In the name of Allah
Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu
Here is what we learnt in Lesson 1 of Arabic reading class by teacher Iman, so join us on Monday 7:00pm Egypt time to learn more!
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LETTER
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NAME
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ENGLISH SOUND/EXAMPLES
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Notes On LETTERS
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أ
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alif
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a,aa,i,u
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Technically alif is less a letter than it is a vowel holder and a vowel lengthener for aa. As such, this letter can have the three sounds a, i, u when written at the beginning of a word. In the middle or end of a word, it generally sounds like aa (father).
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ب ت ث
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ب
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baa
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b
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ت
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taa
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t
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ث
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thaa
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th (thing)
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ج ح خ
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ج
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jeem
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j
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ح
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Haa
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H*
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This is an emphatic h. It is much heavier and forceful than a regular soft English h. It's close to the same noise one makes when one breathes onto one's sunglasses for cleaning.
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خ
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khaa
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Kh*
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This is the ch sound in German doch or Scottish loch and similar to the Spanish g in gente.
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د ذ
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د
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daal
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d
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ذ
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Dhaal
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th(that)
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ر ز
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ر
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raa
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r
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ز
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Zaay
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z
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س ش
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س
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seen
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s
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ش
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sheen
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sh
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ص ض ط ظ
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ص
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Swaad
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S*
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This is an emphatic s. To pronounce it, hold your tongue down in the bottom of your mouth and say psalm.
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ض
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Dhaad
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D*
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This is the emphatic d. To pronounce it, press your tongue down into the bottom of your mouth and say dock.
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ط
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taa
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T*
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In Arabic there are two letters which sound like t to the English ear. The letter Taa is an emphatic t which generally means it has a stronger, heavier pronunciation than a regular t. To pronounce it, press your tongue down in the bottom of your mouth and say talk.
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ظ
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THaa
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TH,Z*
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This is an emphatic th as in this. To pronounce it, press your tongue down into the bottom of your mouth and say the all as a single word connecting the th sound and all.
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ع غ
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ع
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Ayn
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a^
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This sound has no equivalent in English and is known as the strangled vomit sound as it is simply the constriction of the throat muscles that one uses while vomiting. It must be heard to be mimicked, but in many cases the English ear can't even hear it.
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غ
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Ghayn
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r(French)gh*
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This sound is very close to the French r in Paris or rue, although it is generally written as gh when translated into English although this bears NO resemblance to English gh whatsoever. It is written as gh as to not confuse it with the regular r that Arabic also has.
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ف ق
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ف
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faa
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f
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ق
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qaaf
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q*
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This letter is written as q when translated into English although this has no bearing on the pronunciation of the letter itself. To make this sound, pronounce a k but generate it far back in your throat, almost as if you are going to gargle.
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ك
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kaaf
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k
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ل
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laam
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l
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م
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meem
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m
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ن
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noon
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n
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ه
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haa
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h
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و
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waaw
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w
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ى
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yaa
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y
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REMEMBER:
Arabic is read from RIGHT TO LEFT, so the order of the alphabet is alif, baa, taa, thaa, jeem, Haa, khaa, dal, thal, etc.
NO EQUIVALENT IN ENGLISH
: H, kh, S, D, T, TH, ', gh, q
NO EQIVALENT IN ARABIC
: v, p, ch
ENGLISH INTO ARABIC, v as f, p as b, ch as sh or tsh, ng as n
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