Editing Help:IPA/Arabic

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{{IPA key|H:IPA-AR|H:IPAA}}
The chart below explains how Wikipedia represents [[Modern Standard Arabic]] pronunciations with the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA). Wikipedia also has specific charts for [[Help:IPA/Egyptian Arabic|Egyptian Arabic]], [[Help:IPA/Hejazi Arabic|Hejazi Arabic]], [[Help:IPA/Lebanese Arabic|Lebanese Arabic]], and [[Help:IPA/Tunisian Arabic|Tunisian Arabic]]. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see [[Template:IPA]] and {{section link|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation#Entering IPA characters}}. 

See [[Arabic phonology]] for a more thorough discussion of the sounds of Modern Standard Arabic, and [[varieties of Arabic]] for regional variation.

<!-- PLEASE READ BEFORE ADDING EXAMPLES OR LANGUAGES TO THE KEY
This key is intended for newbies to the IPA and should therefore be kept as short and sweet as possible. Descriptions should be brief, without technical terms like "back vowel" or "labial" or "fricative". Examples should be from familiar languages that are ''well described phonetically''.

The transliteration of consonants has the standard of [[ALA-LC]] written first.
-->
{| class="wikitable"
! IPA
! English<br />approximation
! Arabic<br />letter/symbol
! Usual<br />[[Romanization of Arabic|romanization]]
! Letter
name
|- id="A_B"
! colspan="5" | A–B
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|a}}{{efn|name=a}}
| ''c'''a'''t'' in [[British English]], only approx. in [[American English]], could also be realised as [æ]
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|َ }}
| a, á, e
| فَتْحَة (''fatḥah'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|aː}}{{efn|name=aa}}
| not exact, longer ''f'''a'''r,'' could also be realised as [æː]
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ا|ـَا]]}}<br><small>({{lang|ar|[[ى]]}} at word end)</small>
| ā, â, aa, a
|أَلِف (''ʾalif'')
الف مقصورة (''ʾalif maqṣūrah'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA|aj}}{{efn|name=ai}}
| {{IPA|/a/}}+{{IPAslink|j}}, ''m'''y''' or  n'''i'''ght''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[Fathah|ْـَي]]}}
| ay, ai, ey, ei
|يَاء (''yāʾ'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA|aw}}{{efn|name=au}}
| {{IPA|/a/}}+{{IPAslink|w}}, ''n'''ou'''n''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[Fathah|ْـَو]]}}
| aw, au
|وَاو (''wāw'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|b}}
| '''''b'''ee''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ب]]}}
| b
|بَاء (''bāʾ'')
|- id="D"
! colspan="5" | D
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|d}}
| '''''d'''ash''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[د]]}}
| d
|دَال (''dāl'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|dˤ}}{{efn|name=emphatic}}
| [[emphatic consonant|emphatic]] and [[pharyngealization|pharyngealized]] {{IPAslink|d}}, no equivalent, can be approximated to [[Received Pronunciation|RP]] '''d'''awn
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ض]]}}
| ḍ, dh
|ضَاد (''ḍād'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|dʒ}}
| '''''j'''am''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ج]]}}{{efn|name=jim}}
| j, ǧ, dj, g
|جِيم (''jīm'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|ð}}
| '''''th'''ese''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ذ]]}}
| dh, ḏ
|ذَال (''dhāl'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|ðˤ}}{{efn|name=emphatic}}{{efn|name=Zaa}}
| emphatic and pharyngealized {{IPAblink|ð}} 
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ظ]]}}
| ẓ
|ظَاء (''ẓāʾ'')
|-
|- id="F_H"
! colspan="5" | F–H
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|f}}
| '''''f'''ather''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ف]]}}
| f
|فَاء (''fāʾ'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|h}}
| '''''h'''i''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ه]]}}
| h
|هَاء (''hāʾ'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|ħ}}
|'''''h'''ello'', but pronounced in the back of your throat 
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ح]]}}
| ḥ
|حَاء (''ḥāʾ'')
|- id="I_K"
! colspan="5" | I–K
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|i|i}}{{efn|name=i}}
| ''happ'''y'''''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|ِ }}
| i, e
| كَسْرَة (''kasrah'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|iː}}{{efn|name=ii}}
| ''mach'''i'''ne''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ي|ـِي]]}}
| ī, ee, i
|يَاء (''yāʾ'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|j}}
| '''''y'''es''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ي]]}}
| y
|يَاء (''yāʾ'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|k}}<ref name=":0">May be aspirated, see arabic [[Arabic phonology|phonology]]</ref>
| ''s'''c'''ape''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ك]]}}
| k
|كَاف (kāf)
|- id="L_N"
! colspan="5" | L–S
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|l}}
| '''''l'''ease'' ([[Received Pronunciation]])
| style="text-align: center;" rowspan="2" | {{lang|ar|[[ل]]}}
| rowspan="2" | l
| rowspan="2" |لَام (''lām'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|ɫ}}{{efn|name=Allah}}
| ''too'''l'''''
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|m}}
| '''''m'''e''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[م]]}}
| m
|مِيم (''mīm'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|n}}
| '''''n'''o''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ن]]}}
| n
|نُون (''nūn'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|q}}
| like ''s'''k'''it'', but further down to the [[uvula]] ([[uvular consonant|uvular]]).
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ق]]}}
| q, g, '
|قَاف (''qāf'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|r}}
| "[[tap consonant|tap]]ped" or "[[trill consonant|trill]]ed" r; <br> [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''pe'''rr'''o''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ر]]}}
| r
|رَاء (''rāʾ'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|s}}
| '''''s'''nake''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[س]]}}
| s
|سِين (''sīn'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|sˤ}}{{efn|name=emphatic}}
| close to '''''s'''''aw, emphatic and pharyngealized {{IPAslink|s}}
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ص]]}}
| ṣ
|صَاد (''ṣād'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|ʃ}}
| '''''sh'''eep''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ش]]}}
| sh, š, ch
|شِين (''shīn'')
<!-- t-w ###################################################################### -->
|- id="T_W"
! colspan="5" | T–W
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|t}}<ref name=":0" />
| ''s'''t'''op''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ت]]}}<br /><span style="font-size: smaller;">(sometimes</span> {{lang|ar|[[ة]]}}<span style="font-size: smaller;">)</span>
| t
|تَاء (''tāʾ'')
تاء مربوطة (''tāʾ marbūṭah'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|tˤ}}{{efn|name=emphatic}}
| emphatic and pharyngealized {{IPAslink|t}}, no equivalent
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ط]]}}
| ṭ
|طَاء (''ṭāʾ'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|θ}}
| '''''th'''ink''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ث]]}}
| th, ṯ
|ثَاء (''thāʾ'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|u}}{{efn|name=u}}
| ''fr'''u'''ition''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|ُ}}
| u, o, ou
|ضَمَّة (''ḍammah'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|uː}}{{efn|name=uu}}
| ''c'''oo'''l''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ـُو]]}}
| ū, oo, ou, u
|وَاو (''wāw'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|w}}
| '''''w'''e''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[و]]}}
| w
|وَاو (''wāw'')
<!-- x—z ###################################################################### -->
|- id="X_Z"
! colspan="5" | X–Z
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|x}} ~ [[Voiceless uvular fricative|χ]]
| [[Scottish English|Scottish]] ''lo'''ch'''''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[خ]]}}
| kh, ḫ, ḵ
|خَاء (''khāʾ'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|ɣ}} ~ [[Voiced uvular fricative|ʁ]]
| like '''g'''allon, but with a guttural sound further down to the [[uvula]] ([[uvular consonant|uvular]]). Alternatively like [[French language|French]] pa'''r'''is
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[غ]]}}
| gh, ġ, ḡ
|غَيْن (''ghayn'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|z}}
| '''''z'''oo''
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ز]]}}
| z
|زَاي (''zāy'')
<!-- other ###################################################################### -->
|- id="other"
! colspan="5" | Other
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|ʔ}}
| The pause in ''uh<u>-</u>oh!''; 
The 'tt' in ''kitten'' in Standard American English;<br /> [[Cockney English|Cockney]] ''bu'''tt'''er''; [[glottal stop]]
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ء]]}}
| style="font-size:200%" | [[ʾ]] [[' (disambiguation)|’]] [[']]
|هَمْزة (''hamzah'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|ʕ}}
| no equivalent in English<br />([[voiced pharyngeal fricative]] or voiced creaky-voiced pharyngeal approximant)
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{lang|ar|[[ع]]}}
| style="font-size:200%" | [[ʿ]] [[‘]] [[']] [[`]]
|عَيْن (''ʿayn'')
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|θ}}
| colspan="4" | see under [[#T W|T—W]]
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | {{IPA link|ˈ}}
| {{IPA|[ˈkiːwi]}} {{lang|ar|كِيوِي}} ('kiwi')
| colspan="3" | Means that the following syllable is stressed: {{IPA|/ˈʕarabiː/}}  {{lang|ar|عربي}} ('Arab').
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | {{IPA link|ː}}
| {{IPA|[kiːs]}} {{lang|ar|كِيس}} ('sack')
| colspan="3" | Means that the preceding vowel is long
|-
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|[ˈdˤɑ'''ħ.ħ'''æ]}} {{lang|ar|ضَحّى}} ('[he] sacrificed'), <br> {{IPA|[mʊˈdæ'''r.r'''ɪsæ]}} {{lang|ar|مُدَرِّسَة}} ('teacher [f.]'), <br> {{IPA|[ræ'''s.ˈs'''æːmæ]}} {{lang|ar|رَسَّامَة}} ('paintress'), <br> {{IPA|[kæ'''ð.ˈð'''æːb]}} {{lang|ar|كَذَّاب}} ('liar [m.]')
| colspan="3" | A [[gemination|geminated]] consonant never belongs to one syllable and is often broken with a [[stress (linguistics)|stress]].
|}

==See also==
* {{Clc|Pages with Arabic IPA|pages}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist|refs=

{{efn|name=emphatic|Emphatic consonants may be either [[pharyngealization|pharyngealized]] or [[velarization|velarized]] and are accompanied with [[labialization]] ({{harvnb|Al-Ani|2008|p=599}}; {{harvnb|Kaye|1997|p=193–194}}).}}

{{efn|name=Zaa|The letter {{lang|ar|ظ}} represents either {{IPAblink|ðˤ}} or {{IPAblink|zˤ}}, depending on the speaker's dialect {{harv|Al-Ani|2008|p=601}}.}}

{{efn|name=jim|The letter {{lang|ar|ج}} represents {{IPAblink|ɡ}} in Egypt and {{IPAblink|ʒ}} in the Levant and the Maghreb ({{harvnb|Al-Ani|2008|p=598}}; {{harvnb|Gairdner|1925|p=23}}).}}

{{efn|name=Allah|{{IPA|[ɫ]}} occurs only in the word ''Allah'': {{IPA|[ɑɫˈɫɑh]}} ({{harvnb|Al-Ani|2008|p=600}}; {{harvnb|Kaye|1997|p=196}}; {{harvnb|Kaye|2009|p=564}}).}}

{{efn|name=a|Allophones of {{IPA|/a/}} include {{IPAblink|ɑ}} before or adjacent to emphatic consonants and {{IPAblink|q}}, {{IPAblink|r}}; and {{IPAblink|æ}} elsewhere ({{harvnb|Al-Ani|2008|p=595, 600}}; {{harvnb|Thelwall|Sa'adeddin|1999|p=52–53}}; {{harvnb|Kaye|1997|p=193, 197}}).}}

{{efn|name=i|Allophones of {{IPA|/i/}} include {{IPAblink|ɪ}}~{{IPAblink|e}} before or adjacent to emphatic consonants and {{IPAblink|q}}, {{IPAblink|r}}, {{IPAblink|ħ}}, {{IPAblink|ʕ}} ({{harvnb|Al-Ani|2008|p=595, 600}}; {{harvnb|Thelwall|Sa'adeddin|1999|p=52–53}}; {{harvnb|Kaye|1997|p=193, 197}}); they are distinct phonemes in loan words. {{IPA|/ɪ/}} completely becomes {{IPA|/e/}} in some other particular dialects.}}

{{efn|name=u|Allophones of {{IPA|/u/}} include {{IPAblink|ʊ}}~{{IPAblink|ɤ}}~{{IPAblink|o}} before or adjacent to emphatic consonants and {{IPAblink|q}}, {{IPAblink|r}}, {{IPAblink|ħ}}, {{IPAblink|ʕ}} ({{harvnb|Al-Ani|2008|p=595, 600}}; {{harvnb|Thelwall|Sa'adeddin|1999|p=52–53}}; {{harvnb|Kaye|1997|p=193, 197}}); they are distinct phonemes in loan words. {{IPA|/u/}} completely becomes {{IPA|/o/}} in some other particular dialects.}}

{{efn|name=aa|Allophones of {{IPA|/aː/}} include {{IPAblink|ɑː}} before or adjacent to emphatic consonants and {{IPAblink|q}}, {{IPAblink|r}}; and {{IPAblink|æː}} elsewhere ({{harvnb|Al-Ani|2008|p=595, 600}}; {{harvnb|Thelwall|Sa'adeddin|1999|p=52–53}}; {{harvnb|Kaye|1997|p=193, 197}}).}}

{{efn|name=ii|Allophones of {{IPA|/iː/}} include {{IPAblink|ɪː}}~{{IPAblink|ɨː}} before or adjacent to emphatic consonants and {{IPAblink|q}}, {{IPAblink|r}}, {{IPAblink|ħ}}, {{IPAblink|ʕ}} ({{harvnb|Al-Ani|2008|p=595, 600}}; {{harvnb|Thelwall|Sa'adeddin|1999|p=52–53}}; {{harvnb|Kaye|1997|p=193, 197}}).}}

{{efn|name=uu|Allophones of {{IPA|/uː/}} include {{IPAblink|ʊː}}~{{IPAblink|ɤː}}~{{IPAblink|oː}} before or adjacent to emphatic consonants and {{IPAblink|q}}, {{IPAblink|r}}, {{IPAblink|ħ}}, {{IPAblink|ʕ}} ({{harvnb|Al-Ani|2008|p=595, 600}}; {{harvnb|Thelwall|Sa'adeddin|1999|p=52–53}}; {{harvnb|Kaye|1997|p=193, 197}}).}}

{{efn|name=ai|In colloquial pronunciation, {{IPA|/aj/}} may be realized as {{IPAblink|eː}}~{{IPAblink|ɛː}}~[{{IPA|ej}}] ({{harvnb|Al-Ani|2008|p=595}}; {{harvnb|Kaye|1997|p=198}}).}}

{{efn|name=au|In colloquial pronunciation, {{IPA|/aw/}} may be realized as {{IPAblink|oː}}~{{IPAblink|ɔː}}~[{{IPA|ow}}] may occur ({{harvnb|Al-Ani|2008|p=595}}; {{harvnb|Kaye|1997|p=198}}).}}
}}

== References ==
* {{cite book|last1=Al-Ani|first1=Salman H.|title=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics|volume= III|date=2008|publisher=Brill|pages=593–603|chapter=Phonetics |isbn=978-90-04-14973-1 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Gairdner|first1=W. H. T.|url=https://archive.org/details/ThePhoneticsOfArabic-W.H.T.Gairdner|title=The Phonetics of Arabic|date=1925|publisher=Oxford University Press}}
* {{cite book|last1=Kaye|first1=Alan S.|title=Phonologies of Asia and Africa|volume=I|date=1997|pages=187–204|chapter=Arabic Phonology}}
* {{cite book|last=Kaye|first=Alan S.|editor-last=Comrie|editor-first=Bernard|title=The World's Major Languages|edition=2nd|location=Abingdon, Oxfordshire|publisher=Routledge|date=2009|pages=560&ndash;577|chapter=Arabic|isbn=978-0-415-35339-7|url=http://116.58.21.27/articles/The%20World's%20Major%20Languages_0415353394.pdf}}
* {{cite book
|last=Ladefoged
|first=Peter
|authorlink=Peter Ladefoged
|last2=Maddieson
|first2=Ian
|authorlink2=Ian Maddieson
|year=1996
|title=The Sounds of the World's Languages
|location=Oxford
|publisher=Blackwell
|isbn=0-631-19815-6
}}
* {{cite book|last1=Mitchell|first1=T. F.|title=Pronouncing Arabic|volume=I|date=1990|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-815151-9 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Thelwall|first1=Robin|last2=Sa'adeddin|first2=M. Akram|title=Handbook of the International Phonetic Association|date=1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=51–54|chapter=Arabic}}

{{IPA keys}}