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Introduction to Arabic
Introduction to Arabic

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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
عصا ذهاب الم  
ــب ــبــ بــ ب
حب طبق بقرة  
ــت ــتــ تــ ت
بيت كتب تعلم  
ــث ــثــ ثــ ث
حث مثال ثوم  
ــج ــجــ جــ ج
حج يجب جمل  
ــح ــحــ حــ ح
بلح الحب حمل  
ــخ ــخــ خــ خ
بطيخ يخسر خوف  
ــد ــد د د
يد حديد دب  
ــذ ــذ ذ ذ
لذيذ هذب ذهب  

Activity 1

Timing: 15 minutes

a. 

ف


b. 

ق


c. 

غ


The correct answer is b.

a. 

يخسر


b. 

بطيخ


c. 

جمل


The correct answers are a and b.

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
تمر طائرة راهب  
ــز ــز ز ز
تلفاز ميزان زرافة  
ــس ــســ ســ س
شمس السماء سد  
ــش ــشــ شــ ش
عش الشروق شمس  
ــص ــصــ صــ ص
مقص الصبر صباح  
ــض ــضــ ضــ ض
أبيض حضر ضب  
ــط ــطــ طــ ط
خيط بطريق طبيب  
ــظ ــظــ ظــ ظ
حفظ محفظة ظهر  
ــع ــعــ عــ ع
بائع لعب علم  
ــغ ــغــ غــ غ
صائغ الغروب غفر  

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

a. 

ظهر


b. 

بائع


c. 

الغروب


The correct answer is c.

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
ضعيف جفاف فهم  
ــق ــقــ قــ ق
أغلق صقر قريب  
ــك ــكــ كــ ك
سمك يكتب كتاب  
ــل ــلــ لــ ل
ليل علم لعب  
ــم ــمــ مــ م
علم ليمون منزل  
ــن ــنــ نــ ن
غصن عنب نمر  
ــه ــهــ هــ هـ
وجه يهتف هذا  
ــو ــو و و
يلهو الوصول وصل  
ــي ــيــ يــ ي
غني ثمين يلعب  

a. 

و


b. 

ع


c. 

ز


The correct answers are a and c.

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.

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

  • a. خريف

  • b. منزل

  • c. قميص

  • d. عصفور

  • e. سنجاب

The correct answers are:
  • 1 = b
  • 2 = a
  • 3 = d
  • 4 = e
  • 5 = c

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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