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Arabic alphabet: hear and practice all 28 letters
28 letters, written from right to left. Most change shape depending on where they stand in a word. Tap a letter to hear it or start the trainer.
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Arabic chartAll letters with romanization and pronunciation tipsا
āa as in "father"اب
bb as in "boy"بببت
tt as in "top"تتتث
thth as in "think"ثثثج
jj as in "jam"جججح
ḥa strong, breathy h from the throatحححخ
khch as in Scottish "loch"خخخد
dd as in "day"دذ
dhth as in "this"ذر
ra rolled rرز
zz as in "zoo"زس
ss as in "sun"سسسش
shsh as in "ship"شششص
ṣa deep, heavy sصصصض
ḍa deep, heavy dضضضط
ṭa deep, heavy tطططظ
ẓa deep, heavy th as in "this"ظظظع
ʿa squeezed sound deep in the throatعععغ
gha gargled r, like in Frenchغغغف
ff as in "fish"فففق
qa k from far back in the throatقققك
kk as in "kid"كككل
ll as in "lamp"لللم
mm as in "moon"مممن
nn as in "no"نننه
hh as in "house"هههو
w/ūw as in "water" or oo as in "moon"وي
y/īy as in "yes" or ee as in "see"ييي
Easy to mix up
- بLooks similar to
تSounds likebOnly the dots matter: one below is b, two above is t, three above is th (ث).
- جLooks similar to
حSounds likejSame shape: dot inside is j, no dot is ḥ, dot above is kh (خ).
- دLooks similar to
ذSounds likedNo dot is d, with a dot it is dh. Neither joins to the left.
- سLooks similar to
شSounds likesNo dots is s, three dots is sh.
- عLooks similar to
غSounds likeʿNo dot is a sound from the throat, with a dot a gargled r.
- فLooks similar to
قSounds likefOne dot is f, two dots is q. The shapes are very close.
In three steps
Direction and dots
Read from right to left and watch the dots.
ب ت ث ن ي
Shapes in a word
Many letters join to the next one.
بـ ـبـ ـب
The new sounds
They come from the throat or sound deep.
ح خ ع غ ق
Read your first words
Read first, then listen.
- بابbabdoor
- بيتbaythouse
- ماءmāʾwater
- شمسshamssun
- قمرqamarmoon
- كتابkitābbook
- نعمnaʿamyes
- لاlāno
- شكراshukranthank you
- مرحباmarḥabanhello
A4 chart to print
Frequently asked questions
- How many letters are in the Arabic alphabet?
- 28. On top of that come signs like hamza and the vowel marks, which are often left out.
- Why do letters look different inside a word?
- Most letters join their neighbors, so they have a form for the start, middle and end. The chart shows these forms. Six letters never join to the left.
- Are vowels written?
- Long vowels yes, short ones mostly not. That is why reading gets easy only once you know the words.
- How long does it take to learn the Arabic script?
- With 15 minutes a day, usually two to four weeks.
- Is my progress saved?
- Yes, in this browser. With a free account, on all your devices.
Another script?
Hiragana and katakana: 46 characters each, with chart and trainer.
Arabic course with 80 lessons
You know the script: now on to words and sentences, every lesson with audio.