The basics
- Arabic is written and read from right to left.
- There are 28 letters. All of them are consonants, although three (ا و ي) also act as long vowels.
- There are no capital letters.
- Most letters join to the letter after them, so words are written in a connected script, like joined-up handwriting.
Short vowels are not letters. They are small marks written above or below letters. Our guide to Arabic vowel marks explains them.
The 28 letters
Here they are in the standard order, read from right to left:
The letter hamza (ء), a glottal stop, is also used. It is often written on top of or below another letter, as in أ and إ.
Letter families
Many letters share the same shape and differ only in their dots. Learning them in families cuts the work down a lot:
- ب ت ث: the same bowl shape with one dot below, two above or three above
- ج ح خ: one dot below, no dot, one dot above
- د ذ and ر ز: no dot, then one dot above
- س ش: no dots, then three dots above
- ص ض and ط ظ: no dot, then one dot above
- ع غ: no dot, then one dot above
- ف ق: one dot above, then two dots above
Dots matter. ب (bā) and ت (tā) are different letters, just as b and d are different in English.
Letters change shape
Because the letters join, most have up to four forms: on their own, at the start of a word, in the middle, and at the end. The core of the letter stays the same; usually only the connecting stroke or tail changes. For example, the letter bā:
- On its own: ب
- At the start: بـ
- In the middle: ـبـ
- At the end: ـب
The six letters that don’t connect forward
Six letters join to the letter before them but never to the letter after them:
After one of these, the next letter starts fresh, as if at the beginning of a word. This is why some Arabic words look as if they have small gaps in them, for example دَار (dār, house).
Tips for learning
- Learn letters by family, not one by one.
- Say the sound aloud as you write each letter.
- Practise with short, real words from the Quran and daily duas, such as رَبّ (rabb, Lord).
- Spend a little time every day rather than a long time once a week.
The Prophet ﷺ said that the one who recites the Quran with difficulty, struggling over it, will have a double reward (Sahih Muslim 798). Struggling at the start is part of learning.
