5 Things you Need to Know about Arabic Vowels
In Arabic, vowels are called “7arakaat”; movements. Vowels allow us to pronounce, articulate. Without vowels, there is no articulation, no movement.
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1- In Arabic, there are three short vowels and three long vowels.
The three short vowels are (the circle represents the consonant that precedes them in sound):
The three long vowels are:
They sound the same as the short vowels, except longer.
Arabic also has a symbol for “0 vowel”, called “sukuun”, meaning silence. It looks like a zero: ْ
2- Short vowels are written above or below the consonants they follow in sound.
b = ب
3- Long vowels are written after the consonants they follow in sound:
4- Short vowels are usually only written in:
· religious texts,
· poetry
· children’s books
You will only see them occasionally in books and newspapers, usually to clarify ambiguity.
Example:
5- When long vowels are used as a “seat” for the glottal stop HAMZA ( ء ), they loose their long vowel quality and all that is pronounced are the glottal stop and the vowel that follows it. If the hamza is followed by a sukuun, all that is pronounced is the hamza.
Example:
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