Arabic Alphabet — Group 2

A1 — الحروف

The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters. Group 2 adds 8: د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض - the letters that never join the next letter, the emphatic ص and ض, and the dots that separate each pair.

I can read and write د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض, join words correctly around the non-joining letters, and hear and say the difference between ص and س, ض and د.

Examples

دَرْس — lesson
شَمْس — sun
صَباح — morning
رُزّ — rice
العَرَبِيَّةُ لُغَةُ الضّادِ. — Arabic is the language of the ḍād.
زُرْنا سوقَ الذَّهَبِ في دُبَيّ. — We visited the gold souk in Dubai.
رَمَضانُ شَهْرُ الصِّيامِ. — Ramadan is the month of fasting.
في الصَّيْفِ يَزورُنا ضُيوفٌ كَثيرونَ. — In summer many guests come to visit us.

Writing systemA1

Arabic Alphabet — Group 2

The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters. Group 2 adds 8: د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض - the letters that never join the next letter, the emphatic ص and ض, and the dots that separate each pair.

Learning Goal

I can read and write د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض, join words correctly around the non-joining letters, and hear and say the difference between ص and س, ض and د.

Exam Skills:ReadingWriting

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

دَرْس

lesson

شَمْس

sun

صَباح

morning

رُزّ

rice

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

The Arabic alphabet, group 2: د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض

The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters; this second group adds 8, bringing you to 15. Two ideas matter here: four of these letters never join the letter after them, and two are emphatic consonants, heavier partners of ordinary s and d.

Letter	Name	Sound	Isolated, initial, medial, final	Example
د	دال - dāl	/d/	د د ـد ـد	دَرْسٌ - lesson
ذ	ذال - dhāl	/ð/ as in this	ذ ذ ـذ ـذ	ذَهَبٌ - gold
ر	راء - rāʾ	/r/ tapped, trilled when doubled	ر ر ـر ـر	رُزٌّ - rice
ز	زاي - zāy	/z/	ز ز ـز ـز	زَيْتونٌ - olives
س	سين - sīn	/s/	س سـ ـسـ ـس	سوقٌ - market
ش	شين - shīn	/ʃ/ as in shut	ش شـ ـشـ ـش	شَمْسٌ - sun
ص	صاد - ṣād	/sˤ/ emphatic s	ص صـ ـصـ ـص	صَيْفٌ - summer
ض	ضاد - ḍād	/dˤ/ emphatic d	ض ضـ ـضـ ـض	ضَيْفٌ - guest

Letters that never join forward

د ذ ر ز join the letter before them but never the letter after them; together with ا (group 1) and و (group 3) they make the six non-joining letters. After one of them the pen lifts, and the next letter starts again in its initial or isolated shape, as if a new word began. دَرْسٌ (dars, lesson) is three separate pieces: د, ر, س. So a gap inside a word is not a word break: زَيْتونٌ is one word written in three pieces.

Four pairs told apart by a dot

د / ذ - no dot / one dot
ر / ز - no dot / one dot
س / ش - no dots / three dots
ص / ض - no dot / one dot

Emphatic consonants

ص and ض are the emphatic partners of س and د. The tongue tip is where it is for s and d, but the back of the tongue is pulled back towards the throat, and the whole sound gets darker and heavier. You hear it most in the vowels around them: the a of صَيْفٌ is darker than the a of سَيْفٌ. That pair shows why it matters: صَيْفٌ (ṣayf) is summer, سَيْفٌ (sayf) is a sword, and ضَيْفٌ (ḍayf) is a guest. Group 3 brings the other two emphatics, ط and ظ.

Arabic calls itself لُغَةُ الضّادِ, "the language of the ḍād", because the old grammarians regarded ض as a sound peculiar to Arabic. The old ض was pronounced with the side of the tongue against the molars; today it is an emphatic d almost everywhere.

The other sounds

ذ is the "th" of this, and ث from group 1 is the "th" of think. English speakers have both; keep ذ apart from د and ز: ذَهَبٌ (dhahab, gold).
ر is a tapped r, like the r of Spanish pero; doubled it is trilled: دَرَّسَ (darrasa, he taught). It is never the English r with the tongue curled back.
ش is English "sh", س is a clean s, ز is z.

All eight letters of this group are "sun letters": the ل of the article disappears into them (الشَّمْسُ ash-shams). See the topic on the definite article.

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

1. Joining د ذ ر ز to the next letter: after them the pen lifts. 2. Reading a gap inside a word as a word break: زَيْتونٌ is one word in three pieces. 3. Saying ص and ض as plain س and د: صَيْفٌ (summer) becomes سَيْفٌ (sword). 4. Saying ذ as d or z: ذَهَبٌ is dhahab. 5. The English curled r for ر: it is a tap, a trill when doubled. English speakers: ذ and ش are sounds you already have (this, shut). The work is the emphatics: English has no ṣ or ḍ, so train your ear on the vowels next to them, which turn dark.

Common Error Patterns

Connected a non-connecting letter to the following letter

Remember: د ذ ر ز never connect to the left

Confused emphatic and plain pairs (ص/س, ض/د)

Practice hearing and producing the emphatic 'heavier' sound

دَرْس

lesson

dars - د is non-connecting, so ر starts fresh after it.

شَمْس

sun

shams - ش sounds like English 'sh'. This is a 'solar letter' for ال rules.

صَباح

morning

ṣabāḥ - ص is emphatic s, deeper than س. Used in صباح الخير (good morning).

رُزّ

rice

ruzz - ر does not join the next letter and is a single tap, like the r of Spanish pero. The shadda doubles ز, not ر.

العَرَبِيَّةُ لُغَةُ الضّادِ.

Arabic is the language of the ḍād.

al-ʿarabiyyatu lughatu ḍ-ḍād - the name Arabic gives itself. Listen to ض in الضّادِ: an emphatic d, with the vowel after it dark. The ل of the article disappears into ض, a sun letter.

زُرْنا سوقَ الذَّهَبِ في دُبَيّ.

We visited the gold souk in Dubai.

zurnā sūqa dh-dhahabi fī dubayy - ز, ر, ذ, د and و are all non-joining, so these words fall into short pieces. ذ in الذَّهَب is the "th" of this, not d or z.

رَمَضانُ شَهْرُ الصِّيامِ.

Ramadan is the month of fasting.

ramaḍānu shahru ṣ-ṣiyām - three letters of this group: the emphatic ض in رَمَضان, ش in شَهْر, and the emphatic ص in الصِّيام. Compare the dark ṣ of الصِّيام with the clean s of سوق.

في الصَّيْفِ يَزورُنا ضُيوفٌ كَثيرونَ.

In summer many guests come to visit us.

fī ṣ-ṣayfi yazūrunā ḍuyūfun kathīrūn - summer (صَيْف) with ṣ and guests (ضُيوف, plural of ضَيْف) with ḍ: the two emphatics of this group in one sentence. Say either one plain and the sentence changes.

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1. Greetings and introductions

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Arabic Alphabet — Group 2?: The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters ; this second group adds 8, bringing you to 15. Two ideas matter here: four of these letters never join the letter after them , and two are emphatic consonants, heavier partners of ordinary s and d.
How do you form Arabic Alphabet — Group 2?: د ذ ر ز join the letter before them but never the letter after them; together with ا (group 1) and و (group 3) they make the six non-joining letters . After one of them the pen lifts, and the next letter starts again in its initial or isolated shape, as if a new word began. دَرْسٌ (dars, lesson) is three separate pieces: د, ر, س. So a gap inside a word is not a word break: زَيْتونٌ is one word written in three pieces. ص and ض are the emphatic partners of س and د. The tongue tip is where it is for s and d, but the back of the tongue is pulled back towards the throat, and the whole sound gets darker and heavier.
What are common mistakes with Arabic Alphabet — Group 2?: 1. Joining د ذ ر ز to the next letter: after them the pen lifts. 2. Reading a gap inside a word as a word break: زَيْتونٌ is one word in three pieces. 3. Saying ص and ض as plain س and د: صَيْفٌ (summer) becomes سَيْفٌ (sword). 4. Saying ذ as d or z: ذَهَبٌ is dhahab. 5. The English curled r for ر: it is a tap, a trill when doubled. English speakers: ذ and ش are sounds you already have (this, shut). The work is the emphatics: English has no ṣ or ḍ, so train your ear on the vowels next to them, which turn dark.

Sources

W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. I (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1896
§ 1, table (pp. 1-2): the letter table gives each letter's shapes "with a preceding letter" and "with a following letter"; for د, ذ, ر, ز (and ا, و) the columns for joining a following letter are left empty. These are the non-joining letters.
W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. I (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1896
§ 2 (pp. 5-6): ذ is "like the δ of the modern Greeks, or th in that"; ر "is in all positions a distinctly articulated lingual r"; ش is "sh in shut"; ص is "a strongly articulated s"; ض was "an aspirated d, strongly articulated between the front part of the side of the tongue and the molar teeth", while "in Egypt it is an emphatic d".
W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. I (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1896
§ 5 (a) (p. 8): next to the emphatic consonants fatḥa is still pronounced a, "though with the emphatic consonants its sound becomes rather obscure". This is the darkened vowel by which you hear ص and ض.
A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Karin C. Ryding) — Cambridge University Press, 2005
Chapter 2, "Phonology and script" (pp. 10-43) is the modern reference treatment of the sounds of Modern Standard Arabic, including the emphatic consonants, and the Arabic script. Cited from the publisher's catalogue record; the chapter text was not consulted.

Letter

Name

Sound

Isolated, initial, medial, final

Example

دال - dāl

/d/

د د ـد ـد

دَرْسٌ - lesson

ذال - dhāl

/ð/ as in this

ذ ذ ـذ ـذ

ذَهَبٌ - gold

راء - rāʾ

/r/ tapped, trilled when doubled

ر ر ـر ـر

رُزٌّ - rice

زاي - zāy

/z/

ز ز ـز ـز

زَيْتونٌ - olives

سين - sīn

/s/

س سـ ـسـ ـس

سوقٌ - market

شين - shīn

/ʃ/ as in shut

ش شـ ـشـ ـش

شَمْسٌ - sun

صاد - ṣād

/sˤ/ emphatic s

ص صـ ـصـ ـص

صَيْفٌ - summer

ضاد - ḍād

/dˤ/ emphatic d

ض ضـ ـضـ ـض

ضَيْفٌ - guest

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Arabic Alphabet — Group 2?

The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters ; this second group adds 8, bringing you to 15. Two ideas matter here: four of these letters never join the letter after them , and two are emphatic consonants, heavier partners of ordinary s and d.

How do you form Arabic Alphabet — Group 2?

د ذ ر ز join the letter before them but never the letter after them; together with ا (group 1) and و (group 3) they make the six non-joining letters . After one of them the pen lifts, and the next letter starts again in its initial or isolated shape, as if a new word began. دَرْسٌ (dars, lesson) is three separate pieces: د, ر, س. So a gap inside a word is not a word break: زَيْتونٌ is one word written in three pieces. ص and ض are the emphatic partners of س and د. The tongue tip is where it is for s and d, but the back of the tongue is pulled back towards the throat, and the whole sound gets darker and heavier.

What are common mistakes with Arabic Alphabet — Group 2?

1. Joining د ذ ر ز to the next letter: after them the pen lifts. 2. Reading a gap inside a word as a word break: زَيْتونٌ is one word in three pieces. 3. Saying ص and ض as plain س and د: صَيْفٌ (summer) becomes سَيْفٌ (sword). 4. Saying ذ as d or z: ذَهَبٌ is dhahab. 5. The English curled r for ر: it is a tap, a trill when doubled. English speakers: ذ and ش are sounds you already have (this, shut). The work is the emphatics: English has no ṣ or ḍ, so train your ear on the vowels next to them, which turn dark.

Sources

W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. I (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1896

§ 1, table (pp. 1-2): the letter table gives each letter's shapes "with a preceding letter" and "with a following letter"; for د, ذ, ر, ز (and ا, و) the columns for joining a following letter are left empty. These are the non-joining letters.

W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. I (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1896

§ 2 (pp. 5-6): ذ is "like the δ of the modern Greeks, or th in that"; ر "is in all positions a distinctly articulated lingual r"; ش is "sh in shut"; ص is "a strongly articulated s"; ض was "an aspirated d, strongly articulated between the front part of the side of the tongue and the molar teeth", while "in Egypt it is an emphatic d".

W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. I (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1896

§ 5 (a) (p. 8): next to the emphatic consonants fatḥa is still pronounced a, "though with the emphatic consonants its sound becomes rather obscure". This is the darkened vowel by which you hear ص and ض.

A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Karin C. Ryding) — Cambridge University Press, 2005

Chapter 2, "Phonology and script" (pp. 10-43) is the modern reference treatment of the sounds of Modern Standard Arabic, including the emphatic consonants, and the Arabic script. Cited from the publisher's catalogue record; the chapter text was not consulted.