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# 1 Joining letters

In Arabic, joining letters is a fundamental aspect of reading and writing. Arabic is a cursive script, meaning that letters are written in a connected manner. Joining letters correctly is essential to ensure legibility and readability of written Arabic. The first thing you should learn is that Arabic, unlike many other languages, is written from right to left. Each letter has two or three forms in joint writing in addition to its independent form, depending on their position in the word: initial (beginning of the word), medial (in the middle) and final (last). In the tables below you can find a complete list of all Arabic letters, as well as their form in each of the three possible positions in a word, as well as examples. The table is long and you are not expected to know all of it by heart after one session. We recommend that you revisit it as you learn the language. To break the table up, there are activities for you to practice with in-between.

- Meanings of words will not be given because the aim here is to focus on writing exercises.
- Some letters are not connected to the letter that follows them, so they are written in the same way in the middle of the word and at the end of the word.

## Table 1 Joining letters part 1

Final | Medial | Initial | The letter (Independent)
--- | --- | --- | ---
ــا | ــا | ا | ا
عص ا | ذه ا ب | ا لم |
ــب | ــبــ | بــ | ب
ح ب | ط ب ق | ب قرة |
ــت | ــتــ | تــ | ت
بي ت | ك ت ب | ت علم |
ــث | ــثــ | ثــ | ث
ح ث | م ث ال | ث وم |
ــج | ــجــ | جــ | ج
ح ج | ي ج ب | ج مل |
ــح | ــحــ | حــ | ح
بل ح | ال ح ب | ح مل |
ــخ | ــخــ | خــ | خ
بطي خ | ي خ سر | خ وف |
ــد | ــد | د | د
ي د | ح د يد | د ب |
ــذ | ــذ | ذ | ذ
لذي ذ | ه ذ ب | ذ هب |

## Activity 1

15 minutes

How do you write the independent form of the second letter in the word بقرة ?

ف
ق
غ

Which of the following words contains the خ letter?

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Audio 1
يخسر
بطيخ
جمل

Now, try to write some of the letters yourself. Watch the videos and copy the movement on a piece of paper.

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## Table 2 Joining letters part 2

Final | Medial | Initial | The letter (Independent)
--- | --- | --- | ---
ــر | ــر | ر | ر
تم ر | طائ ر ة | ر اهب |
ــز | ــز | ز | ز
تلفا ز | مي ز ان | ز رافة |
ــس | ــســ | ســ | س
شم س | ال س ماء | س د |
ــش | ــشــ | شــ | ش
ع ش | ال ش روق | ش مس |
ــص | ــصــ | صــ | ص
مق ص | ال ص بر | ص باح |
ــض | ــضــ | ضــ | ض
أبي ض | ح ض ر | ض ب |
ــط | ــطــ | طــ | ط
خي ط | ب ط ريق | ط بيب |
ــظ | ــظــ | ظــ | ظ
حف ظ | محف ظ ة | ظ هر |
ــع | ــعــ | عــ | ع
بائ ع | ل ع ب | ع لم |
ــغ | ــغــ | غــ | غ
صائ غ | ال غ روب | غ فر |

What is the second letter of the word حضر ? Write it in the independent form in the box below.

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### Answer

ض

Which of the following words contains the غ letter?

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Audio 2
ظهر
بائع
الغروب

Now, try to write some of the letters yourself. Watch the videos and copy the movement on a piece of paper.

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## Table 3 Joining letters part 3

Final | Medial | Initial | The letter (Independent)
--- | --- | --- | ---
ــف | ــفــ | فــ | ف
ضعي ف | ج ف اف | ف هم |
ــق | ــقــ | قــ | ق
أغل ق | ص ق ر | ق ريب |
ــك | ــكــ | كــ | ك
سم ك | ي ك تب | ك تاب |
ــل | ــلــ | لــ | ل
لي ل | ع ل م | ل عب |
ــم | ــمــ | مــ | م
عل م | لي م ون | م نزل |
ــن | ــنــ | نــ | ن
غص ن | ع ن ب | ن مر |
ــه | ــهــ | هــ | هـ
وج ه | ي ه تف | ه ذا |
ــو | ــو | و | و
يله و | ال و صول | و صل |
ــي | ــيــ | يــ | ي
غن ي | ثم ي ن | ي لعب |

Which of the following letters cannot be connected to the next letter in writing?

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Audio 3
و
ع
ز

For this task you need a piece of paper. Below are five words, all written in independent letters only. Can you connect them? Click reveal answer to see the correct answer.

١- ك ت ب

٢- ر س م

٣- ي ذ هـ ب

٤- ق ل م

٥- ب ي ت

### Answer

١- كتب

٢- رسم

٣- يذهب

٤- قلم

٥- بيت

Match the word written by the independent letter with the word written by the same letters in the connected form.

م ن ز ل

منزل

خ ر ي ف

خريف

ع ص ف و ر

عصفور

س ن ج ا ب

سنجاب

ق م ي ص

قميص

Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.

1. م ن ز ل

2. خ ر ي ف

3. ع ص ف و ر

4. س ن ج ا ب

5. ق م ي ص

1. 1

   منزل

2. 2

   خريف

3. 3

   عصفور

4. 4

   سنجاب

5. 5

   قميص

The correct answers are:

- 1 =
- 2 =
- 3 =
- 4 =
- 5 =

Rewrite the following words as separate letters as in the example.

Example:

تفاح ت ف ا ح

١- طعام

٢- شراب

٣- مطبخ

٤- منزل

٥- سرير

### Answer

١- ط ع ا م

٢- ش ر ا ب

٣- ن ط ب خ

٤- م ن ز ل

٥- س ر ي ر

Now, try to write some of the letters yourself. Watch the videos and copy the movement on a piece of paper.

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◄Contents►Next: 2 Long vowels and issues with reading and writing

OpenLearn - Week 1: Introduction to the Arabic alphabet
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