The Arabic Alphabet: Consonants

Isolat Translitera
Name Final Medial Initial Sound Pronunciation
ed tion

‫ا‬ ‫ـا‬
long unrounded
'alif '/ā low central back 'a' as in 'father'
vowel

Bā' ‫ـب ب‬ ‫ـبـ‬ ‫بـ‬ b voiced bilabial

stop
'b' as in 'bed'

Tā' ‫ـت ت‬ ‫ـتـ‬ ‫تـ‬ t voiced aspirated

stop
't' as in 'tent'

‫ـث ث‬ ‫ـثـ‬ ‫ثـ‬

voiceless
Thā' th interdental 'th' as in 'think'
fricative

Jīm ‫ـج ج‬ ‫ـجـ‬ ‫جـ‬ j voiced palatal

affricate
'j' as in 'jam'
 ‫ـح ح‬ ‫ـحـ‬ ‫حـ‬
voiceless
pharyngeal only in Arabic; a constricted
Ḥā' h constricted English 'h'
fricative

Khā' ‫ـخ خ‬ ‫ـخـ‬ ‫خـ‬ kh voiceless velar

fricative
'ch' as in German 'Bach'

Dāl ‫د‬ ‫ـد‬ d voiced dental

stop
'd' as in 'deer' (approx.)

‫ذ‬ ‫ـذ‬
voiced
Dhāl dh interdental 'th' as in 'there'
fricative

Rā' ‫ر‬ ‫ـر‬ r voiced dental trill 'r' as in 'run' (approx.)

Zāy ‫ز‬ ‫ـز‬ z voiced dental

sibilant
'z' as in 'zoo' (approx.)
Sīn ‫ـس س‬ ‫ـسـ‬ ‫سـ‬ s voiceless dental
sibilant
's' as in 'sit'

Shīn ‫ـش ش‬ ‫ـشـ‬ ‫شـ‬ sh voiceless palatal

sibilant
'sh' as in 'shut'

‫صـ ـصـ ـص ص‬
the counterpart of Sῑn; all the
voiceless post-
'emphatics' are pronounced with
Ṣād s dental sibilant
the back of the tongue slightly
emphatic
raised

‫ضـ ـضـ ـض ض‬
voiced post-
Ḍād d dental emphatic the counterpart of Dāl
stop

‫ـط ط‬ ‫ـطـ‬ ‫طـ‬

voiceless post-
Ṭā' t dental emphatic the counterpart of Tā'
stop

‫ـظ ظ‬ ‫ـظـ‬ ‫ظـ‬

voiced post-
interdental
Ẓā' z emphatic
the counterpart of Dhāl
fricative
 ‫ع‬ ‫ـع‬ ‫ـعـ‬ ‫عـ‬
purely Arabic -- a constriction of
voiced
the throat and an expulsion of
c
ayn c pharyngeal
the breath with the vocal cords
fricative
vibrating

Ghayn ‫غ‬ ‫ـغ‬ ‫ـغـ‬ ‫غـ‬ gh voiced uvular

fricative
close to a French 'r' as in 'Paris'
-- like a gentle gargling

‫ـف ف‬ ‫ـفـ‬ ‫فـ‬

labio-dental
Fā' f voiceless 'f' as in 'free'
fricative

‫ـق ق‬ ‫ـقـ‬ ‫قـ‬

voiceless
'k' in the back of the throat;
Qāf q unaspirated
compare 'cough' with 'calf'
uvular stop

‫ـك ك‬ ‫ـكـ‬ ‫كـ‬

voiceless
Kāf k aspirated palatal 'k' as in 'king'
or velar stop

Lām ‫ل‬ ‫ـل‬ ‫ـلـ‬ ‫لـ‬ l voiced dental

lateral
'l' as in 'lift'
Mīm ‫م‬ ‫ـم‬ ‫ـمـ‬ ‫مـ‬ m voiced bilabial
nasal
'm' as in 'moon'

Nūn ‫ـن ن‬ ‫ـنـ‬ ‫نـ‬ n voiced dental

nasal
'n' as in 'net'

Hā' ‫ه‬ ‫ـه‬ ‫ـهـ‬ ‫هـ‬ h voiceless glottal

fricative
'h' as in 'house'

Wāw ‫و‬ ‫ـو‬ w voiced bilabial

glide
'w' as in 'wonder'

Yā' ‫ـي ي‬ ‫ـيـ‬ ‫يـ‬ y voiced palatal

glide
'y' as in 'yellow'

‫ء‬
Hamz not a phoneme in English but
voiceless glottal
' found in some exclamations --
a stop
e.g. 'oh-oh'