How it works
Pick a letter
Tap any letter on the board to see it big, with its name, its forms and a word that starts with it.
Listen
The Listen button says the letter’s name and the word, if your device has an Arabic voice.
Quiz
Ten questions: which letter starts the word, find the letter, and which letter a form belongs to.
The Arabic alphabet in order, with its forms
How each letter looks at the start, middle and end of a word, with an example word.
| Letter | Name | Start | Middle | End | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ا | Alif (ألف) | ا | ـا | ـا | أرنب 🐇 (rabbit) |
| ب | Baa (باء) | بـ | ـبـ | ـب | بطة 🦆 (duck) |
| ت | Taa (تاء) | تـ | ـتـ | ـت | تفاحة 🍎 (apple) |
| ث | Thaa (ثاء) | ثـ | ـثـ | ـث | ثعلب 🦊 (fox) |
| ج | Jeem (جيم) | جـ | ـجـ | ـج | جمل 🐫 (camel) |
| ح | Ḥaa (حاء) | حـ | ـحـ | ـح | حصان 🐎 (horse) |
| خ | Khaa (خاء) | خـ | ـخـ | ـخ | خروف 🐑 (sheep) |
| د | Daal (دال) | د | ـد | ـد | دب 🐻 (bear) |
| ذ | Dhaal (ذال) | ذ | ـذ | ـذ | ذرة 🌽 (corn) |
| ر | Raa (راء) | ر | ـر | ـر | ريشة 🪶 (feather) |
| ز | Zaay (زاي) | ز | ـز | ـز | زرافة 🦒 (giraffe) |
| س | Seen (سين) | سـ | ـسـ | ـس | سمكة 🐟 (fish) |
| ش | Sheen (شين) | شـ | ـشـ | ـش | شمس ☀️ (sun) |
| ص | Ṣaad (صاد) | صـ | ـصـ | ـص | صاروخ 🚀 (rocket) |
| ض | Ḍaad (ضاد) | ضـ | ـضـ | ـض | ضفدع 🐸 (frog) |
| ط | Ṭaa (طاء) | طـ | ـطـ | ـط | طائرة ✈️ (airplane) |
| ظ | Ẓaa (ظاء) | ظـ | ـظـ | ـظ | ظرف ✉️ (envelope) |
| ع | ʿAyn (عين) | عـ | ـعـ | ـع | عنب 🍇 (grapes) |
| غ | Ghayn (غين) | غـ | ـغـ | ـغ | غيمة ☁️ (cloud) |
| ف | Faa (فاء) | فـ | ـفـ | ـف | فيل 🐘 (elephant) |
| ق | Qaaf (قاف) | قـ | ـقـ | ـق | قطة 🐱 (cat) |
| ك | Kaaf (كاف) | كـ | ـكـ | ـك | كتاب 📖 (book) |
| ل | Laam (لام) | لـ | ـلـ | ـل | ليمون 🍋 (lemon) |
| م | Meem (ميم) | مـ | ـمـ | ـم | موز 🍌 (banana) |
| ن | Noon (نون) | نـ | ـنـ | ـن | نحلة 🐝 (bee) |
| ه | Haa (هاء) | هـ | ـهـ | ـه | هدية 🎁 (gift) |
| و | Waaw (واو) | و | ـو | ـو | وردة 🌹 (rose) |
| ي | Yaa (ياء) | يـ | ـيـ | ـي | يد ✋ (hand) |
Tips for parents
A little every day. Five minutes with two or three letters beats one long session.
Find letters around you. After Baa, ask your child for things at home that start with it.
Say it together. Repeat the letter’s name after the device, then its sound in the word.
Six letters never join the next one. Alif, Daal, Dhaal, Raa, Zaay and Waaw, so at the start of a word they look the same as alone.
FAQ
How many letters are in the Arabic alphabet?
28, from Alif to Yaa. Some count the hamza as a separate letter, which makes 29.
Which Arabic letters don’t connect?
Six letters join only the letter before them: ا د ذ ر ز و (Alif, Daal, Dhaal, Raa, Zaay, Waaw). The letter after them starts a new shape.
Is Arabic written right to left?
Yes. Words and sentences run right to left, and most letters join the next letter inside a word, which is why each letter has up to four shapes.
Why can’t I hear the pronunciation?
The voice comes from your own device (the browser’s text-to-speech), so nothing is sent to a server. If your device has no voice for that language, a note tells you, and you can add one in your device settings. Most Android phones and iPhones have an Arabic voice; on Windows you may need to add the Arabic language with its speech feature.
Do you keep anything about my child?
No. The tool runs only in your browser, with no account and no ads, and nothing is sent to a server.