The Arabic Alphabet: A Guide to the Phonology and Orthography of MSA and Lebanese Arabic

In this post, we introduce the Arabic alphabet as well as the phonemes (sounds) and orthography (writing conventions) of the Arabic language. This covers everything you need to know to get started with reading and pronouncing Arabic correctly. Our point of reference is Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), i.e. the standardized literary language common to the whole Arab world, but we also discuss variations in colloquial Lebanese Arabic.

The transcription conventions used on this website are indicated in the course of our discussion. If you are looking for a concise presentation of this information, please see the key to our transcription system.

Arabic Script

The Arabic language, along with a number of other languages (e.g. Farsi, Pashto, Sorani, Urdu), is written with the Arabic script. This script is written from right to left in a cursive style, in print as well as in handwriting. Letter case does not exist, i.e. there is no distinction between upper-case and lower-case letters.

In Arabic script, letters take different shapes depending upon their position in the word and whether they are connected to a preceding letter. All letters can connect from the right side (i.e. to the preceding letter), but some do not connect from the left side (i.e. to the subsequent letter). Therefore, every letter may be classified either as a connector, i.e. a letter that connects from both sides, or as a non-connector, i.e. a letter that does not connect to the subsequent letter. Most letters are connectors; there are only six non-connectors.

Connectors have four shapes:

• Independent: not connected to any other letter
• Initial: connected to the subsequent letter only
• Medial: connected to the preceding and subsequent letters
• Final: connected to the preceding letter only

Shown below, as an example, are the four shapes of the Arabic letter bāĀ.

	Final	Medial	Initial	Independent
	ـب	ـبـ	بـ	ب

Non-connectors have two shapes:

• Independent: not connected to any other letter
• Final: connected to the preceding letter only

Shown below are the two shapes of the Arabic letter Āalif, which is one of the six non-connectors.

	Final	Medial	Initial	Independent
	ـا	ـ	ـ	ا

It is important to distinguish between the shape a letter takes (independent, initial, medial, final) and the position of that letter in a word (word-initial, word-medial, word-final), as the two will not necessarily coincide. For example, a connector will take an initial shape in word-medial position if it follows a non-connector, and a non-connector will take an independent shape in word-final position if it follows another non-connector.

The Arabic Alphabet

Overview

There are 28 letters in the Arabic alphabet, all of which represent consonants. Three letters can also represent long vowels in certain contexts, namely Āalif (ا), wāw (و), and yāĀ (ي). Short vowels are not part of the alphabet. Most of the letters are arranged in groups of two or three with similar shapes, and are distinguished only by the presence and placement of small dots above or below the basic structure of the letter.

The Arabic language is written not only with the letters of the alphabet, but also with a number of characters which are not considered part of the alphabet. These include variant spellings, short vowel markers, various other markers of pronunciation and grammar, and a peculiar shape-shifting consonant called hamzaŧ. Some of these characters are required for correct writing, while others are optional in most texts and seldom written.

Arabic writing is highly phonemic, i.e. there is a high degree of consistency between the letters and characters of the language and their corresponding sounds.

Arabic Alphabet Chart

The chart below shows the names and shapes of the letters of the Arabic alphabet, along with the symbols used on this website to represent these letters in transcription.

Click next to the name of each letter to hear how it is said.

	Arabic Alphabet
				Shape
	Name		Symbol	Final	Medial	Initial	Independent
	Āalif		Ā (for hamzaŧ*) or long vowel ā	ـا	ـ	ـ	ا
	bāĀ		b	ـب	ـبـ	بـ	ب
	tāĀ		t	ـت	ـتـ	تـ	ت
	θāĀ		θ	ـث	ـثـ	ثـ	ث
	jīm		j, g	ـج	ـجـ	جـ	ج
	HāĀ		H	ـح	ـحـ	حـ	ح
	ḰāĀ		Ќ	ـخ	ـخـ	خـ	خ
	dāl		d	ـد	ـ	ـ	د
	ḏāl		ḏ	ـذ	ـ	ـ	ذ
	rāĀ		r	ـر	ـ	ـ	ر
	zāyn		z	ـز	ـ	ـ	ز
	sīn		s	ـس	ـسـ	سـ	س
	šīn		š	ـش	ـشـ	شـ	ش
	Sād		S	ـص	ـصـ	صـ	ص
	Dād		D	ـض	ـضـ	ضـ	ض
	TāĀ		T	ـط	ـطـ	طـ	ط
	ẒāĀ		Ẓ	ـظ	ـظـ	ظـ	ظ
	3ayn		3	ـع	ـعـ	عـ	ع
	ğayn		ğ	ـغ	ـغـ	غـ	غ
	fāĀ		f	ـف	ـفـ	فـ	ف
	qāf		q	ـق	ـقـ	قـ	ق
	kāf		k	ـك	ـكـ	كـ	ك
	lām		l	ـل	ـلـ	لـ	ل
	mīm		m	ـم	ـمـ	مـ	م
	nūn		n	ـن	ـنـ	نـ	ن
	hāĀ		h	ـه/ه	ـهـ	هـ	هـ
	wāw		w or long vowel ū	ـو	ـ	ـ	و
	yāĀ		y or long vowel ī	**ـي	ـيـ	يـ	ي

* Note that Āalif is not an independent consonant in itself, but is often used to represent the consonant hamzaŧ (ء), which is not traditionally included in the alphabet. We introduce the hamzaŧ below.

** In Egypt, final yāĀ is generally written without the dots.

Click below to hear all 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet recited in order:

Arabic Consonants

Pronunciation Chart

The chart below indicates how each Arabic letter is pronounced in MSA when used as a consonant. (Remember that Āalif (ا), wāw (و), and yāĀ (ي) can also be used as vowels; this will be discussed later.)

Some of these letters (in particular ظ , ذ, ث and ق) are regularly pronounced differently in spoken Lebanese Arabic than they are in MSA. These pronunciation variations will be discussed below.

	Symbol	Pronunciation		Example	Letter
	Ā	glottal stop; like “-” in “uh-oh”, “t” in the informal pronunciation of “football”, or the sound preceding a word beginning with a vowel, as in “at”, “in” or “out”		أَسْماء	أ/ء
	b	like “b” in “band”		بَلَد	ب
	t	like “t” in “tan”		تَلّ	ت
	θ	like “th” in “thin”		ثَمَن	ث
	j, g	like “g” in “regime”, or “s” in “leisure” (like “j” in “jam” in Gulf countries, and like “g” in “gate” in Egypt)		جَبَل	ج
	H	no English equivalent; produced by saying “ha” while constricting throat muscles		حَسَب	ح
	Ќ	like “ch” in German “nacht” or Scottish “loch”		خَطّ	خ
	d	like “d” in “dance”		دَرْس	د
	ḏ	like “th” in “that”		ذَنَب	ذ
	r	ranges in quality from a trill, like “r” in Spanish “carro”, to a tongue flap against the roof of the mouth, similar to the “t” in “metal” or “butter” in informal American English		رَبّ	ر
	z	like “z” in “zoo”		زَميل	ز
	s	like “s” in “sat”		سَفَر	س
	š	like “sh” in “shine”		شَرْشَف	ش
	S	emphatic counterpart of س, similar to the “s” in “sauce”, “sauna”, or “sob”		صَيْف	ص
	D	emphatic counterpart of د, similar to the initial “d” in “dawdle” or “dawn”		ضَمير	ض
	T	emphatic counterpart of ت, similar to the “t” in “taught”		طَويل	ط
	Ẓ	emphatic counterpart of ذ, similar to the “th” in “though”		ظَريف	ظ
	3	no English equivalent; produced by saying “ah” while constricting throat muscles		عَرَب	ع
	ğ	similar to the French “r” in “Paris”, or to the sound made when gargling		غَريب	غ
	f	like “f” in “fish”		فِلفُل	ف
	q	similar to the “c” in “caught” but articulated even further back in the mouth		قَريب	ق
	k	like “k” in “kite”		كُتُب	ك
	l	like “l” in “land”		لَبَن	ل
	m	like “m” in “man”		مَكْتَب	م
	n	like “n” in “now”		نَجاح	ن
	h	like “h” in “hat”		هَدَف	هـ
	w	like “w” in “win”		وَلَد	و
	y	like “y” in “yes”		يَمين	ي

Additional Consonants

There are two additional consonants which are not part of the alphabet proper: hamzaŧ (ء) and tāĀ marbūTaŧ (ة).

hamzaŧ (ء)

The hamzaŧ is a character representing the glottal stop, a sound which is produced by blocking and then releasing the airflow in the vocal tract. There is no letter representing the glottal stop in English, although the sound itself is common. For example, it occurs between the two syllables of “uh-oh”, and it often replaces “t” in the informal pronunciation of words like “fountain”, “cotton”, “network”, “football”, “caught”, “right”, “cat”, etc. It is also articulated at the beginning of any English word starting with a vowel, such as “at”, “in” or “out”.

The glottal stop is a distinct consonant phoneme in Arabic; however, the hamzaŧ itself is not an independent letter. It is written in various ways, depending upon its position in the word as well as upon the surrounding vowels. The rules for writing the hamzaŧ in Arabic script are complex, and will not be discussed here in any detail. The important thing for now is to learn to recognize the hamzaŧ in all of its various forms.

The basic shape of the hamzaŧ resembles the letter “c” with a short tail sloping down to the left. When it is not part of a word, this symbol is always written by itself “on the line”: ء. It is sometimes also written this way when it is part of a word, although never in word-initial position.

Examples:

	questioning	musāĀalaŧ		مُساءَلة
	chivalry	murūĀaŧ		مُروءَة
	innocent	barīĀ		بَريء
	filling	milĀ		مِلْء

Note that ء does not connect to any letter, whether before or after. Thus, a connector immediately preceding ء will take its independent or final shape, and not its initial or medial shape. (For example, yāĀ takes its independent rather than initial shape in بَريء, and lām takes its final rather than medial shape in مِلْء.) This is the only time this happens with connectors which are not at the end of a word.

More often than not, a hamzaŧ which is part of a word is not written on the line, but instead appears in miniature on one of three letters: Āalif (أ or إ), wāw (ؤ), or yāĀ without the dots (ئ). At the beginning of a word, hamzaŧ cannot be written on the line nor can it take any seat other than Āalif. It sits either above or below the Āalif (أ or إ), depending upon the following vowel. It sits above if it is followed by either of the vowels “a” (fatHaŧ) or “u” (Dammaŧ), and below if followed by “i” (kasraŧ).

Examples of word-initial hamzaŧ:

	rabbit	Āarnab		أَرْنَب
	week	Āusbū3		أُسْبوع
	gospel	Āinjīl		إِنْجيل

In the middle and at the end of words, hamzaŧ is either written on the line (ء) or it sits on an Āalif, wāw, or yāĀ. When it sits on an Āalif, it is always above (أ), never below. The following table shows all the possible seats of hamzaŧ in word-medial and word-final position:

	Final	Medial	Initial	Independent
	ـأ	—	—	أ
	ـؤ	—	—	ؤ
	ـئ	ـئـ	ئـ	ئ

Note that the same rules of connection apply to these letters whether they are long vowels, independent consonants, or seats for hamzaŧ.

Examples of word-medial and word-final hamzaŧ seats:

	head	raĀs		رَأْس
	matter	šaĀn		شَأْن
	issue	masĀalaŧ		مَسْأَلَة
	to arise	našaĀa		نَشَأَ
	vision	ruĀyā		رُؤْيا
	question	suĀāl		سُؤال
	responsible	masĀūl		مَسْؤول
	slowness	tabāTuĀ		تَباطُؤ
	chief, boss	raĀīs		رَئيس
	heating	tadfiĀaŧ		تَدْفِئَة
	bad	sayyiĀ		سَيِّئ
	emergencies	TawāriĀ		طَوارِئ
	seashore	šāTiĀ		شاطِئ

In certain situations, an Āalif takes a hamzaŧ but the miniature hamzaŧ symbol does not actually appear on the Āalif. This occurs with Āalif maddaŧ (آ), which will be discussed later. It also occurs with an Āalif which takes a type of hamzaŧ known as hamzat lwaSl. This hamzaŧ, which is only present in word-initial position, is unwritten and is pronounced only when the word begins a sentence or utterance.

Regardless of how hamzaŧ is written in Arabic script, we always transcribe it (when pronounced) as Ā. We do not transcribe hamzat lwaSl when it is not pronounced.

Learn more: Writing and Pronouncing the Hamza (ء): A Guide for the Perplexed

tāĀ marbūTaŧ (ة)

Literally meaning the “tied tāĀ”, the tāĀ marbūTaŧ is a form of the letter ت that exists only at the end of words, and is always preceded by a vowel. In MSA, this vowel is usually a short “a” (fatHaŧ) but occasionally a long “ā” (Āalif). The tāĀ marbūTaŧ usually serves to mark a feminine noun or adjective.

The tāĀ marbūTaŧ is written like the letter ه with two dots above. Since it appears only at the end of words, however, it has just two shapes: an independent shape if it follows a non-connector, and a final shape if it follows a connector.

	Final	Independent
	ـة	ة

The tāĀ marbūTaŧ is sometimes silent and sometimes pronounced, depending upon several factors including the location and function of the word in the sentence, as well as whether the speaker is using a dialect or MSA. In fully vocalized MSA, it is pronounced like ت unless followed by a pause, such as at the end of a sentence, in which case it is not pronounced. Note, however, that the standard in classical Arabic and Quranic recitation is for pre-pausal tāĀ marbūTaŧ to be pronounced like a soft ه.

When it is not pronounced, we transcribe tāĀ marbūTaŧ as ŧ.

Bear in mind that tāĀ marbūTaŧ changes to a regular tāĀ (ت) if a suffix is added to the word.

Examples (MSA pronunciation):

	school	madrasaŧ		مَدْرَسَة
	our school	madrasatnā		مَدْرَسَتْنا
	picture	Sūraŧ		صورَة
	my picture	Sūratī		صورَتي

In Lebanese Arabic, tāĀ marbūTaŧ is generally not pronounced at all unless the word is in the construct state, in which case it is pronounced ت. There are some exceptions, however. When the tāĀ marbūTaŧ is preceded by the long vowel Āalif, it is usually pronounced.

Examples (Lebanese Arabic):

	life	Hayēt		حَياة
	pedestrians	mušēt		مُشاة
	channel	qanāt		قَناة

As mentioned above, the tāĀ marbūTaŧ is always preceded by a vowel. This vowel – usually short, but occasionally long (as in the above examples) – is always pronounced, even when the tāĀ marbūTaŧ itself is not. In MSA, the short vowel is always “a” (fatHaŧ) and the long vowel is always “ā” (Āalif). In Lebanese Arabic, the short vowel is either “a” (fatHaŧ) or “e” (kasraŧ), while the long vowel is always Āalif but with pronunciation varying between “ā” or “ē”, depending on the preceding consonant. With the notable exception of ر, consonants which are produced in the front of the mouth (ي ,و ,ن ,م ,ل ,ك ,ف ,ش ,س ,ز ,ذ ,د ,ج ,ث ,ت ,ب) will take the front vowel sound – i.e. “e” or “ē” – before the tāå marbūTaŧ, while consonants which are produced in the back of the mouth and in the throat (هـ ,ق ,غ ,ع ,ظ ,ط ,ض , ص ,خ ,ح ,ء) will take the back vowel sound – i.e. “a” or “ā” – before the tāå marbūTaŧ.

Examples (Lebanese Arabic pronunciation):

	Front Vowel:	building	binēyeŧ		بِنايِة
	Front Vowel:	school	madraseŧ		مَدْرَسِة
	Front Vowel:	clean (f.)	nDīfeŧ		نْضيفِة
	Front Vowel:	doctor (f.)	Tabībeŧ		طَبيبِة
	Back Vowel:	language	luğaŧ		لُغَة
	Back Vowel:	university	jēm3aŧ		جامْعَة
	Back Vowel:	bag	šanTaŧ		شَنْطَة
	Back Vowel:	fine (f.)	mnīHaŧ		مْنيحَة

Note that ر is usually followed by the back vowel sound. There are, however, some common exceptions, two of which are shown in the following examples:

Examples (Lebanese Arabic pronunciation):

	Back Vowel:	car	siyyāraŧ		سِيّارَة
	Back Vowel:	picture	Sūraŧ		صورَة
	Front Vowel:	big (f.)	kbīreŧ		كْبيرِة
	Front Vowel:	small (f.)	Sğīreŧ		صْغيرِة

 

Difficult Consonants

Most Arabic consonants have English equivalents and their pronunciation should not pose any problem for English speakers. The others will require some practice to learn correctly. Particular attention should be paid to the proper pronunciation of consonants which may sound similar to a non-native ear but nevertheless constitute distinct phonemes in Arabic.

Emphatic Consonants

It is important to distinguish between emphatic consonants (also known as velarized or pharyngealized consonants) and their non-emphatic counterparts. The point of articulation is the same for both, but the emphatic consonants are produced with the edges of the tongue tensed and raised at the sides of the mouth while the middle part of the tongue is pulled back, thus forming a “u” shape in the middle of the mouth. Emphatic consonants deepen the sound of surrounding vowels and even other consonants. Beginning students of Arabic are advised to pay close attention to these sounds in order to learn how to recognize and pronounce the emphatic consonants properly.

Examples:

	ص		س			ض		د
	صَعيد		سَعيد			ضَرّ		دَرّ
	حاصِد		حاسِد			تَـحَضُّر		تَـحَدُّر
	حَرَص		حَرَس			رُضوض		رُدود
	ط		ت			ظ		ذ
	طاء		تاء			ظَليل		ذَليل
	يُرَطِّب		يُرَتِّب			مَحْظور		مَحْذور
	حاط		حات			بَظّ		بَذّ

ح and ه

ه is the same as the English “h” in words like “hat” and “hand”. ح is a much sharper sound. It is produced by pushing air from the throat while tightly constricting the throat muscles.

		ه			ح
		هُروب			حُروب
		تَهْديد			تَحْديد
		نَبيه			نَبيح

ء and ع

ع is articulated while the throat muscles are tightly constricted. In this respect it is like ح; the two differ, however, in that ح is voiceless (like a whisper) and ع is voiced.

Arabic learners sometimes have difficulty at first distinguishing between ع and ء. Keep in mind that with ء there is a complete stop of airflow in the vocal tract, which results in an absence of sound, while with ع the vocal cords are vibrating as the throat muscles are constricted, which results in the “strangled” sound characteristic of this consonant.

Examples:

		ع			ء
		عَمَل			أَمَل
		سُعال			سُؤال
		فاجِع			فاجِئ

ث and ذ

Both of these consonant sounds exist in English, but unlike Arabic they are not distinguished orthographically. ث is voiceless, pronounced like the “th” in “thin” and “thought”, and ذ is voiced, pronounced like the “th” in “that” and “then”.

Examples:

		ذ			ث
		ذَوْب			ثَوْب
		مُتَعَذِّر			مُتَعَثِّر
		غَذّ			غَثّ

ق and ك

ك is the same as the English “k” or “c” in words like “kite” and “cat.” ق is a similar clicking sound, but produced with the tongue in the very back of the mouth.

Examples:

		ك			ق
		كَلْب			قَلْب
		تَكْرير			تَقْرير
		حَكّ			حَقّ

Lebanese Arabic Consonant Variations

Four Arabic consonants – ظ, ذ, ث and ق – are regularly pronounced differently in spoken Lebanese than they are in MSA. As it is relatively simple to adapt to their Lebanese pronunciations, we generally preserve the original spelling of these consonants in Arabic script when representing the Lebanese pronunciation variants. However, there are exceptions in the case of ث and ذ, as noted below. Our aim is to preserve the connection to MSA spelling as much as possible while ensuring that the Lebanese pronunciation can be elicited from a reading of the Arabic script alone.

The Pronunciation and Spelling of ث in Lebanese Arabic

In Lebanese Arabic, ث is usually pronounced like س, i.e. “s”. For example, ثَوْرَة is usually pronounced sawraŧ in Lebanese Arabic. In a limited number of words, this consonant is regularly pronounced like ت, i.e. “t”. For example, ثوم is pronounced tūm in Lebanese Arabic.

We preserve the ث spelling in Arabic script when this letter is pronounced like س (as it is in most words). However, when it is pronounced like ت, we write this letter as it is pronounced. Thus, for example, we preserve the ث in ثَوْرَة regardless of whether this word is pronounced θawraŧ (MSA) or sawraŧ (Lebanese Arabic). However, the ث in ثوم is replaced with ت when we are representing Lebanese pronunciation (i.e. tūm); ث is preserved only if we are representing MSA pronunciation (i.e. θūm).

Examples:

	MSA:	revolution	θawraŧ		ثَوْرَة
	Lebanese:		sawraŧ
	MSA:	chandelier	θurayyaŧ		ثُرَيّا
	Lebanese:		surayyaŧ
	MSA:	clothing	θiyāb		ثِياب
	Lebanese:		tyēb		تْياب
	MSA:	garlic	θūm		ثوم
	Lebanese:		tūm		توم

The Pronunciation and Spelling of ذ in Lebanese Arabic

In Lebanese Arabic, ذ is usually pronounced like ز, i.e. “z”. For example, تَذْكَرَة is usually pronounced tazkaraŧ in Lebanese Arabic. In a limited number of words, this consonant is regularly pronounced like د, i.e. “d”. For example, ذَهَب is pronounced dahab in Lebanese Arabic.

We preserve the ذ spelling in Arabic script when this letter is pronounced like ز (as it is in most words). However, when it is pronounced like د, we write this letter as it is pronounced. Thus, for example, we preserve the ذ in تَذْكَرَة regardless of whether this word is pronounced taḏkaraŧ (MSA) or tazkaraŧ (Lebanese Arabic). However, the ذ in ذَهَب is replaced with د when we are representing Lebanese pronunciation (i.e. dahab); ذ is preserved only if we are representing MSA pronunciation (i.e. ḏahab).

Examples:

	MSA:	ticket	taḏkaraŧ		تَذْكَرَة
	Lebanese:		tazkaraŧ
	MSA:	intelligent	ḏakī		ذَكي
	Lebanese:		zaké
	MSA:	gold	ḏahab		ذَهَب
	Lebanese:		dahab		دَهَب
	MSA:	to take	ĀaЌaḏ		أَخَذ
	Lebanese:		ĀaЌad		أَخَد

The Pronunciation and Spelling of ظ in Lebanese Arabic

In Lebanese Arabic, ظ is usually pronounced as an emphatic ز, like the “z” in “zone”. However, we preserve the ظ spelling in Arabic script.

Examples:

	MSA:	luck	HuẒūẒ		حُظوظ
	Lebanese:		HuZūZ
	MSA:	envelope	Ẓarf		ظَرْف
	Lebanese:		Zarf
	MSA:	shrapnel	šaẒāyā		شَظايا
	Lebanese:		šaZāyā
	MSA:	view	manẒar		مَنْظَر
	Lebanese:		manZar

The Pronunciation and Spelling of ق in Lebanese Arabic

In Lebanese Arabic, ق is usually pronounced like ء, i.e. the glottal stop. However, we preserve the ق spelling in Arabic script.

Examples:

	MSA:	rights	Huqūq		حُقوق
	Lebanese:		HuĀūĀ
	MSA:	report	taqrīr		تَقْرير
	Lebanese:		taĀrīr
	MSA:	blond	Āašqar		أَشْقَر
	Lebanese:		ĀašĀar
	MSA:	investigation	taHqīq		تَـحْقيق
	Lebanese:		taHĀīĀ

A notable exception to the usual Lebanese pronunciation of qāf as a glottal stop is found among the Druze, particularly those living in rural areas (in Lebanon, this is primarily in the Chouf Mountains), who tend to preserve the MSA pronunciation of ق, i.e. “q”.

Even those who normally pronounce qāf as a glottal stop will pronounce it as “q” when it occurs in certain proper names or religious words, or some words that contain ا and ق together.

Examples:

	Quran	ĀalqurĀān		القُرْآن
	Qatar	qaTar		قَطَر
	Qadisha	qādīšā		قاديشا
	friends	ĀaSdiqāĀ		أَصْدِقاء

Additional Consonant Sounds in Lebanese Arabic

When pronouncing certain words of foreign origin, speakers of Lebanese Arabic often use consonant sounds which are not typical of the dialect. For example, “p” is used in pāspōr (“passport”) and kōmpyūtar (“computer”), “g” in Āinglīzé (“English”) and sigārā (“cigarette”), and “v” in brāvō (“bravo”) and sayyav (“to save”). We transcribe these sounds as they are pronounced, while writing them with the Arabic letter to which they approximate.

	Symbol	Pronunciation (Lebanese)	Letter
	p	like “p” in “passport”	ب
	g	like “g” in “English”	ج
	v	like “v” in “bravo”	ف

Silent Consonants in Lebanese Arabic

Aside from the previously discussed tāå marbūTaŧ, there are two consonants which are frequently silent in Lebanese Arabic: hamzaŧ (ء) and hāĀ (ه).

Word-final ء preceded by Āalif is often silent in Lebanese Arabic, in which case we transcribe it as å. Note also that the Āalif in such words is pronounced with a short vowel sound instead of its usual long vowel sound (i.e. “a” instead of “ā”); nevertheless, we transcribe it as a long vowel.

Examples:

	lunch	ğadāå		غَداء
	evening	masāå		مَساء

ه is sometimes silent in Lebanese Arabic, in which case we transcribe it as ħ.

Examples:

	his book	ktēbuħ		كْتابُه
	they have	3indħun		عِنْدْهُن

Arabic Vowels

Overview

Arabic has only three vowels (“a”, “i”, “u”), each of which can be either short or long. Long vowels are pronounced for about twice as long as short vowels.

Although there are relatively few distinct vowels in Arabic, the quality of their pronunciation does admit of a considerable amount of variation, especially in the case of the “a” sound. One significant factor is the proximity of one or more of the emphatic consonants (ظ ,ط ,ض ,ص) or ق, which has the effect of deepening the surrounding vowel sounds. Pronunciation of vowels can also vary from one dialect region to another, and this can affect vowel quality even in MSA. These variations are not generally of any semantic significance, however. They are what linguists call allophones, i.e. different sounds which may be used interchangeably without changing the meaning of a word, as opposed to phonemes, which are the most basic units of sound capable of producing a distinctive meaning.

We make no attempt to catalogue the full array of allophonic vowel variations in our discussion below. However, we do highlight some vowel sounds which do not exist in MSA but are regularly produced by speakers of Lebanese Arabic in certain phonetic contexts. These vowel sounds are represented in our transcription system, and should be adopted by learners of Lebanese Arabic.

Short Vowels and sukūn

Short vowels are not represented in Arabic script with letters, but with diacritical marks called Harakāt / حَرَكات (literally: “motions”) which are placed above or below the letter they follow. These marks are not normally written in Arabic texts, except in the Quran (where they are required) and in children’s books, religious books, and grammar books in order to ensure that words are pronounced correctly. Words or text containing these marks are said to be vocalized. However, they are omitted in most written material except where they are necessary to resolve ambiguity. Therefore, if you intend to read Arabic, you must learn to recognize and pronounce words without relying upon them.

	Name		Symbol	Pronunciation	Diacritical Mark
	fatHaŧ		a	varies from “a” in “tap” or “bat” to “o” in “top” or “not”	ـَ
	Dammaŧ		u	varies from “o” in “to” or “move” to “u” in “put” or “oo” in “good”	ـُ
	kasraŧ		i	varies from “e” in “me” or “evil” to “i” in “tip” or “bit”*	ـِ
	sukūn		(no symbol)	the sukūn indicates that the consonant is not followed by a vowel but forms a consonant cluster with the subsequent letter, like “s” in “stem” or “r” in “burn”	ـْ

*In Lebanese Arabic, kasraŧ is sometimes also pronounced like the French “é” in “résumé, as discussed below.

Long Vowels

Long vowels are represented by the letters Āalif (ا), wāw (و), and yāĀ (ي).

	Name		Symbol	Pronunciation	Diacritical Mark
	Āalif		ā	varies from a lengthened “a” in “magic” or “sadness” to a lengthened “a” in “father” or “talking”	ا
	wāw		u	like a lengthened “oo” in “food” or “u” in “rule”**	و
	yāĀ		ī	like a lengthened “ee” in “seem” or “i” in “machine”***	ي

* In Lebanese Arabic, Āalif is sometimes also pronounced like a lengthened “e” in “best”, as discussed below.
** In Lebanese Arabic, wāw is sometimes also pronounced like “o” in “hole”, as discussed below.
*** In Lebanese Arabic, yāĀ is sometimes also pronounced like the French “é” in “résumé, as discussed below.

Lebanese Arabic Vowel Variations

The Pronunciation and Transcription of word-final kasraŧ in Lebanese Arabic

In Lebanese Arabic, kasraŧ at the end of a word is pronounced like the French “é” in “résumé”. Note that this is essentially the same as the usual Lebanese pronunciation of the yāĀ (ي) in certain phonetic contexts (see below). However, we transcribe word-final kasraŧ as e and the homophonous yāĀ as é. We use two different symbols to represent one and the same sound because it is important for grammatical reasons to distinguish between kasraŧ and yāĀ.

Notice the difference in sound quality between word-medial and word-final kasraŧ in the following words.

	مِن		مِش		بِنْت
	min		miš		bint
	فيكِ		هِنِّ		هُوِّ
	fīke		hinne		huwwe

The Pronunciation and Transcription of ا in Lebanese Arabic

In Lebanese Arabic, the pronunciation of Āalif varies between “ā” (like a lengthened “a” in “father”) and “ē” (like a lengthened “e” in “best”), depending primarily upon the surrounding consonants but to some extent also the accent of the speaker. By following the principles outlined below, it is possible to predict with a fairly high degree of accuracy how Āalif will be pronounced in a given word in Lebanese Arabic. Unfortunately, these cannot be taken as hard and fast rules (except where indicated otherwise); however, they will apply in most cases.

It should also be noted that word-final Āalif is typically given the length of a short vowel (i.e. “a”), and thus sounds much the same as a fatHaŧ.

Āalif is pronounced “ā”:

• when it is followed by a terminal hamzeŧ (ء), or when it is itself the final letter. There are no exceptions to this rule.
  
  Examples:

  	friends	ĀaSdiqāĀ		أَصْدِقاء
  	doctors	ĀaTibbāĀ		أطِبّاء
  	we	niHnā		نِحْنا

• when it is preceded or followed by an emphatic consonant (ظ ,ط ,ض ,ص). There are no exceptions to this rule.
  
  Examples:

  	student	Tālib		طالِب
  	concierge	nāTūr		ناطور
  	friend; boyfriend	SāHib		صاحِب

• when it is preceded by any other consonant produced in the back of the mouth and in the throat (i.e. ه ,ك ,ق ,غ ,ع ,خ ,ح ,ء) and often ر as well.
  
  Examples:

  	condition	Hāl		حال
  	dictionary	Āāmūs		قاموس
  	prices	Āas3ār		أسْعار

Āalif is pronounced “ē”:

• when it is preceded by a consonant produced in the front of the mouth – with the frequent exception of ر (i.e. ي ,و ,ن ,م ,ل ,ف ,ش ,س ,ز ,د ,ج ,ت ,ب) – and not followed by an emphatic consonant.
  
  Examples:

	teacher	Āistēz		إسْتاذ
	public square	sēHaŧ		ساحَة
	walking	mēšé		ماشي

Notice that ر does not fit neatly into these rules. It is produced in the front of the mouth and it does indeed behave like a front consonant in some words, giving the Āalif an “ē” sound (e.g. rēkib / راكِب, šēri3 / شارِع); however, in other words it gives the Āalif an “ā” sound even though there are no back consonants in the word (e.g. rāyiH / رايِح, jār / جار).

Examples:

	riding	rēkib		راكِب
	street	šēri3		شارِع
	going	rāyiH		رايِح
	neighbour	jār		جار

The Pronunciation and Transcription of و in Lebanese Arabic

In Lebanese Arabic, “ō” is the usual pronunciation of the MSA diphthong “aw” in one-syllable words. For example, MSA yawm becomes yōm in Lebanese Arabic. It is also the usual Lebanese pronunciation of final و in words with more than one syllable, e.g. MSA fataHū becomes fataHō in Lebanese Arabic. Many words of foreign origin also contain “ō”, e.g. Āōrōpā, dōlār, šōkōlātaŧ, tilfizyōn, duktōr, bōnjūr. Although “ō” technically represents a long vowel, it is generally given the same length as a short vowel, particularly in word-final position.

	MSA:	day	yawm		يَوْم
	Lebanese:		yōm		يوم
	MSA:	they opened	fataHū		فَتَحوا
	Lebanese:		fataHō		فَتَحو

The Pronunciation and Transcription of ي in Lebanese Arabic

In Lebanese Arabic, “é” is the usual pronunciation of the MSA diphthong “ay” in one-syllable words or in the final syllable of a multi-syllable Arabic word. For example, MSA bayt becomes bét in Lebanese Arabic, and MSA maktabayn becomes maktabén in Lebanese Arabic. “é” is also the usual Lebanese pronunciation of final ي in words with more than one syllable, e.g. MSA ma3ī becomes ma3é in Lebanese Arabic. Many words of foreign origin also contain “é”, e.g. Āōtél, mōtér, sikritér, vītés. Although “é” technically represents a long vowel, it is generally given the same length as a short vowel, particularly in word-final position, and sounds much the same as the terminal kasraŧ, i.e. “e”.

 

	MSA:	house	bayt		بَيْت
	Lebanese:		bét		بيت
	MSA:	two offices	maktabayn		مَكْتَبَيْن
	Lebanese:		maktabén		مَكْتَبين
	MSA:	with me	ma3ī		مَعي
	Lebanese:		ma3é		مَعي

Variant Spellings of Āalif in Arabic Script

There are a few additional characters which are used to represent Āalif in Arabic script. These are not optional spellings, but are required with certain words and letter combinations.

Āalif maqSūraŧ (ى)

Āalif maqSūraŧ is written like ي but without the dots. It appears only at the end of words, and therefore has just two shapes: an independent shape if it is preceded by a non-connector, and a final shape if it follows a connector.

	Final	Independent
	ـى	ى

Āalif maqSūraŧ literally means “shortened Āalif”, and is pronounced like the final “a” in “Santa”, i.e. like a short vowel (fatHaŧ) rather than a long vowel. Nevertheless, we represent Āalif maqSūraŧ in our transcription system as ā since it is important for grammatical reasons that it be distinguished from a final fatHaŧ. If a suffix is added, Āalif maqSūraŧ will change both in pronunciation and spelling either to a regular Āalif or to a yāĀ which forms a diphthong with the preceding fatHaŧ (“ay”).

Examples:

	on	3alā		عَلى
	on us	3alaynā		عَلَيْنا
	he gave	3aTā		عَطى
	he gave us	3aTānā		عَطانا

lām Āalif (لا)

lām followed by Āalif forms a ligature, i.e. the two letters are joined into one shape: لا. Bear in mind that lām Āalif does not connect to the following letter, since Āalif is a non-connector.

	Medial & Final	Independent & Initial
	ـلا	لا

Āalif maddaŧ (آ)

When hamzaŧ written on an Āalif (أ) takes a fatHaŧ and is followed by a second Āalif, the two are generally combined into one shape, called Āalif maddaŧ (“the Āalif of prolongation”). This takes the form of a short, slightly wavy line written above an Āalif.

آ	←	أَ + ا
آ	←	أَ + أْ

Notice that the second Āalif may have originally been a long vowel (as in the first example) or another carrier of hamzaŧ (as in the second example). In either case, the single Āalif maddaŧ is written in place of the two consecutive Āalifs, and is pronounced and transcribed as a hamzaŧ followed by a single Āalif: “Āā”.

Āalif maddaŧ, like a regular Āalif, is a non-connector and therefore has only two shapes:

	Final	Independent
	ـآ	آ

Examples:

	Adam	Āādam		آدَم
	he supported, backed	Āāzara		آزَرَ
	Quran	ĀalqurĀān		القُرْآن
	they (dual) grew up	našaĀā		نَشَآ

Dagger Āalif

The “dagger Āalif” (Āalif Ќanjariyyaŧ / أَلِف خَنْجَرِية) is an archaic spelling of Āalif which still exists in a few common words, and is pronounced in exactly the same way as a regular Āalif. When written, it appears as a miniature Āalif above the letter rather than on the line. However, it is usually omitted, in printed texts and handwriting alike. One notable exception is the word الله, meaning “God”, which often retains the dagger Āalif in print.

Examples:

	God	Āallāh
	this (m.)	hādā
	this (f.)	hādihi
	but	lākin
	therefore	lidālik

Remember that these words must be pronounced with the long vowel sound of the Āalif, even when (as is usually the case) the dagger Āalif is not written on them.

Doubled Consonants

Arabic consonants are sometimes doubled, which means that the same consonant occurs twice in a row without an intervening vowel. (The Arabic word for this phenomenon is Āattašdīd / التَّشْديد.) A doubled consonant is pronounced for about twice as long as a single consonant. Something similar sometimes occurs in English pronunciation when the last letter of one word is the same as the first letter of the next word, causing a sort of doubling of this letter, e.g. “great time”, “bad day”, “big gate”.

One and the same consonant written consecutively in transcription indicates doubling. In Arabic script, the two consonants are written only once, and the doubling action is indicated by the placement of a small symbol known as the šaddaŧ above the consonant ( ـّ ).

Examples:

	carpenter	najjār		نَجّار
	teacher, master	mu3allim
	strictness	tašaddud		تَشَدُّد
	bitter	murr		مُرّ

Doubled consonants are never followed directly by another consonant, but require an intervening long or short vowel. Note that kasraŧ is normally written below the šaddaŧ rather than below the letter itself.

Nunation

In fully vocalized MSA, short vowels are sometimes written twice at the end of nouns and adjectives. When this occurs, the second vowel is not pronounced as such, but is instead replaced with a “n”. This phenomenon is called nunation, or Āattanwīn / التَّنْوين (literally: “adding a n”), and it usually – but not always – serves as a marker of indefiniteness. The type of tanwīn a word takes depends upon its grammatical role in the sentence.

As shown in the table below, tanwīn occurs in three grammatical cases: nominative, accusative, and genitive. For any word not ending in hamzaŧ (ء) or tāĀ marbūTaŧ (ة), an Āalif is appended to the word when it takes accusative tanwīn. This Āalif is not pronounced, but it must be written. The accusative tanwīn marking should be placed on the letter before the Āalif, although many people actually write this tanwīn on the Āalif.

	Case	Transcription Symbol	Diacritical Mark
	Nominative	un	ـٌ
	Accusative	an	ـً / ـاً
	Genitive	in	ـٍ

Examples:

	مُعَلِّمٍ		مُعَلِّمًا		مُعَلِّمٌ
	mu3allimin		mu3alliman		mu3allimun
	كِتابٍ		كِتابًا		كِتابٌ
	kitābin		kitāban		kitābun

In the case of words ending in tāĀ marbūTaŧ, the accusative tanwīn marking is placed atop the tāĀ marbūTaŧ.

Examples:

	مَدْرَسَةٍ		مَدْرَسَةً		مَدْرَسَةٌ
	madrasatin		madrasatan		madrasatun
	صورَةٍ		صورَةً		صورَةٌ
	Sūratin		Sūratan		Sūratun

See also: Word-final hamzaŧ and accusative tanwīn

Nunation does not usually occur in less formal MSA or colloquial Arabic, with the exception of “an”, which is a fixed adverbial ending on a number of common words.

Examples (Lebanese Arabic):

	Thank you	šukran		شُكْراً
	Excuse me; You’re Welcome	3afwan		عَفْواً
	never	Āabadan		أَبَداً
	always	dēyman		دايْماً
	usually	3ādatan		عادَةً
	sometimes	ĀaHyēnan		أَحْياناً
	Of course	Tab3an		طَبْعاً
	approximately	taĀrīban		تَقْريباً

Further Reading

• Cowell, M. (1964, 2005) A Reference Grammar of Syrian Arabic. Georgetown University Press. (See especially chapter 1 – ‘Sounds’.)
• Holes, C. (2004) Modern Arabic. Structures, Functions, and Varieties. Georgetown University Press. (See especially chapter 2 – ‘Phonology’.)
• Ryding, K. (2014) Arabic. A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge University Press. (See especially chapter 2 – ‘Arabic Phonology’.)
• Ryding, K. (2005) Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic. Cambridge University Press. (See especially chapter 2 – ‘Phonology and Script’.)
• Watson, J. (2002) The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic. Oxford University Press.
• Versteegh, K. (2014) The Arabic Language. Edinburgh University Press. (See especially chapter 6 – ‘The Structure of Arabic’.)

Related
Transcription System
Writing and Pronouncing the Hamza (ء): A Guide for the Perplexed
The Definite Article in Arabic