The Arabic Alphabet: Letters, Shapes, and Right-to-Left Reading

Right-to-left, and cursive by default

Arabic runs right-to-left: you start reading on the right side of the page and move left. Books open from what feels like the "back" to English speakers. Numbers inside Arabic text, however, run left-to-right — so the digits in a price like ٤٥ ريالا are read left-to-right (4 then 5) even though the sentence runs right-to-left.

Arabic is also cursive: most letters join to the letter before and after them inside a word. Six letters (ا د ذ ر ز و) join only to the right — they never connect leftward, which creates small visual "gaps" inside words like دار (house).

The alphabet — part 1 (familiar-sounding letters)

These consonants map closely to English sounds. Each row shows the letter in final position, its name, a transliteration, and an example word — listen to the word with ▶.

ب ت ن م ل ف ك س د ج ه ي و ر ز — fifteen letters whose sounds you mostly already have.

The alphabet — part 2 (new or tricky sounds)

The remaining consonants are the ones that make Arabic sound like Arabic. Listen carefully — the next article breaks each one down.

Hamza ء is a consonant in its own right — the catch in 'uh-oh'. Alif often carries hamza (أ إ آ).

How letters join — one word, three shapes

Watch كتاب (book) assemble: كـ + ـتـ + ـاب → كتاب. The tail of each letter stretches to meet the next. Letters that can't join leftward (like ر) simply stop the chain, and the next letter starts fresh.

Mini practice