The standalone form

سThree small teeth, no dots
A little curiosity goes a long way.

Meet the letter

Seen سِين

Seen has three small teeth and no dots. It can join on both sides. Keep its clear s sound distinct from the fuller ṣ sound of ṣaad.

Fish

In the Arabic word سَمَكَة (“fish”), the first letter is seen. The small teeth have no dots.

One letter. Four shapes.

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

Beginning

Joins to the left
Fish

Seen joins to meem on its left.

Middle

Joins on both sides
Washing machine

Seen joins to ghayn on the right and alif on the left. The shaddah doubles its sound.

End

Joins to the right
Sun

Seen joins to meem on its right at the end of shams.

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

2Stretch the vowelSeen with alif, yaa and waaw.

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

3Seen without a vowelSukūn · no following vowel.

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

Sun
Sun · stopping formshams
سْ

Listen to the whole word.

Finish with s, without adding a vowel. Seen joins to the preceding meem; its sound allows air to flow.

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

سْNo vowel
سَWith a vowel
سَّShaddah

Kasrah · i

سْNo vowel
سِWith a vowel
سِّShaddah

Ḍammah · u

سْNo vowel
سُWith a vowel
سُّShaddah
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

Choose your next adventure.