1 Arabic alphabet

The first step to learning any language is to learn the alphabet. The Arabic alphabet consists of twenty-eight letters, which you will find in the following table with the English transliteration. Listen carefully to the audio, and repeat the letters you hear. Before you move to joining letters in the next section, learning to write independent letters is highly recommended.

Figure 1 Arabic alphabet
Audio 1

Table 1 Arabic letters

Transliteration The letter’s name in English The letter’s name in Arabic The letter (Independent)
A alif أَلِف ا
B baʾ بَاء ب
T taʾ تَاء ت
Th - ṯ Tha’ - ṯaʾ ثَاء ث
J - ǧ ǧīm جِيم ج
ḥ ḥaʾ حَاء ح
Kh - ẖ ẖaʾ خَاء خ
D dāl دَال د
Th - ḏ Thal - ḏāl ذَال ذ
R rāʾ رَاء ر
Z zāy زَاي ز
S sīn سِين س
Sh - š šīn شِين ش
ṣ ṣād صَاد ص
ḍ ḍād ضَاد ض
ṭ ṭāʾ طَاء ط
ẓ ẓāʾ ظَاء ظ
ʿ ʿain عَين ع
Gh- ġ ġain غَين غ
F fāʾ فَاء ف
Q qāf قَاف ق
K kāf كَاف ك
L lām لَام ل
M mīm مِيم م
N nūn نُون ن
H hāʾ هَاء هـ
W wāw وَاو و
Y yaʾ يَاء ي

Activity 1

20 minutes

To practise, match the letters with the correct English translation.

ب

B

م

M

ن

N

ي

Y

ق

Q

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

  1. ب

  2. م

  3. ن

  4. ي

  5. ق

  1. B

  2. M

  3. N

  4. Y

  5. Q

The correct answers are:
  • 1 =
  • 2 =
  • 3 =
  • 4 =
  • 5 =

Listen to the audio and identify the letter you heard.

Audio 2
 

Listen to the audio and identify the letter you heard.

Audio 3
 

OpenLearn - Week 1: Introduction to the Arabic alphabet
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