It can feel intimidating looking at Arabic text for the first time. Where does one letter end and another begin? And why does each letter look a little different than the ones in the alphabet that I memorized?
The way to ease into Arabic is to understand that letters have an isolated, initial, medial, and final version. This means that they change how they look depending on their position in the letter. In English, letters only change form depending on whether they’re at the beginning of a proper noun (like your name!) or they’re at the beginning of a word that starts a sentence (like the word “she” in the sentence “She made $100 million!)
ʾalif = ا
This letter (ا) is called ʾalif. The diacritic beside the “a” is known as a Modifier Letter Right Half Ring, and it represents a glottal stop. You can find a pronunciation of the letter here at minute 1:43.
When it is written on its own, like in the header of this section, alif (ا) is in the isolated position.
When it is written as the first letter of a word, alif (ا) is in the initial position and it looks the same as in the isolated position. For example, ال (al-) which means “the.”
When it is written in the middle of a word, the following letters are disconnected from it. In some textbooks or web pages, you might read that alif has no medial position. The word كتاب, (kitab), which means “book”, is one example. In Quranic Arabic, it can be written with a dagger alif instead, as in Verse 2:2.
When it is written as the last letter of a word, it is in the final position, and it looks the same as the medial position. The word ما (ma) which means “what” is one example.
lām = ل
This letter (ل) is called lām. The diacritic on top of the “a” is known as a macron, and it represents a long syllable. You can find a pronunciation of the letter here at minute 0:56.
When it is written on its own, like in the header of this section, lām (ل) is in the isolated position.
When it is written as the first letter of a word, lām (ل) is in the initial position, and it connects to the letter that follows it. For example, لَيل (layl), which means night.
When it is written as a middle letter in a word, lām (ل) is in the medial position, and it connects to the letter before it and the letter that follows it. For example, ملكة (malaka), which means queen.
When it is written as the final letter of the word, lām (ل) is in the final position, and it connects to the letter that came before it. For example, لَيل (layl), which means night.
mīm = م
This letter is called mīm (م). It also has a macron. You can find a pronunciation of the letter here at minute 3:23.
When it is written on its own, like in the header of this section, mīm (م) is in the isolated position.
When it is the first letter in a word, mīm (م) is in the initial position. For example, in the word مدرسة (madrasa), which means school.
When it is a middle letter in a word, mīm (م) is in the medial position. For example, in the word سمكة (samaka), which means fish. The mīm (م) connects to the letter before it and the letter after it.
When it is the final letter in a word, mīm (م) is in the final position. For example, in the word اسم (asm), which means name. The mīm (م) connects to the letter before it.
You can download flashcards for the positions of each of these letters here.
The Magnetized Man 