🇸🇦 الأبجدية العربية

The Arabic alphabet

The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters, written from right to left in a flowing, joined script. It grew out of the Nabataean form of the Aramaic alphabet, and its spread with Islam made it one of the most widely used writing systems in the world — it is also used, with extra letters, for Persian, Urdu, Pashto, Kurdish and more. There are no capital letters, but most letters change shape depending on whether they stand alone or come at the start, middle or end of a word.

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Letters 28

ā / ʼ · alif

long a as in 'father'; also the seat for hamza (أ / إ) [aː, ʔ] ا ا ـا ـا أب ab — father Does not join to the following letter.

b · bāʼ

b in 'boy' [b] ب بـ ـبـ ـب باب bāb — door One dot below.

t · tāʼ

t in 'top' [t] ت تـ ـتـ ـت تمر tamr — dates (fruit) Two dots above.

th · thāʼ

th in 'think' [θ] ث ثـ ـثـ ـث ثلج thalj — snow Three dots above. Pronounced s or t in many dialects.

j · jīm

j in 'jam' (hard g in Egyptian Arabic) [d͡ʒ] ج جـ ـجـ ـج جمل jamal — camel One dot below the bowl.

ḥ · ḥāʼ

strong breathy h from the throat, like breathing on glasses to clean them [ħ] ح حـ ـحـ ـح حليب ḥalīb — milk No dot. Different from ه.

kh · khāʼ

ch in Scottish 'loch' or German 'Bach' [x] خ خـ ـخـ ـخ خبز khubz — bread One dot above.

d · dāl

d in 'dog' [d] د د ـد ـد دار dār — house; home Does not join to the following letter.

dh · dhāl

th in 'this' [ð] ذ ذ ـذ ـذ ذهب dhahab — gold Does not join to the following letter. Often pronounced z or d in dialects.

r · rāʼ

rolled or tapped r, as in Spanish 'pero' [r] ر ر ـر ـر رجل rajul — man Does not join to the following letter. Sits low, dipping below the line.

z · zāy

z in 'zoo' [z] ز ز ـز ـز زيت zayt — oil Does not join to the following letter. Like ر with a dot.

s · sīn

s in 'sun' [s] س سـ ـسـ ـس سمك samak — fish Three small teeth, no dots.

sh · shīn

sh in 'shop' [ʃ] ش شـ ـشـ ـش شمس shams — sun Like س with three dots above.

ṣ · ṣād

a heavy, "dark" s with the tongue pulled back [sˤ] ص صـ ـصـ ـص صباح ṣabāḥ — morning Emphatic letter: it darkens the vowels around it.

ḍ · ḍād

a heavy, "dark" d with the tongue pulled back [dˤ] ض ضـ ـضـ ـض ضوء ḍawʼ — light Emphatic. Arabic is nicknamed "the language of the ḍād".

ṭ · ṭāʼ

a heavy, "dark" t with the tongue pulled back [tˤ] ط طـ ـطـ ـط طالب ṭālib — student Emphatic. Has a tall upright stroke.

ẓ · ẓāʼ

a heavy, "dark" th as in 'this' [ðˤ] ظ ظـ ـظـ ـظ ظل ẓill — shade; shadow Emphatic. Like ط with a dot.

ʿ · ʿayn

a voiced squeeze deep in the throat — no English equivalent [ʕ] ع عـ ـعـ ـع عين ʿayn — eye Practise by saying "ah" while tightening the throat.

gh · ghayn

a gargled sound, like the French r in "Paris" [ɣ] غ غـ ـغـ ـغ غرفة ghurfa — room Like ع with a dot above.

f · fāʼ

f in 'fun' [f] ف فـ ـفـ ـف فم fam — mouth One dot above (one dot below in North African script).

q · qāf

a k made far back in the throat [q] ق قـ ـقـ ـق قلب qalb — heart Two dots above. Often pronounced as a glottal stop or g in dialects.

k · kāf

k in 'kite' [k] ك كـ ـكـ ـك كتاب kitāb — book Has a small zigzag mark inside in its isolated and final forms.

l · lām

l in 'look' [l] ل لـ ـلـ ـل ليل layl — night ل + ا combine into the special ligature لا.

m · mīm

m in 'moon' [m] م مـ ـمـ ـم ماء māʼ — water Small round loop.

n · nūn

n in 'no' [n] ن نـ ـنـ ـن نور nūr — light One dot above; the final form has a deep bowl.

h · hāʼ

h in 'hat' [h] ه هـ ـهـ ـه هواء hawāʼ — air Changes shape a lot: هـ ـهـ ـه.

w / ū · wāw

w in 'wet'; also the long vowel ū as in 'food' [w, uː] و و ـو ـو ولد walad — boy Does not join to the following letter. As a prefix وَ means "and".

y / ī · yāʼ

y in 'yes'; also the long vowel ī as in 'see' [j, iː] ي يـ ـيـ ـي يد yad — hand Two dots below.

It looks intimidating, but the system is very regular: many letters share one basic shape and differ only in their dots, so you are really learning about 18 shapes plus dot patterns. Most learners can read slowly within two or three weeks. Focus on the dot families, the six letters that never join to the next letter, and the throat and emphatic sounds (ح ع ص ض ط ظ ق) that English doesn't have. Short vowels are usually not written, so vocabulary helps you read fluently.

How to learn it fast

Learn letters in shape families rather than in order: ب ت ث (ن ي in initial position look similar), ج ح خ, د ذ, ر ز, س ش, ص ض, ط ظ, ع غ, ف ق. Then just count the dots.
Six letters — ا د ذ ر ز و — never connect to the letter after them, which is why words often look broken into pieces. Spotting these gaps makes words much easier to segment.
Hamza (ء) is a glottal stop, the catch in "uh-oh". It sits alone (ء) or on a seat: أ / إ on alif, ؤ on wāw, ئ on a dotless yāʼ. The seat only affects spelling, not the sound.
Tāʼ marbūṭa (ة) appears only at the end of a word, usually marking a feminine noun. It is pronounced a in isolation (مدرسة madrasa, "school") but t when the word is followed by another in a possessive phrase (مدرسة البنات madrasat al-banāt).
Alif maqṣūra (ى) looks like ي without dots and only appears at the end of a word, where it is pronounced as a long ā: على ʿalā "on", مستشفى mustashfā "hospital". In Egypt, final ي is often written without dots too, so read from context.
Short vowels are optional marks: fatḥa ( َ ) a, kasra ( ِ ) i, ḍamma ( ُ ) u, sukūn ( ْ ) no vowel, shadda ( ّ ) doubles a consonant. Learn with vowelled texts (children's books, the Quran, textbooks), then wean yourself off them.

Did you know?

Arabic is the second most widely used alphabetic script in the world after Latin, used for dozens of languages besides Arabic.
The dots that distinguish letters such as ب ت ث were added in the early Islamic period; older inscriptions often leave them out entirely.
The "Arabic numerals" 0–9 used in the West came to Europe from India via the Arab world, while much of the Middle East uses the Eastern Arabic digits ٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩.
Six letters (ا د ذ ر ز و) never connect to the following letter, so a single word can be split into several disconnected pieces.
Arabic calligraphy is a major art form, with styles such as Naskh, Thuluth, Diwani and Kufic.

Quick quiz: which sound is this?

Questions

How many letters are in the Arabic alphabet?

28. It is written right to left.

How long does it take to learn the Arabic alphabet?

Most learners can recognise every letter within one to two weeks of short daily practice, and read slowly but accurately within a month. Reading real text — even very simple text — is what makes the letters automatic.

What's the best way to learn it?

Learn letters in shape families rather than in order: ب ت ث (ن ي in initial position look similar), ج ح خ, د ذ, ر ز, س ش, ص ض, ط ظ, ع غ, ف ق. Then just count the dots. Six letters — ا د ذ ر ز و — never connect to the letter after them, which is why words often look broken into pieces. Spotting these gaps makes words much easier to segment. Hamza (ء) is a glottal stop, the catch in "uh-oh". It sits alone (ء) or on a seat: أ / إ on alif, ؤ on wāw, ئ on a dotless yāʼ. The seat only affects spelling, not the sound.