Vowels in Arabic

Vowels in Arabic are called harakat حَرَكَات, the singular of which is haraka حَرَكَة. Fortunately for the learners of Arabic as a foreign language, they are simple and limited. They are simple in that they are easily produced which makes the articulation of words straightforward. These vowels are [a], [i], and [u]; and for each short vowel, there is a corresponding long vowel. These are [aa], [ii], and [uu], respectively. So, there are six vowels in Arabic.

In Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) texts, such as news articles and books of general prose, short vowels are left out (i.e., not indicated). As a result, learners of the language as a foreign language encounter difficulties in reading and understanding these texts. For Arabs, such problems do not exist due to their linguistic intuition (i.e., knowledge of the language: grammar, word forms, and word meaning). So, for you, as a learner of Arabic as a foreign language, it is important that you learn the transparent Arabic (i.e., Arabic with short vowels) from the outset and until you build a sufficient linguistic knowledge of the language. 

(1) Short Vowels:

The short vowels in Arabic are called الْحَرَكَاتُ الْقَصِيرَة. They are represented by three diacritical marks placed above or below the consonant that precedes them: the fatha, the kasra, and the dhamma. The fatha (ــَـ) is pronounced as [a]. The kasra (ــِـ) is pronounced as [i]. The dhamma (ــُـ) is pronounced as [u]. Therefore, they are secondary sounds that accompany letters. As stated above, these vowels are not written in MSA, but they are fully articulated. Put another way, although they seem additional, they are considerably essential. They determine the part of speech of the word, its function, and its meaning. For example, by changing the diacritical mark that accompanies the word علم, multiple words are generated: عَلِمَ ‘he knew’ is an active verb, عُلِمَ ‘was known’ is a passive verb, عِلْم ‘science’ is a noun, عَلَم ‘flag’ is a noun, عَلَّمَ ‘to educate’, among other words. Consequently, it is pedagogically essential that learners of Arabic as a foreign language learn how to add them to words from the outset of their learning. Now, let’s look at each one them. 

(a) fatha الْفَتْحَـة (ــَــ):

As can be seen from its shape, the fatha is a small alif (ا) lain down on the letter (this shape was proposed by the renowned Arab grammarian Al-Khalil ibn Ahmed Al-Farahidi in the 8^th century). It is pronounced as [a], that is a reduced alif [aa]. At the word-level, it can determine the part of speech of words and may change word meanings.

رَجَعَ	raja‘a	He returned		ذَكَرَ	dhakara	He mentioned		جَمَعَ	jama‘a	He collected
طَلَبَ	Talaba	He requested		كَتَبَ	kataba	He wrote		خَرَجَ	kharaja	He went out
وَصَلَ	waSala	He arrived		نَظَرَ	naDHara	He looked at		رَقَدَ	raqada	He slept

(b) kasra الْكَسْرَة (ــِــ):

Proposed by Al-Farahidi in the 8^th century, the kasra is a small alif (ا) laid down below the letter. It is put underneath the letter because it is the opposite of fatha. It is pronounced as [i], that is a reduced yaa [ii]. Like the fatha, it can determine the part of speech of the word and may change word meanings.

شَرِبَ	shariba	He drank		سَمِعَ	sami‘a	He heard		سَلِمَ	salima	He was safe
سَهِرَ	sahira	He was awake		ضَمِنَ	dhamina	He guaranteed		حَزِنَ	Hazina	He was sad
قَبِلَ	qabila	He accepted		خَجِلَ	khajila	He was shy		رَغِبَ	raghiba	He aspired

(c) dhamma الضَّمَّـة (ــُــ):

The dhamma is a small waaw (و) added above the letter. It is pronounced as [u], that is a reduced waaw [uu]. Like the other two diacritical marks, it can determine the part of speech of words, and it may affect word meanings.

شُرِبَ	shuriba	was drunk		ذُكِرَ	dhukira	was mentioned		جُمِعَ	jumi‘a	was collected
طُلِبَ	Tuliba	was requested		كُتِبَ	kutiba	was written		كَبُرَ	kabura	He grew up
قُبِلَ	qubila	was accepted		سُمِعَ	sumi‘a	was heard		صَغُرَ	Saghura	He became small

(2) Long Vowels:

Long vowels in Arabic are called الْحَرَكَاتُ الطَّوِيلَة. They are represented by three letters that are saakina (i.e. have a sukuun/no vowel over them)—the alif, the yaa, and the waaw. The alif (ـا) is pronounced as [aa], the yaa (ـيـ) is pronounced as [ii], and the waaw (ـو) is pronounced as [uu]. In Arabic, these letters are also called weak letters (ِأَحْرُفُ الْعِلَّة) or the letters of prolongation (ِأَحْرُفُ الْمَدّ).

(a) The alif ـا :

Pronounced as [aa], the alif ـا is a prolonged fatha, so it is called a long fatha. It is always saakina (i.e. has a sukuun/no vowel over it), and the letter that precedes it must have a fatha over it. So, given that it is always saakina and must be preceded by a letter that has a fatha over it, it never occurs at the start of words.

كَاتِب	kaatib	a writer		قَالَ	qaala	He said		مَقَال	maqaal	an article
سَائِق	saaʔiq	a driver		نَامَ	naama	He slept		شَرَاب	sharaab	a drink
شَاهِد	shaahid	a witness		بَاعَ	baa‘a	He sold		بَارِد	baarid	cold

(b) The yaa ـيـ :

Pronounced as [ii], the yaa ـيـ is a prolonged kasra, so it is called a long kasra. Like the alif, it is always saakina (i.e. has a sukuun/no vowel over it), and the letter that precedes it must have a kasra below it. If the yaa occurs at the start of words, it is not a long vowel. It becomes a consonant, just like the y in ‘yes.’ In يَجْرِي yajrii, for example, the first يَـ is a consonant, while the final ي is a vowel. 

خَبِير	khabiir	an expert		بَعِيد	ba‘iid	far		نَحِيف	naHiif	thin
سَعِيد	sa‘iid	happy		كَرِيم	kariim	generous		غَرِيب	ghariib	strange
جَمِيل	jamiil	beautiful		فَقِير	faqiir	poor		يَجْرِي	yajrii	He runs

(c) The waaw ـو :

Pronounced as [uu], the waaw ـو is a prolonged dhamma, so it is called a long dhamma. Like the other two long vowels, it is always saakina (i.e. has a sukuun/no vowel over it), and the letter that precedes it must have a dhamma above it. Given that is it is saakina and the letter preceding it has a dhamma over it, it never occurs at the beginning of words. For example, in the word وُقُوف wuquuf ‘stopping/standing,’ the first وُ is mutaharrik (i.e., has a short vowel over it), so it is a consonant, namely w. The second و is saakin, so it is a long vowel. 

ثُوم	thuum	garlic		يَقُول	yaquul	He says		خَرُوف	kharuuf	a sheep
بُوق	buuq	a horn		شُعُور	shu‘uur	feeling		مَسْرُور	masruur	delighted
نُور	nuur	light		حُدُود	Huduud	borders		لَيْمُون	laymuun	lemon

(3) Short Vowels Vs. Long Vowels:

(1) fatha vs. alif: ــَـ vs ـا

In the following list, the words are minimal pairs (i.e., they differ only in the length of vowel). Besides the changes in pronunciation (from a short vowel to a long vowel), there is a change in meaning.

رَجَعَ	raja‘a	He returned		رَاجَعَ	raaja‘a	He revised
ذَكَرَ	dhakara	He mentioned		ذَاكَرَ	dhaakara	He studied
دَخَلَ	dakhala	He entered		دَاخَلَ	daakhala	He interposed
طَلَبَ	Talaba	He requested		طَالَبَ	Taalaba	He demanded
سَعَدَ	sa‘ada	He became happy		سَاعَدَ	saa‘ada	He helped
كَتَبَ	kataba	He wrote		كَاتَبَ	kaataba	He wrote to

(2) kasra vs. yaa: ــِـ vs. ـيـ

The yaa is basically a long kasra. In the following list, in addition to the change in pronunciation, there is change in meaning.

حَزِن	Hazin	He was sad		حَزِين	Haziin	Sad
ضَمِن	dhamin	He guaranteed		ضَمِين	dhamiin	A guarantor
رَغِد	raghid	He was affluent		رَغِيد	raghiid	Affluent
سَلِم	salim	He was safe		سَلِيم	saliim	Safe
كَفِل	kafil	He guaranteed		كَفِيل	kaf iil	A guarantor
بَخِل	bakhil	He was stingy		بَخِيل	bakhiil	Stingy

(3) dhamma vs. waaw: ــُـ vs. ـو

The prolongation of dhamma results into a letter, that is a waaw which is pronounced as [uu]. This change in the length of sound can have some change in meaning, as in this list.

لَم يَعُد	lam ya‘ud	He didn’t return		يَعُود	ya‘uud	He comes back
خَرُف	kharuf	He was senile		خَرُوف	kharuuf	A sheep
لَا تَخُنْ	la takhun	Do not betray		تَخُون	takhuun	You betray
لَا تَقُل	la taqul	Do not say		لَنْ تَقُول	lan taquul	You will not say
كُرَة	kurah	A ball		كُورَة	kuurah	A county
شُهِدَ	shuhida	was witnessed		شُوهِدَ	shuuhida	was watched

(4) Diphthongs:

A diphthong is a sequence of two vowel sounds, that is a glide/movement from one sound to the next. In Arabic there are two dipthongs: ai/ay and au/aw. In both, the first vowel is a fatha, and second is either a yaa ي or a waaw و. Both يْ and وْ must be saakin (i.e., have a sukuun over them), as in بَيْت ‘a house’ سَيْف ‘a sword’, يَوْم ‘a day’, and ثَوْب ‘a dress/garment.’

As explained earlier, the long vowels ي and و trigger a kasra below or a dhamma above the letter that precedes them, as in حَزِين and خَرُوف, respectively. If the letter that precedes them has a fatha, they become more like short vowels (namely, kasra /i/ and dhamma /u/) forming a diphthong with the fatha on the preceding letter: /ai/ (an in بَيْت) and /au/ (as in يَوْم).

ـَوْ  au/aw		ـَيْـ  ai/ay
جَوْلَة	a round (match)/excursion	جَيْب	a pocket
خَوْف	fear	دَيْر	a monastery
دَوْلَة	a state/country	ذَيْل	a tail
رَوْعَة	splendor/beauty	أَيْضًا	too/also
سَوْف	will	زَيْت	oil
شَوْق	longing/eagerness	خَيْر	good (n)
صَوْت	sound/voice	صَيْف	summer
فَوْقَ	on/above	ضَيْف	a guest
مَوْت	death	عَيْن	an eye
نَوْع	a type/kind	غَيْمَة	a cloud