Arabic Alphabet Flashcards
ب
As in English, (B)
e.g., باب bab (door)
د
As in English, D e.g.
دايماً dāyman (always).
ذ
The English voiced th, as in they, wither. This sound is rarely heard in urban speech, where it is usually replaced by a -d or a -z.
thaki ذَكي = clever; intelligent.
ض
An emphatic d sound, pronounced with the tip of the tongue pressed against the upper teeth and the back of the tongue touching the palate,
e.g., ḍallet <ضَلّيت ( I stayed)
ف
As in English F,
e.g., فوت fũt! (come in!)
غ
To the English ear this sounds rather like a uvular Parisian r, or ġaza
produced when starting to gargle,
e.g., غ الي ġālĩ (dear, expensive).
ه هـ ـه
h As in English H. As in the hat.
In Arabic, however, a h sound can occur in final position,
bišhbah (he is similar), in which a h sound can clearly be heard at the end of the
word
ض
An emphatic d sound, pronounced with the tip of the tongue pressed against the upper teeth and the back of the tongue touching the palate,
e.g., ḍallet <ضَلّيت ( I stayed)
ف
As in English F,
e.g., فوت fũt! (come in!)
ح
A strongly emphatic h produced by expelling the air through a narrowed throat,
e.g., محل Maḥal (place, room). مرحبا Marḥba
خ
the ch sound of the Scots word loch, the Welsh bach or the German Nacht.
e.g.,
Ĥala
3amma
ج
In urban speech this is pronounced like the zh of Zhivago, the French j of joli,
Jacques, and the sound in the middle of the word pleasure. In rural speech it is
the same as the English j o f jump, jolly,^ e.g., jāb جاب il-jarĩde/a جَريدة (he brought the newspaper).
ك كـ
As in English k ,
e.g.,كَمان “kamān” = too
ل
this is the “clear” English 1 of words like lean, light and of French words like
ville. Occasionally the -1- may be emphatic, as in the word ’allah (Allah). This
emphatic 1 is pronounced like the “dark” English 1 of words like fall, milk.
م
as in english M
مين = who Men
ن
as in English N نور Noor = lightness
Sabaḥ \ 7
Sabaḥ in-noor
Sabaḥ il-kheer
Sabaḥ il-warad
Sabaḥ il- yasmeen
ق
Queen>
In urban speech (e.g., in Jerusalem, Haifa, etc.), this letter is pronounced like
consonantal \ i.e., as a glottal stop hamza ء or catch that clearly divides one syllable from the next: baqar (cattle) is pronounced ba’ar; qalb (the heart)
Qamar is pronounced il-’alb; maqlũba (upside down) is pronounced ma’lũba.
ر
A rolled r, as in Scots burn, Roma
س
as in english s sword seaf
سيف
ص
An emphatic s sound, pronounced with the tip of the tongue behind the lower
teeth and the middle of the tongue touching the palate. When pronouncing this
and the other emphatics, the tongue is kept low and spread out so that it feels
ș
“thick” and fills the mouth. Emphatic consonants affect the quality of the
surrounding vowels, pushing them further back in the mouth and making them
“Dark” صيف summer
ش
English shy as in sherry,
šams شَمس sun
ت
as t in english table
تَمِر dates tamir
ث
The English unvoiced th, as in thing, thought. This sound is rarely heard
in urban speech, and is used only in words borrowed from literary Arabic,
e.g., ثَقافة ة Ṯaqafe (education, culture), ثِقة ṯiqa (trust, faith).
ط
An emphatic / sound of t, pronounced with the tip of the tongue pressed before the upper teeth and the back of the tongue touching the palate.
طِير ṭ
ṭayyib
و
W as in english Why
وين where “ ween”
ز
s in English Z
زَهرَة Zahra = flower
ي
Y as in english Yes
يمكِن maybe yimkin
