Contents

 Enter Reader Mode

Choose Language

 How can we help you?  Sign in

Contents  Home »  Bookshelves »  Languages »  Arabic »  Introduction to Arabic »  1: An Overview of Arabic »   Expan
Readability

1.3: Long Vowels ‫دود‬2‫ا‬

1.2: Arabic Diacritical Marks ‫شكيل‬%‫مات الت‬-‫ع‬
ُ 1.4: Vocabulary- Arabic Speaking Countries  Downloads Submit Adoption Report Donate

Hana Kassas, Layla Bahar Al-Aloom, Sameera Murtada, Maysaa Toma, and Roula Aoneh
ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)

Long Vowels (Al-Mudood) ‫دود‬$‫ا‬  Table of contents

Resources

 Learning Objectives

In this section, you will be able to:

Learn about the Arabic letters' articulation places and the long vowels in Arabic.
Differentiate between the long and short vowels.
Libraries

Introduction
A letter is a sound that needs an articulation point, so each letter has a different sound and articulation (see figure 1.3.1). Each letter has a general and specific
articulation to differentiate the sound and produce particular characteristics that define the sound of the letter.

The Articulation places of the Arabic Letters are:

1. The empty space in the mouth and the throat “Al-jawf”

Tools

2. The throat "Al-halq"

3. The tongue "Al-lisan"

4. The lips "As-shafatan"

5. The nasal passage "Al-khayshoom"

The sounds of the long vowels are created when the air vibrates the vocal cords in the larynx. The space in the mouth and throat “Al-jawf” is the articulation place for
the three long vowels, so there is no specific point for articulation. There are three long vowels in Arabic, and they are written using three letters. The pronunciation
of each long vowel is twice as long as the regular English vowel and double the length of the short vowel in Arabic. The estimated sound length for the long vowel is
the time for opening and closing the index (pointer) finger. Syllables in Arabic begin with a consonant with a short vowel and can't start with a long vowel.

Figure 1.3.1 : The five articulation places of the Arabic letters.

Long Vowels in Arabic

Long vowels in Arabic are presented by three letters Alif, Waw, and Yaa. These letters can have different functions as a consonant or long vowel.

The letter Alif is the long vowel ‫=ا‬aa. Hear this sound in the recording below.

00:00 -00:00

The letter Waw is the long vowel ‫ =و‬oo/uu. Hear this sound in the recording below.

00:00 -00:00

The letter Yaa is the long vowel ‫=ي‬ee/ii. Hear this sound in the recording below.

00:00 -00:00

Long Vowel Alif (‫)ا‬

Pronunciation of the long vowel Alif (‫)ا‬

Listen and repeat 00:00 -00:00

The long vowel Alif "‫ "ا‬is pronounced "aa" which is the double time of the short vowel "Fataha." The long vowel Alif "‫ "ا‬is preceded by a consonant with a short vowel
"Fataha." Open your mouth the same way when you open your mouth to say "aaa" in front of the doctor to pronounce the long vowel "Alif." You should know that the
long vowel Alif following an emphatic consonant takes on emphatic properties.

Figure 1.3.3 : Shape of the mouth, pronouncing the long vowel Alif
Figure 1.3.2 : Pronouncing the long vowel Alif "aa" "aa"

Writing of the long vowel Alif (‫)ا‬

The letter Alif is written at the beginning of the word as a single stroke, drawn from top to bottom. In addition, the letter Alif is written from the bottom up when it
follows another letter. The letter Alif does not connect to the letter following it, since it does not have a connector from the left side. The letter Alif has one connector
from the right side to connect to the preceding letter.
The long vowel Alif (‫)ا‬
Final form of the long vowel Alif Medial form of the long vowel Initial form of the long vowel Independent form of the long
The form
"‫"ا‬ Alif "‫"ا‬ Alif "‫"ا‬ vowel Alif "‫"ا‬

The shape ‫ ــا‬/ ‫ا‬ ‫ــا‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ا‬

Long Vowel Waw (‫)و‬

Pronunciation of the long vowel Waw (‫)و‬

Listen and repeat 00:00 -00:00

The long vowel Waw "‫ "و‬is pronounced "uu" or "oo" like in the word "wool," which is the double time of the short vowel "Dhama." Therefore, the long vowel Waw "‫ "و‬is
preceded by a consonant with a short vowel "Dhama." The shape of the mouth when pronouncing the long vowel Waw is a small circle the size of a pencil bottom.

Figure 1.3.1 : Pronouncing the long vowel Waw "oo" Figure 1.3.1 : Shape of the mouth, pronouncing the long vowel Waw "oo"

Writing of the long vowel Waw (‫)و‬

Like the letter Alif, the letter Waw does not connect to the following letter. To write independent or initial (‫ )و‬start on the line, loop clockwise to the left and up, and
then swing down into the tail, which should dip well below the line. If there is a connector on the right side of the letter, it leads to the beginning point of the loop.

Final form of the long vowel Medial form of the long vowel Initial form of the long vowel Independent form of the long
The form
Waw ‫و‬ Waw ‫و‬ Waw ‫و‬ vowel Waw ‫و‬

The shape ‫ ــو‬/ ‫و‬ ‫ــو‬ ‫و‬ ‫و‬

Long Vowel Yaa (‫)ي‬

Pronunciation of the long vowel Yaa (‫)ي‬

Listen and repeat 00:00 -00:00

The long vowel Yaa (‫ )ي‬is pronounced "ee" or "ii" like in the word "deep," which is the double time of the short vowel "Kasra." Therefore, the long vowel Yaa "‫ "ي‬is
preceded by a consonant with a short vowel "Kasra." The shape of the mouth when pronouncing the long vowel Yaa is like a straight line.

Figure 1.3.1 : Pronouncing the long vowel Yaa "ee" Figure 1.3.1 : Shape of the mouth, pronouncing the long vowel Yaa "ee"

Writing of the long vowel Yaa (‫)ي‬

The independent and final forms of the letter Yaa (‫ )ي‬differ from the initial and medial forms. All shapes of (‫ )ي‬retain the two dots below. Writing the independent (‫)ي‬,
start above the line and curve slightly upwards and around in an s-like shape. Continue below the line into a wide, flat curve, and make sure to bring the tail all the
way back up over the line. The initial and medial ‫ ي‬starts with the tooth and puts the dots beneath the body, letter ‫ ي‬connects to the letters that follow and precede it.

Final form of the long vowel Medial form of the long vowel Initial form of the long vowel Independent form of the long
The form
Waw ‫ي‬ Waw ‫ي‬ Waw ‫ي‬ vowel Waw ‫ي‬

The shape ‫ــي‬ ‫ــيــ‬ ‫يــ‬ ‫ي‬

Watch this video to learn more about the long and short vowels in Arabic.

Learn the Arabic alphabet - Lesson 06 - Long vow…

Copy link

Watch on

 Example 1.3.1

Listen to these words. You hear the word with the short vowels, and then the word with the long vowel.

The Words
Words with three letters with short vowels and the same word with long vowel
The Letters The word with the short vowels The word with the long vowel

‫َعا َلم‬
‫علم‬ ‫َع َلم‬ 00:00 -00:00

0:00 -0:01

َ
‫شبَت‬ َ
‫شابَـت‬
‫شبت‬ 00:00 -00:00 00:00 -00:00

‫ب‬ َ
َ ‫خ َر‬ َ
َ‫خراب‬
‫خرب‬ 00:00 -00:00 00:00 -00:00

َ َ ‫َكت‬
‫ب‬ ‫َكاتَب‬
‫كتب‬ 00:00 -00:00 00:00 -00:00

? Exercise 1.3.1

Practice to write the long vowels ” ‫ا=د‬ ‫حروف‬.”

Practicing the long vowels ‫ا&دود‬
The long vowel independent form Initial form Medial/ middle form final form

Long vowel Alif

‫لف‬B‫مد ا‬

Long vowel Waw

‫مد الواو‬

Long vowel Yaa

‫مد الياء‬

Answer

Match the shape of the mouth when pronouncing the long vowel with the tongue position.

 Query 1.3.1
.Memory
Game. Find
the
matching
cards.
  

? ? ?
  

? ? ?
Time spent: 0:00
Card turns: 0

Reuse Embed 

Listen to the audio, and then choose true or false.

 Query 1.3.2


Listen to the audio. This word "‫ "كانوا‬has a long vowel Waw "oo".

 True  False

 Check

Reuse Embed 

 Query 1.3.3


Listen to the audio. This word "‫ "شاب‬has a long vowel Alif "aa".

 True  False

 Check

Reuse Embed 

 Query 1.3.4


Listen to the audio. This word "‫ "شب‬has a long vowel Alif "aa".

 True  False

 Check

Reuse Embed 

 Query 1.3.5


Listen to the audio. This word "‫ "جيب‬has a long vowel Yaa "ee".

 True  False

 Check

Reuse Embed 

 Query 1.3.6


Listen to the audio. This word "‫ "صيام‬has a long vowel Yaa "ee".

 True  False

 Check

Reuse Embed 

 Query 1.3.7


Listen to the audio. This word "‫ "طير‬has a long vowel Yaa "ee".

 True  False

 Check

Reuse Embed 

This page titled 1.3: Long Vowels ‫ ا&دود‬is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Hana Kassas, Layla Bahar Al-Aloom, Sameera Murtada,
Maysaa Toma, and Roula Aoneh (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .

Back to top
1.2: Arabic Diacritical Marks ‫شكيل‬%‫مات الت‬-‫ع‬
ُ 1.4: Vocabulary- Arabic Speaking Countries

Was this article helpful?  Yes  No

The LibreTexts libraries are Powered by NICE CXone Expert and are supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the
UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. We also acknowledge previous National Science Foundation support under
grant numbers 1246120, 1525057, and 1413739. Legal. Accessibility Statement For more information contact us at [email protected].