arabic

Arabic has a root-pattern morphology made of bare consonants fitted into a discontinuous pattern to form words.

Words are written in horizontal lines from right to left, numerals are written from left to right. Most letters change form depending on whether they appear at the beginning, middle or end of a word, or on their own. Letters that can be joined are always joined in both hand-written and printed Arabic. The only exceptions to this rule are crossword puzzles and signs in which the script is written vertically.

Abjads, or consonant alphabets, represent consonants only, or consonants plus some vowels.

Consonants

Name	Isolated	Initial	Medial	Final	Transliteration	Sound	Pronunciation
'alif	ا			ـا	' / ā	long unrounded low central back vowel	'a' as in 'father'
Bā'	ب	بـ	ـبـ	ـب	b	voiced bilabial stop	'b' as in 'bed'
Tā'	ت	تـ	ـتـ	ـت	t	voiced aspirated stop	't' as in 'tent'
Thā'	ث	ثـ	ـثـ	ـث	th	voiceless interdental fricative	'th' as in 'think'
Jīm	ج	جـ	ـجـ	ـج	j	voiced palatal affricate	'j' as in 'jam'
Ḥā'	ح	حـ	ـحـ	ـح	ḥ	voiceless pharyngeal constricted fricative	only in Arabic; a constricted English 'h'
Khā'	خ	خـ	ـخـ	ـخ	kh	voiceless velar fricative	'ch' as in German 'Bach'
Dāl	د			ـد	d	voiced dental stop	'd' as in 'deer' (approx.)
Dhāl	ذ			ـذ	dh	voiced interdental fricative	'th' as in 'there'
Rā'	ر			ـر	r	voiced dental trill	'r' as in 'run' (approx.)
Zāy	ز			ـز	z	voiced dental sibilant	'z' as in 'zoo' (approx.)
Sīn	س	سـ	ـسـ	ـس	s	voiceless dental sibilant	's' as in 'sit'
Shīn	ش	شـ	ـشـ	ـش	sh	voiceless palatal sibilant	'sh' as in 'shut'
Ṣād	ص	صـ	ـصـ	ـص	ṣ	voiceless post-dental sibilant emphatic	the counterpart of Sῑn; all the 'emphatics' are pronounced with the back of the tongue slightly raised
Ḍād	ض	ضـ	ـضـ	ـض	ḍ	voiced post-dental emphatic stop	the counterpart of Dāl
Ṭā'	ط	طـ	ـطـ	ـط	ṭ	voiceless post-dental emphatic stop	the counterpart of Tā'
Ẓā'	ظ	ظـ	ـظـ	ـظ	ẓ	voiced post-interdental emphatic fricative	the counterpart of Dhāl
^cayn	ع	عـ	ـعـ	ـع	^c	voiced pharyngeal fricative	purely Arabic -- a constriction of the throat and an expulsion of the breath with the vocal cords vibrating
Ghayn	غ	غـ	ـغـ	ـغ	gh	voiced uvular fricative	close to a French 'r' as in 'Paris' -- like a gentle gargling
Fā'	ف	فـ	ـفـ	ـف	f	labio-dental voiceless fricative	'f' as in 'free'
Qāf	ق	قـ	ـقـ	ـق	q	voiceless unaspirated uvular stop	'k' in the back of the throat; compare 'cough' with 'calf'
Kāf	ك	كـ	ـكـ	ـك	k	voiceless aspirated palatal or velar stop	'k' as in 'king'
Lām	ل	لـ	ـلـ	ـل	l	voiced dental lateral	'l' as in 'lift'
Mīm	م	مـ	ـمـ	ـم	m	voiced bilabial nasal	'm' as in 'moon'
Nūn	ن	نـ	ـنـ	ـن	n	voiced dental nasal	'n' as in 'net'
Hā'	ه	هـ	ـهـ	ـه	h	voiceless glottal fricative	'h' as in 'house'
Wāw	و			ـو	w	voiced bilabial glide	'w' as in 'wonder'
Yā'	ي	يـ	ـيـ	ـي	y	voiced palatal glide	'y' as in 'yellow'
Hamza	ء				'	voiceless glottal stop	not a phoneme in English but found in some exclamations -- e.g. 'oh-oh'

Vowels

Name	Diacritic	Sound
fatha	ــَــ	a
kasra	ــِــ	i
damma	ــُــ	u (short)
sukun	ــْــ	No sound
shadda	ــّــ	Doubled or emphatic vowel sound
tanwin il-fath	ــَــ	-an (end of the word only)
tanwin il-kasr	ــٍــ	-in (end of the word only)
tanwin i-damm	ــٌــ	-un (end of the word only)

Nearly all Arabic words consist of a three-consonant root slotted into a pattern of vowels and helper consonants. The root gives the word its base meaning, while the pattern modifies this meaning in a systematic and predictable way. This idea is so cool that you'd think it came from a constructed language.

pattern	pattern meaning		result
m--a-a	place name	مكتبة	maktaba (library)
-aa-i-	active participle	كاتب	kaatib(writer)
ma--uu-	passive participle	مكتوب	maktuub (written)
-a-a-a	basic verb	كتب	kataba (to write)
a--a-a	causative verb	أكتب	aktaba (to dictate)
-i-aa-	noun	كتاب	kitaab (book)
-u-u-	plural noun	كتب	kutub (books)

Ligatures

Components of a ligature for "Allah"

1. alif
2. hamzat waṣl (ْهَمْزَة وَصْل‎)
3. lām
4. lām
5. shadda (شَدَّة‎)
6. dagger alif (أَلِفْ خَنْجَریَّة‎)
7. hāʾ

Unicode

Unicode code point	character	UTF-8 (hex.)	name
U+0600	؀	d8 80	ARABIC NUMBER SIGN
U+0601	؁	d8 81	ARABIC SIGN SANAH
U+0602	؂	d8 82	ARABIC FOOTNOTE MARKER
U+0603	؃	d8 83	ARABIC SIGN SAFHA
U+0604	؄	d8 84	ARABIC SIGN SAMVAT
U+0605	؅	d8 85	ARABIC NUMBER MARK ABOVE
U+0606	؆	d8 86	ARABIC-INDIC CUBE ROOT
U+0607	؇	d8 87	ARABIC-INDIC FOURTH ROOT
U+0608	؈	d8 88	ARABIC RAY
U+0609	؉	d8 89	ARABIC-INDIC PER MILLE SIGN
U+060A	؊	d8 8a	ARABIC-INDIC PER TEN THOUSAND SIGN
U+060B	؋	d8 8b	AFGHANI SIGN
U+060C	،	d8 8c	ARABIC COMMA
U+060D	؍	d8 8d	ARABIC DATE SEPARATOR
U+060E	؎	d8 8e	ARABIC POETIC VERSE SIGN
U+060F	؏	d8 8f	ARABIC SIGN MISRA
U+0610	ؐ	d8 90	ARABIC SIGN SALLALLAHOU ALAYHE WASSALLAM
U+0611	ؑ	d8 91	ARABIC SIGN ALAYHE ASSALLAM
U+0612	ؒ	d8 92	ARABIC SIGN RAHMATULLAH ALAYHE
U+0613	ؓ	d8 93	ARABIC SIGN RADI ALLAHOU ANHU
U+0614	ؔ	d8 94	ARABIC SIGN TAKHALLUS
U+0615	ؕ	d8 95	ARABIC SMALL HIGH TAH
U+0616	ؖ	d8 96	ARABIC SMALL HIGH LIGATURE ALEF WITH LAM WITH YEH
U+0617	ؗ	d8 97	ARABIC SMALL HIGH ZAIN
U+0618	ؘ	d8 98	ARABIC SMALL FATHA
U+0619	ؙ	d8 99	ARABIC SMALL DAMMA
U+061A	ؚ	d8 9a	ARABIC SMALL KASRA
U+061B	؛	d8 9b	ARABIC SEMICOLON
U+061C	؜	d8 9c	ARABIC LETTER MARK
U+061D	؝	d8 9d	ARABIC END OF TEXT MARK
U+061E	؞	d8 9e	ARABIC TRIPLE DOT PUNCTUATION MARK
U+061F	؟	d8 9f	ARABIC QUESTION MARK
U+0620	ؠ	d8 a0	ARABIC LETTER KASHMIRI YEH
U+0621	ء	d8 a1	ARABIC LETTER HAMZA
U+0622	آ	d8 a2	ARABIC LETTER ALEF WITH MADDA ABOVE
U+0623	أ	d8 a3	ARABIC LETTER ALEF WITH HAMZA ABOVE
U+0624	ؤ	d8 a4	ARABIC LETTER WAW WITH HAMZA ABOVE
U+0625	إ	d8 a5	ARABIC LETTER ALEF WITH HAMZA BELOW
U+0626	ئ	d8 a6	ARABIC LETTER YEH WITH HAMZA ABOVE
U+0627	ا	d8 a7	ARABIC LETTER ALEF
U+0628	ب	d8 a8	ARABIC LETTER BEH
U+0629	ة	d8 a9	ARABIC LETTER TEH MARBUTA
U+062A	ت	d8 aa	ARABIC LETTER TEH
U+062B	ث	d8 ab	ARABIC LETTER THEH
U+062C	ج	d8 ac	ARABIC LETTER JEEM
U+062D	ح	d8 ad	ARABIC LETTER HAH
U+062E	خ	d8 ae	ARABIC LETTER KHAH
U+062F	د	d8 af	ARABIC LETTER DAL
U+0630	ذ	d8 b0	ARABIC LETTER THAL
U+0631	ر	d8 b1	ARABIC LETTER REH
U+0632	ز	d8 b2	ARABIC LETTER ZAIN
U+0633	س	d8 b3	ARABIC LETTER SEEN
U+0634	ش	d8 b4	ARABIC LETTER SHEEN
U+0635	ص	d8 b5	ARABIC LETTER SAD
U+0636	ض	d8 b6	ARABIC LETTER DAD
U+0637	ط	d8 b7	ARABIC LETTER TAH
U+0638	ظ	d8 b8	ARABIC LETTER ZAH
U+0639	ع	d8 b9	ARABIC LETTER AIN
U+063A	غ	d8 ba	ARABIC LETTER GHAIN
U+063B	ػ	d8 bb	ARABIC LETTER KEHEH WITH TWO DOTS ABOVE
U+063C	ؼ	d8 bc	ARABIC LETTER KEHEH WITH THREE DOTS BELOW
U+063D	ؽ	d8 bd	ARABIC LETTER FARSI YEH WITH INVERTED V
U+063E	ؾ	d8 be	ARABIC LETTER FARSI YEH WITH TWO DOTS ABOVE
U+063F	ؿ	d8 bf	ARABIC LETTER FARSI YEH WITH THREE DOTS ABOVE
U+0640	ـ	d9 80	ARABIC TATWEEL
U+0641	ف	d9 81	ARABIC LETTER FEH
U+0642	ق	d9 82	ARABIC LETTER QAF
U+0643	ك	d9 83	ARABIC LETTER KAF
U+0644	ل	d9 84	ARABIC LETTER LAM
U+0645	م	d9 85	ARABIC LETTER MEEM
U+0646	ن	d9 86	ARABIC LETTER NOON
U+0647	ه	d9 87	ARABIC LETTER HEH
U+0648	و	d9 88	ARABIC LETTER WAW
U+0649	ى	d9 89	ARABIC LETTER ALEF MAKSURA
U+064A	ي	d9 8a	ARABIC LETTER YEH
U+064B	ً	d9 8b	ARABIC FATHATAN
U+064C	ٌ	d9 8c	ARABIC DAMMATAN
U+064D	ٍ	d9 8d	ARABIC KASRATAN
U+064E	َ	d9 8e	ARABIC FATHA
U+064F	ُ	d9 8f	ARABIC DAMMA
U+0650	ِ	d9 90	ARABIC KASRA
U+0651	ّ	d9 91	ARABIC SHADDA
U+0652	ْ	d9 92	ARABIC SUKUN
U+0653	ٓ	d9 93	ARABIC MADDAH ABOVE
U+0654	ٔ	d9 94	ARABIC HAMZA ABOVE
U+0655	ٕ	d9 95	ARABIC HAMZA BELOW
U+0656	ٖ	d9 96	ARABIC SUBSCRIPT ALEF
U+0657	ٗ	d9 97	ARABIC INVERTED DAMMA
U+0658	٘	d9 98	ARABIC MARK NOON GHUNNA
U+0659	ٙ	d9 99	ARABIC ZWARAKAY
U+065A	ٚ	d9 9a	ARABIC VOWEL SIGN SMALL V ABOVE
U+065B	ٛ	d9 9b	ARABIC VOWEL SIGN INVERTED SMALL V ABOVE
U+065C	ٜ	d9 9c	ARABIC VOWEL SIGN DOT BELOW
U+065D	ٝ	d9 9d	ARABIC REVERSED DAMMA
U+065E	ٞ	d9 9e	ARABIC FATHA WITH TWO DOTS
U+065F	ٟ	d9 9f	ARABIC WAVY HAMZA BELOW
U+0660	٠	d9 a0	ARABIC-INDIC DIGIT ZERO
U+0661	١	d9 a1	ARABIC-INDIC DIGIT ONE
U+0662	٢	d9 a2	ARABIC-INDIC DIGIT TWO
U+0663	٣	d9 a3	ARABIC-INDIC DIGIT THREE
U+0664	٤	d9 a4	ARABIC-INDIC DIGIT FOUR
U+0665	٥	d9 a5	ARABIC-INDIC DIGIT FIVE
U+0666	٦	d9 a6	ARABIC-INDIC DIGIT SIX
U+0667	٧	d9 a7	ARABIC-INDIC DIGIT SEVEN
U+0668	٨	d9 a8	ARABIC-INDIC DIGIT EIGHT
U+0669	٩	d9 a9	ARABIC-INDIC DIGIT NINE
U+066A	٪	d9 aa	ARABIC PERCENT SIGN
U+066B	٫	d9 ab	ARABIC DECIMAL SEPARATOR
U+066C	٬	d9 ac	ARABIC THOUSANDS SEPARATOR
U+066D	٭	d9 ad	ARABIC FIVE POINTED STAR
U+066E	ٮ	d9 ae	ARABIC LETTER DOTLESS BEH
U+066F	ٯ	d9 af	ARABIC LETTER DOTLESS QAF
U+0670	ٰ	d9 b0	ARABIC LETTER SUPERSCRIPT ALEF
U+0671	ٱ	d9 b1	ARABIC LETTER ALEF WASLA
U+0672	ٲ	d9 b2	ARABIC LETTER ALEF WITH WAVY HAMZA ABOVE
U+0673	ٳ	d9 b3	ARABIC LETTER ALEF WITH WAVY HAMZA BELOW
U+0674	ٴ	d9 b4	ARABIC LETTER HIGH HAMZA
U+0675	ٵ	d9 b5	ARABIC LETTER HIGH HAMZA ALEF
U+0676	ٶ	d9 b6	ARABIC LETTER HIGH HAMZA WAW
U+0677	ٷ	d9 b7	ARABIC LETTER U WITH HAMZA ABOVE
U+0678	ٸ	d9 b8	ARABIC LETTER HIGH HAMZA YEH
U+0679	ٹ	d9 b9	ARABIC LETTER TTEH
U+067A	ٺ	d9 ba	ARABIC LETTER TTEHEH
U+067B	ٻ	d9 bb	ARABIC LETTER BEEH
U+067C	ټ	d9 bc	ARABIC LETTER TEH WITH RING
U+067D	ٽ	d9 bd	ARABIC LETTER TEH WITH THREE DOTS ABOVE DOWNWARDS
U+067E	پ	d9 be	ARABIC LETTER PEH
U+067F	ٿ	d9 bf	ARABIC LETTER TEHEH

ASMO 449

ASMO 449 (1982)

NUL

SOH

STX

ETX

EOT

ENQ

ACK

BEL

DLE

DC1

DC2

DC3

DC4

NAK

SYN

ETB

CAN

SUB

ESC

)

(

]

[

}

{

DEL

Why Arabic is terrific

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