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Arabic/The Alphabet

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Romanisation System Arabic
The Alphabet 		Vowels

Reading and Writing Basics

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The standard way to write Arabic is with the Arabic writing system. In English, both consonants and vowels are represented prominently. For example, the letter "a" and the letter "b" occupy approximately equal area. Sometimes vowels are omitted for brevity, like in "Scrn Lk" for Screen Lock on a keyboard, but this is unusual. In the Arabic writing system, however, omitting vowels is the standard. Symbols for vowels are an afterthought in the Arabic writing system—they exist but are sprinkled on and are rarely used. So, how do people read Arabic when the writing system does not usually represent vowels? Experienced readers of Arabic are capable of predicting the vowels based on the context. For beginners, extra symbols are written to represent the vowels. In cases where the author of a text anticipates ambiguity, the author can write the minimum vowels necessary to resolve ambiguity. In this book, vowels will be taught in the next chapter.

The direction of writing in the Arabic writing system is also different than in English. Arabic is written from right to left, unlike English, which is written from left to right. However, the vertical direction is the same as English; when a line is completed, the next line is placed below the previous line.

Layouts

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How the Arabic alphabet was organized has changed over the centuries. First was the abjad order going "a", "b", "j", "d".

Standard Layout

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Eventually, someone decided to organize the alphabet by shapes so that letters made with the same shapes went right after each other (it is one prevalent alphabet organization and used everywhere):

← read from right to left ←

ا ب ت ث ج ح خ

د ذ ر ز

س ش ص ض ط ظ

ع غ ف ق

ك ل م ن ه و ي

Pyramid Alphabet

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Recently, someone found a different way to organize the alphabet: by type of tail, then by type of shape, then by type of dot.

Row Letters Characteristics
Row 1 ه Looks different in all forms
Row 2 ط ظ Looks the same in all forms
Row 3 ك م ي Looks the same in the beginning form and middle form ("odd-final" letters)
Row 4 ب ت ث ف Has the push-forward tail
Row 5 ج ح خ ع غ Has the down-hook tail
Row 6 ا د ذ ر ز و Non-connectors
Row 7 س ش ص ض ق ل ن "Bowl-tailed" letters

Letter Forms

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In Arabic, most letters have 4 forms

  • Alone: The form used when not part of a word
  • Beginning: The form used when the letter is first in a word
  • Middle: The form used when a letter is in the middle of a word
  • End: The form used when a letter is the last one in a word

Letter Connections

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Arabic letters can be split into two groups called connectors and non-connectors. Every connector will connect to the next letter in a word.

Connectors and non-connectors

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Some words may mix both connector and non-connector letters.

Example 1

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ب+ت ← بـ ـت ← بـت
Notice that ب (baa) is connected to the next letter because baa is a connector, not because the next letter is one.

Example 2

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ه + ت + م  ←  هـ ـتـ ـم  ←  هـتـم
Notice that ه is connected to ت and ت is connected to م .

The above examples also show letters that change form to connect: ه (haa-single form) became هـ (haa-initial form). They are both the same letter but in different forms so they can be handwritten together. How do we know which form a letter is supposed to take on in a word?

Connectors only

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When a word has only connector letters, the following rules apply:

  • The first letter is in the initial form.
  • The final letter is in the final form.
  • All other letters are in the middle form.

Example 1

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If you had to connect five letters of the letter ت (taa) together...
ت + ت + ت + ت + ت
...then the first letter would be in the initial form (i.e. تـ ), and the last letter would be in the final form (i.e. ـت). So:
تـ + ... + ـت
All other letters would be in the middle form (i.e. ـتـ ).
ت + ت + ت + ت + ت  ←  تـ ـتـ ـتـ ـتـ ـت  ←  تــتــتــتــت

Example 2

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How to write: ب + ه + م ?
بـ  ←  (baa initial form)  ←  ب
ـهـ  ←  (haa middle form)  ←  ه
ـم  ←  (meem final form)  ←  م
So the word becomes:
ب + ه + م  ←  بـ ـهـ ـم  ←  بـهـم
That is how it looks when all connected properly.

With non-connectors

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Non-connectors have only two forms: Connected and unconnected. It becomes connected if the previous letter is a connector. If the previous letter is a non-connector or if there is no previous letter, it remains unconnected. Non-connectors do not connect to subsequent letters and therefore create breaks in words.

In the next examples, an ampersand (&) will be used to show that one letter does not connect to the next one (where the breaks are) in the following example. The breaks always occur directly after the non-connector.

Example 1

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Write in Arabian script: b-b-b-r-b-b
ب + ب + ب + ر + ب + ب
First find out where the break is:
ب + ب + ب + ر & ب + ب
Do the first part (the part on the right of the ampersand "&"). We know that the first letter ب (baa) should be in the initial form. The last letter is a non-connector. Which form should it be in? Because the letter before it is a connector, this letter ر (raa) should be in connected form:
ب + ب + ب + ر  ←  بـ ـبـ ـبـ ـر  ←  بـبـبـر
This was only the first written part of the word. We have to do the part after the non-connector letter.
ب + ب  ←  بـ ـب  ←  بـب
Now, we have to have the parts side by side to make the word.
بـبـبـربـب
Although there is a break between the letter ر (raa) and the next letter when it is written by hand, when one word in Arabic is typed the space bar is never touched. The letters automatically get connected properly by the computer.

Example 2

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Now let's do an actual Arabic word. The following is an Arabic word meaning "he left [something]". It is pronounced ta-ra-ka:
ت + ر + ك
First find out where the breaks are:
ت + ر & ك
In the first part, we see that the first letter is a connector and is not the only letter, so we know automatically that it should be in initial form. We noticed that ر is a non-connector. The letter before it (i.e. ت ) is a connector, so ر should be written in connected form.
ت + ر  ←  تـ + ـر  ←  تر
The second part is just one letter so it should be written in single form, which it already has:
ك  ←  ك
Put them side by side:
ترك

With practice, you will be able to write better and better.

Row 4: ب ت ث ف

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All letters are named with the sound they make at the beginning of their names. The letters of row 4 are called baa, taa, tħaa, and faa. Now don't get confused, the first three do look similar, but are different letters because of the dots. The first letter up there has one dot underneath. The second one has two dots on top. The third has three dots snuggled up in a triangle shape. And the fourth letter has a different shape and only one dot. All of these letters have the same tail. They connect to letters after them, within a word. Remember, every letter has four forms.

Name Phonetic Alone Start Middle End Twice Three times Notes
Baa [b] ب بـ ـبـ ـب بب ببب Like the first sound in "boy"
Taa [‎t̪] ت تـ ـتـ ـت تت تتت Similar to the 't' sound in English; made with the tip of the tongue moved slightly forward; not aspirated
Tħaa [θ] ث ثـ ـثـ ـث ثث ثثث Like "th" in "think", not the one in "they"
Faa [f] ف فـ ـفـ ـف فف ففف Like 'f' in "feel" or 'ph' in the name "Phil"

Exercises

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Exercise 1

Write out the letters that the word is made up of. Write out the letters in lonely form.

Example: بـتـثـفـف= ب + ت + ث + ف + ف

  1. بـت=؟
  2. ثـبـت=؟
  3. بـبـت=؟
  4. بـفـث=؟
  5. ثـت=؟
  6. فـت=؟
  7. بـبـف=؟
  8. ثـث=؟
  9. تـتـتـف=؟
  10. فـتـفـبـفـب=؟
  11. فـفـف=؟
  12. تـفـت=؟
  13. بـب=؟
  14. فـتـف=؟
  15. ثـبـت=؟
Exercise 2

Put the letters together connecting each letters properly.

  1. ث + ب = ؟
  2. ت + ب = ؟
  3. ف + ب + ت=؟
  4. ب + ب + ف=؟
  5. ف + ب + ث + ف=؟
  6. ت + ب + ف + ث=؟
Exercise 3

A group of letters is shown connecting as they would in a word. Your job is to read the word from right-to-left (that is the way Arabic is written and read), and write the English transliteration letters (from left-to-right). Separate transliterated letters with dashes.

Note: Because you have not learned about writing vowels in Arabic, the transliteration only includes consonants. For example "b-t-t", this means that the word contains the consonants in the word in that order, the vowels are not indicated yet. Because the vowels aren't indicated the pseudo-word might be pronounced /ba-ta-ta/, /bi-ti-ti/, /bit-ti/, /bat-tu/, /bu-tat/, /bat-ta/ and so on.

Example: بـتـت /b-t-t/

  1. بـت
  2. ثـبـث
  3. بـبـت
  4. بـفـث
  5. ثـت
  6. فـت
  7. بـبـت
  8. ثـث
  9. تـتـتـف
  10. فـتـفـبـفـب
  11. فـفـف
  12. تـفـت
  13. بـب
  14. فـتـف
  15. ثـبـت
Exercise 4
Print out and trace the following letter combinations. Each of these is the initial, middle and final form of one letter.

                                   ببب ببب                                       ببب ببب   

 

                                   تتت تتت                                       تتت تتت   

 

                                   ﺛﺜﺚ ﺛﺜﺚ                                       ﺛﺜﺚ ﺛﺜﺚ   

 

Answers

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Exercise 1

The answer is on the far left after the equal sign. The part in the middle shows how they connect

  1. ب + ت => بـ + ـت = بت
  2. ث + ب + ت => ثـ + ـبـ + ـت = ثـبـت
  3. ب + ب + ت => بـ + ـبـ + ـت = بـبـت
  4. ب + ف + ث => بـ + ـفـ + ـث = بـفـث
  5. ث + ت => ثـ + ـت = ثـت
  6. ف + ت => فـ + ـت = فـت
  7. ب + ب + ف => بـ + ـبـ +ـف = بـبـف
  8. ث + ث => ثـ + ـث = ثـث
  9. ت + ت + ت + ف => تـ + ـتـ + ـتـ + ـف = تـتـتـف
  10. ف + ت + ف + ب + ف + ب => فـ + ـتـ + ـفـ + ـبـ + ـفـ + ـب = فـتـفـبـفـب
  11. ف + ف + ف => فـ + ـفـ + ـف = فـفـف
  12. ت + ف + ت => تـ + ـفـ + ـت = تـفـت
  13. ب + ب => بـ + ـب = بـب
  14. ف + ت + ف => فـ + ـتـ + ـف = فـتـف
  15. ث + ب + ت => ثـ + ـبـ + ـت = ثـبـتExercise 2
  16. ث + ب = ثـب
  17. ت + ب = تـب
  18. ف + ب + ت = فـبـت
  19. ب + ب + ف = بـبـف
  20. ف + ب + ث + ف = فـبـثـف
  21. ت + ب + ف + ث = تـبـفـث 
Exercise 2
  1. b-t= بـت
  2. θ-b-θ=ثـبـث
  3. b-b-t=بـبـت
  4. b-f-θ=بـفـث
  5. θ-t=ثـت
  6. f-t=فـت
  7. b-b-t=بـبـت
  8. θ-θ=ثـث
  9. t-t-t-f=تـتـتـف
  10. f-t-f-b-f-b=فـتـفـبـفـب
  11. f-f-f=فـفـف
  12. t-f-t=تـفـت
  13. b-b=بـب
  14. f-t-f=فـتـف
  15. θ-b-t=ثـبـت 

Rows 1 and 3: ه ك م ي

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The letters written above are called haa, kaff, mem, and yaa. The unique thing about ه (haa) is that in most styles of writing all its forms look different.

Name Phonetic Alone Start Middle End Twice Thrice Notes
Haa [h] ه هـ ـهـ ـه هه ههه Like the first sound in "hat"; never silent
Kaaf [k] ك كـ ـكـ ـك كك ككك Almost the same as the 'k' in "kill" or the 'c' in "cap".[1]
Mem [m] م مـ ـمـ ـم مم ممم Like the first sound in "mom".
Yaa [j] ي يـ ـيـ ـي يي ييي Not the normal English 'j' (as in 'jam'). It is like the 'j' in "fjord". In English this is usually written with the letter 'y'; [j] is the first sound in "you" and "yes".

Exercises

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Exercise 1

Instructions: Write the Arabic letter that represents the sound that the English word starts with. If an English word has a silent letter, that letter does not count. Think about the sound, not the English spelling when doing this exercise.

Example: think ث

  1. king
  2. hate
  3. father
  4. hamper
  5. mass
  6. mother
  7. yacht
  8. matter
  9. clan
  10. master
  11. Yemen
  12. coat
  13. match
  14. foremost
  15. boot
  16. first
  17. taste
  18. cave
  19. banner
  20. third
  21. mom
  22. track
  23. cast
  24. thistle
  25. main
  26. fate
  27. base
  28. yes
  29. captain
Exercise 2

Write out the letters that the word is made up of. Write out the letters in lonely form. Example: هكمي = ه + ك + م + ي

  1. كم=؟
  2. بثـكه=؟
  3. ثـفهمف=؟
  4. فهم=؟
  5. فم=؟
  6. كميم=؟
  7. كف=؟
  8. هيثم=؟
  9. كهم=؟
  10. كيثـتميي=؟
  11. كيمي=؟
  12. كفف=؟
  13. يكم=؟
  14. يـم=؟
  15. هههههه=؟
Exercise 3

Put the letters together, connecting each letters properly.

  1. ك + ي + م + ث =؟
  2. ت + ه + م + ي + ب = ؟
  3. ف + م=؟
  4. ب + م + ي + م + ي + ه + م + ب + ف + ه=؟
  5. ه +ه +ه+ م + ك + ك=؟
  6. ك + م=؟
  7. ب +ك +م +ي +ف =؟
  8. ه + ي + ه =؟
  9. ب + ك + ي + ك + ه + ي + ي =؟
  10. ت + ه + م=؟
  11. ب + ه + ف + ه =؟
  12. ب + م + ي + م + ه + ي + ب =؟
  13. ب +م +ث +ه=؟

Answers

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Exercise 1
  1. king-ك
  2. hate-ه
  3. father-ف
  4. hamper-ه
  5. mass-م
  6. mother-م
  7. yacht-ي
  8. matter-م
  9. clan-ك
  10. master-م
  11. Yemen-ي
  12. coat-ك
  13. match-م
  14. foremost-ف
  15. boot-ب
  16. first-ف
  17. taste-ت
  18. cave-ك
  19. banner-ب
  20. third-ث
  21. mom-م
  22. track-ت
  23. cast-ك
  24. thistle-ث
  25. main-م
  26. fate-ف
  27. base-ب
  28. yes-ي
  29. captain-ك
Exercise 2
  1. كم= ك + م
  2. بثـكه = ب + ث + ك + ه
  3. ثـفـهـمـف = ث + ف + ه + م + ف
  4. فهم = ف + ه + م
  5. فم = ف + م
  6. كميم = ك + م + ي + م
  7. كف = ك + ف
  8. هيثم = ه + ي + ث + م
  9. كهم = ك + ه + م
  10. كيثـتميي = ك + ي + ث + ت + م + ي + ي
  11. كيمي = ك + ي + م + ي
  12. كفف = ك + ف + ف
  13. يكم = ي + ك + م
  14. يـم = ي + م
  15. هههههه= ه + ه + ه + ه + ه + ه  Exercise 3
  16. ك + ي + م + ث =كـيـمـث
  17. ت + ه + م + ي + ب = تـهـمـيـب
  18. ف + م=فـم
  19. ب + م + ي + م + ي + ه + م + ب + ف + ه = بـمـيـمـيـهـمـبـفـه
  20. ه +ه +ه+ م + ك + ك=هـهـهـمـكـك
  21. ك + م = كـم
  22. ب + ك + م + ي + ف = بـكـمـيـف
  23. ه + ي + ه = هـيـه
  24. ب + ك + ي + ك + ه + ي + ي = بـكـيـكـهـيـي
  25. ت + ه + م= تـهـم
  26. ب + ه + ف + ه = بـهـفـه
  27. ب + م + ي + م + ه + ي + ب = بـمـيـمـهـيـب
  28. ب +م +ث +ه = بـمـثـه

Row 2: ط ظ

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These letters are often called emphatic. This means that the sound is both pharyngealized and partly velarized. The very back of the tongue is pushed against the back of the throat. In layman's terms, think of pronouncing the sound while simultaneously choking yourself. Phonetically, we write this by adding ˁ right after the sound.

Name Phonetic Start Middle End Twice Three times Notes
Tžaa [t̪ˁ] طـ ـطـ ـط طط ططط like the 't', only emphatic.
Dhžaa [ðˁ] ظـ ـظـ ـظ ظظ ظظظ like the 'th' in "either", only emphatic.

Exercises

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Answers

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Row 7: س ش ص ض ق ل ن

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Name Phonetic Alone Start Middle End Twice Three times Notes
Sen [s] س سـ ـسـ ـس سس سسس As in "see". Never pronounce it like a [z] as in zebra.
Sħen [ʃ] ش شـ ـشـ ـش شش ششش As in "she". It is often spelled "sh" in English, but has several other spellings too.
Sžaad [sˁ] ص صـ ـصـ ـص صص صصص Refer to the description of emphatic sounds in Row 2.
Džaad [d̪ˁ][2] ض ضـ ـضـ ـض ضض ضضض It is the same as د, only emphatic.
Qaaf [q] ق قـ ـقـ ـق قق ققق Another non-English sound. It is similar to [k], but it is pronounced farther back in the mouth, almost touching the very back.
Laam [l] ل لـ ـلـ ـل لل للل as in "lip". It might actually be [l̪], in which case it would be pronounced farther forward that the English version, with the tip of the tongue on the back of the teeth.
Non [n] ن نـ ـنـ ـن نن ننن As in "now".

Exercises

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Exercise 1

Write out the letters that the word is made up of. Write out the letters in lonely form.

Example: بـت=؟

  1. هش=؟
  2. مراكش=؟

Answers

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Exercise 1

Answers are on the left side of the equal sign.

  1. هش = ﻩ + ﺶ
  2. مراكش = م + ر + ا + ك + ش 

Row 5: ج ح خ ع غ

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These letters have the hook tail that looks like an L. Remember that tails only show up in the end and the lonely form of the letter.

Name Phonetic Alone Start Middle End Twice Three times Notes
Jem [d͡ʒ][3] ج جـ ـجـ ـج جج ججج Usually written as "j" as in "Juliet". With a good Arabic accent it sounds slightly different than the English version of this sound.
Hžaa [ħ] ح حـ ـحـ ـح حح ححح People who are new to Arabic often confuse it with [h], the sound that the letter ه (haa) makes. Although they sound similar, they are different. ح (Hžaa) is pronounced further up in the throat. To produce this sound, leave your mouth open and constrict your throat a bit. Then breathe out. It will sound something like the noise Darth Vader makes when he breathes. All Arabs pronounce this properly; mispronouncing this letter will make your Arabic very difficult to understand. Never pronounce it the same as خ (kħaa). Some beginners make this mistake.
Kħaa [x] خ خـ ـخـ ـخ خخ خخخ Many languages have this sound. German has it in the "ch" in "Bach", Russian has it in the "ch" of Rachmaninoff, and Scottish English has it in the "ch" of "loch." It is similar to the sound people make when preparing to spit.
Rħayn [ʕ] ع عـ ـعـ ـع عع ععع Non-Arabs confuse it with ء (hamza), the glottal stop. Rħayn is the voiced version of ح (Hžaa). It is often referred to as the "choking sound", it sounds like an odd sort of growl. Mispronouncing this sound will make you incomprehensible in Arabic.
Gayn [ɣ] غ غـ ـغـ ـغ غغ غغغ It is the voiced version of خ (khaa). It is similar to the sound everyone makes when they gargle water. In Arabic, the tongue is somewhere between the location [k] (ك) and [q] (ق).

Exercises

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Answers

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Row 6: ا د ذ ر ز و

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All these letters are non-connectors and therefore have only two forms: connected and non-connected.

Name Phonetic Unconnected Connected Twice Three times Notes
Alif n/a ا ـا اا ااا The first use is that whenever a word begins with a vowel it begins with an alif. The second use of it is the long "aa" sound as in "bat". The second use of it occurs when the alif is plain and does not begin a word. The third use is indicating the glottal stop, but this usually requires a diacritic.
Daal [d̪] د ـد دد ددد In the same way as the ت in row 4, this is very similar to the English 'd' with some minor differences.
Dħaal [ð] ذ ـذ ذذ ذذذ In English, this is like "th" in "weather", not the one in "think".
Raa [r] ر ـر رر ررر This sound does not exist in standard English, but it is used sometimes in 'proper' British English. It is the same as the 'r' in Italian or Latin. It is not the same "r" sound as in standard English, but one can still be understood pronouncing it as such.
Zay [z] ز ـز زز ززز Like the first sound in "zap".
Waaw [w] و ـو وو ووو Like the first sound in "week".

Exercises

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Exercise 1

Write the Arabic letter that represents the first sound in the English word:

  1. this-
  2. zap-
  3. damn-
  4. think-
  5. daisy-
  6. boot-
  7. family-
  8. handsome-
  9. case-
  10. basic-
  11. therefore-
  12. wait-
  13. weight-
  14. doctor-
  15. Robert-
  16. ram-
  17. basic-
  18. yawn-
  19. doctor-
  20. thoughtful-
  21. there-
  22. maybe-
  23. might-
  24. castle-
  25. deaf-
  26. king-
  27. destruction-
  28. camp-
  29. them-
  30. him-
  31. yes-
  32. mouth-
  33. rabbit-
  34. zipper-
  35. fourth-
  36. dad-
  37. demonstration-
  38. third-
  39. three-
  40. table-
  41. zero-
  42. master-
  43. distance-
  44. apple-
  45. information-
  46. earth
  47. upset-
  48. darling-
  49. under-
  50. zebra-
  51. eat-
Exercise 2

Write the Arabic letter that represents the last sound in the English word:

  1. printer-
  2. fake-
  3. numb-
  4. bath-
  5. maybe-
  6. say-
  7. jumper-
  8. denominator-
  9. rake-
  10. bathe (they bathe in the pool)-
  11. murder-
  12. bite-
  13. jade-
  14. Jake-
  15. hay-
  16. breath-
  17. breathe (they breathe)-
  18. expand-
  19. ate-
  20. calculate-
  21. number-
  22. eight-
  23. fate-
  24. gulf-
  25. golf-
  26. bay-
  27. sore-
  28. compute-
  29. amaze-
  30. mouth-
  31. rye-
  32. lay-
  33. more-
  34. random-
  35. band-
  36. zoom-
  37. Dubai-
  38. back-
  39. wolf-
  40. soothe-
  41. maze-
  42. yolk-
  43. rate-
  44. math-
  45. folklore-
Exercise 3

A group of letters is shown connecting as they would in a word. Your job is to read the word from right to left (that is the way Arabic is written and read), and write the English transliteration letters (from left to right). Separate transliterated letters with dashes.

Note: Because you have not learned about writing vowels in Arabic, the transliteration only includes consonants. For example, "b-t-t": this means that the word contains the consonants in the word in that order, while the vowels are not indicated yet. Because the vowels aren't indicated the pseudo-word might be pronounced /ba-ta-ta/, /bi-ti-ti/, /bit-ti/, /bat-tu/, /bu-tat/, /bat-ta/ and so on.

We learnt previously that the letter ب (baa) makes the "b" sound, its name is "baa". So بتت b-t-t can be spelt out (baa, taa, taa) but the pronunciation of the word is not the same as how it is spelt. Once you learn about writing vowels, you will be able to read words with vowels.

Examples: بـتـت /b-t-t/

بـثـبـتـف /b-θ-b-t-f/

  1. بـت
  2. دذر
  3. رذد
  4. وث
  5. رث
  6. ثذ
  7. تر
  8. وث
  9. رثو
  10. تدذ
  11. ذدبت
  12. بتي
  13. ثثث
  14. بووو
  15. برررريي
  16. يووو
  17. رذدرردذردتذدثـتبدذ
  18. ردذ
  19. رد
  20. ذد
  21. رث
  22. روث
  23. تيث
  24. ثرد
  25. رب
  26. رذي
  27. ييذ
  28. رر
  29. وو
  30. بب
  31. ذذ
  32. دد
  33. يي
  34. روي
  35. ذدر
  36. دود
  37. وذد
  38. دذر
  39. ردد
  40. ردذ
  41. وود
  42. ود
  43. كرردذودذ
Exercise 4

Write out the letters that the word is made up of. Write out the letters in lonely form.

Example: بـت=؟

  1. هكمي=؟
  2. ردذ=؟
  3. رثمرو=؟
  4. ميو=؟
  5. يثـتب=؟
  6. يثمب=؟
  7. يـيث=؟
  8. هك=؟
  9. ومز=؟
  10. ذرع=؟
  11. ذهك=؟
  12. كه=؟
  13. روكه=؟
  14. كروده=؟
  15. كير=؟
  16. كرد=؟
  17. دت=؟
  18. ذوت=؟
  19. ذيت=؟
  20. رور=؟
  21. دير=؟
  22. دوير=؟
  23. ذث=؟
  24. تذب=؟
  25. ذبتـثوي=؟
  26. ييتـب=؟
  27. ييثر=؟
  28. زذي=؟
  29. يرو=؟
  30. وريرر=؟
  31. روبرت=؟
  32. روي=؟
  33. تبتـثـي=؟
  34. توتـتر=؟
  35. زور=؟
  36. وي=؟
  37. يـيـوت=؟
  38. بـيت=؟
  39. يوت=؟
  40. بيوت=؟
  41. ريت=؟
  42. زيت=؟
  43. ويت=؟
  44. زيت=؟
  45. زيوت=؟
  46. موت=؟
  47. موووت=؟
  48. مرت=؟
  49. ميت=؟
  50. مث=؟
  51. ميث=؟
  52. ريت=؟
  53. ريوت=؟
  54. كيت=؟
  55. كيوت=؟
  56. ثثث=؟
  57. ببب=؟
  58. كتت=؟
  59. مت=؟
  60. بت=؟

Answers

edit
Exercise 1
  1. this-ذ
  2. zap-ز
  3. damn-د
  4. think-ث
  5. daisy-د
  6. boot-ب
  7. family-ف
  8. handsome-ه
  9. case-ك
  10. basic-ب
  11. therefore-ذ
  12. wait-و
  13. weight-و
  14. doctor-د
  15. Robert-ر
  16. ram-ر
  17. basic-ب
  18. yawn-ي
  19. doctor-د
  20. thoughtful-ث
  21. there-ذ
  22. maybe-م
  23. might-م
  24. castle-ك
  25. deaf-د
  26. king-ك
  27. destruction-د
  28. camp-ك
  29. them-ذ
  30. him-ه
  31. yes-ي
  32. mouth-م
  33. rabbit-ر
  34. zipper-ز
  35. fourth-ف
  36. dad-د
  37. demonstration-د
  38. third-ث
  39. three-ث
  40. table-ت
  41. zero-ز
  42. master-م
  43. distance-د
  44. apple-ا
  45. information-ا
  46. earthا
  47. upset-ا
  48. darling-د
  49. under-ا
  50. zebra-ز
  51. eat-ا

Note that any word written with a vowel sound is written beginning with an alif in Arabic.

Exercise 2
  1. printer-ر
  2. fake-ك
  3. numb-م
  4. bath-ث
  5. maybe-ي
  6. say-ي
  7. jumper-ر
  8. denominator-ر
  9. rake-ك
  10. bathe (they bathe in the pool)-ذ
  11. murder-ر
  12. bite-ت
  13. jade-د
  14. Jake-ك
  15. hay-ي
  16. breath-ث
  17. breathe (they breathe)-ذ
  18. expand-د
  19. ate-ت
  20. calculate-ت
  21. number-ر
  22. eight-ت
  23. fate-ت
  24. gulf-ف
  25. golf-ف
  26. bay-ي
  27. sore-ر
  28. compute-ت
  29. amaze-ز
  30. mouth-ث
  31. rye-ي
  32. lay-ي
  33. more-ر
  34. random-م
  35. band-د
  36. zoom-م
  37. Dubai-ي
  38. back-ك
  39. wolf-ف
  40. soothe-ذ
  41. maze-ز
  42. yolk-ك
  43. rate-ت
  44. math-ث
  45. folklore-ر
Exercise 3
  1. d-dh-r دذر
  2. r-dh-d رذد
  3. w-th وث
  4. r-th رث
  5. th-dh ثذ
  6. t-r تر
  7. w-th وث
  8. r-th-w رثو
  9. t-d-dh تدذ
  10. dh-d-b-t ذدبت
  11. b-t-y بتي
  12. th-th-th ثثث
  13. b-w-w-w بووو
  14. b-r-r-r-r-y-y برررريي
  15. y-w-w-w يووو
  16. r-dh-d-r-r-d-dh-r-d-t-dh-d-th-t-b-d-dh رذدرردذردتذدثـتبدذ
  17. r-d-dh ردذ
  18. r-d رد
  19. dh-d ذد
  20. r-th رث
  21. r-w-th روث
  22. t-y-th تيث
  23. th-r-d ثرد
  24. r-b رب
  25. r-dh-y رذي
  26. y-y-dh ييذ
  27. r-r رر
  28. w-w وو
  29. b-b بب
  30. dh-dh ذذ
  31. d-d دد
  32. y-y يي
  33. r-w-y روي
  34. dh-d-r ذدر
  35. d-w-d دود
  36. w-dh-d وذد
  37. d-dh-r دذر
  38. r-d-d ردد
  39. r-d-dh ردذ
  40. w-w-d وود
  41. w-d ود
  42. k-r-r-d-dh-w-d-dh كرردذودذ
Exercise 4

Answers are on the left side of the equal sign.

  1. هكمي=ه + ك + م + ي
  2. ردذ=ر + د + ذ
  3. رثمرو=ر + ث + م + ر + و
  4. ميو=م + ي + و
  5. يثـتب = ي + ث + ت + ب
  6. يثمب=ي + ث + م + ب
  7. يـيث=ي + ي + ث
  8. هك=ه + ك
  9. ومز=و + م + ز
  10. ذرع=ذ + ر + ع
  11. ذهك=ذ + ه + ك
  12. كه= ك + ه
  13. روكه=ر + و + ك + ه
  14. كروده= ك + ر + و + د + ه
  15. كير= ك + ي + ر
  16. كرد= ك + ر + د
  17. دت= د + ت
  18. ذوت= ذ + و + ت
  19. ذيت=ذ + ي + ت
  20. رور=ر + و + ر
  21. دير=د + ي + ر
  22. دوير=د + و + ي + ر
  23. ذث=ذ + ث
  24. تذب=ت + ذ + ب
  25. ذبتـثوي=ذ + ب + ت + ث + و + ي
  26. ييتـب=ي + ي + ت + ب
  27. ييثر=ي + ي + ث + ر
  28. زذي=ز + ذ + ي
  29. يرو=ي + ر + و
  30. وريرر=و + ر + ي + ر + ر
  31. روبرت=ر + و + ب + ر + ت
  32. روي=ر + و + ي
  33. تبتـثـي=ت + ب + ت + ث + ي
  34. توتـتر= ت + و + ت + ت + ر
  35. زور=ز + و + ر
  36. وي=و + ي
  37. يـيـوت= ي + ي + و + ت
  38. بـيت= ب + ي + ت
  39. يوت=ي + و + ت
  40. بيوت=ب + ي + و + ت
  41. ريت=ر + ي + ت
  42. زيت=ز + ي + ت
  43. ويت=و + ي + ت
  44. زيت=ز + ي + ت
  45. زيوت=ز + ي + و + ت
  46. موت=م + و + ت
  47. موووت=م + و + و + و + ت
  48. مرت=م + ر + ت
  49. ميت=م + ي + ت
  50. مث=م + ث
  51. ميث=م + ي + ث
  52. ريت=ر + ي + ت
  53. ريوت=ر + ي + و + ت
  54. كيت= ك + ي + ت
  55. كيوت=ك + ي + و + ت
  56. ثـثـث=ث + ث + ث
  57. ببب=ب + ب + ب
  58. كتت= ك + ت + ت
  59. مت=م + ت
  60. بت=ب + ت

Notes

edit
  1. ↑ The only difference is that it is not aspirated. Normal English speakers can't tell the difference and it's unlikely Arabic speakers can either
  2. ↑ Often pronounced as a [zˁ] in non-standard dialects
  3. ↑ In some dialects this is pronounced as [ɡ] as in "good".
  Romanisation System Arabic
The Alphabet 		Vowels  
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