Hello, language learners! Today, we’re going to demystify one of the most fascinating aspects of Arabic letters: the Sun and Moon consonants. Understanding this simple rule will instantly improve your pronunciation and make your Arabic sun and moon-related words sound more natural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Arabic alphabet, the 28 Arabic Consonants are divided into two equal groups of 14: the Sun Letters and the Moon Letters. This division doesn’t change how words are written, but it has a significant impact on how you pronounce the definite article “al-” (\u0627\u064e\u0644\u0652).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The names come from two famous words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When a word begins with a Moon Letter, the “l” sound in the definite article “al-” is pronounced clearly and distinctly. Think of it like a silent “al-” that isn’t actually silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Example:<\/strong> The word for “moon” is “qamar” (\u0642\u064e\u0645\u064e\u0631). When you add “the” (al-), it becomes “al-qamar” (\u0627\u064e\u0644\u0652\u0642\u064e\u0645\u064e\u0631). You can clearly hear the “l” sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is a table of the Arabic “moon letters” (Al-\u1e24ur\u016bf al-Qamariyyah), along with an example word for each, demonstrating how the definite article “\u0627\u0644” (al-) is clearly pronounced before them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now for the Arabic sun part of the mystery! When a word begins with a Sun Letter, the “l” sound in “al-” is not pronounced at all. Instead, the first consonant of the word is doubled, which is indicated by a shaddah (\u0640\u0651) over the letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is a table of the Arabic “sun letters” (Al-\u1e24ur\u016bf Ash-Shamsiyyah), along with an example word for each, demonstrating how the definite article “\u0627\u0644” (al-) assimilates (the ‘l’ sound is not pronounced) before them.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe 14 Moon Letters are:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Letter<\/th> Example Word
(Arabic)<\/th>Example Word
(Transliteration)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>Hamza (\u0621)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0623\u064e\u0633\u064e\u062f<\/td> al-asad<\/td><\/tr> B\u0101\u02be (\u0628)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0628\u064e\u0627\u0628<\/td> al-b\u0101b<\/td><\/tr> J\u012bm (\u062c)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u062c\u064e\u0645\u064e\u0644<\/td> al-jamal<\/td><\/tr> \u1e24\u0101\u02be (\u062d)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u062d\u064f\u0628\u0651<\/td> al-\u1e25ubb<\/td><\/tr> Kh\u0101\u02be (\u062e)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u062e\u064f\u0628\u0652\u0632<\/td> al-khubz<\/td><\/tr> \u02bfAyn (\u0639)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0639\u064e\u064a\u0652\u0646<\/td> al-\u02bfayn<\/td><\/tr> Ghayn (\u063a)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u063a\u064f\u0631\u0652\u0641\u064e\u0629<\/td> al-ghurfah<\/td><\/tr> F\u0101\u02be (\u0641)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0641\u064e\u0645<\/td> al-fam<\/td><\/tr> Q\u0101f (\u0642)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0642\u064e\u0645\u064e\u0631<\/td> al-qamar<\/td><\/tr> K\u0101f (\u0643)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0643\u0650\u062a\u064e\u0627\u0628<\/td> al-kit\u0101b<\/td><\/tr> M\u012bm (\u0645)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0645\u064e\u0627\u0621<\/td> al-m\u0101\u02be<\/td><\/tr> H\u0101\u02be (\u0647)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0647\u0650\u0644\u0627\u0644<\/td> al-hil\u0101l<\/td><\/tr> W\u0101w (\u0648)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0648\u064e\u0631\u0652\u062f\u064e\u0629<\/td> al-wardah<\/td><\/tr> Y\u0101\u02be (\u064a)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0652\u064a\u064e\u062f<\/td> al-yad<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n The Sun Letters (Al-Huruf Ash-Shamsiyyah)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The 14 Sun Letters are:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Letter<\/th> Example Word
(Arabic)<\/th>Example Word
(Transliteration)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>T\u0101\u02be (\u062a)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u062a\u0651\u0650\u0641\u064e\u0627\u062d<\/td> at-tuff\u0101\u1e25<\/td><\/tr> Th\u0101\u02be (\u062b)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u062b\u0651\u064e\u0648\u0652\u0628<\/td> ath-thawb<\/td><\/tr> D\u0101l (\u062f)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u062f\u0651\u064e\u0631\u0652\u0633<\/td> ad-dars<\/td><\/tr> Dh\u0101l (\u0630)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0630\u0651\u064e\u0647\u064e\u0628<\/td> adh-dhahab<\/td><\/tr> R\u0101\u02be (\u0631)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0651\u064e\u062c\u064f\u0644<\/td> ar-rajul<\/td><\/tr> Z\u0101y (\u0632)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0632\u0651\u064e\u0647\u0652\u0631\u064e\u0629<\/td> az-zahrah<\/td><\/tr> S\u012bn (\u0633)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0651\u064e\u0645\u064e\u0627\u0621<\/td> as-sam\u0101\u02be<\/td><\/tr> Sh\u012bn (\u0634)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0634\u0651\u064e\u0645\u0652\u0633<\/td> ash-shams<\/td><\/tr> \u1e62\u0101d (\u0635)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0635\u0651\u064e\u0648\u0652\u062a<\/td> a\u1e63-\u1e63awt<\/td><\/tr> \u1e0c\u0101d (\u0636)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0636\u0651\u064e\u0648\u0652\u0621<\/td> a\u1e0d-\u1e0daw\u02be<\/td><\/tr> \u1e6c\u0101\u02be (\u0637)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0637\u0651\u064e\u0627\u0626\u0650\u0631<\/td> a\u1e6d-\u1e6d\u0101\u02beir<\/td><\/tr> \u1e92\u0101\u02be (\u0638)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0638\u0651\u0650\u0644\u0651<\/td> a\u1e93-\u1e93ill<\/td><\/tr> L\u0101m (\u0644)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0651\u064e\u064a\u0652\u0644<\/td> al-layl<\/td><\/tr> N\u016bn (\u0646)<\/td> \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0651\u064e\u0627\u0631<\/td> an-n\u0101r<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n