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Arabic Letter Quiz and Flashcards
Learn to recognise all 28 Arabic letters by name, by sound and in their four written forms. Three levels, instant feedback and a review of every answer you miss.
Letter-forms flashcards
The front shows a letter. Tap the card (or press Enter) to turn it over and see its name, sound and four forms.
All 28 Arabic letters and their forms
Use this table to study before a quiz, or instead of one if you are offline. The sound column shows how each letter is read with a fatha (a short “a”). Letters marked “no” in the last column do not join to the letter after them.
| # | Name | Sound | Isolated | Initial | Medial | Final | Joins forward |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alif | carries a vowel (long "aa") | ا | ا | ا | ا | no |
| 2 | Ba | ba | ب | ب | ب | ب | yes |
| 3 | Ta | ta | ت | ت | ت | ت | yes |
| 4 | Tha | tha (as in think) | ث | ث | ث | ث | yes |
| 5 | Jeem | ja | ج | ج | ج | ج | yes |
| 6 | Haa | ha (breathy, deep) | ح | ح | ح | ح | yes |
| 7 | Khaa | kha | خ | خ | خ | خ | yes |
| 8 | Dal | da | د | د | د | د | no |
| 9 | Dhal | dha (as in this) | ذ | ذ | ذ | ذ | no |
| 10 | Ra | ra | ر | ر | ر | ر | no |
| 11 | Zay | za | ز | ز | ز | ز | no |
| 12 | Seen | sa | س | س | س | س | yes |
| 13 | Sheen | sha | ش | ش | ش | ش | yes |
| 14 | Saad | sa (heavy) | ص | ص | ص | ص | yes |
| 15 | Daad | da (heavy) | ض | ض | ض | ض | yes |
| 16 | Taa | ta (heavy) | ط | ط | ط | ط | yes |
| 17 | Zaa | dha (heavy) | ظ | ظ | ظ | ظ | yes |
| 18 | Ayn | a (deep throat) | ع | ع | ع | ع | yes |
| 19 | Ghayn | gha | غ | غ | غ | غ | yes |
| 20 | Fa | fa | ف | ف | ف | ف | yes |
| 21 | Qaf | qa (deep k) | ق | ق | ق | ق | yes |
| 22 | Kaf | ka | ك | ك | ك | ك | yes |
| 23 | Lam | la | ل | ل | ل | ل | yes |
| 24 | Meem | ma | م | م | م | م | yes |
| 25 | Noon | na | ن | ن | ن | ن | yes |
| 26 | Ha | ha (light, from the throat) | ه | ه | ه | ه | yes |
| 27 | Waw | wa | و | و | و | و | no |
| 28 | Ya | ya | ي | ي | ي | ي | yes |
The sounds are simple English approximations. Letters such as ح, ع, ق and the heavy letters ص ض ط ظ have no exact English equivalent and are learned by listening to a teacher.
How to get the most from the letter quiz
The quickest way to learn the Arabic alphabet is little and often: ten minutes a day beats an hour once a week. Start with Level 1 until you score 9 or 10 out of 10 a few times, then move to sounds, then forms. Every wrong answer is explained straight away and collected at the end, and you can run a short extra round on only the letters you missed.
Names first. Level 1 shows a letter and asks for its name, then reverses it. Knowing the names gives you a shared vocabulary with your teacher, who will say “this is a Saad, not a Seen”. Then sounds. Level 2 shows a letter with a fatha, the short “a” mark, so you practise reading a real syllable and not just naming a shape. Then forms. Level 3 is where most beginners slow down, because the same letter looks different at the start, middle and end of a word. The flashcards put all four forms on one card so you can compare them.
Common mistakes. The most frequent confusions are letters that differ only by their dots (ب ت ث ن ي), letters with the same body and different dots (ج ح خ), the light and heavy pairs (ت and ط, س and ص, د and ض), and the two kinds of “h” (ح and ه). Slow down and look at the dots before you answer. Another trap is forgetting that ا د ذ ر ز و never join to the next letter, which changes how a word is spaced and read.
When a live teacher helps. A quiz can tell you that you recognise a letter, but not whether you say it correctly. Throat letters, the heavy letters and the difference between ق and ك are almost impossible to learn from text. A one-to-one teacher listens to each sound and corrects it on the spot, which is why our Noorani Qaida classes begin with the letters. If you are new, you can also try this alongside the printable Noorani Qaida chart, and continue with harakat practice for the short vowels.
Parents of younger children may like our Arabic for kids classes, and anyone starting from zero can read about the Noorani Qaida course or see pricing. Once you can read the letters and vowels, the tajweed cheat sheet is the next printable to keep beside you.
Frequently asked questions
How many Arabic letters are there?
There are 28 letters in the Arabic alphabet. Most of them change shape depending on where they sit in a word, so each letter has up to four forms: isolated, initial (start of a word), medial (middle) and final (end).
Why does a letter look different inside a word?
Arabic is written joined up, so most letters connect to the one before and after them and their shape adapts to fit. Six letters (ا د ذ ر ز و) never join to the letter after them, so they look the same at the start of a word as on their own.
Does the quiz teach me to pronounce the letters?
It helps you recognise the letters and link each one to a simple English sound, but exact pronunciation, especially for the throat letters and the heavy letters, has to be heard and corrected by a teacher. Treat the sounds as a guide, not the final word.
Are my scores saved or sent anywhere?
Your best score for each level is kept only in your own browser (local storage) so you can see progress on the same device. Nothing is sent to us, and you do not need an account or an email address.
What should I learn after I know the letters?
The next step is the short vowels (fatha, kasra, damma), then joining letters into words and reading with the Noorani Qaida. Our harakat practice and the printable Noorani Qaida chart follow on directly from this quiz.
Learn with a teacher, one-to-one
A chart or a planner helps, but correct pronunciation comes from a teacher who can hear you. Book a free trial class (no card required) or message us with any question. Paid classes are settled by bank/wire transfer after the free trial.
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