---
title: "The Arabic letter ر (rāʾ): sound, forms and words"
description: "ر (rāʾ) is letter 10 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/ra"
language: "en"
direction: "ltr"
---

# The Arabic letter ر (rāʾ): sound, forms and words

ر, called rāʾ, is letter 10 of the 28 in the Arabic alphabet. How it sounds: a rolled r. It never joins the letter after it, so a word always breaks after ر.

## How ر is written

- Alone: ر
- Start: ر
- Middle: ‍ر
- End: ‍ر

## Arabic words that begin with ر

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

- [رَاشِد](https://fasaha.app/w/rashid) — Rāshid, Rashid (a name) (A0)
- [رَجُل](https://fasaha.app/w/rajul) — rajul, man (A0)
- [رَسْم](https://fasaha.app/w/rasm) — rasm, drawing (A1)
- [رَابِع](https://fasaha.app/w/rabi) — rābiʿ, fourth (A1)
- [رَمَضَان](https://fasaha.app/w/ramadan) — Ramaḍān, Ramadan (A1)
- [رَاكِب](https://fasaha.app/w/rakibun) — rākib, riding; a rider (A2)
- [رَحْمَة](https://fasaha.app/w/rahma) — raḥma, mercy (A2)
- [رَحْمَٰن](https://fasaha.app/w/rahman) — raḥmān, the All-Merciful; a name of God (A2)
- [رَحِيم](https://fasaha.app/w/rahim) — raḥīm, merciful; the Ever-Merciful (A2)
- [رَبّ](https://fasaha.app/w/rabb) — rabb, lord, master (A2)
- [رَسْمِيّ](https://fasaha.app/w/rasmi) — rasmī, official (B1)
- [رَحِمَ](https://fasaha.app/w/rahima) — raḥima, to have mercy on (B1)

## Questions about ر

### How do you pronounce the Arabic letter ر?

ر (rāʾ) sounds like this: a rolled r.

### Does ر join the next letter?

No. ر 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 ر in the Arabic alphabet?

ر is letter 10 of 28, after ذ (dhāl) and before ز (zāy).

- Previous letter: [ذ (dhāl)](https://fasaha.app/arabic-alphabet/dhal)
- Next letter: [ز (zāy)](https://fasaha.app/arabic-alphabet/zay)

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