Beginner’s Guide Arabic Alphabet With English Letters

The Arabic alphabet has got 28 letters that appear to be a lot in the beginning as one will not be familiar with the Arabic writing style. we will learn here in this Blog Arabic Alphabet With English Letters, Nevertheless, the realization of the process of representation of Arabic in English letters can contribute greatly to the learning process. This paper gives a good analysis of the Arabic alphabet and its English equivalents, their corresponding sounds, and a demonstration of how to write Arabic using English letters.

Overview of the Arabic Alphabet With English Letters

The origin of the Arabic language is the Arabic alphabet or al-abjadiyyah al-arabiyyah. It consists of 28 consonant letters and provides an abundant system of writing that is very vibrant. The alphabet is unique and versatile because three letters Alif (ا), Waw and Yaa are sometimes used as long vowels.

Can You Write Arabic in English Letters?

Yes, there is a popular usage of writing Arabic using English letters and figures, which is also referred to as Arabizi, and is used extensively in informal uses such as social media and texting.

This technique enables Arabic speakers to do so comfortably without having to use an Arabic keyboard. To enhance your Arabic Language, you should enroll in our Arabic Learning Courses to gain a greater insight into the Arabic language.

How to Write Arabic in English Letters?

Arabic transliteration is writing Arabic in English letters so that it can be read by non-Arabic speaker and spoken by them using the English alphabet. It is easier to read with such common sounds as A (meaning أ), B (meaning ب), and T (meaning Taa).

All Arabic Alphabet with English Letters

There are 28 letters in the Arabic alphabet, with each letter representing a particular sound. Although the letters in the Arabic language are completely unlike the letters in the Latin -alphabets, many students learn through Arabic letters and English letters as a means of estimating the pronunciations of Arabic letters.

Arabic Letter	Pronunciation in Arabic	English Letter
أ	Alif	A
ب	Ba	B
ت	Ta	T
ث	Tha	Th
ج	Jeem	J
ح	Haa	H
خ	Khaa	Kh
د	Dal	D
ذ	Dhal	Th
ر	Ra	R
ز	Zay	Z
س	Seen	S
ش	Sheen	Sh
ص	Saad	S
ض	Daad	D
ط	Taa	T
ظ	Thaa	Th
ع	Ayn	‘A
غ	Ghayn	R
ف	Fa	F
ق	Qaf	Q
ك	Kaaf	K
ل	Laam	L
م	Meem	M
ن	Noon	N
ه	Ha	H
و	Waw	W
ي	Ya	Y

Arabic Alphabet With English Letters Sounds

The sounds of the Arabic language are abundant with the sounds that are not English. Certain letters such as Ayn or Ghayn may be hard to pronounce by an English speaker. An example is that the letter Khaa is a sound that is felt in the throat and Qaaf a sound that is deep and guttural.

The Arabic letters with English pronunciation:

Arabic Letter	English Sound (Approximation)
أ	A as in “Apple”
ب	B as in “Bat”
ت	T as in “Top”
ث	Th as in “Think”
ج	J as in “Jam”
ح	H as in “hat” (stronger)
خ	Kh as in “Bach” (throaty)
د	D as in “Dog”
ذ	Th as in “This”
ر	R as in “red” (rolled)
ز	Z as in “zebra”
س	S as in “Sun”
ش	Sh as in “Ship”
ص	S as in “saw” (emphatic)
ض	D as in “door” (emphatic)
ط	T as in “top” (emphatic)
ظ	Th as in “that” (emphatic)
ع	Deep A (guttural)
غ	Gh like the French “R” as in “Paris” (throaty)
ف	F as in “fun”
ق	Q as in “Qatar” (deep sound)
ك	K as in “kite”
ل	L as in “love”
م	M as in “moon”
ن	N as in “nice”
ه	H as in “Hat”
و	W as in “Water” or “Oo” as in “Food”
ي	Y as in “Yes” or “Ee” as in “See”

Understanding the Arabic Alphabet’s Structure

The Arabic letter consists of 28 letters, which have different shapes, which vary according to the position in the word. To read and write Arabic it is necessary to understand the isolated, initial, medial, and final forms of such letters.

Below is a table of the Arabic alphabet arranged sequentially together with illustrations of what each letter would look like in different positions:

Letter	Name	Initial Form	Medial Form	Final Form	Example	Translation	Transliteration
ا	Alif	ا	ـا	ـا	أسد	Lion	Asad
ب	Baa	بـ	ـبـ	ـب	باب	Door	Bab
ت	Taa	تـ	ـتـ	ـت	تفاح	Apple	Tuffah
ث	Thaa	ثـ	ـثـ	ـث	ثوب	Cloth	Thawb
ج	Jeem	جـ	ـجـ	ـج	جسر	Bridge	Jisr
ح	Haa	حـ	ـحـ	ـح	حديقة	Garden	Hadeeqa
خ	Khaa	خـ	ـخـ	ـخ	خبز	Bread	Khubz
د	Dal	د	ـد	ـد	دجاج	Chicken	Dajaj
ذ	Dhal	ذ	ـذ	ـذ	ذهب	Gold	Dhahab
ر	Raa	ر	ـر	ـر	بئر	Well	Bi’r
ز	Zaay	ز	ـز	ـز	زرافة	Giraffe	Zarafa
س	Seen	سـ	ـسـ	ـس	سمك	Fish	Samak
ش	Sheen	شـ	ـشـ	ـش	شمس	Sun	Shams
ص	Saad	صـ	ـصـ	ـص	صقر	Falcon	Saqr
ض	Daad	ضـ	ـضـ	ـض	ضفدع	Frog	Difda’
ط	Ta’	طـ	ـطـ	ـط	طائر	Bird	Ta’ir
ظ	Dha’	ظـ	ـظـ	ـظ	ظرف	Envelope	Zarf
ع	A’yen	عـ	ـعـ	ـع	نعل	Shoe	Naa’l
غ	Ghayen	غـ	ـغـ	ـغ	غزال	Gazelle	Ghazal
ف	Faa	فـ	ـفـ	ـف	فاكهة	Fruit	Fakha
ق	Qaf	قـ	ـقـ	ـق	قمر	Moon	Qamar
ك	Kaf	كـ	ـكـ	ـك	سكر	Sugar	Sukkar
ل	Laam	لـ	ـلـ	ـل	ليمون	Lemon	Laymun
م	Meem	مـ	ـمـ	ـم	مفتاح	Key	Miftah
ن	Noon	نـ	ـنـ	ـن	نمر	Tiger	Nimr
هـ	Haa’	هـ	ـهـ	ـه	سهل	Easy	Sahl
و	Waw	و	ـو	ـو	ورد	Rose	Ward
ي	Yaa’	يـ	ـيـ	ـي	يدي	My Hand	Yady

English Arabic Alphabet in Order

There is an arrangement to the Arabic alphabet. It is very important to know the sequence of the letters whenever searching a dictionary and composing Arabic in an organised way.

ا (Alif)
ب (Ba)
ت (Ta)
ث (Tha)
ج (Jeem)
ح (Haa)
خ (Khaa)
د (Dal)
ذ (Dhal)
ر (Ra)
ز (Zay)
س (Seen)
ش (Sheen)
ص (Saad)
ض (Daad)
ط (Taa)
ظ (Thaa)
ع (Ayn)
غ (Ghayn)
ف (Fa)
ق (Qaaf)
ك (Kaaf)
ل (Laam)
م (Meem)
ن (Noon)
ه (Haa)
و (Waw)
ي (Ya)

Examples of Arabic in English Letters In Arabic Words:

Here is how to write Arabic in English numbers with examples and transliteration:

2 = “أ” (ʾalif): Used in words like “2ab” (أب), meaning “father.”
3 = “ع” (ʿayn): Seen in words like “3arab” (عرب), meaning “Arabs.”
5 = “خ” (khāʾ): Used in “5aroof” (خروف), meaning “sheep.”
6 = “ط” (ṭāʾ): Appears in words like “6aleb” (طالب), meaning “student.”
7 = “ح” (ḥāʾ): Seen in “7arakat” (حركات), meaning “movements.”
8 = “ق” (qāf): Used in words like “8adeer” (قدير), meaning “powerful.”
9 = “ص” (ṣād): Seen in “9aleh” (صالح), meaning “righteous.”

For instance, “السلام عليكم” (Peace be upon you) becomes “al-salam 3alaykum” when written with English letters and numbers.

Practice Arabic Alphabet In Phrases with Transliteration

Transliteration is an efficient measure to any person starting to learn Arabic. It is the application of English alphabet in the pronunciation of Arabic letters, which assist the learner to pronounce the words properly, but the full mastery of the Arabic script is not achieved yet.

To a novice, transliteration acts as an interim between the unknown Let’s go through some common phrases in Arabic, their transliterations, and translations into English:

Arabic Phrase	Transliteration	English Translation
السلام عليك	Al-Salam Alaykum	Peace be upon you
كيف حالك؟	Kayfa Haluka?	How are you?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم	Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem	In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
شكراً جزيلاً	Shukran Jazilan	Thank you very much
إن شاء الله	Insha’Allah	If Allah wills
ما شاء الله	Ma Sha’ Allah	As Allah wills

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Conclusion

To sum it up, learning the Arabic alphabet by using English letters and transliteration provides a useful transition to the students who are in the process of becoming proficient in the Arabic language.