The standalone form

فOne dot above a small loop
A little curiosity goes a long way.

Meet the letter

Faa فَاء

Faa has one dot above its small loop. It joins on both sides. Its f sound uses the lower lip and upper front teeth.

Elephant

In the Arabic word فِيل (“elephant”), the first letter is faa. Notice the single dot above its loop.

One letter. Four shapes.

The standalone form is above. Read the three connected forms from right to left.

Beginning

Joins to the left
Elephant

Faa joins to yaa on its left.

Middle

Joins on both sides
Key

Faa joins to meem on the right and taa on the left.

End

Joins to the right
Phone

Faa joins to taa on its right at the end of hātif.

The name stays faa 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 faa. Follow the Arabic tiles from right to left.

2Stretch the vowelFaa with alif, yaa and waaw.

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

3Faa without a vowelSukūn · no following vowel.

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

Phone
Phone · stopping formhātif
فْ

Listen to the whole word.

Finish with f and no following vowel. Let the breath flow between the lower lip and upper teeth.

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

فْNo vowel
فَWith a vowel
فَّShaddah

Kasrah · i

فْNo vowel
فِWith a vowel
فِّShaddah

Ḍammah · u

فْNo vowel
فُWith a vowel
فُّShaddah
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.

At a pause, the -un and -in endings are omitted; -an becomes a long ā. Choosing the ending in a sentence comes later.

When you feel ready

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