Chapter 1: The Arabic Alphabet I | Shopnil Academy Arabic A1

Lesson 1 · Letter Forms

ا ب ت ث

الحروف: ألف، باء، تاء، ثاء

4 lettersRight-to-left

Before you start

Arabic is written and read right to left. Every letter has up to four shapes depending on where it sits in a word: alone (isolated), at the start (initial), in the middle (medial), or at the end (final). Tap "Listen" to hear each letter's name.

1. Alif

ا

Alif — ألف

Sound: a long "aa" vowel carrier (also can carry a glottal stop). Think of the "a" in "father," held long.

Does not connect to the letter after it

Isolated	Initial	Medial	Final
ا	ا	ـا	ـا

2. Baa

ب

Baa — باء

Sound: "b" as in "boy." Note the single dot underneath.

Connects on both sides

Isolated	Initial	Medial	Final
ب	بـ	ـبـ	ـب

3. Taa

ت

Taa — تاء

Sound: "t" as in "top." Same base shape as baa, but two dots on top instead of one dot below.

Connects on both sides

Isolated	Initial	Medial	Final
ت	تـ	ـتـ	ـت

4. Thaa

ث

Thaa — ثاء

Sound: "th" as in "think" (not "this"). Same base shape again, now with three dots on top.

Connects on both sides

Isolated	Initial	Medial	Final
ث	ثـ	ـثـ	ـث

Notice the pattern

Baa, taa, and thaa share the exact same base shape (ب). Only the number and position of dots changes their sound. This "same skeleton, different dots" pattern repeats throughout the Arabic alphabet — learning to spot it early will save you a lot of time.

Lesson 1 · Match & Fill

Match the Letter to Its Name

Tap a letter, then tap its name

0 of 4 matched

Lesson 1 · Pronunciation

Where Each Sound Comes From

Alif ا

Open your mouth as if saying "ah." Alif itself is silent as a consonant — on its own at the start of a word it usually carries a light glottal stop (the catch in your throat in "uh-oh"), and elsewhere it simply lengthens the vowel before it.

Baa ب

Both lips close then release, exactly like the English "b" in "boy." No difference from English here.

Taa ت

Tongue tip touches just behind the upper front teeth, like the English "t" in "top" — but slightly further forward, closer to the teeth than English speakers are used to.

Thaa ث

Tongue tip lightly between the teeth, same mouth position as the "th" in the English word "think" (not the buzzing "th" in "this"). Air passes over the tongue tip.

Common mix-up

English speakers often flatten taa and thaa into the same sound. Say "tin" then "thin" back to back a few times — that's the difference between ت and ث.

Lesson 1 · Writing Rules

How Letters Connect

Rule 1: Arabic is cursive by default

Unlike English print letters, most Arabic letters physically join to their neighbors within a word — similar to English cursive handwriting. That's why each letter has different shapes depending on its position.

Rule 2: Some letters refuse to connect forward

ا (alif) is a "one-way connector" — it happily joins to the letter before it, but never to the letter after it. Whatever comes after an alif starts a fresh connection.

Example: با — baa connects into alif, but if another letter followed, it would have to start over in isolated/initial form. You'll meet the small handful of these "non-connector" letters gradually through this chapter.

Rule 3: Dots are not decoration

Notice ب / ت / ث share one skeleton. The dots are part of the letter's identity, not an accent mark — drop them and the letter is simply wrong, the way dropping the crossbar on a lowercase "t" would confuse it with an "l" in English.

Rule 4: Direction

Write and read right to left. Within a single letter, most strokes still start from the right and move left/down, mirroring the overall writing direction.

Lesson 1 · Listening

Listen & Identify

Play the sound, pick the letter

Lesson 1 · Reading

Reading Practice

Warm-up: letter pairs

These pairs aren't real words — just practice seeing how the shapes join.

با تا ثا بت تب بث

Real words — using only what you've learned

بابا

bābā — "dad" (a common informal word across the Arab world)

بات

bāta — "he spent the night"

ثبات

thabāt — "steadfastness, firmness"

Only four letters in, and you can already sound out real Arabic words — that's the abjad system at work. You'll see this same "same skeleton, more letters" idea build all the way through Chapter 1.

Lesson 1 · Practice Writing

Trace & Write

Grab a pen and paper. For each letter, follow the stroke order below, then write it 5–10 times isolated, and a few more times in each connected position. Check off each letter once you've practiced it.

Alif ا

One single straight stroke, top to bottom.
No lifting, no curve — it's the simplest letter in the alphabet.

Baa ب

Draw the shallow curved "boat" shape from right to left.
Lift the pen, add one dot underneath.

Taa ت

Same boat shape as baa.
Lift the pen, add two dots on top, side by side.

Thaa ث

Same boat shape again.
Lift the pen, add three dots on top in a small triangle.

Practice checklist

ا — written 5–10 times

ب — written 5–10 times (all forms)

ت — written 5–10 times (all forms)

ث — written 5–10 times (all forms)

Wrote بابا and بات from memory

Lesson 1 · Speaking Practice

Say It Aloud

Listen, then repeat 3 times

ألف

باء

تاء

ثاء

بابا

Practice session

Start a timed practice round: say each letter name and the word بابا out loud several times, focusing especially on the taa/thaa distinction.

Lesson 1 · Quiz

Check Your Understanding

Lesson 2 · Letter Forms

ج ح خ د ذ

الحروف: جيم، حاء، خاء، دال، ذال