☰ Units · Arabic A1

First letters and short vowels

Unit 1 · Part A · Arabic A1 (Beginners)
3

Taa and thaa

Arabic A1 · Unit 1
GoalRead and write ت (taa) and ث (thaa) and tell them apart by their dots.
New words
تَ (ta) · syllable taثَ (tha) · syllable thaثَابِت (thābit) · steady, fixedثَبَات (thabāt) · stabilityبَاتَ (bāta) · he spent the night
Explanation

Taa (ت) is the “t” of “tea” and has two dots above. Thaa (ث) is the “th” of “think” and has three dots above. They have the same shape as baa, only the dots change, so always look at the dots first. Both join on both sides, like baa. For thaa, put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth.

تalone
تـstart
ـتـmiddle
ـتend
tāʾt
ثalone
ثـstart
ـثـmiddle
ـثend
thāʾth
Worked examples
Same bowl, different dots. Listen to the three sounds side by side.
Now read two real words. Start from the right, check the dots, then add the vowels.
The word بَاتَ, bāta, uses ب, alif and ت. The alif makes the long “aa”.
Class activity

Dot game. Draw the same bowl six times on a sheet. Add one dot below, or two or three dots above, to make ب ت ث twice each. Then add a fatha to every letter and read them aloud: ba, ta, tha.

Practice
1
Which letter has three dots above it, and how do you pronounce it?
2
Press Listen. Which vowel do you hear: a, i or u?
3
Write the letter with two dots above and a kasra below it. How do you read it?
4
Read the word aloud: ثَابِت.
5
Press Listen. Does the word start with ta or with tha?