![]() | This is the pronunciation key for IPA transcriptions of Arabic on Wikipedia. It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of Arabic in popflock.com resource articles, and example words that illustrate the sounds that correspond to them. Integrity must be maintained between the key and the transcriptions that link here; do not change any symbol or value without establishing consensus on the talk page first. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. |
The chart below explains how popflock.com resource represents Modern Standard Arabic pronunciations with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). popflock.com resource also has specific charts for Egyptian Arabic, Hejazi Arabic, Lebanese Arabic, and Tunisian Arabic. For a guide to adding IPA characters to popflock.com resource articles, see {{IPA-ar}}, {{IPAc-ar}} and popflock.com Resource: Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.
Wikipedia transcriptions for Arabic may be either more general and abstract (phonemic), using only the symbols from the first column, or more detailed and precise (phonetic), using the symbols explained in the "Notes" section.
See Arabic phonology for a more thorough discussion of the sounds of Modern Standard Arabic, and varieties of Arabic for regional variation.
IPA | English approximation |
Arabic letter/symbol |
Usual romanization |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
A-B | ||||
a | cat in British English, only approx. in American English | ? | a, á, e | [a][b] |
a: | No exact, longer far | ,? | ?, â, aa, a | [c] |
aj | /a/+, similar to my | ? | ay, ai, ey, ei | [d] |
aw | /a/+, similar to noun | ? | aw, au | [e] |
b | bee | ? | b | [f] |
D | ||||
d | dash | ? | d | [g] |
d? | emphatic and pharyngealized , no equivalent | ? | ?, dh | [h][g] |
d? | jam | ? | j, ?, dj, g | [i] |
ð | these | ? | dh, ? | [j] |
ð? | emphatic and pharyngealized /ð/ | ? | ? | [h][k] |
F-H | ||||
f | father | ? | f | [l] |
h | hi | ? | h | |
? | hello, but pharyngeal | ? | ? | [m] |
I-K | ||||
i | miss | ? | i, e | [n][b] |
i: | machine | ?, ee, i | [o] | |
j | yes | ? | y | |
k | skin | ? | k | [p] |
L-N | ||||
l | lease (Received Pronunciation) | ? | l | |
? | tool | [q] | ||
m | me | ? | m | |
n | no | ? | n | |
Q-S | ||||
q | like cat, but further down to the uvula (uvular). | ? | q, g, ' | [r] |
r | "tapped" or "trilled" r; Spanish perro |
? | r | [s] |
s | see | ? | s | |
s? | emphatic and pharyngealized , no equivalent | ? | ? | [h] |
? | she | ? | sh, ?, ch | |
T-W | ||||
t | stick | ? (sometimes ?) |
t | [g][p] |
t? | emphatic and pharyngealized , no equivalent | ? | ? | [h][g] |
? | think | ? | th, ? | [j] |
u | sum | ? | u, o, ou | [t][b] |
u: | tune | ?, oo, ou, u | [u] | |
w | we | ? | w | |
X-Z | ||||
x | Scots loch, Spanish jota, German Bach |
? | kh, ?, ? | [v] |
? | Spanish fuego | ? | gh, ?, ? | [w] |
z | zoo | ? | z | |
Other | ||||
? | The pause in uh-oh!; Cockney butter; glottal stop |
? | ? ' ' | [x] |
? | similar to the sound while retching (voiced pharyngeal fricative) |
? | ? ' ' ` | [y][z] |
? | see under T--W | |||
' | ['ki:wi] ('kiwi') | Means that the following syllable is stressed: /'?arabi:/ ? ('Arab'). | ||
: | [ki:s] ? ('sack') | Means that the preceding vowel is long | ||
['d?.?æ] ('[he] sacrificed'), [m?'dær.r?sæ] ? ('teacher [f.]'), [ræs.'sæ:mæ] ('paintress'), [kæð.'ðæ:b] ? ('liar [m.]') |
A geminated consonant never belongs to one syllable and is often broken with a stress. |