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.