ا
The Arabic letter ا (ʾalif): sound, forms and words
ا, called ʾalif, is letter 1 of the 28 in the Arabic alphabet. How it sounds: a long a, or a seat for hamza. It never joins the letter after it, so a word always breaks after ا.
How ا is written
- اAlone
- اStart
- اMiddle
- اEnd
Arabic words that begin with ا
From the Fasaha dictionary, easiest first. Each word opens its own page with meaning, root and forms.
- العَرَبِيَّةal-ʿarabiyya · Arabic (the language) A0
- أَنَاanā · I A0
- أَبab · father A0
- أَيْنَayna · where? A0
- أَنْتَanta · you (masculine) A0
- اسْمism · name A0
- أُسْرَةusra · family, household A0
- أُمّumm · mother A0
- أُخْتukht · sister A0
- أَخakh · brother A0
- إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُin shāʾa llāh · God willing A0
- أَرُزّaruzz · rice A0
Questions about ا
- How do you pronounce the Arabic letter ا?
- ا (ʾalif) sounds like this: a long a, or a seat for hamza.
- Does ا join the next letter?
- No. ا is one of the six letters that never join the letter after them (ا د ذ ر ز و), so the next letter starts a new shape.
- What number is ا in the Arabic alphabet?
- ا is the first of the 28 letters. The next one is ب (bāʾ).