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ي

The Arabic letter ي (yāʾ): sound, forms and words

ي, called yāʾ, is letter 28 of the 28 in the Arabic alphabet. How it sounds: y, or a long i. It joins the letter after it, so it has four written forms.

How ي is written

  • يAlone
  • ي‍Start
  • ‍ي‍Middle
  • ‍يEnd

Arabic words that begin with ي

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

Questions about ي

How do you pronounce the Arabic letter ي?
ي (yāʾ) sounds like this: y, or a long i.
Does ي join the next letter?
Yes. ي joins the letter after it, so it has separate start, middle and end shapes: ي‍, ‍ي‍, ‍ي.
What number is ي in the Arabic alphabet?
ي is the last of the 28 letters, after و (wāw).

All 28 letters in the alphabet chart

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