Arabic Character Writing For Dummies

Chapter 3

Characters and Symbols to Practice

أَلِف • ’alif

The first letter of the Arabic alphabet, the ’alif, represents the long a vowel (pronounced, depending on the letter that precedes it, as either the a in glad or the a in car). You will write the independent ’alif as a single line downward. The final connected ’alif is written upward from the letter it is connected to. (You will also learn later that the ’alif is used with the symbol we call the hamza, which represents the glottal stop sound.) The top of the letter should be just below the line above it, and the bottom of the ’alif should reach the line on which you are writing. Try writing the ’alif:

باء • baa’

The letter baa’ is pronounced like the b in the English word baby. It’s a two-directional connector, so it connects on its right and left sides, and therefore it has all four potential forms. The bottom of all the forms of the baa’ should touch the bottom of the line on which you are writing. After writing the shape of the letter, you add a single dot below the character. Try them:

تاء • taa’

The letter taa’ is pronounced like the t in the English word tame. It’s a two-directional connector, so it connects on its right and left sides, and therefore it has all four potential forms. The bottom of all the ...