Letters II
د ذ ر ز س ش ص
Seven more letters, including pairs split by a single dot.
You will learn
- Recognise د ذ ر ز س ش ص
- Pair letters that differ only by dots
- Hear the 'heavy' ص against the light س
Dot pairs
د (d) and ذ (th as in 'this') share a shape. ر (rolled r) and ز (z) do too. س (s) and ش (sh) differ by three dots.
- دَرْس — dars — lesson
- شَمْس — shams — sun
Heavy letters
ص is an 'emphatic' s: the back of the tongue rises, so the sound is deeper and darker, and nearby vowels sound fuller. Compare سَيْف (sword) with صَيْف (summer).
- صَيْف — ṣayf — summer
Vocabulary
| Arabic | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| د | dāl | d as in 'day' |
| ذ | dhāl | th as in 'this' |
| ر | rāʾ | tapped/rolled r |
| ز | zāy | z as in 'zoo' |
| س | sīn | s as in 'sun' |
| ش | shīn | sh as in 'ship' |
| ص | ṣād | heavy, deep s |
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