Note: The tables on this page should be read from right to left to reflect the flow of the Arabic script. ​
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Arabic Letters and Their Different Forms

The Arabic alphabet is written from right to left in a cursive style. It has 28 letters, each can be written in several different ways according to its position in a word. The letters are:

Symbol	IPA	Name	Arabic Name	Forms according to position
				Final	Medial	Initial	Independent
a/ā/i	/a/, /aː/, /ɪ/	alif	ألف	ـا	ـا	ا	ا
b	/b/	bā’	باء	ـب	ـبـ	بـ	ب
t	/t/	tā’	تاء	ـت	ـتـ	تـ	ت
ṯ	/θ/	thā’	ثاء	ـث	ـثـ	ثـ	ث
j	/d͡ʒ/	jīm	جيم	ـج	ـجـ	جـ	ج
ḥ	/ħ/	ḥā’	حاء	ـح	ـحـ	حـ	ح
kh	/x/	khā’	خاء	ـخ	ـخـ	خـ	خ
d	/d/	dāl	دال	ـد	ـد	د	د
ḏ	/ð/	dhāl	ذال	ـذ	ـذ	ذ	ذ
r	/r/	rā’	راء	ـر	ـر	ر	ر
z	/z/	zayn/zāy	زاي	ـز	ـز	ز	ز
s	/s/	sīn	سين	ـس	ـسـ	سـ	س
š	/ʃ/	shīn	شين	ـش	ـشـ	شـ	ش
ṣ	/sˤ/	ṣād	صاد	ـص	ـصـ	صـ	ص
ḍ	/dˤ/	ḍād	ضاد	ـض	ـضـ	ضـ	ض
ṭ	/tˤ/	ṭā’	طاء	ـط	ـطـ	طـ	ط
ẓ	/ðˤ/	ẓā’	ظاء	ـظ	ـظـ	ظـ	ظ
ᶜ	/ʕ/	‘ayn	عين	ـع	ـعـ	عـ	ع
gh	/ɣ/	ghayn	غين	ـغ	ـغـ	غـ	غ
f	/f/	fā’	فاء	ـف	ـفـ	فـ	ف
q	/q/	qāf	قاف	ـق	ـقـ	قـ	ق
k	/k/	kāf	كاف	ـك	ـكـ	كـ	ك
l	/l/	lām	لام	ـل	ـلـ	لـ	ل
m	/m/	mīm	ميم	ـم	ـمـ	مـ	م
n	/n/	nūn	نون	ـن	ـنـ	نـ	ن
h	/h/	hā’	هاء	ـه	ـهـ	هـ	ه
w/ō/ū	/w/,/oː/,/uː/	wāw	واو	ـو	ـو	و	و
y/ē/ī	/j/,/eː/,/iː/	yā’	ياء	ـي	ـيـ	يـ	ي

​In addition to the above, Arabic also has modified letters, which are not considered full letters but only variants of the letters ت, ا and ي. They are as follow:

Symbol	IPA	Name	Arabic Name	Forms according to position
				Final	Medial	Initial	Independent
ā	/ʔaː/	alif maddah	ألف مدة	ـآ	ـآ	آ	آ
n/a	/a/,/at/	tā’ marbūṭah	تاء مربوطة	ـة	-	-	ة
ā / ỳ	/aː/	alif maqṣūrah	ألف مقصورة	ـى	-	-	ى

Note: the letters ة and ى are only used at the end of a word, never in the beginning or in the middle.

The Diacritic ء (Hamzah)
Hamzah is used to denote the glottal stop [ʔ] and can be written alone as ء or with a carrier: أ, إ (above or under an alif), ؤ (above a wāw), ئ (above a dotless yā’ or yā’ hamzah). 
​

Guide to Pronunciation

Pronunciation	Symbol	IPA	Letter
In its original form, i.e. without diacritics (ا): · initially: a as in far, or i as in it, or sometimes silent in the definite article ال (a)l- · medially or finally: ā as in aah (an exclamation expressing delight or joy) With hamzah over (أ): · initially: 'a as in the subject pronoun I, or 'u as in ooh (an exclamation of surprise or pain) · medially or finally: 'a or a' With hamzah under (إ): · initially: 'i as in it · doesn't appear medially or finally With maddah (آ): ʾā as in aah	a/ā/i	/a/,/aː/,/ɪ/	ا
As in book	b	/b/	ب
As in tip	t	/t/	ت
In classical Arabic and MSA, pronounced as in thing. In urban speech, this sound is usually replaced by a -t.	ṯ	/θ/	ث
In rural speech, like in classical Arabic and MSA, pronounced as in jump. In urban speech, pronounced like the French j.	j	/d͡ʒ/	ج
A dry hissing sound produced by expelling the air while tightening the muscle of the throat.	ḥ	/ħ/	ح
Like the ch in German nach.	kh	/x/	خ
As in door	d	/d/	د
In classical Arabic and MSA, pronounced as in they. In urban speech, this sound is usually replaced by a -d or a -z.	ḏ	/ð/	ذ
Rolled, as in Italian Roma	r	/r/	ر
As in zoo	z	/z/	ز
As in sun	s	/s/	س
As in shut	š	/ʃ/	ش
Strong, emphatic s	ṣ	/sˤ/	ص
Strong, emphatic d	ḍ	/dˤ/	ض
Strong, emphatic t	ṭ	/tˤ/	ط
Strong, emphatic z	ẓ	/ðˤ/	ظ
A guttural sound produced from the bottom of the throat.	ᶜ	/ʕ/	ع
Like French r, or the sound produced when starting to gargle.	gh	/ɣ/	غ
As in fit	f	/f/	ف
In classical Arabic and MSA, pronounced from further back of throat than k. In urban speech, usually pronounced as a glottal stop. In rural speech, pronounced as k. In Bedouin community, pronounced as g in gun.	q	/q/	ق
As in kid	k	/k/	ك
As in lip	l	/l/	ل
As in man	m	/m/	م
As in null	n	/n/	ن
As in hut	h	/h/	ه
Independently, it is pronounced as in win. When it follows an a sounding consonant, it is generally pronounced as a long o (ō). When it follows an u sounding consonant, it is pronounced as a long u (ū).	w/ō/ū	/w/,/oː/,/uː/	و
Independently, it is pronounced as in yet. When it follows an a sounding consonant, it is generally pronounced as a long e (ē). When it follows an i sounding consonant, it is pronounced as a long i (ī).	y/ē/ī	/j/,/eː/,/iː/	ي
Modified Letters and Hamzah
As in aah	ā	/ʔaː/	آ
Depending on the preceding letter, can be pronounced as -ah or -eh.	a / e	/a/,/e/	ة
As in aah	ā	/aː/	ى
Glottal stop, as in the middle of the interjection uh-oh.	'	/ʔ/	ء