Arabic alphabet chart and trainer
All 28 letters in their four positions, with the sound each one makes and an example word — then a quiz that keeps drilling the ones you get wrong.
- 1 ا alif أَلِف ā / a
A long "a", as in father. Also the seat for a hamza.
ا initial ا medial ا final ا isolatedأَسَد asad — lion
doesn't join forwards - 2 ب bāʾ بَاء b
B as in book.
ب initial ب medial ب final ب isolatedبَيْت bayt — house
- 3 ت tāʾ تَاء t
T as in top, with the tongue on the teeth.
ت initial ت medial ت final ت isolatedتُفَّاح tuffāḥ — apple
- 4 ث thāʾ ثَاء th
Th as in think (voiceless).
ث initial ث medial ث final ث isolatedثَلْج thalj — snow
- 5 ج jīm جِيم j
J as in jam. Pronounced like a hard "g" in Egypt.
ج initial ج medial ج final ج isolatedجَمَل jamal — camel
- 6 ح ḥāʾ حَاء ḥ
A breathy H from deep in the throat — like fogging a mirror.
ح initial ح medial ح final ح isolatedحَليب ḥalīb — milk
- 7 خ khāʾ خَاء kh
Like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach.
خ initial خ medial خ final خ isolatedخُبْز khubz — bread
- 8 د dāl دَال d
D as in door, tongue against the teeth.
د initial د medial د final د isolatedدَار dār — home
doesn't join forwards - 9 ذ dhāl ذَال dh
Th as in this (voiced).
ذ initial ذ medial ذ final ذ isolatedذَهَب dhahab — gold
doesn't join forwards - 10 ر rāʾ رَاء r
A tapped or rolled R, as in Spanish pero.
ر initial ر medial ر final ر isolatedرَجُل rajul — man
doesn't join forwards - 11 ز zāy زَاي z
Z as in zoo.
ز initial ز medial ز final ز isolatedزَيْت zayt — oil
doesn't join forwards - 12 س sīn سِين s
S as in sun.
س initial س medial س final س isolatedسَمَك samak — fish
- 13 ش shīn شِين sh
Sh as in ship.
ش initial ش medial ش final ش isolatedشَمْس shams — sun
- 14 ص ṣād صَاد ṣ
An emphatic S — say "s" with the back of the tongue raised.
ص initial ص medial ص final ص isolatedصَديق ṣadīq — friend
- 15 ض ḍād ضَاد ḍ
An emphatic D. Arabic calls itself "the language of the ḍād".
ض initial ض medial ض final ض isolatedضَوْء ḍawʾ — light
- 16 ط ṭāʾ طَاء ṭ
An emphatic T, heavier and further back than ت.
ط initial ط medial ط final ط isolatedطَعام ṭaʿām — food
- 17 ظ ẓāʾ ظَاء ẓ
An emphatic version of the "th" in this.
ظ initial ظ medial ظ final ظ isolatedظَهْر ẓahr — back
- 18 ع ʿayn عَين ʿ
A tight, voiced squeeze in the throat. No English equivalent.
ع initial ع medial ع final ع isolatedعَين ʿayn — eye
- 19 غ ghayn غَين gh
Like a French R, or a soft gargle.
غ initial غ medial غ final غ isolatedغُرْفة ghurfa — room
- 20 ف fāʾ فَاء f
F as in fish.
ف initial ف medial ف final ف isolatedفَم fam — mouth
- 21 ق qāf قَاف q
A K made far back, at the uvula.
ق initial ق medial ق final ق isolatedقَلْب qalb — heart
- 22 ك kāf كَاف k
K as in kite.
ك initial ك medial ك final ك isolatedكِتاب kitāb — book
- 23 ل lām لاَم l
L as in love.
ل initial ل medial ل final ل isolatedلَيْل layl — night
- 24 م mīm مِيم m
M as in moon.
م initial م medial م final م isolatedمَاء māʾ — water
- 25 ن nūn نُون n
N as in noon.
ن initial ن medial ن final ن isolatedنَجْم najm — star
- 26 ه hāʾ هَاء h
H as in hello — light, from the mouth not the throat.
ه initial ه medial ه final ه isolatedهَواء hawāʾ — air
- 27 و wāw وَاو w / ū
W as in water, or a long "oo" as in moon.
و initial و medial و final و isolatedوَرْد ward — roses
doesn't join forwards - 28 ي yāʾ يَاء y / ī
Y as in yes, or a long "ee" as in see.
ي initial ي medial ي final ي isolatedيَد yad — hand
Name this letter
How to read the chart
Arabic is written right to left and always joined — there is no print-versus-cursive distinction, so the shape of a letter depends on where it lands in a word. The four boxes on every card show exactly that: how the letter looks at the start of a word, in the middle, at the end, and standing on its own. Learn the isolated form first, then the initial and medial shapes, which is where most letters lose their tail and shrink to a stub.
Six letters break the flow. ا د ذ ر ز و connect to the letter before them but never to the letter after, so a word containing one splits into visible chunks. That's not a space — it's the same word, and beginners routinely misread it as two.
Sun letters and moon letters
The definite article الـ (al-) is spelled the same way every time, but it isn't always pronounced the same way. Before a sun letter the "l" vanishes and the following consonant doubles: الشمس is written al-shams and said ash-shams. Before a moon letter nothing happens: القمر is simply al-qamar.
- Sun letters (14): ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن
- Moon letters (14): ا ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ك م ه و ي
There's a shortcut worth knowing: sun letters are the ones pronounced with the tip of the tongue near the front of the mouth — roughly where "l" is made. The assimilation happens because the tongue is already there.
Where the vowels went
Arabic writes long vowels with letters — ا for "aa", و for "oo" and ي for "ee" — and marks short vowels with small symbols above and below the line called harakat. Those marks are optional, and outside the Quran, poetry and children's books they're simply left out. A word like كتب could be kataba (he wrote), kutiba (it was written) or kutub (books); readers tell them apart from context and from knowing the word already. It's less alien than it sounds — English readers do the same with "read".
A practical order to learn them in
- Start with the letters that look alike and differ only in dots: ب ت ث and ج ح خ. Learning them as families halves the work.
- Add the six non-connectors: ا د ذ ر ز و. They're the ones that make word shapes look broken until you expect them.
- Then the emphatic pairs: س/ص, ت/ط, د/ض, ذ/ظ. Hear them side by side rather than one at a time.
- Leave the throat letters — ح خ ع غ ق — for last, and give them extra time. Recognising them in writing comes long before producing them.
Once the shapes are familiar, the bottleneck moves to vocabulary. Reading Arabic without vowel marks only works when you already know the words, which is why the 100 most common Arabic words is the natural next step, and why spaced repetition does more for reading speed than more alphabet drilling. You can also write your own name in Arabic to see the joining rules on something you already know how to pronounce.
Frequently asked questions
How many letters are in the Arabic alphabet?
Twenty-eight. All of them are consonants, though three — alif (ا), waw (و) and ya (ي) — double as long vowels. Short vowels are written as optional marks above and below the letters, not as letters of their own.
Why does each Arabic letter have four shapes?
Arabic is always joined, like English cursive, so a letter is shaped by its neighbours: one form when it stands alone, one at the start of a word, one in the middle, and one at the end. Six letters — ا د ذ ر ز و — never join to the letter that follows, which is why words often break into visual chunks.
How long does it take to learn the Arabic alphabet?
Most learners can recognise all 28 letters in about a week of short daily sessions, and read simple words within two to three weeks. The shapes come faster than the sounds — ح, خ, ع, ق and غ have no English equivalent and take longer to hear and produce reliably.
What are sun and moon letters?
The 14 sun letters absorb the "l" of the definite article al-: الشمس is written al-shams but read ash-shams. The 14 moon letters leave it intact: القمر is read al-qamar. It affects pronunciation only — the spelling never changes.
Which Arabic letters are hardest for English speakers?
The throat letters: ح (a breathy h), ع (a tight constriction with no English parallel), خ and غ (like Scottish "loch" and a French r), and ق (a k made at the back of the throat). The emphatic pairs — س/ص, ت/ط, د/ض, ذ/ظ — are also easy to confuse because both members of each pair sound like the same English letter at first.
Do I need to learn the vowel marks?
Learn to read them, but expect them to disappear. Harakat are used in the Quran, in children's books and in dictionaries; ordinary books, news and signage leave them out and rely on the reader knowing the word. Building vocabulary is what eventually makes unvocalised text readable.