How letters join into words
Arabic · Key Stage 1 · The School
One letter, several costumes
ه looks quite different at the start (هـ), in the middle (ـهـ), at the end (ـه) and standing alone (ه). It is the SAME letter with the same sound — only the joining changes its shape. Learning the four forms of the common letters is the single biggest step in reading fluently.
Find the skeleton
To read a joined word, look for the tall letters and the dots first — they are the landmarks. مَسْجِد (masjid): م at the start, س in the middle with its teeth, ج with its dot below, د at the end refusing to join forward. Reading is pattern recognition, and the dots are your map.
Gaps are information
When you see a gap inside a word, look at the letter before it: it will be one of ا د ذ ر ز و. The gap is not the end of the word — it is one of those six letters doing what they always do. Once you expect them, gaps stop breaking your reading.
م joins forward: مـ. د is a non-joiner, so it takes the previous join and then stops: مَدْ. ر is also a non-joiner: رَ, standing free. س joins: سـ. Then ة at the end. Written out: مَدْرَسة. Now count the gaps — two, both after non-joiners. Try نَجْم and بِنْت the same way and predict the gaps before you write.