Learning The Deep Sounds in Arabic
Arabic Letter: Aleph (ا)

The first letter of the Arabic alphabet is Aleph (ا).

Important Note

Although Arabic is commonly described as having 29 consonant letters, Aleph is a special case. It does not have its own consonant sound and is mainly used to stretch a short vowel into a long vowel.
What Sound Does Aleph Make?

Aleph is used to change a short A sound into a long AA sound.

Short Vowel Long Vowel
Bath Father
Think of Aleph as a vowel stretcher — it makes the sound longer.
Listening & Pronouncing

Listen to each pair. The first word has no Aleph, while the second word contains an Aleph that creates a longer AA sound.

Without Aleph With Aleph
hadatha haadatha
suwwam suwwaam
jariha jarihaa
Sometimes Aleph is difficult to hear when it appears at the end of a word.
Recognizing Aleph in Text

Writing Aleph is easy because it is basically a straight vertical line.

Position Form
By itself ا
Beginning اـ
Middle ـا ـ
End ـا
Connection Rule

Aleph cannot connect to the letter that comes after it. A small gap will appear after the Aleph, but this is not a space between words.
Letters That Look Similar

The following letters contain a vertical line and can sometimes be confused with Aleph:

ط   ظ   ك   ل
The easiest comparison is with Lam (ل)

Aleph: ا → does not connect to the following letter.
Lam: ل → does connect to the following letter.
Scan the Text

Find every Aleph in the following examples.

Arabic Text Number of Alephs
قالوا 2
ولو تقول 0
كيف كانت صلوة نبيك 1
فتبارك اسم ربك ذي الجلال والاكرام 7
Special Shape: لا

When Aleph comes after the letter ل (Lam), they combine into a special shape:

لا
Notice that the Aleph bends slightly to the left when it forms لا.
Writing Practice

Use these steps when writing Aleph by hand.

If Aleph is not connected: Start at the top and draw a straight line downward.

If Aleph is connected to a letter on the right: Enter from the right and draw the line upward.
Position Practice Form
By itself ا
Beginning اـ
Middle ـا ـ
End ـا
Practice Tip
Copy each form several times. Focus on keeping the Aleph straight and leaving the correct gap after it when it appears inside a word.