:party-blob: Yalla, let's learn some Arabic :party-blob:
The letter ع is a tricky one because it is foreign to English and all European languages.
The letter’s name is عَين (عayn) which also means ‘eye’.
It is produced from the middle section of the throat by restricting the flow of air. You should be able to feel the muscles contract when you put your hand on your throat. In a way, it is the voiced counterpart of ح i.e. the vocal cords vibrate.
If you practice enough, you will be able to pronounce عarab, عumar(Omar) and عalii (Ali) correctly.
The ع is NOT a vowel.
| Final | Medial | Initial | Independent / Isolated |
|---|---|---|---|
| ـع | ـعـ | عـ | ع |
By looking at all the forms, is it clear which is the core and which is the tail?
What is going on with the medial and final shapes you ask? It’s written this way so we don’t take the pen off the paper, which is an important consideration when it comes to the Arabic script lol. See the spoiler 👇
spoiler
It's commonly transliterated as 3 because it kinda looks like a mirrored ع.
| Pronunciation | Eng | عَرَبي |
|---|---|---|
| 3uud | Oud | عود |
| 3aamil | worker, laborer | عامِل |
| wa3d / wu3uud | promise(s) | وَعد ، وُعود |
| ra3d / ru3uud | thunder | رَعد ، رُعود |
| juu3 | hunger | جوع |
| naw3 / ’anwaa3 | type(s) | نَوع، أَنواع |
| 3arD / 3uruuD | presentation, show, offer(s) | عَرض ، عٌروض |
You can also watch this video
Exercises
Use spoilers
ش + ع + ل + و = ؟
1) ثعلو
2) شعلو
3) شملو
م + و + ع + ج = ؟
1) ممعج
2) موعج
3) مرعج
Q3 Which one means door?
1) باب
2) توت
3) بَيت
Q3 Which one means animal?
1) روحي
2) حَيَوان
3) حَياتي
Previous Lessons
