Complete Guide To English Arabic Letters

English Arabic Letters– The Arabic alphabet has 28 different letters, but this may at first look overwhelming to an individual who is not acquainted with the distinct script of the Arabic alphabet. But learning how to spell the Arabic in English letters can greatly facilitate the learning process. The article provides a very informative discussion of the Arabic alphabet including English translations and the sounds that correspond with each letter and examples of how to write the Arabic using English letters.

Can You Write English Arabic Letters?

Arabizi or the writing of Arabic using English letters and figures is widespread in the informal sphere, such as social media and text messaging. This technique enables the Arabic speakers to communicate conveniently without having an Arabic keyboard.

All Arabic Alphabet with English Letters

There are 28 letters that form the Arabic alphabet, which are symbolic in terms of a particular sound. Although the Arabic letters are totally unrelated to the letters in the Latin language, lots of the learners utilize the Arabic letters alongside English letters in order to resemble the sounds of the Arabic letters.

Here is a table showcasing the Arabic alphabet.

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 Sounds

The Arabic language has numerous sounds which are absent in English. There are also some letters, such as the ones ع (Ayn) or غ (Ghayn), which English speakers may find hard to pronounce. An example is the sound of the letter, خ (Khaa), which is a throaty sound, as well as the sound of the letter, ق (Qaaf), which is a deep and guttural sound.

Must Read: Arabic Alphabets Handwriting Worksheets

The chart below shows the Arabic letters.

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 Arabic Alphabet’s Structure

The Arabic alphabet consists of 28 letters each of which has its own shape that varies with the position in which it appears in a word. To read and write in Arabic, it is necessary to understand the isolated, initial, medial and final forms of these letters.

Must Read: Learn Arabic Alphabets – QuranMualim

Here is a table that presents the Arabic alphabet in order.

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

As you may notice, every letter in Arabic language may have more than one form depending on its location in a word. This is the peculiarity in the Arabic alphabet that contributes to the beauty and complexity of the language. It is important to learn the connection and transformation of the Arabic letters to understand the meaning of reading and writing.

Must Read: Learn Arabic Alphabet Chart – QuranMualim

English Arabic Alphabet in Order

There is an order in the Arabic alphabet. The sequence of the letters is also important when searching a dictionary and writing Arabic in a systematic style. The Arabic alphabet follows the old arrangement as follows:

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:

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.”

As an example, the idiomatic phrase, al-salam 3alaykit (peace be upon you), looks like al-salam 3alaykitum when typed using English letters and numbers.

Must Read: Best Quranic Arabic Course – QuranMualim

Practice Arabic Alphabet In Phrases with Transliteration

Transliteration is an effective device to any Arabic learner. It is based on the practice of the English alphabet that depict the sounds of Arabic letters, in order to make the learners pronounce the words right before they master the Arabic script.

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

Both of these expressions are very common expressions in everyday life, greetings and prayers in the Arabic world. The transliteration is simple and phonetic and this renders these phrases familiar to learners even before they can learn to understand the Arabic script.

Conclusion

Finally, translation with English letters and transliteration of the Arabic alphabet can be an effective tool in the quest of those studying the Arabic language as mastering the alphabet using English letters and translation is an important step.

Knowing the way to use the familiar English characters to represent the Arabic sounds, the learners could become more confident in their pronunciation and reading abilities. The language is made more accessible since writing in Arabic in English letters makes communication easier particularly in informal contexts.

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