LinguaTwenty letters in families
You now know twenty of the 28 letters. Most of them come in families: one body, and the dots decide which letter it is. When you meet a shape, ask two questions – which body? how many dots, and where?
| Body | Letters | Dots |
|---|---|---|
| low bowl | ب ت ث ن | 1 below, 2 above, 3 above, 1 above |
| hook | ج ح خ | 1 inside, none, 1 above |
| corner | د ذ | none, 1 above |
| falling curve | ر ز | none, 1 above |
| three teeth | س ش | none, 3 above |
| loop | ص ض | none, 1 above |
| loop with an upright | ط ظ | none, 1 above |
The tooth family at the start of a word
At the start or in the middle of a word, ب ت ث ن ي all shrink to the same small tooth – even ن and ي, which have their own bowls when alone. Only the dots are left to tell them apart: ﺑ ﺗ ﺛ ﻧ ﻳ.
The short tooth, then two dots above it.
The short tooth, then three dots above it.
ن without its bowl: the short tooth and one dot above.
ي without its bowl: the short tooth and two dots below.
Joining, vowels and reading
Six letters never join forward: ا د ذ ر ز و; after them the word goes on in a new piece. The vowel signs sit on the consonant they follow: fatḥa a, kasra i, ḍamma u, sukūn no vowel. ا, ي and و after the matching vowel make it long. Read from the right, letter by letter with its vowel, then say the word in one breath.
خُبْز وَشَاي وَزَيْتbread, tea and oil
دَرْس صَبَاح سَبْتa lesson on Saturday morning
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| بَيْت | house | بَيْت ثَابِت a solid house |
| بِنْت | girl; daughter | بِنْت وَبَنَات a girl and girls |
| ثَوْب | robe, garment | ثَوْب بِنْت a girl’s robe |
| دَار | home, house | بَاب دَار the door of a home |
| خُبْز | bread | خُبْز وَتِين bread and figs |
| وَرْد | roses | وَرْد وَنَبَات roses and plants |
| جَار | neighbour | بَيْت جَار a neighbour’s house |
| صَبَاح | morning | صَبَاح سَبْت a Saturday morning |
| طَبِيب | doctor | طَبِيب نَشِيط an active doctor |
| سَرِير | bed | سَرِير ثَابِت a sturdy bed |
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 ت 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.