Learn even more about Arabic consonants
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| Hi everyone. |
| Welcome to The Ultimate Arabic Pronunciation Guide. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn 7 more consonant sounds in Arabic. |
| "ﺙ |
| ق |
| ر |
| س |
| ص |
| ش |
| ت" |
| Are you ready? |
| Then let's get started! |
| The first consonant is... |
| "ﺙ |
| ثور |
| ثعبان |
| ثوب" |
| It's identical to the 'th' sound in 'thin' or 'myth'. |
| ﺙ, ﺙ (slowly) |
| ﺙ, ﺙ (slowly) |
| The next consonant is... |
| "ق |
| قَبل |
| يَقول |
| بَقَر" |
| This sound does not exist in English. It sounds similar to a K sound but deeper. |
| To pronounce this sound, think of it as if you are pronouncing a regular K sound, except try to retract your tongue further back into your mouth, as if you're aiming for the back of your head. Listen to (host name). |
| ق, ق (slowly) |
| ق, ق (slowly) |
| The next consonant sound is... |
| "ر |
| رَمل |
| كُرَة |
| اَمريكي" |
| This is also known as a rolled R, or a Spanish R. Contact the gums directly behind your top teeth with the tip of your tongue, build pressure behind your gums and then flick your tongue upwards rapidly to release. The small passage created by your gums and tongue should open and close rapidly – as if your tongue is fluttering or vibrating against the gums. It sounds almost like a rapid "D" sound. |
| When building up pressure behind the tip of your tongue, rapidly brush the tip up and back, against the gum ridge. As you do so, you should feel a vibrating sensation behind your gum ridge. |
| It's like striking your gum ridge, and then again *behind* the gum ridge with the tip of your tongue, in one quick up and back motion. |
| One useful trick, is to repeat the word "butter" or "ladder" really *really* quickly. This will help you to get the 'tapping', or flicking sensation. |
| Yet another trick, is to think of olden day movies. Do you remember how Dracula first introduced himself? Like DO-RA-CU-LA. Try to say it like this multiple times. You want to focus on the D and R sound in the word "dracula". This *very* quick transitioning from the D to the R can sometimes allow you to pronounce the rolled R sound. |
| OK. Let's break down this sound. Listen to (host name). |
| ر, ر (slowly) |
| ر, ر (slowly) |
| The next consonant is... |
| "س |
| جِسر |
| رَسم |
| نَسيت" |
| It's identical to the S sound in 'say' or 'snake'. |
| س, س (slowly) |
| س, س (slowly) |
| The next consonant sound is... |
| "ص |
| الصين |
| مصير |
| صَباح" |
| This is the dark counterpart to the previous consonant. It's closer to the S sound in the word "saw" than the S in "sea". Build up the pressure at the point of contact and then release the air forcefully. Remember to retract the root of your tongue to constrict your throat a little. This should create a narrow channel from the base of your throat, all the way to the front of your mouth. Extruding your lips may also help with the pronunciation of this sound. Listen to (hostname). |
| ص, ص (slowly) |
| ص, ص (slowly) |
| The next consonant sound is... |
| "ش |
| شَر |
| شَهر |
| كُشَري" |
| It's identical to the 'sh' sound in 'ship' or 'shy'. |
| ش, ش (slowly) |
| ش, ش (slowly) |
| The final consonant sound for this lesson is... |
| "ت |
| تَمر |
| تَحت |
| مَتى" |
| It's identical to the T in 'take' or 'tame'. |
| ت, ت (slowly) |
| ت, ت (slowly) |
| Well done! You just learned another 7 Arabic consonants. |
| "ﺙ |
| ق |
| ر |
| س |
| ص |
| ش |
| ت" |
| Was the explanation for the rolled R helpful? Do you know any other tricks to help you pronounce this sound? Share your tips in the comments. |
| In the next lesson, you'll learn the final 7 consonants in Arabic. |
| See you in the next Ultimate Arabic Pronunciation Guide lesson! |
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