The Arabic alphabet for beginners: all 30 letters

Arabic is written from right to left, and most letters join to the next one, so each letter has a few shapes. Don't worry: many letters share the same base shape and differ only by their dots.

The letters and their sounds

Letter	Name	Sound	Tip
ا	alef	a	A long "aa", like in "father".
ب	beh	b	Just like English "b".
ت	teh	t	Like English "t".
ي	yeh	y / ee	"y" as in "yes", or a long "ee".
ن	noon	n	Like English "n".
م	meem	m	Like English "m".
ل	laam	l	Like English "l".
ك	kaaf	k	Like English "k".
ر	reh	r	A rolled "r", like in Spanish or Italian.
و	waaw	w / oo	"w" as in "wow", or a long "oo".
ه	heh	h	A soft "h", like in "hello".
س	seen	s	Like English "s".
ش	sheen	sh	Like "sh" in "shoe".
ة	teh marbouta	a (end)	Only at the end of words. Usually sounds like "a".
ح	ḥaa	ḥ	A breathy "h" from the throat — like fogging a mirror.
خ	khaa	kh	Like "ch" in Scottish "loch".
ج	geem	g	In Egypt, a hard "g" as in "go".
د	daal	d	Like English "d".
ز	zeen	z	Like English "z".
ذ	zaal	z / d	In Egypt it usually sounds like "z" or "d".
ع	'ein	'	A squeezed sound deep in the throat. Written with an apostrophe.
غ	ghein	gh	Like a French "r", gargled softly.
ف	feh	f	Like English "f".
ق	'aaf	q / (catch)	In Cairo it is usually a little catch in the throat, like "uh-oh".
ص	saad	s (heavy)	A deep, heavy "s".
ض	daad	d (heavy)	A deep, heavy "d".
ط	taa	t (heavy)	A deep, heavy "t".
ظ	zaa	z (heavy)	A deep, heavy "z".
ث	theh	s / t	In Egypt it usually sounds like "s" or "t".
ء	hamza	(catch)	A tiny catch in the throat, like the break in "uh-oh".

How to learn them without getting overwhelmed

Learn letters in families that share a shape (ب ت ث, then ج ح خ…), and read real words as soon as you know a few letters. Your first word can be أهلاً (ahlan, hello).

The Arabic alphabet for beginners: all 30 letters

The letters and their sounds

How to learn them without getting overwhelmed

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