Arabic alphabet: 28 letters, connected forms and practice

Updated: September 9, 2026

Arabic is read from right to left. The 28 basic letters change appearance according to their neighbours; a letter in the middle of a word is not necessarily connected on both sides. Use the two tables together: one shows joining, the other gives a word and an approximate reading.

All 28 letters and their shapes

The short extension ـ marks a connection, not an extra letter to type. For ا د ذ ر ز و, the initial shape equals the isolated shape and the medial shape equals the final shape: these six do not join the following letter. The table is ordered alphabetically from top to bottom.

Arabic letter forms — 28 rows
LetterNameIsolatedInitialMedialFinal
اAlifااـاـا
بBāʾببــبــب
تTāʾتتــتــت
ثThāʾثثــثــث
جJīmججــجــج
حḤāʾححــحــح
خKhāʾخخــخــخ
دDālددـدـد
ذDhālذذـذـذ
رRāʾررـرـر
زZāyززـزـز
سSīnسســســس
شShīnششــشــش
صṢādصصــصــص
ضḌādضضــضــض
طṬāʾططــطــط
ظẒāʾظظــظــظ
عʿAynععــعــع
غGhaynغغــغــغ
فFāʾففــفــف
قQāfققــقــق
كKāfككــكــك
لLāmللــلــل
مMīmممــمــم
نNūnننــنــن
هHāʾههــهــه
وWāwووـوـو
يYāʾييــيــي

A word for every letter

Transliteration is a reading aid, not an exact English spelling. ā, ī and ū mark long vowels; ʾ represents hamza and ʿ represents ع. Pronunciation varies by dialect. The examples use basic Modern Standard Arabic readings without grammatical case endings. Alif is illustrated inside بَاب because bare ا does not supply an initial consonant.

Letter / soundWordReadingMeaning
ا · āبَابbābdoor
ب · bبَيْتbaythouse
ت · tتَمْرtamrdates
ث · th / θثَوْبthawbgarment
ج · j / dʒجَمَلjamalcamel
ح · ḥ / ħحَبْلḥablrope
خ · kh / xخُبْزkhubzbread
د · dدَرْسdarslesson
ذ · dh / ðذَهَبdhahabgold
ر · rرَأْسraʾshead
ز · zزَيْتzaytoil
س · sسَمَكsamakfish
ش · sh / ʃشَمْسshamssun
ص · ṣ / sˤصَوْتṣawtsound
ض · ḍ / dˤضَوْءḍawʾlight
ط · ṭ / tˤطِينṭīnclay
ظ · ẓ / ðˤظِلّẓillshade
ع · ʿ / ʕعَيْنʿayneye
غ · gh / ɣغَيْمghaymclouds
ف · fفَمfammouth
ق · qقَلَمqalampen
ك · kكِتَابkitābbook
ل · lلَيْلlaylnight
م · mمَاءmāʾwater
ن · nنُورnūrlight
ه · hهِلَالhilālcrescent
و · w / ūوَرْدwardroses
ي · y / īيَدyadhand

Read the connections: بيت and ورد

In بَيْت, ب joins ي and ي joins ت, producing one connected group. In وَرْد, و and ر cannot join the following letter, so the visible breaks are correct. Do not insert spaces to reproduce these breaks: type و, then ر, then د. Compare باب: ب joins ا, but ا cannot join the final ب.

Letters that are easy to confuse

Compare ب ت ث by counting and locating their dots. Compare ج ح خ by keeping the same body and changing the dot. س and ش differ by three dots; ص and ض by one. The sounds ح and ه are different even though both are sometimes written “h” in informal Latin typing. Hamza ء, tāʾ marbūṭa ة, alif maqṣūra ى and lām-alif لا need separate practice; لا combines two letters, ل and ا.

Short vowels and long vowels

Read بَ as ba, بِ as bi and بُ as bu. Compare بَا bā, بِي bī and بُو bū: the extra vowel letter lengthens the sound. Sukūn in بْ means no following short vowel; shadda in بّ doubles the consonant. Everyday texts often omit vowel marks, so context matters. A table alone cannot teach every Arabic sound; practise with a teacher or a reliable recording.

Try three exercises

Which letter has two dots above: ب ت ث?

ت. ب has one dot below; ث has three above.

Join ب + ي + ت. Should there be spaces?

بيت. Type the three letters without spaces. The browser shapes them automatically.

Why does ورد have visible breaks?

و and ر do not connect to the letter after them. The breaks do not require spaces.

Practise typing

Copy بيت, باب and ورد into the Arabic keyboard. Type each again from memory, then compare letters and spaces. Start with accuracy before speed.