English
Arabic For Beginners.
Lesson 3. Arabic letters ك, ل, ر, ز, د, ذ. Long vowels. Vowel marks at the end of a word.
Learning the writing and pronunciation of Arabic letters ك, ل, ر, ز, د, ذ. Indication of long vowels in the Arabic language. Pronunciation of vowel marks at the end of words.
Arabic letters ك, ل, ر, ز, د, ذ.
In this lesson, we will learn 6 more Arabic letters – their writing and pronunciation. Four of them do not connect to the following letters in writing: Rāʾ (ر), Zāy (ز), Dāl (د), and Dhāl (ذ). The letters Kāf (ك) and Lām (ل) can connect to both preceding and following letters. First, we will look at their writing in Table 1, and then we will analyze the pronunciation of each letter individually.
| Letter | Writing | Pronunciation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| at the end of a word |
in the middle of a word |
At the beginning of a word |
separate writing |
||
| Kaf | مَلَكٌ | تَكَلَّمَ | كَنْزٌ | ك | |
| Lyam | نَقْلٌ | سَلاَمٌ | لَبَنٌ | ل | |
| Dal' | وَلَدٌ | بَدَنٌ | دِيكٌ | د | |
| ðаль | نَبَذَ | بَذْلٌ | ذَرَّةٌ | ذ | |
| Ro | قَمَرٌ | شَرَبَ | رَبٌّ | ر | |
| Zay | كَنْزٌ | لَزِمَ | زَمَنٌ | ز | |
The letter ك (Kāf).
The letter ك (Kāf) is used to represent a sound in writing similar to the English "K", as in the word "kangaroo". If it is followed by the sound [i] (vowel mark "kasra"), it will sound approximately like in the words "kit" or "kitchen". If it is followed by the sound [u] (vowel mark "damma"), its pronunciation will resemble [k] in a word like "cool". It is important to note that the sound [u] (vowel mark "damma") after the Arabic [k] is not softened.
Unlike in English, in Arabic, the [a] sound after the letter "Kāf" sounds much softer; when pronouncing such a combination, it should result in something between [a] and [ya]. You can listen to examples of how this sound combination is pronounced below.
We will provide examples of words containing this letter so that you can better understand how it is pronounced. Pay attention to the pronunciation of [k] in combination with different vowel marks and try to pronounce it similarly.
The examples of the words containing the letter "Kāf":
كَلْبٌ [kal'bun] - transl. into English dog
كِلَابٌ [kil'a:bun] - transl. into English dogs
كُفْرٌ [kufrun] - transl. into English disbelief
كَافِرٌ [ka:firun] - transl. into English unbeliever
كُلٌّ [kull'un] - transl. into English all
كِبْدَةٌ [kibdatun] - transl. into English liver
كَفَنٌ [kafanun] - transl. into English shroud
The writing of the letter "Kāf" varies depending on its position in the word. Examples of its writing in a word can be found above in Table 1.
The letter ل ("L'ām").
This letter is pronounced similarly to the English "L" but with a softer articulation. It, just like the letter "Kāf", can connect to the following letters and has different forms depending on its position within a word. You can also see its writing in the table provided above.
The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) representing this sound is [ʎ]. For simplicity, we will use the notation [l'] (sounds like ), where the apostrophe (') indicates the softness of the letter.
The letter ل has one unique writing feature compared to other letters of the alphabet – it forms a ligature when written together with the letter "Alif". Here is what it looks like: لا.
لا is called a "ligature", a way of writing the connected "Lām" and "Alif" together. It is pronounced [l'ā] and translates into English as "no".
The main feature of the [L'] sound in Arabic is that it is always soft (except in the word "Allah", where it sounds harder). We cannot provide an English word with an identical pronunciation to the Arabic 'Lām' since the letter 'L' in English always sounds hard.
Here are examples of the letter ل ("L'ām") with vowel markings.
لَ "Lām" with the "Fatkha" vowel sounds like [L'a]
لِ "Lām" with the "Kasra" vowel sounds like [Li]
لُ "Lām" with the "Domma" vowel sounds like [L'u]
لْ "Lām" with the "Sukun" vowel sounds like [L']
The letter "L'am" should never be pronounced as a hard "L"! For example, if you ask for directions to the Nile River in Cairo but don’t pronounce its name the Arabic way — [NīL'] — and instead say it like English word 'kneel,' locals might not understand you due to hard [L] at the end of the word.
Words' examples containing ل ("L'ām"):
لَبَنٌ [L'abanun] transl. into English milk
لَوْنٌ [L'awnun] transl. into English color
كَلْبٌ [K'aL'bun] transl. into English dog
لُؤْلُؤٌ [L'u-L'u-un] transl. into English perl
As was noticed earlier the only word with hard pronunciation is اللَّهُ [aLLah] - translated into English as "god". However, if a word ending in "Kasra" (i.e., with the [i] sound) precedes the word "Allah," the letter ل ("L'ām") is pronounced softly again. Let's look at the following examples.
Examples:
الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ [aL'hamdu LiLL'ah] transl. into English "All praise belongs to God" (note the [ya] sound after the double [L] and soft [L], as the preposition [Li] has the "Kasra" vowel at it's end and precedes the word "Allah").
آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ ['aamana biLLyahi] transl. into English He believed in Allah" (the presence of [i] before the word "Allah" causes the double [L] to be softened)
سُبْحَنَ اللَّهِ [subhanallahi] transl. into English "Glory be to Allah" (since the syllable before the word "Allah" does not contain [i], the double [L] is not softened, and the "Fatkha" after [L] sounds like [a]).
The letter ر ("Rā").
The letter "Rā" sounds similar to the English "R," but it is pronounced more distinctly. One of its pronunciation features is that the [a] sound following it takes on a slight [o] shade. The [i] sound after [r] softens this letter. Additionally, "Rā" is slightly softened when it carries a "sukūn" and is preceded by the vowel "i" (the final "Kasra" of the previous word).
The letter ر does not connect to the following letter in writing (look at the Table 1).
Examples of words containing the letter ر ("Rā."):
نَارٌ [na:run] transl. into English fire
رَأَى [ro-a] transl. into English to see (actually it means "he saw")
رَبٌّ [robbun] transl. into English lord
بَارِدٌ [ba:ridun] transl. into English cold
بَرَدٌ [barodun] transl. into English hail
حُرُوفٌ [khuru:fun] transl. into English letters (in the meaning "symbols")
The letter ز ("Zay").
The letter ز ("Zay") is similar in writing to the letter ر("Rā"), but it has a dot above it. Like "Rā," it also cannot connect to the letters that follow it.
It sounds approximately like the [z] in words such as "zip" and "disease." The vowel [a] after it is somewhat softened, resembling a sound between [a] and [ya].
The best way to get an idea of its pronunciation is by listening to examples of Arabic words containing this letter.
Examples:
زَبُورٌ [zabu:run] transl. into English psalms (what was revealed to Dawud, i.e., the biblical David)
زَيْدٌ [zaydun] transl. into English Zayd (an Arabic male name)
زَكَاةٌ [zak'atun] transl. into English purity; Zakat (a form of almsgiving in Islam)
زُهُورٌ [zuhu:run] transl. into English flowers
زِيَادَةٌ [ziya:datun] transl. into English increasing
The letter د ("Dal'").
The letter د ("Dāl") is similar to the English [d], except that the [a] sound after it is softer, falling somewhere between [a] and [ya].
In writing, it resembles the letter "Rā," but it stays above the imaginary writing line, whereas the end of "Rā" extends below it.
Compare د ("Dal'") and ر ("Rā") when they appear next to each other in the text:
د ر د ر
Examples of words containing the letter د ("Dal'"):
دَبَرَ [dabaro] transl. into English to turn one's back, to retreat
دُخُولٌ [dukhu:l'un] transl. into English entrance
دِينٌ [диинун] transl. into English religion
The letter ذ ("ðal'").
The last letter we are going to study in this lesson is the letter "ðal'".
An English speaker will have no trouble pronouncing this letter correctly on the first try, as it is exactly like the "th" sound in the word "this."
In writing, it is identical to the letter "Dyal'", except that it has a dot on top.
As always, we will provide examples containing this letter.
Examples:
ذِكْرٌ [ðikrun] transl. into English reminder
ذَهَبَ [ðahaba] transl. into English to go away
ذُنُوبٌ [ðunu:bun] transl. into English sins
Долгие гласные.
In Arabic, as in English, the length of the vowel sound is very important. The meaning of a word can depend heavily on this, so when memorizing words, it’s essential to pay attention to this aspect. For example, compare:
لَا أَعْلَمُ [L'a:-agL'amu] transl. into English long [L'a:] means "I don't know".
لَأَعْلَمُ [L'a-agL'amu] transl. into English short [L'a] means "I know definitely".
As we can see, the meaning has changed to the complete opposite!
Actually the long vowel sound is approximately twice as long as the short one.
In Arabic writing, the length of the vowel sound is indicated by one of the letters ا (Alif), و (Waw), or ي (Ya), which come after a syllable that is marked with "Fatkha," "Domma," or "Kasra."
Table 2 lists three main combinations of vowel marks and letters used to indicate long vowels:
| Writing | Meaning | Examples | Explanations |
|---|---|---|---|
| ـَـا | long vowel [a:] | كِتَابٌ [kita:bun] eng. book | The letter "Alif" after "Fatkha". |
| ـُـو | long vowel [u] | ثُبُوتٌ [θubu:tun] eng. firmness | The letter "Waw" after "Domma". |
| ـِـي | long vowel [i:] | دِينٌ [di:nun] eng. religion | The letter "Yaa" after "Kasra". |
If the long vowel occurs at the beginning of a word, the combination of Hamza and Alif is not used as one might expect. Instead, for this special case, there is a specific sign called "Madda," which is a wavy line above the Alif: آ.
There is also another way of indicating a long "a" using a "Fatha" vowel mark followed by a "Ya" without dots underneath. This type of "Alif" is called "Alif Maqsura" (أَلِفٌ مَقْصُورَةٌ).
| Writing | Meaning | Example | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| آ | The long "a" sound at the very beginning of a word. | آثَرُ [a:θaru] eng. more preferred | "Madda" sign above the "Alif" indicates the following combination أَ+ا |
| ـَـى | Another variant of the long "a," but at the end of a word. | رَأَى [роаа] eng. to see | Alif Maqsura" at the end of a word. |
As always, there are exceptions to the rules. It’s important to note that there are some words where the pronunciation of long vowels does not correspond to their written form. These exceptions need to be memorized. Let’s take a look at them.
First, the word أَنَا which is the personal pronoun "I" in English. Despite the fact that after the "Fatkha" above the "Nun" there is an Alif, the vowel [a] is not doubled. To indicate this explicitly in the text, the sign "Sukun" is usually placed above the last Alif: أَنَاْ (pronounced [ana], definitely not [ana:]!).
A similar situation occurs in the word رَحْمَنٌ - transl. in English "merciful": here, on the contrary, after the letter "Meem" (the third letter from the beginning, located before the "Nun," looks like a small circle on the line), we don’t see any "Alif", but it is implied, and the second syllable is long; it should be read as [Rohmaan] ( not [Rohman]!).
Here are a couple more words: the demonstrative pronouns "this" هَذَا - [haða] and "this" (feminine) - هَذِهِ - [haaðihi]. As you can see, the "Alif", which indicates the length of the vowel, is absent here, but the long [a:] in these words is pronounced as if it were present.
Pronunciation of vowels at the end of words.
If you have been doing exercises, you may have noticed that in exercises for learning new words, words are pronounced without the final vowels being vocalized. This is common practice in spoken language. Tanwin ("un", "an", "in"), as well as other vowels at the end of standalone words, and at the end of phrases and sentences, can be omitted in spoken language.
Examples:
It is written كَثِيرٌ [kaθiirun] (transl.into English many), but it is pronounced [kaθiir]
It is written بِنْتٌ [bintun] (transl.into English girl), but it is pronounced [bint]
The same applies to the letter ة (ta-marbuta), which is not pronounced at the end of a word and is reduced to a sound similar to a light breath, similar to the English "h".
Example:
It is written زُبْدَةٌ [zubdatun] (transl. into English butter), but it is pronounced [zubdah]
However, this is not always the case if the word is in the middle of a sentence. For instance, when there is the "wasla" sign (وَصْلَةٌ) – meaning "connection" – between two words (appears as a small letter ص above "Alif"), the last vowel of the first word is usually pronounced, and the following "hamza" with its vowel is "silenced".
Examples:
فِي بَيْتِ المَقْدِسِ [fi: baytiL'-maqdis] transl. into English "in the Al-Aqsa mosque". For example, in the phrase "in the Al-Aqsa mosque" the "i" sound, represented by the "kasra" vowel after the word "bayt," is pronounced, replacing the following "a" in the word [al-maqdis], but the last "i" vowel at the end of the phrase is not pronounced.
سُوقُ سَيَارَاتٍ [su:q saya:ra:t] transl. into English cars market
سَيَّارَةٌ [saya:ra:t] transl. into English car
سَيَّارَةُ النَّقْلِ [saya:rat u nnaql] transl. into English truck
Sometimes a person may intentionally pronounce all the vowels, emphasizing their knowledge of Arabic grammar.