Lesson №3

The next 3 letters of the Arabic alphabet are: «jim», «haa», «khaa». Here is what they look like:

The three letters look very alike and differ only in the presence and position of dots.

The letter «Jim»

Let's have a look at some examples with vowels:

It varies from «haa» and «khaa» in that it has a dot at the bottom of the top element. This is what the letter «jim» looks like in various positions:

Pronunciation of the letter:

The letter «jim» is read in the text as the English letter «j» as in the words «jam» or «jar».

The letter «haa»

Let's look at examples of reading this letter with vowels:

The letter «haa» is similar to «jim» and «khaa» in its shape and principle of writing but unlike them «haa» does not have any dots at all. See what this letter looks like in its different spellings at the beginning, middle and end of a word.

Pronunciation of the letter

The letter «haa» does not have any equivalents in the English language. It is quite tough to pronounce it for beginners, so we strongly recommend drilling its pronunciation with a qualified teacher. The difference between some letters may seem insignificant to you but it is significant for Arabs so that the slightest change in pronunciation can radically change the meaning of the word.

The letter «haa» is found in such names of God as «Ar-Rahman» and «Ar-Raheem»:

Also, this letter can be found in some names of people:

The letter Khaa

The letter Khaa with vowels:

Here is what the letter «kha» looks like in various positions:

As you might have noticed, «khaa» differs from «jim» in that the dot is placed on top of the letter.

Pronunciation of the letter

The sound of the letter «kha» (note that in the transcription of this letter, a dot is placed at the bottom of it to distinguish it from the previous letter «haa») is somewhat similar to the Scottish «ch» in the word «Loch» (probably you have heard of «Loch Ness»). Sometimes you can see how instead of «khaa» it is written «kho». This is done because the pronunciation of this letter with fathah (the vowel «a») is slightly inclined to the vowel «o», but at the same time it does not sound like a pure «o», but occupies a position between «a» and «o». Examples of words:

What have we learned in this lesson?

1. The three letters «jim» , «haa» and «khaa» look very alike and differ only in the presence and position of dots.

2. The letter «jim» sounds similar to the English «j».

3. The pronunciation of the letter «haa» must be learned with a teacher as there is no such letter in the English language. It has no dots at all.

4. The letter «khaa» is pronounced heavily (i.e firmly). It has a dot on top of it.