Learn all 28 Arabic letters — click any letter to hear it, then write or spell!
This page teaches the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet in four modes. Letters shows each letter with its name, an English sound guide and a button to hear it. Write lets a child trace a faint guide letter with a finger or mouse. Draw is free drawing in colour, which makes letter shapes less intimidating. Spell builds short words by choosing letters in the right order. It suits complete beginners, with or without an Arabic-speaking adult nearby. The English sound guides are approximations, so use the audio and, when you can, a fluent speaker to check the sounds that have no English equivalent.
Repeat the same letters over several days before adding new ones. Short, regular sessions are easier to keep up than one long weekly session.
Many letters share one base shape and differ only by their dots, so learning them in families means fewer shapes to remember.
| Family | Letters | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|---|
| Alef | ا | A single vertical stroke with no dots. |
| Ba | ب ت ث | One dot below, two dots above, three dots above. |
| Jeem | ج ح خ | One dot inside, no dot, one dot above. |
| Dal | د ذ | No dot, or one dot above. |
| Ra | ر ز | No dot, or one dot above. |
| Seen | س ش | No dots, or three dots above. |
| Sad | ص ض | No dot, or one dot above. |
| Tah | ط ظ | No dot, or one dot above. |
| Ain | ع غ | No dot, or one dot above. |
| Fa and Qaf | ف ق | One dot above, or two dots above. |
| Noon and Ya | ن ي | Look like Ba when joined to a following letter. Noon has one dot above; Ya has two dots below. |
| Single shapes | ك ل م ه و | Each has its own shape. |
Six letters, ا د ذ ر ز و, connect to the letter before them but never to the one after. A word therefore has a small gap after each of them. Children who find this out early stop thinking their writing is broken when the gaps appear.
There are 28. They are written as consonants, and three of them (ا و ي) also stand for long vowels. Short vowels appear as small marks (harakat) above or below the letters.
Yes. Lines run from right to left and books open from the right, the opposite of English.
Most letters have up to four forms: isolated, initial, medial and final. Letters usually join to the next one, as in cursive, so the shape depends on position in the word.
Usually ع, غ, ح, خ and ق, because their sounds do not exist in English. Plenty of listening and repeating helps.
Alphabetical order is traditional. Many teachers instead group letters by shape family, such as ب ت ث, so that children compare similar shapes side by side.
Teach both together: the name, the sound, and the shape. Names help children talk about letters, while sounds help them read and spell.
Arabic uses dots to tell apart letters that share a base shape. Teaching the dots as part of the letter, and adding them last when writing, prevents many errors.
Reduce the amount: two or three letters per session, practised over several days. Move between listening, tracing and drawing, and keep sessions short and positive.