All 28 letters, a few that look alike at a time.

A long chart is hard to start from. Here the letters that look alike sit in families, so you learn them together and mix them up less often. Tap any letter.

If you are new, start with Alif, then take one family at a time. Arabic reads from right to left, and each row below does too.

Alif

The anchor letter every beginner meets first

1 ا Alif A long "aa", as in "father"

Boat family

Same boat shape, different dots

2 ب Ba "b", as in "boat" 3 ت Ta "t", as in "tea" 4 ث Tha "th", as in "think"

Gymnasium family

Same curved shape, sounds from the throat and mouth

5 ج Jeem "j", as in "jam" 6 ح Haa A breathy "h" from deep in the throat (no English match) 7 خ Kha "kh", like the "ch" in Scottish "loch"

Duo family

Twins told apart by one dot

8 د Dal "d", as in "door" 9 ذ Dhal "th", as in "this"

Roller family

A rolling r and a buzzing z

10 ر Ra A rolled "r" 11 ز Zay "z", as in "zoo"

Teeth family

Three little teeth, with or without dots

12 س Seen "s", as in "sun" 13 ش Sheen "sh", as in "ship"

Heavy family

Full-mouth, emphatic sounds

14 ص Saad A heavy, full-mouth "s" 15 ض Daad A heavy, full-mouth "d" 16 ط Taa A heavy, full-mouth "t" 17 ظ Zaa A heavy "th", as in "this"

Earpiece family

Deep sounds from the throat

18 ع Ayn A deep throat sound with no English match 19 غ Ghayn "gh", like a soft gargle (similar to a French "r")

Fa, Qaf & Kaf

Three letters beginners often mix up

20 ف Fa "f", as in "fish" 21 ق Qaf A deep "k" from the back of the throat 22 ك Kaf "k", as in "kite"

Lam, Meem & Noon

Smooth letters found in countless words

23 ل Lam "l", as in "lamp" 24 م Meem "m", as in "moon" 25 ن Noon "n", as in "noon"

The helpers

Letters that also make long vowel sounds

26 ه Ha A soft "h", as in "hat" 27 و Waw "w", as in "water" (and a long "oo") 28 ي Ya "y", as in "yes" (and a long "ee")

When you want the daily lessons

In the 30-day course you hear every letter, practise its shapes, and pass a short check.

See the course