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 Pronounced like the English letter S
but rounded
Think – “I’ve seen the lions at the zoo
Think – “I saw the lions at the zoo before”
today”
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 Pronounced like a rounded letter D Pronounced like the English letter D
letters DH together
Touch your molar teeth with one side Think “That yellow soup thing we eat
Tip of the tongue touches the two of tongue with rice”
ثand ذbut
front teeth similar to I’ve got nothing for these ones either,
with a rounded sound just practice them
Other Difficult Letters – ر/ غ/ ع
RAA GHAYN ‘AYN
Pronounced like a rounded R Pronounced kind of like the letters GH Originates in the middle of the throat
together
Think “Raw meat” 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?
