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Palestinian Arabic
Letters & Pronunciation Guide

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
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