Help:IPA/Arabic

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents the Modern Standard form of the Arabic language in Wikipedia articles. The charts also have Egyptian Arabic sounds, though not necessarily all other varieties of Arabic. Actual pronunciations differ, depending on the native variety of Arabic of the speaker, as Modern Standard Arabic is not anyone's native language.

See Arabic phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Arabic.

The transliteration of consonants has the standard of DIN 31635 written first.

Consonants
IPA	Letter(s)	English approximation	Trans.
b	ب	bee	Template:Transl
d	د	deed	Template:Transl
dˤ	ض	dark	Template:Transl d
dʒ ~ ʒ ^[1]^[2]	ج	joy/measure	Template:Transl Template:Transl
ð ^[3]	ذ	this	Template:Transl Template:Transl z
ðˤ ~ zˤ ^[4]	ظ	though/bazaar	Template:Transl z
f	ف	fool	Template:Transl
ɡ ^[1]^[5]	ج	good	g (not DIN 31635 standard)
h	ه	he	Template:Transl
ħ	ح	roughly like hair	Template:Transl h
j	ي	yes	Template:Transl
k	ﻙ	skin	Template:Transl
l ~ ɫ ^[6]	ل	leaf/bell	Template:Transl
m	م	man	Template:Transl
n	ن	no	Template:Transl
θ ^[3]	ﺙ	thing	Template:Transl Template:Transl s
q ^[7]	ق	scar	Template:Transl k
r ~ ɾˤ ^[8]^[9]	ر	roughly like water (American English)	Template:Transl
s	س	see	Template:Transl
sˤ	ص	massage	Template:Transl s
ʃ	ش	she	Template:Transl Template:Transl ch
t	ت	stick	Template:Transl
tˤ	ط	star	Template:Transl t
w	و	we	Template:Transl
x ~ χ ^[10]	خ	loch (Scottish English)	Template:Transl Template:Transl Template:Transl
ɣ ~ ʁ ^[10]	غ	between go and loch (Scottish English)	Template:Transl Template:Transl Template:Transl
z	ز	zoo	Template:Transl
ʕ	ع	roughly like behind	Template:Transl Template:Transl ‘ ` '
ʔ	ء	uh-(ʔ)oh	Template:Transl Template:Transl ’ '
Marginal consonants
IPA	Letter(s)	English Examples	Trans.
p	پ‎	spin	Template:Transl
tʃ ^[2]	تش ‎ چ‎ ^[2]	church	Template:Transl Template:Transl Template:Transl tch Template:Transl
v	ڤ‎	vine	Template:Transl

Vowels
IPA		Letter(s)	English approximation	Trans.
narrow	broad^[11]	Letter(s)	English approximation	Trans.
æ ~ ɛ ^[12]	a		bat/bet	Template:Transl
ɑ ^[13]			part (shorter)	Template:Transl
ɐ ^[14]		ة	cut	Template:Transl a
e^[15] ~ ɪ ^[16]	i		roughly like day/sit	e/Template:Transl
i ^[16]	i		happy	Template:Transl
o^[15] ~ ʊ ^[17]	u		roughly like law (British English) (shorter)/put	o/Template:Transl ou
u ^[17]	u		boot (shorter)	Template:Transl ou
æː ~ ɛː ^[12]	aː	ا ‎ ى‎ ^[18]	jazz/says	Template:Transl a
ɑː ^[13]	aː	ا ‎ ى‎ ^[18]	part	Template:Transl a
eː ^[19]		ي ‎ ـيه	air (Australian English)	Template:Transl ei ai ēh eh eih aih
iː	iː	ي ‎‎ ى‎‎ ^[18]	see	Template:Transl i ee
oː ^[19]		و	roughly like law (British English)	Template:Transl o
uː	uː	و	boot	Template:Transl u ou oo

Suprasegmentals
IPA		Meaning	Example	Trans.
ˈ		stress mark	عربية [ʕɑrɑˈbijjɐ]	Template:Transl
ː		vowel length	عاش [ʕæːʃ]	Template:Transl

Notes

^ ^a ^b That phoneme is represented by the Arabic letter Template:Transl (ج) and has many standard pronunciations: [ɡ] in Egypt and some regions in Yemen and Oman, as well as, in Morocco and Algeria in some words, especially colloquially; [ʒ] in most of the Levant and most other places across North Africa; [d͡ʒ] in most of the Arabian Peninsula, north Algeria and restricted areas of the Levant. In the Arabian Peninsula it is sometimes softened to [ʒ]. Some regions in Sudan and Yemen have a [ɡʲ] or [ɟ].
^ ^a ^b ^c In case of loanwords: /d͡ʒ/ or /ʒ/ are realized as [ʒ] in Egypt and can be transcribed by چ which is used to transcribe /ɡ/ in Israel. In case of transcribing Iraqi and gulf Arabic, چ represents: /t͡ʃ/. چ as used for /t͡ʃ/ is rare and mostly used only in Iraq (and less likely for other Gulf Arabics), but usually تش is used instead. Elsewhere it is usually realized as [t]+[ʃ] and a buffer vowel might be inserted in between, before or after the consonants. It might be approximated to [ʃ].
^ ^a ^b In Egypt, Sudan and Levant, /θ, ð/ are always approximated to [s, z] in loanwords in their regional dialects.
^ Template:Transl (ظ) represents [zˤ ~ z], in Egypt, Levant and Sudan, for both of regional dialects and Modern Standard Arabic.
^ [ɡ] can also be used in loanwords. If not ج, other letters may represent the phoneme, such as: Template:Rtl-lang, Template:Rtl-lang, Template:Rtl-lang, Template:Rtl-lang, ݣ‎ or ڨ‎.
^ In Modern Standard Arabic, [ɫ] is only found in Allah, but it's found in other dialects normally. Most speakers of other regions lack the sound even when pronouncing Modern Standard Arabic.
^ In many geographic regions, regional dialects substitute /q/ with [ʔ], [ɡ] or [ɢ], with some exceptions.
^ In the northern most of Egypt and in Lebanon, /r/ is in free variation between [ɾ] and [r].
^ The emphatic /rˤ/ exists in North Africa.
^ ^a ^b In some geographic regions, it is uvular.
^ Broad transcription only corresponds to Modern Standard Arabic.
^ ^a ^b The front vowel /æ/ corresponds to: [a] in Levant; [ɛ] or [e] in Northwest Africa in stressed syllables in dialects which have stress while in these dialects, the unstressed form is [æ]. In west Arabia, it's mainly [a] with an allophone, if there are no emphatic consonants or emphatic consonant clusters, [æ] before /n, l/ and after /j, ɡ/.
^ ^a ^b The phonemes /a, aː/ are retracted to [ɑ] and [ɑː], respectively, around the emphatic consonants, /tˤ, dˤ, sˤ, ðˤ/, also sometimes /r/. Some standards also include /ʁ, χ/.
^ [ɐ] is an allophone of final /a/ (ة) in Iraq and Persian Gulf pronunciation.
^ ^a ^b The short vowels /e/ and /o/ are usually not written as is normally done in Arabic (unless they are at the beginning of a word).
^ ^a ^b [e]~[ɪ] is an allophone of short initial and medial /i/ in some pronunciations. Although in proper pronunciation of loanwords of non-Arabic origin, it can be [i].
^ ^a ^b [o]~[ʊ] is an allophone of short initial and medial /u/ in some pronunciations. Although in proper pronunciation of loanwords of non-Arabic origin, it can be [u].
^ ^a ^b ^c In Egypt, Sudan and sometimes other regions, the final form is always ى, both in handwriting and in print, representing both final-/iː/ and final-/aː/.
^ ^a ^b Modern Standard Arabic diphthongs /aj, aw/ are especially monophthongized to [eː, oː] in names of Arabic origin.

External links

The International Phonetic Alphabet (revised to 2005) Symbols for all languages are shown on this one-page chart.
Chart of Arabic transliteration systems (non-normative), including DIN 31635, Revision 2.2 (2008-02-25)

[g-1] That phoneme is represented by the Arabic letter Template:Transl (ج) and has many standard pronunciations: [ɡ] in Egypt and some regions in Yemen and Oman, as well as, in Morocco and Algeria in some words, especially colloquially; [ʒ] in most of the Levant and most other places across North Africa; [d͡ʒ] in most of the Arabian Peninsula, north Algeria and restricted areas of the Levant. In the Arabian Peninsula it is sometimes softened to [ʒ]. Some regions in Sudan and Yemen have a [ɡʲ] or [ɟ].

[tsh-2] In case of loanwords: /d͡ʒ/ or /ʒ/ are realized as [ʒ] in Egypt and can be transcribed by چ which is used to transcribe /ɡ/ in Israel. In case of transcribing Iraqi and gulf Arabic, چ represents: /t͡ʃ/. چ as used for /t͡ʃ/ is rare and mostly used only in Iraq (and less likely for other Gulf Arabics), but usually تش is used instead. Elsewhere it is usually realized as [t]+[ʃ] and a buffer vowel might be inserted in between, before or after the consonants. It might be approximated to [ʃ].

[ð,_θ-3] In Egypt, Sudan and Levant, /θ, ð/ are always approximated to [s, z] in loanwords in their regional dialects.

[dh-4] Template:Transl (ظ) represents [zˤ ~ z], in Egypt, Levant and Sudan, for both of regional dialects and Modern Standard Arabic.

[5] [ɡ] can also be used in loanwords. If not ج, other letters may represent the phoneme, such as: Template:Rtl-lang, Template:Rtl-lang, Template:Rtl-lang, Template:Rtl-lang, ݣ‎ or ڨ‎.

[6] In Modern Standard Arabic, [ɫ] is only found in Allah, but it's found in other dialects normally. Most speakers of other regions lack the sound even when pronouncing Modern Standard Arabic.

[q-7] In many geographic regions, regional dialects substitute /q/ with [ʔ], [ɡ] or [ɢ], with some exceptions.

[8] In the northern most of Egypt and in Lebanon, /r/ is in free variation between [ɾ] and [r].

[back_vowel_and_r-9] The emphatic /rˤ/ exists in North Africa.

[uvular-10] In some geographic regions, it is uvular.

[11] Broad transcription only corresponds to Modern Standard Arabic.

[æ-12] The front vowel /æ/ corresponds to: [a] in Levant; [ɛ] or [e] in Northwest Africa in stressed syllables in dialects which have stress while in these dialects, the unstressed form is [æ]. In west Arabia, it's mainly [a] with an allophone, if there are no emphatic consonants or emphatic consonant clusters, [æ] before /n, l/ and after /j, ɡ/.

[retraction-13] The phonemes /a, aː/ are retracted to [ɑ] and [ɑː], respectively, around the emphatic consonants, /tˤ, dˤ, sˤ, ðˤ/, also sometimes /r/. Some standards also include /ʁ, χ/.

[14] [ɐ] is an allophone of final /a/ (ة) in Iraq and Persian Gulf pronunciation.

[short-15] The short vowels /e/ and /o/ are usually not written as is normally done in Arabic (unless they are at the beginning of a word).

[close_front_vowels-16] [e]~[ɪ] is an allophone of short initial and medial /i/ in some pronunciations. Although in proper pronunciation of loanwords of non-Arabic origin, it can be [i].

[close_back_vowels-17] [o]~[ʊ] is an allophone of short initial and medial /u/ in some pronunciations. Although in proper pronunciation of loanwords of non-Arabic origin, it can be [u].

[ye-18] In Egypt, Sudan and sometimes other regions, the final form is always ى, both in handwriting and in print, representing both final-/iː/ and final-/aː/.

[eː,_oː-19] Modern Standard Arabic diphthongs /aj, aw/ are especially monophthongized to [eː, oː] in names of Arabic origin.

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Comparisons	IPA conventions for English English dialects Wikipedia pronunciation respelling Other English pronunciation respellings
Introductory guides	Symbols For English speakers Manual of Style: Pronunciation

Consonants

Vowels

Notes

See also

External links