Arabic harakat: the marks that make a letter speak

The five basic marks

Tanwin: the doubled endings

Tanwin only appears on the last letter of a noun. It adds an “n” to the vowel, but only if you read on. If you stop on the word, you drop the n (and a fathatan then sounds like a long “aa”).

Long vowels: alif, waw and ya

Three letters double as long vowels when they follow the matching short vowel. A long vowel lasts two beats instead of one. The Uthmani script also writes a long “aa” as a small dagger alif above the letter (ـٰ), as in سَلَٰمٌ (97:5), instead of a full alif.

Drill: say the syllable

You see a letter with a mark. Pick how it is said. Ten per round. Your best streak is saved on this device.

Every letter with every short vowel

Read across each row: fatha, kasra, damma. Say them aloud until the vowels stop feeling different from letter to letter.

How to read one letter with its mark

1. Read the letter. Say the letter's sound first, for example ب is b.
2. Find the mark. Look above and below the letter for a fatha, kasra, damma or sukun.
3. Add the vowel. Combine them: ب + fatha = ba, ب + kasra = bi, ب + damma = bu. With a sukun, say the bare consonant.
4. Check for shadda and tanwin. A shadda doubles the letter. A tanwin at the end of a word adds an n sound when you continue reading.
5. Look for a long vowel. An alif after a fatha, a waw after a damma or a ya after a kasra means hold the vowel for two beats.

Sources

The names and uses of the marks follow the standard Arabic and tajwid teaching. Every Quran word is copied from the Uthmani text used in the Niyat app. Details of madd (lengthening) beyond the natural two beats are the subject of tajwid and are best learned with a teacher.

Frequently asked questions

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