The 28 Letters of the Alphabet

Twenty-eight letters, nothing more: Arabic has 28 letters. Every sound in Arabic is written with one of these 28 letters. Learn them, and you can read every Arabic word.

The letters in order: The 28 letters, in order, are: Alif (ا), Ba (ب), Ta (ت), Tha (ث), Jim (ج), Ha (ح), Kha (خ), Dal (د), Dhal (ذ), Ra (ر), Zay (ز), Sin (س), Shin (ش), Sad (ص), Dad (ض), Ta (ط), Dha (ظ), 'Ayn (ع), Ghayn (غ), Fa (ف), Qaf (ق), Kaf (ك), Lam (ل), Mim (م), Nun (ن), Ha (ه), Waw (و), Ya (ي).

Five key facts first: Before you learn the letters one by one, remember five facts. Arabic is read from right to left. Most letters connect to each other, like joined-up handwriting. Arabic has no capital letters — a letter looks the same at the start of a sentence and in the middle of a word. Short vowels are often hidden — they are written only in the Quran and in books for learners. And the script is phonetic — the spelling matches the sound almost perfectly, so once you know the sounds, you can read any word.

Dots make the difference: Many letters share the same shape and are told apart only by dots. Ba (ب) has one dot below, Ta (ت) has two dots above, and Tha (ث) has three dots above. Count the dots, and you know the letter.

Example

Three letters, one shape: Look at ب ت ث. They all have the same little boat shape. One dot below is Ba (b). Two dots above is Ta (t). Three dots above is Tha (th, as in "think"). Dots are not decoration — they are part of the letter.

Key Terms

• Alif Ba Ta (الف باء تاء) — the Arabic alphabet, named after its first letters
• Phonetic (صوتی) — the spelling matches the sound
• Dots (نقطے) — the small marks above or below a letter that tell one letter from another

Quran or Hadith

None used in this topic.

Fresh diagram to be drawn: The 28-letter chart as a fresh table in Project Desk colours — 4 rows of 7 letters, each letter in gold on a blue tile with its English name below, exactly like the course chart but redrawn.