Mark and sound
Point to the mark, say its sound job, then read the whole word.
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Learning outcomes
By the end of this lesson أَهْدَافُ التَّعَلُّمِ
The goal is accurate decoding, not memorising a cloud of marks. Each step asks what changed in the sound.
Explain the contrast
Compare two forms and name exactly what the reader changes.
Use grammar carefully
Notice why tanwīn belongs to many indefinite nouns in full MSA.
Annotate a text
Label examples and distinguish script rules from recitation rules.
Route overview
This Lesson’s Journey
Single or doubled?
Hold the shadda consonant long enough to hear both halves.
Go to shadda →Three tanwīn endings
Read ـٌ، ـٍ، ـً as /un/, /in/, /an/ in careful connected speech.
Go to tanwīn →Long ā spellings
Separate ordinary long ā from alif madda’s hamza plus /ā/.
Go to alif madda →Find hamza
Recognise أ، إ، ؤ، ئ، ء without guessing advanced seat rules.
Go to hamza →R
Retrieve before adding marks
F1-L05 readiness check مُرَاجَعَةٌ سَرِيعَةٌ
Secure direction, connection and the four earlier vowel marks before today’s new layer.
Four-question retrieval
Answer once, read the feedback, then reset if needed.
1. Name the form ـبـ.
2. What does alif do to the connection after it?
3. Read the job of fatḥa in بَ.
4. What does sukūn show in بْ?
Decision point: 3–4 correct → continue. 0–2 correct → revisit
F1-L04 and the connection logic in F1-L05 first.
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Part 1 · Gemination
Shadda doubles the consonant الشَّدَّةُ
A shadda is not an extra vowel and not a command to shout. It shows a long or doubled consonant: the first half closes what came before; the second half begins what follows.
ّ
One written letter, two consonant timings
In careful analysis, a consonant with shadda behaves like the same consonant twice. The vowel sign written with the shadda belongs after the second half.
رْ+رَ=رَّ
دَرَسَdarasahe studied
→
دَرَّسَdarrasahe taught
Blend routine: in دَرَّسَ,
arrive on /r/, hold the closure briefly, then release into /ra/. Do not insert a vowel between the two /r/
timings.
Muḥammad
Double the marked m: mu-ḥam-mad.
مُحَمْمَد
marra
“he passed” · hold /r/ before /a/.
مَرْرَ
ḥaqq
“truth/right” in pause form · finish on a doubled /q/.
حَقْقْ
Game · Shadda Signal
Spot whether the named consonant has one timing or two.
؟Press start
2
Part 2 · Nunation
Tanwīn adds an ending with /n/ التَّنْوِينُ
In fully vocalised Modern Standard Arabic, many indefinite, declinable nouns and adjectives take one of three case endings. At Foundation level, recognise and pronounce the careful connected forms.
| Name | Mark | Careful sound | Example | Read it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tanwīn ḍamm | ـٌ | /un/ | كِتَابٌ | kitābun |
| tanwīn kasr | ـٍ | /in/ | كِتَابٍ | kitābin |
| tanwīn fatḥ | ـً | /an/ | كِتَابًا | kitāban |
What the doubled marks mean
The second stroke is not a second vowel. Together the pair spells a vowel plus final /n/: /u+n/, /i+n/, /a+n/. That final /n/ is heard although no letter nūn is written.
Why tanwīn fatḥ often has alif
In كِتَابًا, the ending is written with fatḥatayn plus a supporting alif. There are spelling exceptions, including words ending in ة, so do not add alif mechanically to every word.
Grammar boundary: tanwīn is not simply “the Arabic word for
a/an.” It is a grammatical ending. A noun with the definite article الـ does
not normally take tanwīn: compare كِتَابٌ with الكِتَابُ.
Speech boundary: case endings are clearest in careful
connected MSA. At a pause, speakers normally use stopping rules instead. This lesson scores the written
connected forms /un/, /in/ and /an/; stopping rules come later.
Game · Ending Ear
Read the doubled mark and select the careful connected ending.
؟Press start
3
Part 3 · Hamza plus long ā
Alif madda is a special long-ā spelling أَلِفُ المَدِّ
The wavy maddah sign above alif gives آ. It represents hamza /ʔ/ followed by long /ā/; it does not replace every ordinary long ā.
/ʔa/
hamza plus a short fatḥa
/ʔaː/
hamza plus long /ā/
/baː/
ordinary long /ā/ after bāʾ; no hamza
Do not generalise the shape: بَاب has long /ā/, but it is written with ordinary alif because there is no hamza
before that long vowel. آدَم begins /ʔaː/ and therefore uses alif madda.
| Word | Transliteration | Meaning | Decode |
|---|---|---|---|
| آدَم | ʾĀdam | Adam | /ʔaː/ + dam |
| آمَنَ | ʾāmana | he believed | /ʔaː/ + ma + na |
| قُرْآن | qurʾān | Qur’an | qur + /ʔaː/ + n |
| بَاب | bāb | door | ordinary /baː/ + b |
Terminology: madd can mean vowel
lengthening more generally. This section teaches the specific written character آ, commonly called alif madda/alif maddah.
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Part 4 · Glottal stop
Hamza keeps its sound but changes its seat الهَمْزَةُ
Hamza represents the glottal stop /ʔ/: the brief catch heard between “uh-oh.” Its small head may appear above or below alif, on wāw, on a tooth-like seat, or alone.
أ above alif
ʾakala · he ate
إ below alif
ʾimām · imam/leader
ؤ on wāw
suʾāl · question
ئ on a seat
biʾr · well
ء
Standalone hamza
Hamza can also stand without a carrier, as at the end of شَيْء shayʾ, “thing.” The consonant sound is still /ʔ/.
Foundation target: recognise the five common printed shapes أ، إ، ؤ، ئ، ء. Choosing the correct seat in spelling depends on word position and neighbouring vowels; that full system belongs in a later orthography lesson.
Game · Mark Detective
Identify the exact focus mark or character inside each word.
؟Press start
5
Guided practice
Reading lab: inspect, decode, blend مَعْمَلُ القِرَاءَةِ
Use the same reliable routine each time instead of guessing the whole word from its outline.
Circle the focus mark
Name it precisely: shadda, one of three tanwīns, alif madda or hamza.
State its sound job
Double a consonant, add /n/, read /ʔaː/, or pronounce /ʔ/.
Read the full word
Keep vowel length, consonant timing and word direction accurate.
مُحَمَّدmu-ḥam-madshadda:
/mm/
بَيْتٌbay-tuntanwīn: /un/
قَلَمًاqa-la-mantanwīn: /an/
آدَمʾā-damalif madda: /ʔaː/
سُؤَالsu-ʾālhamza: /ʔ/
دَرَّسَdar-ra-sashadda: /rr/
Listening practice · hear the mark
🎧 Recorded audio.
Listen twice. For each item, identify the feature you hear: shadda, tanwīn, long ā or hamza.
Listening script
مُعَلِّمٌ. كِتَابٌ. بَابٌ. سَأَلَ.
Check answers
1 shadda · 2 tanwīn · 3 long ā · 4 hamza.
Not yet marked complete.
Writing rehearsal
- Write رْ + رَ = رَّ three times.
- Build كِتَابٌ، كِتَابٍ، كِتَابًا; circle only the ending.
- Contrast أَ، آ، بَا; label /ʔa/, /ʔaː/, /baː/.
- Copy أ، إ، ؤ، ئ، ء as recognition forms.
Complete the shadda, tanwīn, alif madda and hamza rehearsal without copying from the answer.
Write with a mouse, finger or pen. Handwriting is not recognised or scored automatically.
Complete this task on paper, then return here to check or record your result.
Not yet marked complete.
Partner accuracy check
✓
Independent evidence
Final mastery check تَقْيِيمٌ خِتَامِيٌّ
Aim for 8/10 or better, then accurately read two contrasting examples aloud.
Ten-item final check
Each explanation identifies the exact script-to-sound decision.
1. What does ّ do?
2. Which sound is marked in دَرَّسَ?
3. Read the ending of كِتَابٌ.
4. Read the ending of قَلَمٍ.
5. Read the ending of بَيْتًا.
6. What does آ represent here?
7. Why does بَاب not use آ?
8. Which consonant sound does hamza represent?
9. Identify the hamza form in سُؤَال.
10. What is today’s honest hamza spelling target?
Reflection
This note stays only while the page is open.
Not yet marked complete.
Homework: copy five correctly vowelled words from a trusted
source. Circle and label one shadda, one tanwīn, one alif madda and two different hamza forms. Under each,
write its sound job.
Can-do exit ticket
Not yet marked complete.