Lenguia | Learn the Arabic Alphabet — Interactive Chart & Practice

What is Arabic, and how does the drill work?

Arabic is written right to left with an alphabet of 28 letters. Its real trick: many letters share the same body and differ only in dots — ب, ت and ث are one shape with dots below or above; ج, ح and خ another. Learn the bodies and the dot rules together and the alphabet shrinks to a much smaller set of shapes. Like Hebrew, Arabic letters are known by NAME — alif, ba, ta — and that is what this drill asks for; each letter’s sound lives in the hint.

Start on the Chart tab and tick the letter groups you want to practice — the dot families are grouped side by side (ب ت ث together, ج ح خ together) so the contrasts drill themselves. Switch to Practice: a letter appears in its isolated form, you type its name — alif, ba, mim — and the drill advances the moment you get it right. Miss one and you see the answer immediately; it comes back a few cards later until it sticks.

Tick the groups you want to practice, then switch to Practice.

First shapes (alif + the ba family)

alif

(long a; a single stroke — also the carrier of hamza)

(b — ONE dot below; ت and ث share the exact same body)

(t — two dots above; same body as ب)

tha

(th as in "think" — three dots above; same body as ب)

nun

(n — one dot above; deeper bowl than ب, but mid-word it looks like the ba family)

(y / long ee — two dots below; mid-word it also joins the ba-family shapes)

The jim family + dal & dhal

jim

(j — dot below the curve; ح and خ share the body)

hha

(pharyngeal h, from deep in the throat — no dot; ج dot below, خ dot above)

kha

(kh as in "Bach" — dot above; same body as ج ح)

dal

(d — no dot; sits on the line and never connects to the left)

dhal

(th as in "this" — dal with a dot above)

Tails & teeth (ra·zay, sin·shin, sad·dad)

(rolled r — no dot; dips below the line, never connects left)

zay

(z — ra with a dot above)

sin

(s — three teeth, no dots)

shin

(sh — sin with three dots above)

sad

(emphatic s, heavy and dark — a loop then a tooth; no dot)

dad

(emphatic d — sad with a dot above; Arabic's famous letter)

Emphatics & gutturals (tah·zah, ayn·ghayn, fa·qaf)

tah

(emphatic t, heavy and dark — a loop with a tall stroke; no dot)

zah

(emphatic z/th — tah with a dot above)

ayn

(voiced pharyngeal — the throaty sound of "ayn"; no dot)

ghayn

(gh, like a French r — ayn with a dot above)

(f — ONE dot above a small loop; ق has two)

qaf

(deep k, far back in the throat — TWO dots above; its bowl drops below the line, unlike ف)

Distinct shapes (kaf, lam, mim, ha, waw)

kaf

(k — tall, with a small mark inside the isolated form)

lam

(l — a tall hook with a deep bowl; with alif it ligates to لا)

mim

(m — a small circle with a tail below the line)

(plain h as in "hat" — a small loop; its shape changes a lot mid-word; the throaty one is ح)

waw

(w / long oo — a loop with a tail; never connects left)

Frequently asked questions

Why does the drill ask for letter names instead of sounds?

Because to an English ear many Arabic letters sound alike: ت and ط are both t-like, س and ص both s-like, ك and ق both k-like, ح and ه both h-like. The distinctions (emphatic, pharyngeal) take months of listening practice — but the letter names are unique and are how the alphabet is taught everywhere. Each card’s hint gives the sound, including what makes the emphatic and guttural letters special.

What about the connected letter shapes?

Arabic letters join up, and most change shape depending on position — initial, medial, final or isolated. The drill shows the isolated form (the citation form you find on any keyboard and in every reference), and each card’s hint describes the letter’s connecting behavior, like the six letters that never connect to the left. Once the isolated forms are automatic, the positional shapes are recognizably the same skeleton.

Where are hamza (ء) and ta marbuta (ة)?

Not among the 28 letters of the standard alphabet, so not drill cards. Hamza is a glottal-stop sign that usually rides on a carrier letter (often alif), and ta marbuta is a word-final variant used on feminine nouns — both are noted in the relevant letters’ hints and are best learned once the 28 letters are automatic.

Does the drill save my progress?

Your letter-group selection is saved in your browser (no account needed), so the drill opens where you left off. The session stats — seen, correct, accuracy, streak — deliberately reset each visit: the drill is about instant recall today, not long-term statistics.

Learn Arabic

What is Arabic, and how does the drill work?

Frequently asked questions