| Name | Isolated | Initial | Medial | Final | Transliteration | Sound | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 'alif | ا | ـا | ' / ā | long unrounded low central back vowel | 'a' as in 'father' | ||
| Bā' | ب | بـ | ـبـ | ـب | b | voiced bilabial stop | 'b' as in 'bed' |
| Tā' | ت | تـ | ـتـ | ـت | t | voiced aspirated stop | 't' as in 'tent' |
| Thā' | ث | ثـ | ـثـ | ـث | th | voiceless interdental fricative | 'th' as in 'think' |
| Jīm | ج | جـ | ـجـ | ـج | j | voiced palatal affricate | 'j' as in 'jam' |
| Ḥā' | ح | حـ | ـحـ | ـح | ḥ | voiceless pharyngeal constricted fricative | only in Arabic; a constricted English 'h' |
| Khā' | خ | خـ | ـخـ | ـخ | kh | voiceless velar fricative | 'ch' as in German 'Bach' |
| Dāl | د | ـد | d | voiced dental stop | 'd' as in 'deer' (approx.) | ||
| Dhāl | ذ | ـذ | dh | voiced interdental fricative | 'th' as in 'there' | ||
| Rā' | ر | ـر | r | voiced dental trill | 'r' as in 'run' (approx.) | ||
| Zāy | ز | ـز | z | voiced dental sibilant | 'z' as in 'zoo' (approx.) | ||
| Sīn | س | سـ | ـسـ | ـس | s | voiceless dental sibilant | 's' as in 'sit' |
| Shīn | ش | شـ | ـشـ | ـش | sh | voiceless palatal sibilant | 'sh' as in 'shut' |
| Ṣād | ص | صـ | ـصـ | ـص | ṣ | voiceless post-dental sibilant emphatic | the counterpart of Sῑn; all the 'emphatics' are pronounced with the back of the tongue slightly raised |
| Ḍād | ض | ضـ | ـضـ | ـض | ḍ | voiced post-dental emphatic stop | the counterpart of Dāl |
| Ṭā' | ط | طـ | ـطـ | ـط | ṭ | voiceless post-dental emphatic stop | the counterpart of Tā' |
| Ẓā' | ظ | ظـ | ـظـ | ـظ | ẓ | voiced post-interdental emphatic fricative | the counterpart of Dhāl |
| cayn | ع | عـ | ـعـ | ـع | c | voiced pharyngeal fricative | purely Arabic -- a constriction of the throat and an expulsion of the breath with the vocal cords vibrating |
| Ghayn | غ | غـ | ـغـ | ـغ | gh | voiced uvular fricative | close to a French 'r' as in 'Paris' -- like a gentle gargling |
| Fā' | ف | فـ | ـفـ | ـف | f | labio-dental voiceless fricative | 'f' as in 'free' |
| Qāf | ق | قـ | ـقـ | ـق | q | voiceless unaspirated uvular stop | 'k' in the back of the throat; compare 'cough' with 'calf' |
| Kāf | ك | كـ | ـكـ | ـك | k | voiceless aspirated palatal or velar stop | 'k' as in 'king' |
| Lām | ل | لـ | ـلـ | ـل | l | voiced dental lateral | 'l' as in 'lift' |
| Mīm | م | مـ | ـمـ | ـم | m | voiced bilabial nasal | 'm' as in 'moon' |
| Nūn | ن | نـ | ـنـ | ـن | n | voiced dental nasal | 'n' as in 'net' |
| Hā' | ه | هـ | ـهـ | ـه | h | voiceless glottal fricative | 'h' as in 'house' |
| Wāw | و | ـو | w | voiced bilabial glide | 'w' as in 'wonder' | ||
| Yā' | ي | يـ | ـيـ | ـي | y | voiced palatal glide | 'y' as in 'yellow' |
| Hamza | ء | ' | voiceless glottal stop | not a phoneme in English but found in some exclamations -- e.g. 'oh-oh' |