Arabic vowels (harakat)

In Arabic, almost all letters are consonants. Short vowels are small marks above or below the letter: the harakat. The Madinah book writes them almost everywhere, and the app checks each one.

The basic marks

• بَ

  fatha

  “a” sound

  قَلَمٌ pen

• بُ

  damma

  “u” sound

  غُرْفَةٌ room

• بِ

  kasra

  “i” sound

  مِفْتَاحٌ key

• بْ

  sukun

  no vowel

  مَكْتَبٌ desk

• بّ

  shadda

  the letter is doubled

  قِطٌّ cat

The tanwin

The tanwin is a doubled vowel at the end of a noun: it adds an “n” sound. With the article ال, the tanwin drops.

• بٌ

  tanwin damma

  “un” sound

  كِتَابٌ a book

• بً

  tanwin fatha

  “an” sound, often written with an extra alif (ـًا)

  جُمَلًا sentences (in a book instruction)

• بٍ

  tanwin kasra

  “in” sound

  كِتَابُ مُحَمَّدٍ Muhammad's book

Long vowels

A vowel followed by its matching letter becomes long: fatha + ا, damma + و, kasra + ي.

• بَا

  ا

  long “a”

  كِتَابٌ a book

• بُو

  و

  long “u”

  مَفْتُوحٌ open

• بِي

  ي

  long “i”

  سَرِيرٌ a bed