 | This is thepronunciation key forIPA transcriptions of Arabic on Wikipedia. It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of Arabic in Wikipedia articles, and example words that illustrate the sounds that correspond to them. Integrity must be maintained between the key and the transcriptions that link here; do not change any symbol or value without establishingconsensus on thetalk page first. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. |
The chart below explains how Wikipedia representsModern Standard Arabic pronunciations with theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Wikipedia also has specific charts forEgyptian Arabic,Hejazi Arabic,Lebanese Arabic, andTunisian Arabic. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, seeTemplate:IPA andWikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.
SeeArabic phonology for a more thorough discussion of the sounds of Modern Standard Arabic, andvarieties of Arabic for regional variation.
| IPA | English approximation | Arabic letter/symbol | Usual romanization | Letter name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A–B | ||||
| a[a] | cat inBritish English, only approx. inAmerican English, could also be realised as [æ] | َ | a, á, e | فَتْحَة (fatḥah) |
| aː[b] | not exact, longerfar, could also be realised as [æː] | ـَا (ى at word end) | ā, â, aa, a | أَلِف (ʾalif) الف مقصورة (ʾalif maqṣūrah) |
| aj[c] | /a/+/j/,my or night | ْـَي | ay, ai, ey, ei | يَاء (yāʾ) |
| aw[d] | /a/+/w/,noun | ْـَو | aw, au | وَاو (wāw) |
| b | bee | ب | b | بَاء (bāʾ) |
| D | ||||
| d | dash | د | d | دَال (dāl) |
| dˤ[e] | emphatic andpharyngealized/d/, no equivalent, can be approximated toRPdawn | ض | ḍ, dh | ضَاد (ḍād) |
| dʒ | jam | ج[f] | j, ǧ, dj, g | جِيم (jīm) |
| ð | these | ذ | dh, ḏ | ذَال (dhāl) |
| ðˤ[e][g] | emphatic and pharyngealized[ð] | ظ | ẓ | ظَاء (ẓāʾ) |
| F–H | ||||
| f | father | ف | f | فَاء (fāʾ) |
| h | hi | ه | h | هَاء (hāʾ) |
| ħ | hello, but pronounced in the back of your throat | ح | ḥ | حَاء (ḥāʾ) |
| I–K | ||||
| i[h] | happy | ِ | i, e | كَسْرَة (kasrah) |
| iː[i] | machine | ـِي | ī, ee, i | يَاء (yāʾ) |
| j | yes | ي | y | يَاء (yāʾ) |
| k[1] | scape | ك | k | كَاف (kāf) |
| L–S | ||||
| l | lease (Received Pronunciation) | ل | l | لَام (lām) |
| ɫ[j] | tool | |||
| m | me | م | m | مِيم (mīm) |
| n | no | ن | n | نُون (nūn) |
| q | likeskit, but further down to theuvula (uvular). | ق | q, g, ' | قَاف (qāf) |
| r | "tapped" or "trilled" r; Spanishperro | ر | r | رَاء (rāʾ) |
| s | snake | س | s | سِين (sīn) |
| sˤ[e] | close tosaw, emphatic and pharyngealized/s/ | ص | ṣ | صَاد (ṣād) |
| ʃ | sheep | ش | sh, š, ch | شِين (shīn) |
| T–W | ||||
| t[1] | stop | ت (sometimesة) | t | تَاء (tāʾ) تاء مربوطة (tāʾ marbūṭah) |
| tˤ[e] | emphatic and pharyngealized/t/, no equivalent | ط | ṭ | طَاء (ṭāʾ) |
| θ | think | ث | th, ṯ | ثَاء (thāʾ) |
| u[k] | fruition | ُ | u, o, ou | ضَمَّة (ḍammah) |
| uː[l] | cool | ـُو | ū, oo, ou, u | وَاو (wāw) |
| w | we | و | w | وَاو (wāw) |
| X–Z | ||||
| x ~χ | Scottishloch | خ | kh, ḫ, ḵ | خَاء (khāʾ) |
| ɣ ~ʁ | likegallon, but with a guttural sound further down to theuvula (uvular). Alternatively likeFrench paris | غ | gh, ġ, ḡ | غَيْن (ghayn) |
| z | zoo | ز | z | زَاي (zāy) |
| Other | ||||
| ʔ | The pause inuh-oh!; The 'tt' inkitten in Standard American English; | ء | ʾ’' | هَمْزة (hamzah) |
| ʕ | no equivalent in English (voiced pharyngeal fricative or voiced creaky-voiced pharyngeal approximant) | ع | ʿ‘'` | عَيْن (ʿayn) |
| θ | see underT—W | |||
| ˈ | [ˈkiːwi]كِيوِي ('kiwi') | Means that the following syllable is stressed:/ˈʕarabiː/عربي ('Arab'). | ||
| ː | [kiːs]كِيس ('sack') | Means that the preceding vowel is long | ||
| [ˈdˤɑħ.ħæ]ضَحّى ('[he] sacrificed'), [mʊˈdær.rɪsæ]مُدَرِّسَة ('teacher [f.]'), [ræs.ˈsæːmæ]رَسَّامَة ('paintress'), [kæð.ˈðæːb]كَذَّاب ('liar [m.]') | Ageminated consonant never belongs to one syllable and is often broken with astress. | |||