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Understanding Arabic Vowels and Letters

The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters and 3 vowels. The long vowels are represented by 3 letters - alif, waaw, and yih - and correspond to the sounds aa, uu, and ii respectively. The short vowels are symbols written above, below, or alongside consonants and correspond to the long vowel sounds a, u, and i, but are half as long in pronunciation. When combining consonants and vowels, long vowels are twice as long as short vowels in pronunciation.

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128 views2 pages

Understanding Arabic Vowels and Letters

The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters and 3 vowels. The long vowels are represented by 3 letters - alif, waaw, and yih - and correspond to the sounds aa, uu, and ii respectively. The short vowels are symbols written above, below, or alongside consonants and correspond to the long vowel sounds a, u, and i, but are half as long in pronunciation. When combining consonants and vowels, long vowels are twice as long as short vowels in pronunciation.

Uploaded by

Luka
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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The Arabic Alphabet has twenty eight letters.

There are three vowels in the Arabic language, all of which come in both the long and short versions. The Long Vowels The long vowels correspond to three different letters of the alphabet. They are:1 [alif] [aa]

23-

[waaw]

[uu]

[yih]

[ii]

The Short Vowels The short vowels are not alphabetic letters, but rather symbols ( harakat) written along with the consonant it is pronounced after. Each short vowel corresponds to a long vowel. They are-

1-

[fat-ha]

[a]

A dash written on top of the consonant it is pronounced after.

2-

[dummeh]

[u]

A small

[waaw] written on top of the consonant it is pronounced

after.

3-

[kasra]

[i]

A small dash written beneath the consonant it is pronounced after.

The long vowels when pronounced with a consonant are twice as long as a short vowel pronounced with a consonant. So for example when combining a consonant [ ,b]with the long vowels

B + B + B +

[ = Baa] = = [Buu] [Bii]

*Remember the vowel (short or long) is pronounced after the constant it is combined with. When combining a consonant [ ,b] with a short vowel, the short vowel is pronounced half as long as a long vowel:

B + B + B +
Exercise:

= [Ba]

= [Bu] = [ Bi]

Connect the letter/vowel combination with the correct pronounciation: L= [Lii] [Laa] [Luu] [La] [Li]

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