Home › Arabic Letters
Arabic Letters
Every Arabic letter can take up to four shapes depending on its position in a word. Here's the complete reference table, with the Latin transliteration for each letter.
Why Letter Forms Change
Arabic is a cursive script: most letters join to the letters directly before and after them within a word, similar to joined handwriting. As a result, a letter can look different depending on whether it's isolated, at the start of a word (initial), in the middle (medial), or at the end (final).
Six letters — ا, د, ذ, ر, ز, و — only ever connect to the letter before them, never to the one after. This means they have only an isolated and a final form; they never take an initial or medial shape, which is why you'll sometimes see a small visual break within an otherwise connected word.
Full Letter Forms Table
| Name | Isolated | Initial | Medial | Final | Latin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| alif | ا | — | — | ـا | a |
| ba | ب | بـ | ـبـ | ـب | b |
| ta | ت | تـ | ـتـ | ـت | t |
| tha | ث | ثـ | ـثـ | ـث | th |
| jim | ج | جـ | ـجـ | ـج | j |
| ha | ح | حـ | ـحـ | ـح | h (throat) |
| kha | خ | خـ | ـخـ | ـخ | kh |
| dal | د | — | — | ـد | d |
| dhal | ذ | — | — | ـذ | dh |
| ra | ر | — | — | ـر | r |
| zay | ز | — | — | ـز | z |
| sin | س | سـ | ـسـ | ـس | s |
| shin | ش | شـ | ـشـ | ـش | sh |
| sad | ص | صـ | ـصـ | ـص | s (emphatic) |
| dad | ض | ضـ | ـضـ | ـض | d (emphatic) |
| ta (emph.) | ط | طـ | ـطـ | ـط | t (emphatic) |
| za (emph.) | ظ | ظـ | ـظـ | ـظ | z (emphatic) |
| ayn | ع | عـ | ـعـ | ـع | 3 / ' |
| ghayn | غ | غـ | ـغـ | ـغ | gh |
| fa | ف | فـ | ـفـ | ـف | f |
| qaf | ق | قـ | ـقـ | ـق | q |
| kaf | ك | كـ | ـكـ | ـك | k |
| lam | ل | لـ | ـلـ | ـل | l |
| mim | م | مـ | ـمـ | ـم | m |
| nun | ن | نـ | ـنـ | ـن | n |
| ha | ه | هـ | ـهـ | ـه | h |
| waw | و | — | — | ـو | w / u |
| ya | ي | يـ | ـيـ | ـي | y / i |
Note: cells marked "—" indicate letters that don't take an initial or medial form, since they never connect to the letter that follows them.
For a simpler overview and general facts about the alphabet, see our Arabic Alphabet page. To hear how each sound is actually pronounced, check our Pronunciation Guide.