Qur'an | Word by Word | Audio | Prayer Times
__ Sign In
 
__

Phonetic Transcription

__

The phonetic transcription below is based on the scheme found in Arabic Through the Quran by Alan Jones (Islamic Texts Society, 2008). The correct form of pronunciation will depend on context, especially for the letters hamza and alif maksūra. The basic form of transcription is shown in figures 1 and 2 below.

Letter Arabic Transcription
alif ā
b
t
thā th
jīm j
ḥā
khā kh
dāl d
dhāl dh
r
zāy z
sīn s
shīn sh
ṣād
ḍād
ṭā
ẓā
ʿayn ʿ
ghayn gh
f
qāf q
kāf k
lām l
mīm m
nūn n
h
wāw w
y
hamza '
alif maksura ā
ta marbūta t

Fig 1. Phonetic transcription for letters.

Diacritic Arabic Transcription
fathatan an
dammatan un
kasratan in
fatha a
damma u
kasra i
shadda (double)
sukūn '

Fig 2. Phonetic transcription for diacritics.

Vowels

The long vowels are indicated by ā, ī and ū, and the maddah may also be used to lengthen a vowel. The shadda is indicated by the doubling of a letter. The hamzat wasl is transcribed as l- except at the start of a verse where al- is used. For example:

(2:147) al-ḥaqu min rabbika falā takūnanna mina l-mum'tarīna

Fig 3. Phonetic transcription for hamzat wasl.

See Also

Language Research Group
University of Leeds
__