Letter shapes and how letters join
In the video
Watch this lesson's video, then follow the steps below to practise.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Explain how Arabic letters join, a bit like joined-up handwriting
- Recognise a letter in any of its four shapes by the part that stays the same
- Name the six letters that never join to the letter after them
- Spot taa marbutah, alif maqsurah and lam alif in a word
- Find letters inside real words from Surah Al-Fatihah
One letter, four shapes
Read each row from right to left: on its own, at the start, in the middle, at the end. Look for the part that doesn't change. Tap a letter to hear its name.
| On its own | Start | Middle | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| بـ | ـبـ | ـب | |
| جـ | ـجـ | ـج | |
| سـ | ـسـ | ـس | |
| عـ | ـعـ | ـع | |
| فـ | ـفـ | ـف | |
| مـ | ـمـ | ـم | |
| هـ | ـهـ | ـه | |
| يـ | ـيـ | ـي | |
| ا | ـا | ـا | |
| د | ـد | ـد | |
| ر | ـر | ـر | |
| و | ـو | ـو |
Shaded rows are letters that never join to the letter after them. They keep the same shape at the start and on their own.
Letters to know on sight
The six that never join forward
After any of these the next letter starts fresh, even in the middle of a word. That's why some words look as if they have gaps.
Two end shapes
Taa marbutah looks like a ha with two dots on top. Alif maqsurah looks like a ya without its dots. Both only come at the end of a word.
Lam alif
When a lam is followed by an alif the two combine into this one shape.
Find the letter
These words are from Surah Al-Fatihah. Look for the core of each letter, then choose the one that appears in the word.
The letter is 'ayn.
The letter is Haa (throat).
The letter is qaaf.
The letter is ghayn.
The letter is Saad.
Read it yourself
Say the name of each of the six letters that never join forward, from right to left. Then press check.
Lesson 3 complete
Next lesson we add the first vowel sign and start reading actual sounds.