This free Arabic alphabet chart puts all 28 Arabic letters on one page. For every letter you get its name, the sound it makes (explained in English), how it looks at the start, in the middle and at the end of a word, and a first word with its meaning in English. Print it, put it next to your child’s desk, and use it every time you practice.
What is on the chart?
- Letter: each letter on its own, from Alif (ا) to Yaa (ي).
- Name: what the letter is called, written in English letters: Alif, Baa, Taa and so on.
- Sound: the sound in English, with a hint for sounds English doesn’t have, like the deep “h” of Haa (ح).
- Forms: how the letter looks at the end, in the middle and at the start of a word.
- First word: a simple word that starts with the letter, such as arnab (rabbit) for Alif.
The 28 Arabic letters at a glance
Arabic is read from right to left. Here are the letters in alphabet order, with the same names, sounds and words as on the printable chart.
| Letter | Name | Sound | First word |
|---|---|---|---|
| ا | Alif | a / long aa | أَرْنَب arnab (rabbit) |
| ب | Baa | b | بَقَرَة baqara (cow) |
| ت | Taa | t | تُفَّاحَة tuffaha (apple) |
| ث | Thaa | th (as in think) | ثَعْلَب tha’lab (fox) |
| ج | Jeem | j | جَمَل jamal (camel) |
| ح | Haa | h (deep) | حِصَان hisan (horse) |
| خ | Khaa | kh | خَرُوف kharuf (sheep) |
| د | Dal | d | دُبّ dubb (bear) |
| ذ | Dhal | th (as in this) | ذُرَة dhura (corn) |
| ر | Raa | r | رُمَّان rumman (pomegranate) |
| ز | Zay | z | زَرَافَة zarafa (giraffe) |
| س | Seen | s | سَمَكَة samaka (fish) |
| ش | Sheen | sh | شَمْس shams (sun) |
| ص | Saad | s (heavy) | صَقْر saqr (falcon) |
| ض | Daad | d (heavy) | ضِفْدَع difda’ (frog) |
| ط | Taa (heavy) | t (heavy) | طَائِرَة ta’ira (airplane) |
| ظ | Zaa | th (heavy) | ظَرْف zarf (envelope) |
| ع | Ain | ‘ (from the throat) | عِنَب ‘inab (grapes) |
| غ | Ghain | gh (like French r) | غَزَال ghazal (gazelle) |
| ف | Faa | f | فِيل fil (elephant) |
| ق | Qaf | q (deep k) | قَمَر qamar (moon) |
| ك | Kaf | k | كِتَاب kitab (book) |
| ل | Lam | l | لَيْمُون laymun (lemon) |
| م | Meem | m | مَوْز mawz (banana) |
| ن | Noon | n | نَحْلَة nahla (bee) |
| ه | Haa (soft) | h | هِلَال hilal (crescent) |
| و | Waw | w / long oo | وَرْدَة warda (rose) |
| ي | Yaa | y / long ee | يَد yad (hand) |
How to use the chart with your child
- Start on the right. Show your child that Arabic begins on the right-hand side of the page and moves to the left.
- Three letters at a time. Say the name, the sound and the first word of three letters, then point to them in a mixed order and let your child say them back.
- Look for letter families. Many letters share a shape and differ only in their dots: ب ت ث, ج ح خ, د ذ, ر ز, س ش, ص ض, ط ظ and ع غ. Spotting the dots is a quick win for young learners.
- Come back every day. Five minutes a day with the chart works better than one long lesson a week.
Questions parents ask
How many letters are in the Arabic alphabet?
The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters. Most of them are consonants; Alif, Waw and Yaa also stand for the long vowels aa, oo and ee. The short vowels are small marks written above or below the letters.
Why does each letter have different forms?
Arabic letters join together inside a word, so most letters change shape depending on whether they come at the start, in the middle or at the end. Our Arabic letter forms worksheets practice exactly this.
What should my child learn after the alphabet?
The short vowels: fatha, kasra and damma. They are small marks that tell you how to say each letter. Try our free Arabic short vowels worksheets.
The chart is page 4 of our own Arabic Alphabet Workbook, where every letter then gets three practice pages.
