The Arabic alphabet consists of 28 letters, all of which are considered to be consonants. Vowels are designated by diacritic marks above or below the consonants. These short vowels are generally left out of the written language.

The Arabic script is a cursive one, with the letters joined by ligatures, much like cursive in English handwriting. Arabic is written from right to left.

Modern Standard Arabic is generally written without short vowels, although vowels within wofrds are pronounced. Vowels and nunation are added to the ends of words to express a variety of grammatical functions.


The chart below gives the letters of the Arabic alphabet, their names, the transliteration key for the Transliterated Survival Phrases, and approximate pronunciations. The examples given below are meant as a general guide to pronunciation; since many of the sounds of English and Arabic are so different, the audio component of this program should be used to get a more precise feel for the pronunciation of Arabic.


Letter: Letter name: Transliterationsymbol: Approximatepronunciation:

أ alif a as in mad
ب baa b as in boy
ت taa t as in tip
ث thaa th as in three
ج jiim j as in jump
ح Haa H as in hi, but heavily aspirated, with friction at back of throat
خ khaa kh as in the German ich, with friction at back of tongue
د daal d as in dog
ذ zaal dh as in this
ر raa r as in the Spanish pero, or gotta said with a tapped t
ز zayn z as in zoo
س siin s as in same
ش shiin sh as in ship
ص Saad S as in sock, but heavier (velar)
ض Daad D as in dog, but heavier (velar)
ط Tah T as in talk, but heavier (velar)
ظ Zah DH as in this, but heavier (velar)
ع �ayn � guttural sound, made by constricting air in the throat
غ ghayn gh as in the French raison, like a gargle
ف faa f as in fame
ق qaaf q as in cough, but darker and unaspirated
ك kaaf k as in came
ل laam l as in line
م miim m as in made
ن nuun n as in no
ه haa h as in hi
و waaw w as in win
ي yaa y as in yes

In addition to the letters of the alphabet listed above, Arabic also has special signs and letters used to indicate short vowels and grammatical constructions, and for other purposes. In the chart below, a line has been drawn to indicate where the diacritical signs go in relation to the letter.