The letters from sin to ya

Here are the other 17 letters of the alphabet.

س sin: s ش shin: "sh" as in "ship" ص ṣad: a "heavy" s, tongue low and mouth rounded ض ḍad: a "heavy" d ط ṭa: a "heavy" t ظ ẓa: the "th" of "this", made heavy ع ʿayn: a sound from the middle of the throat with no English equivalent; listen to your teacher غ ghayn: like the French guttural r in "Paris" ف fa: f ق qaf: a k made at the very back of the mouth ك kaf: k ل lam: l م mim: m ن nun: n ه ha: a light h, as in "hello" و waw: w, as in "water" ي ya: y, as in "yes"

The hamza ء is a short catch in the voice, like the break in "uh-oh". It is written alone or on a carrier: أ إ ؤ ئ.

Families to notice: س ش, ص ض, ط ظ, ع غ, and ف ق (one dot for ف, two for ق).

The heavy letters. Seven letters are pronounced with the back of the tongue raised, which gives them a full sound: خ ص ض غ ط ق ظ. Teachers often gather them in the phrase خُصَّ ضَغْطٍ قِظْ to remember them. For now, just know that they exist: your teacher will help you practise them.

Pairs to tell apart: س and ص, د and ض, ت and ط, ذ and ظ, ك and ق, ه and ح. A word can change meaning if you mix them up.

Understanding the lesson

Explanation This lesson has the sounds that are newest for an English speaker: ع, غ, ق, ح and the heavy letters. Why so much emphasis? Because in Arabic two words can differ by a single similar letter. Examples teachers often give: قَلْب (qalb, heart) and كَلْب (kalb, dog); عَلِيم (ʿaliim, the All-Knowing, a name of Allah) and أَلِيم (aliim, painful). Pronouncing badly can mean saying something other than what is written.

The heavy letters (خ ص ض غ ط ق ظ) are pronounced with the back of the tongue raised towards the palate: the mouth hollows and the sound becomes full. The other letters are rather light. This contrast between heavy and light is one of the foundations of tajwid.

The hamza is a real consonant: a clean stop of the voice. It counts as much as any other letter; it must not be skipped.

Common mistakes: saying ع as a plain vowel "a"; saying ق like ك; saying ص, ض, ط, ظ like س, د, ت, ذ; swallowing the hamza; saying ه too weakly at the end of a word.

Lessons to draw • Work on difficult pairs two at a time (س / ص, ك / ق…), saying them one after the other. • Record yourself and compare with a reciter on the site's Qur'an page. • Do not be afraid of new sounds: the mouth learns by repetition, as in a sport. • Think of the reward: the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever reads one letter of the Book of Allah earns a good deed, and a good deed is worth ten times as much (Tirmidhi 2910). Every letter you work on counts.

Key points • Seven heavy letters: خ ص ض غ ط ق ظ; the others are rather light. • The hamza (ء) is a stop of the voice: it is pronounced. • Mixing up two similar letters can change the meaning of a word.

The main message Taking the time to pronounce well means reading what Allah said, not a word that merely looks like it.