5.1: Letters

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Learning Objectives

In this section, you will be able to:

Read, write, and type the letters ط ظ ع غ ف ق in their different shapes.
Pronounce the letters ط ظ ع غ ف ق with short and long vowels.

In this section, you are going to learn how to pronounce these 6 Arabic letters ط ظ ع غ ف ق and their articulation with their short and long vowels, ( Al Harakat)

In the table below, You are going to learn Letters & Sounds ط ظ ع غ ف ق

Arabic Letters
لفظ الحرف letter name pronunciation	شكل الحرف letter shape
taa	ط
Dhaa	ظ
Ayn	ع
Ghayn	غ
Faa	ف
Qaaf	ق

Listen and match the letter with its sound & repeat

Query \(\PageIndex{1}\)

In the table below, we are going to learn about long & short vowels for letters ط ظ ع غ ف ق- Al Harakat

Letter with short and long vowels
الحرف الممدود letter with long vowels	الحرف مع الحركات Letter with short vowels	الحرف Letter
طا طي طو	طَ طِ طُ طْ	ط
ظا ظي ظو	ظَ ظِ ظُ ظْ	ظ
عا عي عو	عَ عِ عُ عْ	ع
غا غي غو	غَ غِ غُ غْ	غ
فا في فو	فَ فِ فُ فْ	ف
قا قي قو	قَ قِ قُ قْ	ق

The Letter Tuaa “ط”

Listen and repeat the letter ط sound below

Query \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Pronunciation of Letter ط:

To pronounce the letter “ط”, put the tip of your tongue up against the bony ridge behind your teeth on the roof of your mouth and drop your tongue low in your mouth. Try to say “t” holding this position. The result will be “ط”. The letter “ط” is emitted from the top part of the tip of the tongue and the gum line of the two top incisors. (See Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\))

In the table below, we are going to learn about the letter ط with the short vowels and sukun

Short Vowels
The Sound of Sukun	The sound with dihamah	The sound with kasra	The sound with Fatah
ْط	طُ	طِ	طَ

The letter with the long vowels

Long vowels
The letter with the long vowels oo	The letter with the long vowels ee	The letter with the long vowel aa
طو	طي	طا

Writing the letter ط at the ( beginning. middle, end) of the word.

The Letter Taa “ط” (See the figure)

“ط” is a connector letter, and it is written in two separate steps. It is important for the loop to be written in one motion and then connected to the word. To write the independent “ط”, start on the line and make the loop first. It should be large, oval, and should rest along the line lengthwise. The final step is the downstroke. After forming the loop, lift your pen and draw this stroke as you draw Alif - from the top down. The downstroke should be near the left end of the loop.

To write “طــ” in the beginning of the word, follow the same steps and then, without stopping to write the downstroke, continue into the connecting segment, but without a tooth. When writing “ـــط” in the medial position, start from the connecting segment and continue along with the previous steps. In its final position, “ـــط” should end when past the oval in a relatively short line.

Writing Letter ط
Final Form	Medial Form	Initial Form	Independent Form
ـط	ـطــ	طـــ	ط

Watch the video to learn how to write the letter Tuaa

The Letter Dhaa “ظ”

Listen and repeat the letter ظ sound below

Query \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Pronunciation of Letter ظ:

The letter “ظ” is an emphatic sound that deepens the quality of the surrounding vowels. The articulation place of the letter “ظ” is the top side of the tip of the tongue and the bottom edges of the two top front incisors. You should pay attention that the topside of the tip strikes with the edge of the teeth and not the plates of the teeth. (See the figure \(\PageIndex{2}\))

the top side of the tip of the tongue and the bottom edges of the two top front incisors — Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Pronunciation of Letter ظ

The letter with the short vowels and sukun

Short vowels
The sound of Sukun	The sound with dhamah	The sound with kasrah	The sound with fathah
ْظ	ظُ	ظِ	ظَ

The letter with the long vowels

Long vowel
The letter with the long vowel oo	The letter with the long vowel ee	The letter with the long vowel aa
ظو	ظي	ظا

Writing the letter ظ at the ( beginning. middle, end) of the word.

The Letter Thaa “ظ”

You write the letter “ظ” the same way you write the letter “ط”, with the addition of a dot on the top

Writing letter ظ Form
Final Form	Medial Form	Initial Form	Independent Form
ظـ	ــظـــ	ظـــــ	ظ

Watch the video and learn how to write the letter Dhaa

The Letter Ayen “ع”

Listen and repeat the letter ع

Query \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Pronunciation of Letter ع:

The letter Ayen “ع” has not an equivalent sound in English, and it needs practice to pronounce it right. The letter Ayen “ع” articulation place is in the middle part of the throat. The middle part of the throat is the part that is half way in between the beginning and the end of the throat. The process to pronounce the letter “ع” is that you need to tighten your throat muscles as if you were blocking off the air passage from the inside. You can feel your muscles by putting your hand on your throat. “ع” is a very important sound in Arabic, and you must learn to say it properly in order to be understood. (See figure \(\PageIndex{3}\))

tighten your throat muscles as if you were blocking off the air passage from the inside — Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Pronunciation of Letter ع

The letter with the short vowels and sukun

Short vowels
The sound with Sukun	The sound with Dhamah	The sound with kasrah	The sound with fathah
ْع	عُ	عِ	عَ

The letter with the long vowels

Long vowels
The letter with the long vowel oo	The letter with the long vowel ee	The letter with the long vowel aa
عو	عي	عا

Writing the letter ع at the ( beginning. middle, end) of the word.

The letter “ع” is a connecting letter and has four different shapes according to its location in the word. Independent “ع” has two parts, and they are the head and the body. The head takes the shape of a lowercase “c” on the line, and the second part is the tail, which takes the shape of a large “C”.

To write the initial “عــ”, draw the head, which is the shape of the small “c” , then draw the segment to be connected to the following letter.

When “ع” is connected from a previous letter in the medial and final positions, the body of the letter becomes a closed loop "ــعــ/ ـع".

In some forms of calligraphy, the body of the loop is filled but in others is not “ــع”.

The Letter Ayen “ع” (See the figure)

Writing letter عform
Final Form	Medial Form	Initial Form	Independent Form
ع	ــعـــ	عـــــ	ع

Watch the video to learn how to write the letter Aien

The Letter Ghain “غ”

Listen and repeat the letter غ

Query \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Pronunciation of Letter غ

There is not an exact equivalent sound to the letter “غ”, but it is very close to sound of the combination of the two letters “GH.” The articulation place of the letter “غ” is the throat. The articulation point is the closest part of the throat, which is the beginning of the throat, or the closest to the mouth. The sound of “غ” is similar to the sound you make when you gargle. (See figure \(\PageIndex{4}\))

The articulation point is the closest part of the throat, which is the beginning of the throat, or the closest to the mouth — Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): Pronunciation of Letter غ

The letter with the short vowels and sukun

Short vowels
The sound with Sukun	The sound with Dhamah	The sound with kasrah	The sound with Fathah
غْ	غُ	غِ	غَ

The letter with the long vowels

Long vowels
The letter with the long vowel oo	The letter with the long vowel ee	The letter with the long vowel aa
غو	غي	غا

Writing the letter غ at the ( beginning. middle, end) of the word.

You write the letter “غ” in the same way you write the letter “غ”, but you place a dot on the top.

The Letter Ghain “غ” (See the figure)

letter form
Final Form	Medial Form	Initial Form	Independent Form
غ	ــغـــ	غـــــ	غ

Watch the video to learn how to write the letter Ghein

The Letter Faa “ف”

Listen and repeat the letter ف

Query \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Pronunciation of Letter ف:

This letter is pronounced like “f” in the word “feather”. The articulation place of the letter “ف” is the lips, between the inside of the lower lip and the tips/ edges of the two top front incisors. Usually, aspiration occurs while the pronunciation of the letter “ف”. (See figure \(\PageIndex{5}\))

between the inside of the lower lip and the tips/ edges of the two top front incisors. — Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): Pronunciation of Letter ف

The letter with the short vowels and sukun

Short vowels
The sound with Sukun	The sound with dhamah	The sound with kasrah	The sound with fathah
فْ	فُ	فِ	فَ

The letter with the long vowels

Long vowels
The letter with the long vowel oo	The letter with the long vowel ee	The letter with the long vowel aa
فو	في	فا

Writing letterف in its three forms( Initial, Medial, and final).

The letter “ف” is a connector letter and can be connected from the two sides. It’s independent and final forms have a tail that is unusual in that it remains on the line rather that dipping below.

To write the independent “ف”, begin above the line and draw a flat loop to your left and down around. Keep the loop of the “ف” small and just above the line, resting on a short neck. Continue along the line into a hook to finish the tail.

To write the initial “فــ”, begin the same way then finish with a connecting segment to attach to the next letter.

The medial “ــفــ” starts from the connecting segment and loops up to the left and back around to the line, then into the connecting segment.

In the medial position, the loop is small and oval-shaped.

The final “ــف” combines the shape of the medial position with the tail of the independent “ف”

Writing Letter ف
Final Form	Medial Form	Initial Form	Independent Form
ــف	ـــفـــ	فـــ	ف

Watch the video to learn how to write the letters Faa

The Letter Qaaf “ق”

Listen and repeat the letter ق

Query \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Pronunciation of Letter ق:

The articulation place of the letter “ق” is the tongue. The letter “ق” is articulated from the deepest part of the tongue and what lies opposite to it from the roof of the mouth in the area of the soft palate. The letter “ق” is emphatic counterpart to the sound of “k”. Like the other emphatic sounds, it is pronounced with the tongue low in the mouth, and it impacts the quality of the surrounding vowels so that the fatha sounds like “u” in “but”. The letter “Qaaf” “ق” is pronounced at the very back of the tongue. Open your mouth and say aah, as if you were at a doctor’s appointment. Your tongue should be flat in your mouth. Without raising your tongue pull it back so that the base of it closes off air by pulling back against the throat. The only thing that should move in your mouth is your tongue, and only at the very back, as if you were sliding it back like a sliding door. At this point you should be able to breathe through your mouth, although it is wide open. Listen to yourself pronouncing the letter “ق”. (See figure \(\PageIndex{6}\))

articulated from the deepest part of the tongue and what lies opposite to it from the roof of the mouth in the area of the soft palate — Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\): Pronunciation of Letter ق

Common Mistakes in pronouncing the letter “ق”

Either the letter is articulated on the hard palate or close to it, so it ends up sounding like an English “k”.

Or the letter is pronounced not from the tongue, but from the throat, and the resultant incorrect sound is a cross between the letter “غ” and “ق”

The letter with short vowels and sukun

Short vowels
The sound with sukun	The sound with dhamah	The sound with kasrah	The sound with fathah
ْق	قُ	قِ	قَ

The letter with the long vowels

Long vowel
The letter with the long vowel oo	The letter with the long vowel ee	The letter with the long vowel aa
قو	قي	قا

Writing the letter ق in its three forms ( Initial, Medial, and final).

The letter “ق” is a connector letter, and its shape is similar to the letter “ق” in its connected positions. However, “ق is written with two dots above it. In the independent and final positions, the “ق” has a deep semicircle tail that drops well below the line.

To write the independent “ق”, make the same loop you made for “ق, then drop below the line to draw the tail and bring the tail back up to the line.

The final “ــق” has a tail that drops well below the line.

Writing Letter ق
Final Form	Medial Form	Initial Form	Independent Form
ــق	ــقــ	قــــ	ق

Watch the video to learn how to write the letter Qaaf

Watch this video about the letters ط ظ ع غ ف ق