Letter sounds: hear it, find it
Arabic · Early Years · The School
Hear it, find it
A grown-up or the Listen button says a sound — "b", "t", "j" — and you point to the letter that makes it. Play with the eight letters you know: ا ب ت ث ج ح خ د. Start slow, then go faster. When you can find all eight without thinking, you have made friends with them.
Letters at the start of words
Letters live inside words. بab means door — it starts with bā. جmal means camel — it starts with jīm. You do not need to read the whole word yet. Just look at the first letter on the RIGHT side (remember, Arabic starts from the right) and say its sound.
Letters hold hands
In English, printed letters stand apart: c-a-t. Arabic letters usually hold hands: بت joins bā and tā into one connected shape. When letters join, they squash a little, but their dots stay with them. You will learn the joined shapes slowly — today, just notice that Arabic writing flows like a ribbon.
Say سَمَك (samak, fish) slowly and stretch the first sound: sssss — that is س. Now بَيْت (bayt, house): bbb — that is ب. Now تُفَّاح (tuffāḥ, apple): ttt — that is ت. Lay the three letter cards out and say a word; the child points at the letter it starts with. Ten words, and the sounds start attaching themselves to the shapes.