alif
This is how the letter looks in words
Pronunciation
The sound made by "a" in the English word 'start'
waw
This is how the letter looks in words
Pronunciation
The sound made by 'oo' in the English word 'cool' (in a standard British English accent)
ya
This is how the letter looks in words
Pronunciation
The sound made by 'ee' in the English word 'feel' (in a standard British English accent)
Extra info
There's one variation of alif that you need to know about. It looks like this:
Notice the little symbol (called hamza) above the alif? This symbol slightly changes the pronunciation of the alif.
Alif without hamza - a long 'a' sound, like in 'father'
Alif with hamza - a short 'a' sound, like in 'about'
(If you're familiar with linguistic terms, alif with hamza makes a glottal stop sound.)
It's time to practice what you've learnt
Flashcards with audio
1. Recognise alif, waw and ya individually
2. Read words containing alif, waw and ya
End of lesson quiz
Test yourself and find out your score
