Dhaal ذَال

Dhaal looks like daal with one dot above. Like daal, it joins only to a letter on its right. The tongue tip meets the edges of the upper front teeth for its voiced dh sound.

Wolf

In the Arabic word ذِئْب (“wolf”), the first letter is dhaal. It does not join to the hamzah-bearing alif after it.

One letter. Two shapes.

The standalone form is above. Compare the joined form inside a word and at its end.

Inside a word

Joins from the right only

Shoe

Dhaal joins to ḥaa on its right. It cannot join to the alif on its left.

End of a word

Joins from the right only

Hedgehog

Dhaal joins to faa on its right at the end of qunfudh.

The name stays dhaal in every shape. A connected form does not add a new sound. Gold highlights this letter in each example.

1Three short vowelsA little mark changes the sound.

The letter’s name is dhaal. Follow the Arabic tiles from right to left.

2Stretch the vowelDhaal with alif, yaa and waaw.

Keep the same consonant and stretch the vowel. These are sound practice units.

3Dhaal without a vowelSukūn · no following vowel.

The circle above ذْ means there is no vowel on this consonant. Here is a complete noun, read when stopping.

Hedgehog

Hedgehog · stopping formqunfudh

ذْ

Listen to the whole word.

Finish with voiced dh, without adding a vowel. Its sound flows; keep it distinct from the unvoiced th of thaa.

4Two letters, one written shapeShaddah · three vowel sounds.

A shaddah joins two of the same consonant. The first has sukūn; the second has the vowel. Read each Arabic sequence from right to left.

Fatḥah · a

ذْNo vowel

ذَWith a vowel

ذَّShaddah

Kasrah · i

ذْNo vowel

ذِWith a vowel

ذِّShaddah

Ḍammah · u

ذْNo vowel

ذُWith a vowel

ذُّShaddah

Hold the doubled consonant, then continue into its vowel. Do not insert a vowel between the two consonants.

5One word, three tanwīn endingsSee the ending in a real word.

Compare three full endings on the same noun. The doubled vowel mark adds an n sound when the ending is pronounced in full.

When stopping, the -un and -in endings are not pronounced; the -an ending is read as a long ā. Choosing an ending in a sentence comes later. Choosing the ending in a sentence comes later.

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