Arabic Basics
118 flashcards by MentisLibrary
All 28 Arabic letters with their isolated, initial, medial and final forms, plus the vowel marks nobody writes, then Modern Standard Arabic greetings, numbers and everyday words with transliteration.
- ا
- Alif. It carries a long aa sound, or acts as a seat for the glottal stop hamza.
- ب
- Baa. Sounds like b in boy.
- ت
- Taa. Sounds like t in top.
- ث
- Thaa. Sounds like th in think.
- ج
- Jiim. In Modern Standard Arabic it sounds like j in jam.
- ح
- Haa. A strong breathy h made deep in the throat.
- خ
- Khaa. Sounds like the ch in Scottish loch.
- د
- Daal. Sounds like d in door.
- ذ
- Dhaal. Sounds like th in this.
- ر
- Raa. A tapped or lightly rolled r.
- ز
- Zaay. Sounds like z in zoo.
- س
- Siin. Sounds like s in sun.
- ش
- Shiin. Sounds like sh in shop.
- ص
- Saad. An emphatic s, pronounced with the back of the tongue raised.
- ض
- Daad. An emphatic d.
- ط
- Taa emphatic. A heavy t.
- ظ
- Zaa emphatic. A heavy version of the th in this.
- ع
- Ayn. A voiced sound made by tightening the throat. It has no English equivalent.
- غ
- Ghayn. Like a gargled r, close to the French r.
- ف
- Faa. Sounds like f in fine.
- ق
- Qaaf. A k made far back against the uvula.
- ك
- Kaaf. Sounds like k in kite.
- ل
- Laam. Sounds like l in lamp.
- م
- Miim. Sounds like m in man.
- ن
- Nuun. Sounds like n in no.
- ه
- Haa. A light h as in house.
- و
- Waaw. Sounds like w in water, or carries a long uu.
- ي
- Yaa. Sounds like y in yes, or carries a long ii.
- ء
- Hamza, the glottal stop, the catch in the middle of uh-oh.
- ة
- Taa marbuuta, the tied t. It marks most feminine nouns and adjectives.