Continuing the Alphabet (استمرا رة ا لأبجدية)
| Name | Alone | End | Middle | Beginning | Transcrpt. | Sounds Like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| daal | د | د- | Xد- | X د | d | "d" as in "dog" |
| dhaal | ذ | ذ- | Xذ- | X ذ | dh | hard "th" as in "them" or "they" |
| raa | ر | ر- | Xر- | X ر | r | trilled/flap "r" as in Spanish "perro" but only half as long |
| zaay | ز | ز- | Xز- | X | z | "z" as in "zebra" |
| siin | س | س- | -س | -س | s | "s" as in "soft" |
| shiin | ش | ش- | -ش- | -ش | sh | "sh" as in "shelf" |
| Saad*^ | ص | ص- | -ص- | -ص | S | "sa" as in "salt" |
| Daad*^ | ض | ض- | -ض- | -ض | D | "do" as in "doll" |
| Taa*^ | ط | ط- | -ط- | -ط | T | "t" as in "tall" |
| DHaa*^ | ظ | ظ- | -ظ- | -ظ | DH | there is no clear English equivalent instead, use "thall" as a nonsense word example, where "th" is pronounced like the "th" in "them" |
* Indicates that these are consonants that Arabic has that English does not have ^ Indicates Velarization:
Note the difference in pronunciation between the "L" in the word "left" and the "L" in the word "ball". Whereas articulation for the first one occurs with the tip of the tongue right behind the front teeth and the back of the tongue high, the latter occurs with the tip of the tongue right behind the front teeth, but with the back of the tongue lowered. This is called VELARIZATION and each of the 4 consonants above has this quality.
In order to pronounce each of these consonants, attempt to do a similar comparison:
Pronounce the letter "s" as normal, then try again while lowering the back of the tongue. Try adding the vowel "a" as in "all" after it. Do the same with the "d", the "t" and the hard "th" sounds to develop your pronunciation of Saad, Daad, Taa, and DHaa respectively.
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Related Links: Arabic Salutations(مرحبا) Alphabet in Arabic |