The standalone form

نOne dot above
A little curiosity goes a long way.

Meet the letter

Noon نُون

Noon has one dot above. Its beginning and middle shapes are smaller than its standalone and final forms. It joins on both sides and its n sound has nasal resonance.

Star

In the Arabic word نَجْم (“star”), the first letter is noon. Look for the single dot above noon.

One letter. Four shapes.

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

Beginning

Joins to the left
Star

Noon joins to jeem on its left.

Middle

Joins on both sides
Grapes

Noon joins to ʿayn on the right and baa on the left.

End

Joins to the right
Plate

Noon joins to ḥaa on its right at the end of ṣaḥn.

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

2Stretch the vowelNoon with alif, yaa and waaw.

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

3Noon without a vowelSukūn · no following vowel.

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

Plate
Plate · stopping formṣaḥn
نْ

Listen to the whole word.

Finish with n and no following vowel. Keep its nasal resonance without adding a new syllable.

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

نْNo vowel
نَWith a vowel
نَّShaddah

Kasrah · i

نْNo vowel
نِWith a vowel
نِّShaddah

Ḍammah · u

نْNo vowel
نُWith a vowel
نُّShaddah
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.

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