Quran 101

SESSION #1 – THE ARABIC ALPHABET

The Arabic Alphabet
OBJECTIVES:
AT THE END OF THIS LESSON
STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

1) Recognize the letters of the

Arabic alphabet in their normal
(full) forms.
2) Correctly pronounce the name
of each of the letters of the
alphabet in there normal (non-
vowel) forms.
Helpful Resources
 Alif Central Online Qaida

 https://alifcentral.com

 Alphabet Interactable by Hafidh Zakaria Dipoti

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-
1vTDwDmAgfybkMnNCqn5ZgsZ0kmw9J43y3fDk8wnfCVepnofTEiv8CBuU4p
MFhcsXoxDJF0BhINyWYDq/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=60000
The Complete Alphabet
Some Notes:
 Arabic is written from right to left.

There are 29 letters in the Arabic alphabet.

 All 29 letters should be considered as consonants (vowels are not part of the alphabet, these
will be covered in a later class).

 Not all Arabic letters have an equivalent-sounding English letter and not all English letters have
an equivalent-sounding Arabic letter.
Pronunciation Guide Part 1
GUIDE FOR LETTERS WITH ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS
Arabic English Arabic English Arabic English Arabic English

‫ا‬ A ‫د‬ D ‫ض‬ D* ‫ك‬ K

‫ب‬ B ‫ذ‬ DH ‫ط‬ T* ‫ل‬ L

‫ت‬ T ‫ر‬ R* ‫ظ‬ NONE* ‫م‬ M

‫ث‬ TH ‫ز‬ Z ‫ع‬ NONE* ‫ن‬ N

‫ج‬ J ‫س‬ S ‫غ‬ GH* ‫و‬ W

‫ح‬ H* ‫ش‬ SH ‫ف‬ F ‫ه‬ H

‫خ‬ KH* ‫ص‬ S* ‫ق‬ Q* ‫ء‬ A

* SEE NEXT SECTION FOR PRONOUNCIATION GUIDE ‫ي‬ Y

Pronunciation Guide Part 2
GUIDE FOR DIFFICULT AND EASILY CONFUSED LETTERS
Easily Confused Letters – ‫ه‬/‫ح‬

HAA HAA

Pronounced like the English letter H Pronounced with an exhalation of air

from the middle of the throat.
Think – laughing “Ha Ha Ha”
Think – sighing in frustration
Easily Confused Letters – ‫ ص‬/ ‫س‬

SAAD SEEN

Pronounced like the English letter S
but rounded
Think – “I saw the lions at the zoo
today”
Pronounced like the English letter S
Think – “I’ve seen the lions at the zoo
before”
Easily Confused Letters – ‫ط‬/‫ت‬

TAA TAA

Pronounced like the English letter T Pronounced like the English letter T
but rounded
Think – “Tablet”
Think – “I taught myself to ride a
bicycle”
 Easily Confused Letters – ‫ خ‬/‫ ق‬/ ‫ك‬

KHAA QAAF KAAF

Pronounced kind of like the English Pronounced like a rounded letter Q/K Pronounced like the English letter K/C
letters KH together
The base of your tongue should be Think “What is a baby cow called?”
It originates from the highest part of hitting the top of your throat
the throat (closest to the empty part of
the mouth) Think of the Trinidadian pronunciation
of the word “Cough”
I got nothing for this one, just practice
it

(I know this guy’s sneezing not

coughing, but that’s not important)
 Easily Confused Letters – ‫ ظ‬/ ‫ ض‬/ ‫د‬

DHAA DHAAD DAAL

Pronounced kind of like the English
letters DH together
Tip of the tongue touches the two
‫ ث‬and ‫ ذ‬but
front teeth similar to
with a rounded sound
Pronounced like a rounded letter D Pronounced like the English letter D
Touch your molar teeth with one side Think “That yellow soup thing we eat
of tongue with rice”
I’ve got nothing for these ones either,
just practice them
 Other Difficult Letters – ‫ ر‬/ ‫ غ‬/ ‫ع‬

RAA GHAYN ‘AYN

Pronounced like a rounded R
Think “Raw meat”
Pronounced kind of like the letters GH Originates in the middle of the throat
together
Try to say “Ayn” while trying to clear
It originates from the highest part of your throat
the throat (closest to the empty part of
the mouth) just like the letter ‫خ‬
 Pop Quiz
 TAKE 2 MINUTES TO OPEN YOUR AL -IHSAAN READING BOOKLET
 ON EACH SLIDE THERE WILL BE A SERIES OF LETTERS
 RAISE YOUR HAND AND IDENTIFY THE LETTERS
 REMEMBER THAT ARABIC IS ALWAYS WRITTEN FROM RIGHT TO LEFT
Questions?