Arabic Letters and Harakat Typing Guide
The complete beginner reference for typing all 28 Arabic letters and all 8 harakat marks — with keyboard positions and pronunciation.
Every Arabic typing journey starts with two fundamental skills: knowing the 28 Arabic letters and understanding how to add vowel marks (harakat). This guide provides a complete reference for both — with keyboard positions for the Arabic 101 layout and pronunciation guides for each letter and mark.
The 28 Arabic Letters — Complete Keyboard Reference
The Arabic 101 keyboard layout maps Arabic letters to specific keys. This table shows each letter's keyboard key, its forms, name, and transliteration:
| Key | Letter (Isolated Form) | Arabic Name | Transliteration | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q | ض | ضاد | Dad | Emphatic D (unique to Arabic) |
| W | ص | صاد | Sad | Emphatic S |
| E | ث | ثاء | Tha | Like English "th" |
| R | ق | قاف | Qaf | Deep back-of-throat Q |
| T | ف | فاء | Fa | Like English F |
| Y | غ | غين | Ghayn | Guttural G (like French R) |
| U | ع | عين | 'Ayn | Voiced pharyngeal (unique) |
| I | ه | هاء | Ha | Like English H |
| O | خ | خاء | Kha | Like Scottish "loch" |
| P | ح | حاء | Ha | Breathy H from throat |
| A | ش | شين | Shin | Like English "SH" |
| S | س | سين | Sin | Like English S |
| D | ي | ياء | Ya | Like English Y |
| F | ب | باء | Ba | Like English B |
| G | ل | لام | Lam | Like English L |
| H | ا | ألف | Alef | Long A vowel / glottal stop |
| J | ت | تاء | Ta | Like English T |
| K | ن | نون | Nun | Like English N |
| L | م | ميم | Mim | Like English M |
| ; | ك | كاف | Kaf | Like English K |
| Z | ئ | يء | Ya Hamza | Hamzated Ya |
| X | ء | همزة | Hamza | Glottal stop |
| C | ؤ | واو همزة | Wow Hamza | Hamzated Waw |
| V | ر | راء | Ra | Trilled R |
| B | ل | [Lam] | — | Lam (alternate) |
| N | و | واو | Waw | Like English W/OO |
| M | ز | زاي | Zay | Like English Z |
| < | ظ | ظاء | Dha | Emphatic TH |
| > | ط | طاء | Ta | Emphatic T |
| / | ذ | ذال | Dhal | Like English "the" |
All 8 Harakat Marks — Quick Reference
| Mark | Arabic Name | Keyboard Shortcut | Sound Added |
|---|---|---|---|
| َ | فتحة | Shift + Q | Short "a" (cat) |
| ً | تنوين فتح | Shift + W | "an" (indefinite accusative) |
| ُ | ضمة | Shift + E | Short "u" (put) |
| ٌ | تنوين ضم | Shift + R | "un" (indefinite nominative) |
| ِ | كسرة | Shift + A | Short "i" (sit) |
| ٍ | تنوين كسر | Shift + S | "in" (indefinite genitive) |
| ْ | سكون | Shift + X | No vowel (bare consonant) |
| ّ | شدة | Shift + ` | Doubles the consonant |
Arabic Alphabet Practice Order for Beginners
Begin learning letters in this order for easiest acquisition:
- Group 1 — Dots define the letter: ب ت ث / ج ح خ / د ذ / ر ز / س ش / ص ض / ط ظ / ع غ
- Group 2 — No dots: ا و ي م ن ل ه ك ق ف
- Group 3 — Hamza forms: أ إ آ ؤ ئ
Letters within each group share the same base shape — only the dot position differs. Grouping them makes memorization far faster.
⌨ Practice All Arabic Letters with Our Keyboard
Type each letter using the reference above — free, no account.
Open Arabic KeyboardFrequently Asked Questions
The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters. Unlike English's 26 capital and lowercase pairs, Arabic letters only have one case but have 4 different positional forms (isolated, initial, medial, final) depending on where the letter appears in a word. Additionally, there are several variant letter forms (Hamza combinations: أ إ آ ؤ ئ) that bring the total distinct character shapes to around 36.
No. Six Arabic letters only connect from the right side (not the left): ا (Alef), و (Waw), ر (Ra), ز (Zay), د (Dal), ذ (Dhal). These six letters never connect to the letter that comes after them, causing a break in the word before continuing from the right. All other 22 letters connect on both sides.
The Arabic 101 keyboard layout was not designed to be "logical" in terms of letter placement — it is a historical standard. The most effective memorization method is daily touch-typing practice using our Arabic keyboard, starting slowly and increasing speed over weeks. Arabic keyboard stickers on your physical keyboard help the first 1-2 weeks.