2
Alif and baa with short vowels
Arabic A1 · Unit 1
GoalRead and write alif and baa, and read the three short vowels fatha, kasra and damma.
New words
بَ (ba) · syllable baبِ (bi) · syllable biبُ (bu) · syllable buبَا (bā) · long āبَاب (bāb) · door
Explanation
Alif (ا) is the first letter. In this lesson it gives a long “aa” sound, like the vowel in “father” held a little longer. Baa (ب) is the “b” of “boy” and has one dot below. Arabic letters are consonants, and the short vowels, called ḥarakāt, are small marks. A fatha, a small slanted stroke above the letter, gives “a”. A damma, a small curl above, gives “u”. A kasra, a small stroke below, gives “i”. Alif never joins the letter after it, but baa joins on both sides.
اalone
—start
—middle
ـاend
بalone
بـstart
ـبـmiddle
ـبend
Worked examples
One letter, three vowels. Press each card: the letter stays the same and only the mark changes.
With alif the vowel is long: بَا is “baa”, held longer than ba. Together they make the word بَاب, bāb, door.
Class activity
Draw the letter. In the air or on paper, write ب from right to left: a curved bowl with one dot below. Then add a fatha, a kasra and a damma and say ba, bi, bu each time. Do the same for ا, a straight stroke from top to bottom.
Practice
1
Press Listen. Which vowel do you hear: a, i or u?
u. The syllable is بُ (bu).
2
Write the three syllables ba, bi and bu with their marks.
بَ بِ بُ
3
Which letter never joins the letter after it?
Alif (ا).
4
Read the word aloud: بَاب.
bāb, which means door.
5
What does a kasra look like and where is it written?
A small stroke below the letter. It gives the sound i.