The Arabic Alphabet

Letter Position
Separate	Initial	Medial	Final	Transliteration	Name	Sounds Like…
ا	أ	ـا	ـا	ā or ’ā	alif	father
ب	بـ	ـبـ	ـب	b	bā’	big
ت	تـ	ـتـ	ـت	t	tā’	ton
ث	ثـ	ـثـ	ـث	th	thā’	thought
ج	جـ	ـجـ	ـج	j	jīm	juice
ح	حـ	ـحـ	ـح	H	Hā’	This is a voiceless counterpart to ‘ayn (see below). There is no English equivalent.
خ	خـ	ـخـ	ـخ	kh	khā’	There is no English equivalent. It is similar to German loch.
د	د	ـد	ـد	d	dāl	dove
ذ	ذ	ـذ	ـذ	dh	dhal	brother
ر	ر	ـر	ـر	r	rā’	rake; Unlike English ‘r’, this sound is rolled.
ز	ز	ـز	ـز	z	zay	zipper
س	سـ	ـسـ	ـس	s	sīn	soft
ش	شـ	ـشـ	ـش	sh	shīn	short
ص	صـ	ـصـ	ـص	S	Sād	Emphatic version of sīn. There is no English equivalent.
ض	ضـ	ـضـ	ـض	D	Dād	Emphatic version of dāl. There is no English equivalent.
ط	طـ	ـطـ	ـط	T	Tā’	Emphatic version of tā’. There is no English equivalent.
ظ	ظـ	ـظـ	ـظ	DH	DHā’	Emphatic version of dhal. There is no English equivalent.
ع	عـ	ـعـ	ـع	‘	‘ayn	This is a sound produced in the throat by muscle constriction and a free flow of air. It has no English equivalent.
غ	غـ	ـغـ	ـغ	gh	ghayn	There is no English equivalent.
ف	فـ	ـفـ	ـف	f	fā’	four
ق	قـ	ـقـ	ـق	q	qāf	carve; This sound is made even further back in the throat.
ك	كـ	ـكـ	ـك	k	kāf	king
ل	لـ	ـلـ	ـل	l	lām	loose
م	مـ	ـمـ	ـم	m	mīm	man
ن	نـ	ـنـ	ـن	n	nūn	name
ه	هـ	ـهـ	ـه	h	hā’	happy
و	و	ـو	ـو	w or ū	wāw	wobble or moot
ي	يـ	ـيـ	ـي	y or ī	yā’	yo-yo or even

Usage Notes:

1. The names of characters are written in transliteration, since they contain sounds not native to English.
2. There is a ء, called hamza, on alif in the initial position. We’ll talk more about hamza later…
3. alif is often not pronounced as ‘ā’. alif is a holder for many of the other marks used in arabic script, including the short vowel marks at the beginning of words and tanwin, also to be discussed later…
4. wāw and yā’ can either be consonant or vowel sounds, depending on where they fall among other consonants and vowels.
5. I cannot produce half of these sounds properly. I’m working on it. Get yourself a good sound reference: a native speaker, Arabic CDs, etc.