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Arabic Alphabet
Arabic Script
The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters, all consonants. It is written right to left. Short vowels are indicated by diacritical marks above or below the letters.
Written right to leftLetters
| Character | Name | Romanization | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ا | Alef | ā / a | like 'a' in 'father' |
| ب | Ba | b | like 'b' in 'book' |
| ت | Ta | t | like 't' in 'top' |
| ث | Tha | th | like 'th' in 'think' |
| ج | Jim | j | like 's' in 'measure' |
| ح | Ha | ḥ | a breathy 'h' from the throat |
| خ | Kha | kh | like 'ch' in 'loch' |
| د | Dal | d | like 'd' in 'dog' |
| ذ | Dhal | dh | like 'th' in 'this' |
| ر | Ra | r | a rolled 'r' |
| ز | Zain | z | like 'z' in 'zebra' |
| س | Sin | s | like 's' in 'sun' |
| ش | Shin | sh | like 'sh' in 'shoe' |
| ص | Sad | ṣ | emphatic 's' sound |
| ض | Dad | ḍ | emphatic 'd' sound |
| ط | Ta | ṭ | emphatic 't' sound |
| ظ | Dha | ẓ | emphatic 'dh' sound |
| ع | Ain | ʿ | a voiced pharyngeal sound |
| غ | Ghain | gh | like a French 'r' |
| ف | Fa | f | like 'f' in 'fan' |
| ق | Qaf | q | a deep 'k' from the throat |
| ك | Kaf | k | like 'k' in 'key' |
| ل | Lam | l | like 'l' in 'lamp' |
| م | Mim | m | like 'm' in 'moon' |
| ن | Nun | n | like 'n' in 'night' |
| ه | Ha | h | like 'h' in 'house' |
| و | Waw | w / ū | like 'w' in 'water' or 'oo' in 'moon' |
| ي | Ya | y / ī | like 'y' in 'yes' or 'ee' in 'meet' |