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Unique Arabic letters
Finally, there are four letters that have their own idiosyncratic behaviors.

Haa'
The Arabic letter Haa' is a Moon Letter.
How the Arabic letter Ha is pronounced
Ha is the counterpart of the English letter H.
Basic Sample words of Ha in different states
Ha is connectable to both sides. It take these three forms depending on its position in the word:
هِرة Herrah -cat
نَهر Nahr -river
الله Allah -god
Ha represents all four kinds of sounds. (Please note that English doesn’t actually have many words that contain medial and final Ha sounds)
Haa' with a fatha: ( هَـ ) ( ـهَـ ) has a soft sound like:
– Ha in Hat or Has
with a kasra: ( هِـ ) ( ـهِـ ) sounds like:
– Hi in His
– He in Head
with a damma: ( هُـ ) ( ـهُـ ) sounds like:
– Ho in Hope
with sokoon: ( ـهْـ ) ( ـهْ ) sounds like:
– h in Blah. OR like h in Bahrain.
Look-a-likes
Ha has different and unique forms. This is tricky: the final form of Ha ( ـه ) looks exactly like the feminine glyph Ta Marbootah ( ـة ).
There’s a trick to determine whether a letter is a final Ha or a Ta Marbootah which is that you can actually make Tanween to a Ta Marbootah but not to a Ha so a letter ending with a final Ha with sokoon would not sound right after attempting to add a tanween and people familiar with Arabic language would easily point that out.
Mnemonic
Ha is very fun to write. The Initial ( هـ ) form is like roller coaster track. And the Medial ( ـهـ ) form looks like number -8-
How the Arabic letter Ha is pronounced
Ha is the counterpart of the English letter H.
Basic Sample words of Ha in different states
Ha is connectable to both sides. It take these three forms depending on its position in the word:
هِرة Herrah -cat
نَهر Nahr -river
الله Allah -god
Ha represents all four kinds of sounds. (Please note that English doesn’t actually have many words that contain medial and final Ha sounds)
Haa' with a fatha: ( هَـ ) ( ـهَـ ) has a soft sound like:
– Ha in Hat or Has
with a kasra: ( هِـ ) ( ـهِـ ) sounds like:
– Hi in His
– He in Head
with a damma: ( هُـ ) ( ـهُـ ) sounds like:
– Ho in Hope
with sokoon: ( ـهْـ ) ( ـهْ ) sounds like:
– h in Blah. OR like h in Bahrain.
Look-a-likes
Ha has different and unique forms. This is tricky: the final form of Ha ( ـه ) looks exactly like the feminine glyph Ta Marbootah ( ـة ).
There’s a trick to determine whether a letter is a final Ha or a Ta Marbootah which is that you can actually make Tanween to a Ta Marbootah but not to a Ha so a letter ending with a final Ha with sokoon would not sound right after attempting to add a tanween and people familiar with Arabic language would easily point that out.
Mnemonic
Ha is very fun to write. The Initial ( هـ ) form is like roller coaster track. And the Medial ( ـهـ ) form looks like number -8-

Meem
The Arabic letter Meem is a Moon Letter.
How the Arabic letter Meem is pronounced
Meem is the counterpart of the English letter M which is pronounced by pressing the lips together and making a sound blowing air out of the nose.
Basic Sample words of Meem in different states
Meem is connectable to both sides. It take these three forms depending on its position in the word:
مَاء Maa- water
قَميص qamees- shirt
يَوم yawm- day
Meem with a fatha: ( مَـ ) ( ـمَـ ) sounds like:
– Ma in Man
– ma in Woman
Or it may have a gruff sound like:
– Ma in Mars
Meem with a kasra: ( مِـ ) ( ـمِـ ) sounds like:
– Me in Mechanic
– me in Semester
Meem with a damma: ( مُـ ) ( ـمُـ ) sounds like:
– Mo in Mobile or Motor
– mo in Lemon
Meem with sokoon: ( ـمْـ ) ( ـمْ ) sounds like:
-m in Number
-m in Dream or Program
Look-a-likes
The Isolated form of Meem ( م ) doesn’t have Look-a-likes. But the Medial form ( ـمـ ), look a bit like the Medial form of the twins Fa ( ـفـ ) and Qaf ( ـقـ ). And also the Medial form of the twins Ayn ( ـعـ ) and Ghayn ( ـغـ ) in some fonts.
Mnemonic
Meem is written in two parts, an o shape connected to a part that looks like a reversed L.
How the Arabic letter Meem is pronounced
Meem is the counterpart of the English letter M which is pronounced by pressing the lips together and making a sound blowing air out of the nose.
Basic Sample words of Meem in different states
Meem is connectable to both sides. It take these three forms depending on its position in the word:
مَاء Maa- water
قَميص qamees- shirt
يَوم yawm- day
Meem with a fatha: ( مَـ ) ( ـمَـ ) sounds like:
– Ma in Man
– ma in Woman
Or it may have a gruff sound like:
– Ma in Mars
Meem with a kasra: ( مِـ ) ( ـمِـ ) sounds like:
– Me in Mechanic
– me in Semester
Meem with a damma: ( مُـ ) ( ـمُـ ) sounds like:
– Mo in Mobile or Motor
– mo in Lemon
Meem with sokoon: ( ـمْـ ) ( ـمْ ) sounds like:
-m in Number
-m in Dream or Program
Look-a-likes
The Isolated form of Meem ( م ) doesn’t have Look-a-likes. But the Medial form ( ـمـ ), look a bit like the Medial form of the twins Fa ( ـفـ ) and Qaf ( ـقـ ). And also the Medial form of the twins Ayn ( ـعـ ) and Ghayn ( ـغـ ) in some fonts.
Mnemonic
Meem is written in two parts, an o shape connected to a part that looks like a reversed L.

Lam
The Arabic letter Lam is a Sun Letter.
The shape of Lam has some similarity to that of Kaf, but the vertical stroke is longer and the base is more rounded.
How the Arabic letter Lam is pronounced
Lam is the counterpart of the English letter L which is pronounced by slightly pressing the tip of the tongue on the top portion of the mouth.
Basic Sample words of Lam in different states
Lam is connectable to both sides. It take these three forms depending on its position in the word:
ليمونة Laymounah- lemon
جلد jeld- skin
نخيل nakheel-palm trees
Lam represents all four kinds of sounds:
Lam with a fatha: ( لَـ ) ( ـلَـ )
– Might have a soft sound like La in “Land” or the word “Laa” mentioned above. OR like la in “Plastic”.
Lam with a kasra: ( لِـ ) ( ـلِـ )
– It sounds like Li in “List” or “Lin”. OR like le in “bullet”.
Lam with a damma: ( لُـ ) ( ـلُـ )
– It sounds like Lo in “Lose”. OR like lo in “Balloon”.
Lam with sokoon: ( ـلْـ ) ( ـلْ )
– It sounds like l in “Help”. OR like ll in “Ball”.
Lam also has a special additional form. When an Alif comes after the Lam they perform a “Lam-Alif” with this form ( لا ). Actually, these two letters on their own make the word “Laa” which means “No” in English. But they can also be a part of a bigger word, and they might take this form if they are connected to a letter before ( ـلا ).
مُلاحظة Mulahathah- note
On the other hand, when the Lam comes after the Alif in the beginning of a word, it forms the definite article Al (ال) meaning “The”, whose function is to make the noun which it precedes definite.
Unlike most other particles in Arabic, “al” is always prefixed to another word and it never stands alone.
الكتاب al-kitab -the book
Note: In case of the 14 Arabic Sun letters, they assimilate the “l” of “Al” in pronunciation thus, al-shams (The sun) is rather pronounced as a-shams while written as al-shams. So, the definite article is written al in transliteration, even when the l is assimilated in pronunciation ie. Being followed by a moon letter affects only the pronunciation and not the spelling of the article.
Mnemonic
Lam is written exactly like the English letter J.
The shape of Lam has some similarity to that of Kaf, but the vertical stroke is longer and the base is more rounded.
How the Arabic letter Lam is pronounced
Lam is the counterpart of the English letter L which is pronounced by slightly pressing the tip of the tongue on the top portion of the mouth.
Basic Sample words of Lam in different states
Lam is connectable to both sides. It take these three forms depending on its position in the word:
ليمونة Laymounah- lemon
جلد jeld- skin
نخيل nakheel-palm trees
Lam represents all four kinds of sounds:
Lam with a fatha: ( لَـ ) ( ـلَـ )
– Might have a soft sound like La in “Land” or the word “Laa” mentioned above. OR like la in “Plastic”.
Lam with a kasra: ( لِـ ) ( ـلِـ )
– It sounds like Li in “List” or “Lin”. OR like le in “bullet”.
Lam with a damma: ( لُـ ) ( ـلُـ )
– It sounds like Lo in “Lose”. OR like lo in “Balloon”.
Lam with sokoon: ( ـلْـ ) ( ـلْ )
– It sounds like l in “Help”. OR like ll in “Ball”.
Lam also has a special additional form. When an Alif comes after the Lam they perform a “Lam-Alif” with this form ( لا ). Actually, these two letters on their own make the word “Laa” which means “No” in English. But they can also be a part of a bigger word, and they might take this form if they are connected to a letter before ( ـلا ).
مُلاحظة Mulahathah- note
On the other hand, when the Lam comes after the Alif in the beginning of a word, it forms the definite article Al (ال) meaning “The”, whose function is to make the noun which it precedes definite.
Unlike most other particles in Arabic, “al” is always prefixed to another word and it never stands alone.
الكتاب al-kitab -the book
Note: In case of the 14 Arabic Sun letters, they assimilate the “l” of “Al” in pronunciation thus, al-shams (The sun) is rather pronounced as a-shams while written as al-shams. So, the definite article is written al in transliteration, even when the l is assimilated in pronunciation ie. Being followed by a moon letter affects only the pronunciation and not the spelling of the article.
Mnemonic
Lam is written exactly like the English letter J.

Kaf
The Arabic letter Kaf is a Moon Letter.
How the Arabic letter Kaf is pronounced
The Arabic letter Kaf represents the sounds of q and k and even c which is pronounced by briefly preventing air from leaving the vocal tract when the back of the tongue lifts and presses against the soft palate at the back of the mouth. The sound is aspirated when the air is released.
Basic Sample words of Kaf in different states
Kaf is connectable to both sides. It take these three forms depending on its position in the word:
كِتاب kitb- book
شَوكة shawkah- fork
كَعك kaak- cakes
Kaf is the soft sound-mate of the Qaf. It only represent three sounds and all of them are soft. It doesn’t have a gruff sound when it comes with a fatha.
The word “Car” or “Company” can’t represent Kaf because they have gruff sounds. They are closer to the sound of Qaf.
Kaf with a fatha: ( كَـ ) ( ـكَـ ) only has a soft sound like:
– Ca in Cat
– ca in Academy
Kaf with a kasra: ( كِـ ) ( ـكِـ ) sounds like:
– Ke in Keep
– ke in Market
Kaf with a damma: ( كُـ ) ( ـكُـ ) sounds like:
– Co in Cool
Kaf with sokoon: ( ـكْـ ) ( ـكْ ) sounds like:
– c in Doctor
– k in Bank
Look-a-likes
Kaf ( ك ) looks a bit like the next letter Laam ( ل ). But Kaf has a straight base and Laam has a circular base.
How the Arabic letter Kaf is pronounced
The Arabic letter Kaf represents the sounds of q and k and even c which is pronounced by briefly preventing air from leaving the vocal tract when the back of the tongue lifts and presses against the soft palate at the back of the mouth. The sound is aspirated when the air is released.
Basic Sample words of Kaf in different states
Kaf is connectable to both sides. It take these three forms depending on its position in the word:
كِتاب kitb- book
شَوكة shawkah- fork
كَعك kaak- cakes
Kaf is the soft sound-mate of the Qaf. It only represent three sounds and all of them are soft. It doesn’t have a gruff sound when it comes with a fatha.
The word “Car” or “Company” can’t represent Kaf because they have gruff sounds. They are closer to the sound of Qaf.
Kaf with a fatha: ( كَـ ) ( ـكَـ ) only has a soft sound like:
– Ca in Cat
– ca in Academy
Kaf with a kasra: ( كِـ ) ( ـكِـ ) sounds like:
– Ke in Keep
– ke in Market
Kaf with a damma: ( كُـ ) ( ـكُـ ) sounds like:
– Co in Cool
Kaf with sokoon: ( ـكْـ ) ( ـكْ ) sounds like:
– c in Doctor
– k in Bank
Look-a-likes
Kaf ( ك ) looks a bit like the next letter Laam ( ل ). But Kaf has a straight base and Laam has a circular base.
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