Letter shapes: alif to thā
Arabic · Early Years · The School
Letters are pictures of sounds
Arabic is written from right to left — the opposite direction to English. Every letter is a little picture that stands for one sound. Today we meet the first eight: ا (alif), ب (bā), ت (tā), ث (thā), ج (jīm), ح (ḥā), خ (khā), د (dāl). Look at each one slowly. Alif is a tall straight stick. Bā is a boat with one dot underneath. Tā is the same boat with two dots on top.
Dots change the sound
Look at ب, ت and ث together. The boat shape is exactly the same — only the dots move. One dot under says "b". Two dots on top say "t". Three dots on top say "th", like the English word "think". In Arabic, dots are not decoration: they tell you which sound to say, so always count the dots before you speak.
Air writing
Point one finger. Draw a tall alif in the air from top to bottom. Now draw the bā boat: start on the right, curve down and along to the left, then dot underneath. Do each of the eight letters three times in the air while saying its sound. Big arm movements help your hand remember the shape before you ever hold a pencil.
بـ، تـ، ثـ all have exactly the same body — a shallow bowl. What separates them is the dots: bā has ONE dot BELOW, tā has TWO ABOVE, thā has THREE ABOVE. Cover the dots with your finger and the three become identical, which is why the dots are not decoration. Say each sound as you write it: ba, ta, tha.