---
title: "The Arabic letter ع (ʿayn): sound, forms and words"
description: "ع (ʿayn) is letter 18 of 28 in the Arabic alphabet: how it sounds, how it is written at the start, middle and end of a word, and Arabic words that begin with it."
canonical: "https://fasaha.app/arabic-alphabet/ayn"
language: "en"
direction: "ltr"
---

# 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

- Alone: ع
- Start: ع‍
- Middle: ‍ع‍
- End: ‍ع

## Arabic words that begin with ع

From the Fasaha dictionary, easiest first. Each word opens its own page with meaning, root and forms.

- [عَرَبِيّ](https://fasaha.app/w/arabi) — ʿarabī, Arab; Arabic (A0)
- [عَنْ](https://fasaha.app/w/an) — ʿan, about, from (A0)
- [عَلَى](https://fasaha.app/w/ala) — ʿalā, on, upon (A0)
- [عَائِلَة](https://fasaha.app/w/aila) — ʿāʾila, family (A0)
- [عَلِيّ](https://fasaha.app/w/ali) — ʿAlī, Ali (a name) (A0)
- [عُمَر](https://fasaha.app/w/umar) — ʿUmar, Omar (a name) (A0)
- [عَرَب](https://fasaha.app/w/arab) — ʿarab, Arabs (A1)
- [عِلْم](https://fasaha.app/w/ilm) — ʿilm, knowledge, science (A1)
- [عَالَم](https://fasaha.app/w/alam) — ʿālam, world (A1)
- [عُمْر](https://fasaha.app/w/umr) — ʿumr, age; lifetime (A1)
- [عَاشَ](https://fasaha.app/w/aasha) — ʿāsha, to live (A1)
- [عَرَفَ](https://fasaha.app/w/arafa) — ʿarafa, 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).

- Previous letter: [ظ (ẓāʾ)](https://fasaha.app/arabic-alphabet/zza)
- Next letter: [غ (ghayn)](https://fasaha.app/arabic-alphabet/ghayn)

[All 28 letters in the alphabet chart](https://fasaha.app/arabic-alphabet-chart)