Language/Standard-arabic/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation

Standard Arabic Alphabet and Pronunciation

Hi Arabic learners, 🌍

In today's lesson, you will learn how to write the different letters of the Standard Arabic alphabet, how to pronounce these letters whether it is through the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), or through a video with the pronunciation of the letters by a native speaker. You will also find at the end of this lesson a virtual keyboard to be able to type each special character of this language.

As you progress in your Arabic learning journey, you might be interested in exploring the unique Dhad language ض and understanding the nuances of the Standard Arabic Pronunciation - Lebanese Accent.

Enjoy your Arabic learning adventure! 😊

Standard Arabic Alphabet and IPA Pronunciation

Name	IPA	Letter
		Final	Medial	Initial	Isolated
ألف (Alefun)	/aː/, /ʔ/	ـا		ا
باء (Ba'on)	/b/	ـب	ـبـ	بـ	ب
تاء ( Ta'on)	/t/	ـت	ـتـ	تـ	ت
ثاء (THa'on) like"therapy"	/θ/	ـث	ـثـ	ثـ	ث
جيم (Jeemun)	/d͡ʒ/	ـج	ـجـ	جـ	ج
حاء (ha'on)	/ħ/	ـح	ـحـ	حـ	ح
خاء (khaa'on)	/x/	ـخ	ـخـ	خـ	خ
دال (daalun)	/d/	ـد		د
ذال (daalun ) like "the moon"	/ð/	ـذ		ذ
راء (raa'on) like "room"	/r/	ـر		ر
زاي (zaa'ye)	/z/	ـز		ز
سين (seenun) like "I see"	/s/	ـس	ـسـ	سـ	س
شين (sheenun) like"she"	/ʃ/	ـش	ـشـ	شـ	ش
صاد (Saad) like " Sound"	/sˤ/	ـص	ـصـ	صـ	ص
ضاد (Daad) like "Doctor"	/dˤ/	ـض	ـضـ	ضـ	ض
طاء (Taa'on)	/tˤ/	ـط	ـطـ	طـ	ط
ظاء (Dhaadun)	/ðˤ/	ـظ	ـظـ	ظـ	ظ
عين (aeenun)	/ʕ/	ـع	ـعـ	عـ	ع
غين (gheen) like the verb to pick up "Ramasser" in French	/ɣ/	ـغ	ـغـ	غـ	غ
فاء (faa'on)	/f/	ـف	ـفـ	فـ	ف
قاف (qaafun)	/q/	ـق	ـقـ	قـ	ق
كاف (kaafun)	/k/	ـك	ـكـ	كـ	ك
لام (laamun)	/l/	ـل	ـلـ	لـ	ل
ميم (meemun)	/m/	ـم	ـمـ	مـ	م
نون (nounun)	/n/	ـن	ـنـ	نـ	ن
هاء (Haa'on) like "Hello"	/h/	ـه	ـهـ	هـ	ه
واو (waawun) like "wath?"	/w/, /uː/	ـو		و
ياء (yeaa'on) like "Yes"	/j/, /iː/	ـي	ـيـ	يـ	ي

In Arabic we have Letters like ا ب ت ث ج ح ..... Each letter has a specific pronunciation.

Then we have these small Symbols ( َ - ُ - ِ ) ( ً - ٌ - ٍ ) ( ّ ) ( ْ) we add to the Letter to change their pronunciation.

symbols: ( َ ) ( ُ ) ( ِ ) "vowels"

• The first one is called in Arabic "Fat'ha" and it means you should open your mouth while saying the letter like "A" in french.
• The second one is called "Damma". Your mouth should have a round shape like you're pronouncing a "O".
• The third one is called "Kasra". Your mouth should have the same shape as when you're pronouncing a "E" .

Note :

• When the letter has no vowel or when you do not stop with a vowel at the end of the sentence, it must be replaced by a sekoun ( ْ ).
• When pronouncing, Arabs do not stop at the end of their sentences with a vowel.

Examples

• If we want to say the letter ( ب ) in Arabic, let's add that Fatha to it ( بَ ). Its pronunciation becomes (Ba). Not a long "a", just a short one.
• if we want to say the letter ( ب ) in Arabic, let's add that Damma to it ( بُ ). Its pronunciation becomes (Bo). Not a long "o", just a short one.
• if we want to say the letter ( ب ) in Arabic, let's add that Kasra to it ( بِ ). Its pronunciation becomes (Be). Not a long "e", just a short one.

The table below will help you with other letters:

letter	name of the letter	pronunciation with Fatha	pronunciation with Damma	pronunciation with Kasra
ا	Alif	A	O	E of english & i in french
ب	Ba'a	Ba	Bo	Be
ت	Ta'a	Ta	To	Te
ث	tha'a (th here must pronounce as [th] in tee[th]	tha	tho	the
ج	jeem	ja	jo	je
ح	ha'a [h]	ha	Ho	He
خ	Kha'a [KH] must pronounce as [X letter in Russian]	Kha	Kho	Khe
د	daal	da	do	de or di in french
ذ	thaal like english word that	tha	tho	the
ر	raa like R in english	ra	ro	re
ز	zayn	za	zo	ze
س	siin	sa	so	se
ش	shiin	sha	sho	she
ص	saad magnify	sa	so	se
ض	daad magnify	da	do	de
ع	aayn as saying : iraq city	aa	ao	ae
غ	Rayn like R in french	ra	ro	re
ف	faa	fa	fo	fe
ق	qaaf close from grand g in french	qa	qo	qe
ك	kaaf	ka	ko	ke
ل	laam	la	lo	le
م	miim	ma	mo	me
ن	noon	na	no	ne
هـ	haa like hello	ha	ho	he
و	waaw	wa	wo	we
ي	yaa	ya	yo	ye

Please note that the second letter you add has a very short pronunciation.

symbols ( ً )-( ٌ )-( ٍ )

• The first one is called in Arabic "Tanween Al Fat'h" and it means you should open your mouth while saying the letter like "A" in french then add N at the end of letter.
• The second one is called "Tanween Al Damm". Your mouth should have a round shape like you're pronouncing a "O" and add N at the End of the letter
• The third one is called "Tanween Al Kasr". Your mouth should have the same shape as when you're pronouncing a "E" .and add N at the End of the letter

Examples

• If we want to say the letter ( ب ) in Arabic, let's add Tanween Al Fat'h to it ( بً ). Its pronunciation becomes (Ban). Not a long "a" in french, just a short one.
• if we want to say the letter ( ب ) in Arabic, let's add Tanween Al Damm to it ( بٌ ). Its pronunciation becomes (Bon). Not a long "o", just a short one.
• if we want to say the letter ( ب ) in Arabic, let's add Tanween Al Kasr to it ( بٍ ). Its pronunciation becomes (Ben). Not a long "e", just a short one.

The table below will help you with other letters:

letter	name of the letter	pronunciation with Tanween Al Fat'h	pronunciation with Tanween Al Damm	pronunciation with Tanween Al Kasr
ا	Alif	An	On	Ee
ب	Ba'a	Ban	Bon	Ben
ت	Ta'a	Tan	Ton	Ten
ث	tha'a (th here must pronounce as [th] in tee[th]	than	thon	then
ج	jeem	jan	jon	jen
ح	ha'a	han	Hon	Hen
خ	Kha'a [KH] must pronounce as [X letter in Russian]	Khan	Khon	Khen

Long pronunciation

We can read an arabic letter with a long pronuciation by using three letters (alif-أ, yaa-ي, waaw) after the one that want to read as long :

• we use alif-أ after the long letter who has "fatha" for example : ( سَ= sa ) long pronunciation is ( سَا=saaa )

• we use waaw-و after the long letter who has "damma" for example : ( سُ= so ) long pronunciation is ( سُو=sooo )

• we use yaa-ي after the long letter who has "kasra" for example : ( سِ= si ) long pronunciation is ( سِي=siii )

NOTE

*When we use the 3 letters (ا,ي,و)( alif- yaa- waaw) to make a long pronunciation, we don't give them any damma or kasra or... they have a name is :

horof al-aela حُرُوفُ الْعِلَةِ

Arabic Online Virtual Keyboard

Other Lessons

• Dhad language ض
• Letters
• Lebanese Accent