The standalone form

خOne dot above the curve
A little curiosity goes a long way.

Meet the letter

Khaa خَاء

Khaa shares its basic shape with jeem and ḥaa. Its dot sits above. It joins on both sides, and its sound comes from the upper throat.

Bread

In the Arabic word خُبْز (“bread”), the first letter is khaa. Look for its dot above.

One letter. Four shapes.

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

Beginning

Joins to the left
Bread

Khaa joins to baa on its left.

Middle

Joins on both sides
Date palms

Khaa joins to noon on its right and yaa on its left.

End

Joins to the right
Sheikh/elder

Khaa joins to yaa on its right.

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

2Stretch the vowelKhaa with alif, yaa and waaw.

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

3Khaa without a vowelSukūn · no following vowel.

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

Sheikh/elder
Elder · stopping formshaykh
خْ

Listen to the whole word.

End with kh and no added vowel. Khaa is a flowing sound; keep its articulation distinct from ḥaa.

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

خْNo vowel
خَWith a vowel
خَّShaddah

Kasrah · i

خْNo vowel
خِWith a vowel
خِّShaddah

Ḍammah · u

خْNo vowel
خُWith a vowel
خُّShaddah
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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