vocalized text) Name Trans. Value
064E 064A
َي fatḥah yā’ ay /aj/
064E 0648
َو fatḥah wāw aw /aw/
Vowel omission
An Arabic syllable can be open (ending with a vowel) or closed (ending with a consonant):
open: CV [consonant-vowel] (long or short vowel)
closed: CVC (short vowel only)
A normal text is composed only of a series of consonants plus vowel-lengthening letters; thus, the word qalb, “heart”, is written qlb, and the word qalab, “he turned around”, is also written qlb.
To write qalab without this ambiguity, we could indicate that the l is followed by a short ‘a’ by writing a fatha above it.
To write qalb, we would instead indicate that the l is followed by no vowel by marking it with a diacritic called sukūn ( ْ ), like this: قلْبْ).
This is one step down from full vocalization, where the vowel after the q would also be indicated by afatḥah: قَلْبْ.
The Qur’ān is traditionally written in full vocalization.
The long i sound in some qurans is written with a kasra followed diacriticless yā’, and long u by a damma followed by a bare wāw. In other qurans, this ya and this waw carry a sukūn. Outside of the Qur’ān, the latter convention is extremely rare, to the point that yā’ with sukūn will be unambiguously read as the diphthong /aj/, and wāw with sukūn will be read /aw/.
For example, the letters m-y-l can be read like English meel or like English mail, or (theoretically) also some other ways, like ‘mayyal’ or ‘mayil’. But if a sukuun is added on the ya’ then the miim cannot have a sukuun (because two letters in a row cannot be sukunated), cannot have a damma (because there is never an ‘uy’ sound in Arabic unless there is another vowel after the ya), and cannot have a kasra (because kasra before sukunated ya’ is never found outside qurans), so it MUST have a fatha and the only possible pronunciation is /mayl/ (meaning mile, or even e-mail). By the same token, m-y-t with a sukoon over the y can be mayt but not mayyit or meet, and m-w-t with a sukoon on the w can only be mawt, not moot (iw is impossible when the w closes the syllable).
Vowel marks are always written as if the i‘rāb vowels were in fact pronounced, even when they must be skipped in actual pronunciation. So, when writing the name Aḥmad, it is optional to place a sukoon on the ḥ, but a sukoon is forbidden on the d, because that d would carry a damma if any other word followed, as in Aḥmadu zawjī meaning “Ahmad is my husband”.
Another example: the sentence that in correct Arabic must be pronounced Aḥmadu zawjun sharrīr, meaning “Ahmed is a wicked husband”, is usually mispronounced as Aḥmad zawj sharrīr. Yet, for the purposes of Arabic grammar and orthography, is treated as if it were not mispronounced and as if yet another word followed it, i.e., if adding any vowel marks, they must be added as if the pronunciation were Aḥmadu zawjun sharrīrun with a tanween ‘un’ at the very end. So, it is correct to add an ‘un’ tanween sign on the final r, but actually pronouncing it would be a hypercorrection. Also, it is never correct to write a sukoon on that r, even though in actual pronunciation that r is (and in correct Arabic MUST be) sukooned.
Of course, if the correct i`râb is a sukuun, it may be optionally written.
General
Unicode Name Translit. Phonemic Value (IPA)
0652
ْ sukūn (no vowel with this consonant letter or
diphthong with this long vowel letter) ∅
0670
ٰ alif above ā /aː/
The sukūn is also used for transliterating words into the Arabic script. The Persian word ماسک (mâsk, from the English word “mask”), for example, might be written with a sukūn above the ﺱ to signify that there is no vowel sound between that letter and the ک.
Additional letters
Regional variations
ڢ – a Maghrebi variation of the letter ف (fā’) .
ٯ and ڧ – a Maghrebi variation of standard letter ق (as a rule, dotless in isolated and final positions and dotted in the initial and medial forms ڧـ ـڧـ ـٯ).
Additional modified letters, used in non-Arabic languages, or in Arabic for transliterating names, loanwords, spoken dialects only, include:
Sometimes used for writing names, loanwords and dialects
ڤ – (not to be confused with ڨ) used in Kurdish language when written in Arabic script and sometimes used in Arabic language to represent the sound /v/ when transliterating names and loanwords in Arabic. Also used in writing dialects with that sound.[6] (Usually the letter ف (fā’) transliterates /v/.) Also used as pa in the Jawi script. The phoneme /v/ in Tunisia and some other regions of Maghreb is rendered using ڥ.
پ – used to represent the phoneme /p/ in Persian, Urdu, and Kurdish; sometimes used in Arabic language when transliterating names and loanwords, although Arabic mostly substitutes /b/ for /p/ in the transliteration of names and loanwords. So, “7up” can be transcribed as سفن أب or سڤن أﭖ.
چ – used to represent /t͡ʃ/ (“ch”). It is used in Persian, Urdu, and Kurdish and sometimes used when transliterating names and loanwords in Arabic. In the Iraqi spoken dialect it may be used, especially when referring in the feminine, although it is rarely written, as well as rarely used in the Maghrebi spelling. Nevertheless, Arabic usually substitutes other letters in the transliteration of names and loanwords: normally the combination تش (tā’-shīn) is used to transliterate the /t͡ʃ/, as in “Chad”. In Egypt چ is used for /ʒ/ (or /d͡ʒ/, which is approximated to [ʒ]). In Israel, it’s used to render /ɡ/ in Arabic language, for example on roadsigns.
Ca in the Jawi script.
گ – used to represent /ɡ/. Normally used in Persian, Kurdish, and Urdu.[6] Often names and loanwords with /ɡ/ are transliterated in Arabic with ك (kāf), ق (qāf), غ (ghayn) or ج (jīm), which may or may not change the original sound. In Egypt ج is normally pronounced [ɡ].
ڨ – a Maghrebi letter, sometimes used for [ɡ] (not to be confused with ڤ). In Tunisia it is sometimes used to represent the phoneme /ɡ/. In final and isolate form it has the form which resembles the letter ق qāf whence it derives.
ڜ – a Maghrebi letter for [t͡ʃ].
ٻ، Saraiki
ڄ, Saraiki
ݙ, Saraiki
ڳ, Saraiki
ݨ, Saraiki