ع
The Arabic letter ع (ʿayn): sound, forms and words
ع, called ʿayn, is letter 18 of the 28 in the Arabic alphabet. How it sounds: a voiced squeeze of the throat, no English equivalent. It joins the letter after it, so it has four written forms.
How ع is written
- عAlone
- عStart
- عMiddle
- عEnd
Arabic words that begin with ع
From the Fasaha dictionary, easiest first. Each word opens its own page with meaning, root and forms.
- عَرَبِيّʿarabī · Arab; Arabic A0
- عَنْʿan · about, from A0
- عَلَىʿalā · on, upon A0
- عَائِلَةʿāʾila · family A0
- عَلِيّʿAlī · Ali (a name) A0
- عُمَرʿUmar · Omar (a name) A0
- عَرَبʿarab · Arabs A1
- عِلْمʿilm · knowledge, science A1
- عَالَمʿālam · world A1
- عُمْرʿumr · age; lifetime A1
- عَاشَʿāsha · to live A1
- عَرَفَʿarafa · to know A1
Questions about ع
- How do you pronounce the Arabic letter ع?
- ع (ʿayn) sounds like this: a voiced squeeze of the throat, no English equivalent.
- Does ع join the next letter?
- Yes. ع joins the letter after it, so it has separate start, middle and end shapes: ع, ع, ع.
- What number is ع in the Arabic alphabet?
- ع is letter 18 of 28, after ظ (ẓāʾ) and before غ (ghayn).