LinguaAll 28 letters, in order
Dictionaries and lists follow this order, read from the right, row by row. Notice that letters sharing a body stand together – the order was built around the shapes.
| Order | Letters |
|---|---|
| 1–4 | ا ب ت ث |
| 5–8 | ج ح خ د |
| 9–12 | ذ ر ز س |
| 13–16 | ش ص ض ط |
| 17–20 | ظ ع غ ف |
| 21–24 | ق ك ل م |
| 25–28 | ن ه و ي |
ل and م at the start of a word
Two very frequent letters lose their tails at the start of a word: ل keeps only its tall stroke, ﻟ, as in لَيْل (layl); م keeps only its round head, ﻣ, as in مَلِك (malik). And ع at the end of a word, after a joining letter, closes into a small triangle with a tail: ﻊ.
ل at the start: the tall stroke down, turning left into the line.
م at the start: just the small round head, joining on the left.
ع at the end after a joining letter: the line, a small closed triangle, then the tail.
The signs, all together
| Example | Sign | Read |
|---|---|---|
| مُدَرِّس | shadda: doubled letter | mudarris |
| كِتَابٌ | tanwin: -un, -an, -in | kitābun |
| غُرْفَة | ta marbuta: -a, -at | ghurfa |
| عَلَى | alif maqsura: final ā | ʿalā |
| سُؤَال | hamza on a seat | suʾāl |
| آخِر | madda: ʾā | ʾākhir |
| الشَّمْس | article before a sun letter | ash-shams |
الْوَلَدُ فِي الْمَدْرَسَةِThe boy is at school.
كِتَابٌ وَقَلَمٌ عَلَى السَّرِيرِa book and a pen on the bed
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| قَلَم | pen | قَلَم وَحِبْر a pen and ink |
| كِتَاب | book | كِتَاب جَدِيد a new book |
| وَلَد | boy; child | وَلَد نَشِيط a lively boy |
| لَيْل | night | لَيْل سَبْت Saturday night |
| مُدَرِّس | teacher (a man) | مُدَرِّسٌ وَطَبِيبٌ a teacher and a doctor |
| مَدْرَسَة | school | بَابُ مَدْرَسَةٍ the door of a school |
| سَيَّارَة | car | سَيَّارَةٌ جَدِيدَةٌ a new car |
| غُرْفَة | room | غُرْفَةُ مُدَرِّسٍ a teacher’s room |
| أَب | father | الْأَبُ طَبِيبٌ The father is a doctor. |
| أُمّ | mother | الْأُمُّ فِي الْبَيْتِ The mother is at home. |
| شَمْس | sun | نُورُ الشَّمْسِ the light of the sun |
| سُوق | market | فِي السُّوقِ in the market |
Exercises
This lesson has 11 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 5
- trace the letter: 3
- fill the gap: 1
- match the pairs: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which form is ل at the start of a word?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.