Sound and Weak Letters

What is the Arabic Alphabet called?

They are called /huroof al hijaa’/ حروف الهجاء

Because Arabic is written cursively, the letters are connected and therefore, the shape of the letter changes when it is connected to another letter. The letters have four positions, separate, initial, middle and final.

These are:

finalmiddleinitial separate
ء، ـــؤ، ــئ، ــأ ــأ، ــؤ، ــــئــــ، ئــأ ء
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أكرم سأل مئة بؤبؤ داء شاطئ سبأ

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـبـبـبــ ب
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بـَيت قبـْر جيب

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـتـتـتــ ت
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تَـمر كتَب بيت

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـثـثـثــث
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ثَوب لثَام بَـحَث

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـجـجـجـج
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جَـمل سـجَن ثلـج

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـحـحـحـح
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حِبـر بـحْر رَبِـحَ

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـخـخـخـخ
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خَيـر بُـخار مُـخ

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـدـدد د
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دم بدر سد

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـذـذذ ذ
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ذباب بذرة شذّ

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـرـرر ر
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رب برج بـحر

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـزـززز
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زاد قزم وكز

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـسـسـسـس
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ساد قسم خس

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـشـشـشـش
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شر مشمش عيش

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـصـصـصـص
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صار بصل لص

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـضـضـضـض
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ضرب مضرب بعض

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـطـطـطـط
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طار بطن بط

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـعـعـعـ ع
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عاد بعد طمع

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـغـغـغـ غ
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غار بغل بلغ

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـفـفـفـ ف
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فأر كفى كف

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـقـقـقـ ق
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قبـر بقرة برق

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـكـكـكـ ك
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كتاب مكتب ملك

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـلـلـلـ ل
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لسان قليل ليل

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـمـمـمـ م
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من نـمـر نعم

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـلاـلا لا لا=ل+ا
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لا طلاب بلا

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـنـنـ نـ ن
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نـبـي فنان فنون

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـهـهـهـ ه
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هو شهد معه

finalmiddleinitial separate
ـوـوو و
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وطن صوت ينـجو

finalmiddleinitial separate
ــيـييـ ي
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يوم سيّد وعي

NOTES

  • Arabic writes and reads from right to left (RTL). To simplify, it is like when you draw clockwise circles except for some letters.
  • Non-connective letters (ا، د, ذ، ر، ز، و), here grey-shaded, do not connect to the following letter. Therefore, the separate and the initial position is identical.
  • Dots are important to distinguish letters that have identical shape. 

The Weak letters حروف العلة

The weak letters are three :

ا – و – ي

They are called weak letters [huroof ili’lla] due to they occasional change and omission they undergo.

Enrich your vocabulary set 3

This video below introduces 11 items of vocabulary. These 11 items include the two non-connective  letters [د -ذ] in various positions within the word. After you have watched the video and learned the words, you can scroll down to do the interactive quiz to check your progress.

Arabic Vocabulary ONLY:

This resource may look simple to most learners. Actually, I designed it to be so. Although it is simple, it is very helpful for all levels of non-native speakers of Arabic once it is used properly. Such activities gain their power from their simplicity. If you watch the video you notice:

  • – No language but Arabic is used on the screen as I am very keen on avoiding mother language interference when I make these videos, unless it is an instruction or a point that requires explanation or can not be illustrated through graphics or images.
  • – Simple images with no distractors to keep the learner’s focus on the identified (image) and the identifier (sound/written form).
  • – Clear native speaker voice is used to make sure that the learners hear all sounds of Arabic letters pronounced properly and naturally especially the challenging ones such as: ص ،ض، ظ، ح، ع، غ، ق
  • – The words selceted are everday voacbualry items
  • – Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is used which is closer to the dialects of most Arab countries.

Remember to repeat the word after you hear it. Pause or rewind the video before you proceed if you are not sure that you can say the word properly.

Focus on the image to know the meaning and the written form of the word to gain fluency in reading. DON’T translate in your head. Say the word aloud several times in Arabic to avoid the mental translation. Close your eyes if you want and envisage the written form or the image when you are saying the word.

Vocabulary set 3

This quiz covers Arabic vocabulary items with the two letters : (ذ - د  ) occurring in different positions within the word. 


Look at the image and choose the correct answer.