You cannot hear your own mistake
The sounds you get wrong are the very ones your ear does not yet separate. If you could hear that your ح is coming out as a plain h, you would already be fixing it. Someone trained has to point at it first.
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Learn the Arabic Alphabet: All 28 Letters with Pronunciation
A clear, free guide to every Arabic letter, its name, its shape and how to say it. Then take the natural next step and say the letters out loud with a qualified female teacher.
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An introduction to the Arabic alphabet and its pronunciation
The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters, written from right to left, and every letter has its own shape and its own sound. This page teaches all 28 Arabic letters with pronunciation, in the correct order, with a simple table you can come back to whenever you need it. Think of it as a complete guide to the Arabic alphabet and pronunciation for absolute beginners.
Learning the letters is the doorway to reading the Quran, and it is the one part almost everyone can start today. Read the chart, learn the names and sounds, and when you are ready to say them out loud and be corrected, your first lesson with us is free.
How many letters are in the Arabic alphabet?
There are 28 letters in the standard Arabic alphabet. Some sources say 29 because they count the hamza (ء), a glottal stop, as a separate letter. The mainstream count used by most teachers, and on this page, is 28 letters, with the hamza treated separately.
All 28 letters with a plain pronunciation guide
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The Full Alphabet
The 28 Arabic Letters and Their Pronunciation
Here are all 28 Arabic letters with pronunciation, in their correct order. The pronunciation hints are written in plain English to get you started. A few sounds, marked as having no English equivalent, really do need to be heard from a teacher, and that is exactly what the free trial is for.
| No. | Letter | Name | How to say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ا | Alif | A long 'aa' as in 'father'. It also carries the hamza, the glottal stop. |
| 2 | ب | Ba | 'B' as in 'book'. |
| 3 | ت | Ta | A soft 't' as in 'table'. |
| 4 | ث | Tha | A voiceless 'th' as in 'think'. |
| 5 | ج | Jim | 'J' as in 'jam'. |
| 6 | ح | Ha | A strong, breathy 'h' from deep in the throat. There is no English equivalent. |
| 7 | خ | Kha | A raspy 'kh', like the 'ch' in the Scottish word 'loch'. |
| 8 | د | Dal | 'D' as in 'door'. |
| 9 | ذ | Dhal | A voiced 'th' as in 'this'. |
| 10 | ر | Ra | A rolled or tapped 'r', close to a Spanish 'r'. |
| 11 | ز | Zay | 'Z' as in 'zoo'. |
| 12 | س | Sin | 'S' as in 'sun'. |
| 13 | ش | Shin | 'Sh' as in 'ship'. |
| 14 | ص | Sad | A heavy, emphatic 's', said with a full, rounded mouth. |
| 15 | ض | Dad | A heavy, emphatic 'd'. It is so distinctive that Arabic is called the language of the Dad. |
| 16 | ط | Ta (emphatic) | A heavy, emphatic 't', the full mouthed version of ت. |
| 17 | ظ | Za (emphatic) | A heavy, emphatic 'th', the full mouthed version of ذ. |
| 18 | ع | Ayn | A deep sound made by tightening the middle of the throat. There is no English equivalent. |
| 19 | غ | Ghayn | A gargled 'gh', similar to a French guttural 'r'. |
| 20 | ف | Fa | 'F' as in 'fish'. |
| 21 | ق | Qaf | A deep 'k' made far back near the uvula, heavier than an English 'k'. |
| 22 | ك | Kaf | 'K' as in 'kite'. |
| 23 | ل | Lam | 'L' as in 'lamp'. |
| 24 | م | Mim | 'M' as in 'moon'. |
| 25 | ن | Nun | 'N' as in 'noon'. |
| 26 | ه | Ha | A soft 'h' as in 'hat'. |
| 27 | و | Waw | 'W' as in 'well'. It also makes the long 'oo' vowel. |
| 28 | ي | Ya | 'Y' as in 'yes'. It also makes the long 'ee' vowel. |
Note on names: letter 6 (ح) and letter 26 (ه) are both often written as Ha in English, but they are two different letters with two different sounds. Letters 16 and 17 (ط and ظ) are the heavy, emphatic partners of ت and ذ. Hearing these pairs side by side is the fastest way to tell them apart.
Letter Shapes
Why the Letters Change Shape in a Word
One thing surprises almost every beginner: an Arabic letter does not always look the way it does in the table. Most letters have up to four forms depending on where they sit in a word: on their own (isolated), at the start (initial), in the middle (medial), and at the end (final).
The letter keeps its identity and its sound, only the shape adapts so it can join smoothly to its neighbours. Once you have seen a handful of letters in all four positions, the pattern clicks and the joined shapes stop looking like new letters.
This is one of the clearest reasons a short course helps. The Noorani Qaida walks you through the joined forms in a sensible order, so you are never guessing which shape belongs to which letter.
| Letter | Isolated | Initial | Medial | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ba | ب | بـ | ـبـ | ـب |
| Ayn | ع | عـ | ـعـ | ـع |
| Ha | ه | هـ | ـهـ | ـه |
A Key Beginner Rule
Sun Letters and Moon Letters
The 28 letters split into two groups that change how the word al (ال), meaning the, is read. The names come from the two example words: ash-shams, the sun, and al-qamar, the moon.
14 Sun Letters
Before a sun letter the l of al is not pronounced. Instead the sun letter is doubled. So al plus shams is read ash-shams, not al-shams.
تثدذرزسشصضطظلن
14 Moon Letters
Before a moon letter the l of al is pronounced clearly. So al plus qamar is read al-qamar, with the l intact.
ابجحخعغفقكمهوي
Six letters that do not join to the left
Most Arabic letters connect on both sides. Six do not: they join to the letter on their right but never to the letter on their left, which is why some Arabic words seem to have a small gap in the middle. When one of these six appears, the next letter simply starts a fresh shape.
اAlif
دDal
ذDhal
رRa
زZay
وWaw
28 or 29?
Why Some Sources Say 29 Letters
The standard answer to how many letters are in the Arabic alphabet is 28. The reason you will occasionally see 29 is the hamza (ء), a glottal stop, the small catch in the throat like the pause in the middle of uh-oh. The hamza is written on a seat, usually an alif, a waw or a ya, or on its own, and because it does not hold a fixed place in the alphabetical order the way the other letters do, most teachers count 28 and treat the hamza separately.
Two more shapes cause similar confusion but are not extra letters. Lam-alif (لا) is simply the letter lam (ل) joined to alif (ا), a common ligature rather than a new letter. The ta marbuta (ة), the round ta at the end of many words, and the alif maqsura (ى), a form of alif written like a ya without dots, are special forms of letters you already know, not additions to the 28.
So the simple, mainstream view is the one to hold onto: 28 letters in the Arabic alphabet, with the hamza and these variant shapes learned alongside them.
Saying the Letters
How to Practise Arabic Alphabet Pronunciation
A chart teaches you what the letters are. It cannot tell you whether the sound coming out of your mouth is right. Getting the pronunciation of Arabic letters correct is done by ear: you say a letter, someone trained listens, and they correct the exact point where your tongue, lips or throat are in the wrong place. Every Arabic letter has a makhraj, a point of articulation, and that is where accurate pronunciation is won or lost.
| Point of articulation | Letters | What happens here |
|---|---|---|
| The empty space (Al-Jawf) | ا و ي as long vowels | The long vowels aa, oo and ee flow out of the open mouth with no blockage. |
| The throat (Al-Halq) | ء ه ع ح غ خ | Six letters made at three points in the throat, and the source of the sounds English speakers find hardest. |
| The tongue (Al-Lisan) | the majority of letters | Most letters are shaped by the tongue against the palate, the gums or the teeth. |
| The lips (Ash-Shafatan) | ف ب م و | Letters formed at the lips, or with the lip against the front teeth for ف. |
| The nasal passage (Al-Khayshum) | the ghunnah on ن and م | The nasal sound carried on noon and meem, felt through the nose, not the mouth. |
Similar letters, different mouths
Arabic has pairs that sound alike to a beginner but are made at different points, such as س and ص, or ت and ط. A chart can name them, but only a live ear can tell you which one you actually produced.
Correction has to be immediate
In a live lesson the loop is short. You say the letter, the teacher stops you, models the correct sound, and you repeat it until it lands. Say it wrong for weeks on your own and the habit sets.
Reading a chart is not the same as being corrected
You can memorise this whole page and still say ح as a plain English h, because you cannot hear the difference until someone shows you. In a free trial you say the letters out loud, one to one, with a qualified female teacher who listens and guides each sound to its correct point. Thirty minutes of that does more for your pronunciation than a week of reading on your own.
Say the Letters Out Loud with a Teacher
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Your Path
What to Learn After the Alphabet
The alphabet is step one. Here is the natural route from single letters all the way to reciting the Quran, and the courses that go with each stage.
1
Recognise the 28 letters
Learn each letter by name, sound and shape using the table on this page until you can name any letter on sight.
2
Noorani Qaida
Join the letters with the short and long vowels and read simple words. The Qaida is the classic step between the alphabet and reading.
3
Quran reading, then Tajweed
Read full words and verses, then refine every sound with the rules of Tajweed so your recitation is correct as well as fluent.
Common Questions
Arabic Alphabet, FAQ
The questions beginners ask most about the Arabic letters and their pronunciation.
There are 28 letters in the standard Arabic alphabet. You will sometimes see the number given as 29, and the extra one is the hamza (a glottal stop, the small catch in the throat like the pause in the middle of uh-oh). Because the hamza does not hold a fixed place in the alphabetical order the way the other letters do, most teachers count 28 letters and treat the hamza separately.
The Arabic alphabet is made up of consonants, and there are no separate letters for the short vowels. Short vowels are written as small marks above or below a letter: a fatha for a short a, a kasra for a short i, and a damma for a short u. The three long vowels are carried by three of the letters themselves, alif for a long aa, waw for a long oo, and ya for a long ee. Beginners usually learn the letters first and the vowel marks second, which is exactly the path a Noorani Qaida follows.
Most adults can learn to recognise all 28 letters and their sounds within a few weeks of short, regular practice. Reading them joined together into words, with the vowel marks, takes longer and is what the Noorani Qaida is designed to build. Your pace depends on how often you practise and whether someone is correcting your pronunciation, which is why even a couple of short lessons a week make a clear difference.
Yes. There is no age limit on learning the Arabic alphabet, and adults often move quickly because they can study in a structured way and understand the logic behind the shapes and sounds. Our lessons are one to one, so the teacher works at the pace of the individual student rather than a class, whether you are eight years old or sixty-eight.
No, although they are closely related. Urdu, Persian and several other languages are written in a script based on the Arabic alphabet, often called the Perso-Arabic script, which keeps all 28 Arabic letters and then adds extra letters for sounds those languages have and Arabic does not. Persian adds letters such as pe, che, zhe and gaf, and Urdu adds retroflex and aspirated letters on top of that. So learning the Arabic alphabet means you will recognise most of the Urdu or Persian letters, but the two sets are not identical.
Yes. Reading the Quran in Arabic begins with knowing the letters and their sounds, then joining them with the short and long vowels, which is the job of the Noorani Qaida. Once the letters and vowels are secure you move on to reading words and verses, and later to the rules of Tajweed that refine your recitation. The alphabet is simply the first step on that path.
The best way to learn Arabic alphabet pronunciation is to say the letters out loud and have someone trained correct you in real time, because several letters sound similar to an untrained ear but are made at different points in the mouth and throat. A chart can show you that ح and ه are different letters, but only a teacher can hear that your ح is landing as a plain h and guide your tongue and throat to the right place. That is what the points of articulation, the makharij, are all about, and it is the reason a live teacher beats an app for pronunciation.
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Related Courses and Pages
Noorani Qaida
The next step after the letters: joining them with vowels and reading your first words.
Quran Reading Classes
Move from single letters to reading full words and verses with confidence.
Tajweed Classes
Refine every letter and rule once you can read, so your recitation is correct.
Quran Classes for Kids
Gentle, child paced lessons that start with the alphabet and build from there.
Female Quran Teacher
Learn the letters and their sounds with a qualified female teacher.
Online Quran School
The full structured path from these letters through reading, Tajweed and Hifz.
Classes for Beginners
A complete starting point if you are new to Arabic and the Quran.
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