Free tool · Qur’an reading starter
The 28 letters of the Qur’an’s script, each with its four forms, where it is made, and a real word from the Qur’an. Four short lessons take you from the first letter to sounding out an ayah. Free, private and nothing is uploaded.
There are 28 letters, written right to left. Most change shape at the start, middle and end of a word. Six (ا د ذ ر ز و) never join the letter after them. Short vowels are small marks (harakat) above and below the letters. Learn those three things and you can read any ayah slowly.
Sound buttons use your device’s built-in Arabic voice. It is a computer voice and is not tajwid-accurate. Learn the real sounds from a teacher or from recitation.
Tap a letter to jump to its card. The order is the traditional one used in dictionaries and teaching.
Each card shows the letter alone, then as it looks at the start, in the middle and at the end of a word. Under it is where the sound is made and a word from the Qur’an that begins with the letter, linked to its ayah. The dash means the letter has no start or middle form.
aa — a long “aa”; the same shape also carries a hamza (a catch in the throat)
Joins the letter before it, never the one after.
Made The long “aa” comes from the open space of the mouth and throat (al-jawf). A hamza (ء) on it is made in the deepest part of the throat.
ٱللَّهُ allāhu — “Allah” (112:1)
b — b as in ball
Made Both lips close together, then open.
بِسْمِ bismi — “in the name of” (1:1)
t — t as in tea, with the tongue tip on the teeth
Made The tip of the tongue touches the base of the upper front teeth.
تَوَّابًۢا tawwāban — “ever accepting of repentance” (110:3)
th — th as in think
Made The tip of the tongue touches the edge of the upper front teeth.
ثُمَّ thumma — “then” (75:19)
j — j as in jam
Made The middle of the tongue rises to meet the roof of the mouth above it.
جَنَّٰتٍۢ jannātin — “gardens” (2:25)
ḥ — a strong breathy h, like fogging a mirror, from the throat
Made The middle of the throat.
حَتَّىٰ ḥattā — “until” (97:5)
kh — like ch in Scottish loch
Made The top of the throat, the part nearest the mouth.
خَيْرٌۭ khayrun — “better” (97:3)
d — d as in door, with the tongue tip on the teeth
Joins the letter before it, never the one after.
Made The tip of the tongue touches the base of the upper front teeth.
دِينُكُمْ dīnukum — “your religion” (109:6)
dh — th as in this
Joins the letter before it, never the one after.
Made The tip of the tongue touches the edge of the upper front teeth.
ذَٰلِكَ dhālika — “that” (2:2)
r — a rolled or tapped r, as in Spanish perro
Joins the letter before it, never the one after.
Made The tip of the tongue taps just behind the upper gum ridge.
رَبِّ rabbi — “Lord of” (1:2)
z — z as in zoo
Joins the letter before it, never the one after.
Made The tip of the tongue sits close behind the lower front teeth, with a buzzing whistle.
زَيْتُونَةٍۢ zaytūnatin — “an olive tree” (24:35)
s — s as in sun
Made The same place as zay (tongue tip near the lower front teeth), but a whistle without voice.
سَلَٰمٌ salāmun — “peace” (97:5)
sh — sh as in ship
Made The middle of the tongue rises to the roof of the mouth, as for jim.
شَهْرٍۢ shahrin — “a month” (97:3)
ṣ — a heavy, full s with the tongue raised and the mouth rounded
Made The same place as sin, but the back of the tongue rises, which makes the sound heavy.
صِرَٰطَ ṣirāṭa — “the path of” (1:7)
ḍ — a heavy d, made with the side of the tongue
Made The side of the tongue presses against the upper molars. Its sound is the one the language is named for.
ضَبْحًۭا ḍabḥan — “panting” (100:1)
ṭ — a heavy t, deep and full
Made The same place as ta and dal, but the back of the tongue rises, which makes it heavy.
طَعَامِ ṭaʿāmi — “the feeding of” (107:3)
ẓ — a heavy dh, deep and full
Made The same place as dhal, but heavy.
ظَلَمُوا۟ ẓalamū — “they wronged” (2:59)
ʿ — a deep sound from the throat that has no English match; squeeze the throat and voice it
Made The middle of the throat, the same place as ha (ح), but with voice.
عَلَقٍ ʿalaqin — “a clinging clot” (96:2)
gh — like a gargled French r
Made The top of the throat, the same place as kha (خ), but with voice.
غَيْرِ ghayri — “other than” (1:7)
f — f as in fan
Made The tips of the upper front teeth touch the inside of the lower lip.
فَصَلِّ faṣalli — “so pray” (108:2)
q — a deep k made at the very back of the mouth
Made The back of the tongue meets the soft palate at the back of the mouth.
قُلْ qul — “say” (112:1)
k — k as in king
Made The back of the tongue meets the roof of the mouth, a little forward of qaf.
كُفُوًا kufuwan — “equal” (112:4)
l — l as in light
Made The edge of the tongue touches the gum above the front teeth.
لَيْلَةِ laylati — “the night of” (97:1)
m — m as in moon
Made Both lips close, with a hum through the nose.
مَلِكِ maliki — “King of” (114:2)
n — n as in noon
Made The tip of the tongue touches the gum above the upper front teeth, with a hum through the nose.
نُورُ nūru — “the light of” (24:35)
h — a light h as in hat
Made The deepest part of the throat.
هُوَ huwa — “He” (112:1)
w — w as in water; as a long vowel, “oo”
Joins the letter before it, never the one after.
Made The lips round and nearly close. The long “oo” comes from the open space of the mouth and throat.
وَجْهُ wajhu — “the face of” (55:27)
y — y as in yes; as a long vowel, “ee”
Made The middle of the tongue rises to the roof of the mouth. The long “ee” comes from the open space of the mouth and throat.
يَوْمِ yawmi — “the day of” (1:4)
Learn the body shape first, then the dots. Dots are part of the letter: moving one changes the word.
| Letters | Shared shape | Dots |
|---|---|---|
| ب ت ث ن ي | A shallow bowl, with dots that tell them apart | ب 1 below · ت 2 above · ث 3 above · ن 1 above · ي 2 below |
| ج ح خ | A hook with a tail | ج 1 below · ح none · خ 1 above |
| د ذ | A small corner | د none · ذ 1 above |
| ر ز | A curve dipping below the line | ر none · ز 1 above |
| س ش | Three teeth then a tail | س none · ش 3 above |
| ص ض | A loop then a tail | ص none · ض 1 above |
| ط ظ | A loop with a stem | ط none · ظ 1 above |
| ع غ | An eye-shaped head | ع none · غ 1 above |
| ف ق | A loop with a tail | ف 1 above · ق 2 above |
When you can sound out a word, open the first chapter, al-Fatiha and read it slowly. The short last chapters (al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq, an-Nas) are good first reading.
Every Quran word on this page is copied from the same Uthmani text that the Niyat app uses and is linked to its ayah. The places of articulation follow the standard tajwid teaching in Ibn al-Jazari’s al-Muqaddima al-Jazariyyah, simplified to one line each. The English sound hints are approximate: Arabic has sounds English does not. Sound buttons use the speech voice built into your browser, when it has an Arabic one. Nothing you do here, including quiz scores, leaves your device.
28. Arabic is written from right to left, has no capital letters, and most letters change shape depending on whether they sit at the start, middle or end of a word, or stand alone.
Yes. Reading the script is a separate skill from understanding the language. Learn the 28 letters, how they join and the short-vowel marks (harakat), and you can sound out any ayah. A teacher then corrects your pronunciation with tajwid.
Most adults can recognise all 28 letters and their forms in one to two weeks of 15 to 20 minutes a day. Joining and harakat take a few more weeks of practice. Speed comes from reading real words, which is why every letter here has a Quran word.
Several letters share a body and differ only by dots: ب ت ث ن ي is one family. Dots are part of the letter, not decoration. The look-alike table below lists each family, and the quiz trains you to tell them apart.
No. Where your device has an Arabic voice, the sound buttons use it to give a rough idea. It is a computer voice and does not apply tajwid rules. Do not learn Qur'anic recitation from it; learn from a teacher and from recitation by a qualified reciter.
A makhraj (plural makharij) is the point in the throat, mouth or lips where a letter is produced. Scholars of tajwid, following Ibn al-Jazari's al-Muqaddima al-Jazariyyah, count 17 such points. The one-line description on each card is a simplified version of this.
In Niyat, tap any word of the Qur’an to hear it and see its meaning, so what you learn here goes straight into reading. The app also has prayer times, adhan, qibla and duas. Rated 4.9 stars.
Download Niyat for iPhone Get it on Google PlayThis is a reading starter, not a replacement for a teacher. The sounds of ع, ح, ق, ض and the heavy letters are learned by listening and being corrected. Find a teacher who can hear you recite.