| |
The w و may sound:
| wa و | like "wa" in "waffle" or "wet" |
| wi و | like wi in "wick", |
| wu و | like woo in "wood", |
| uw و | like oo in "boot" or like oe in "shoe", |
| aw و | like ow in "how". |
When it is not the first letter, it can be read wa wi wu uw aw و و و و و.
The uw و and aw و sounds are always written with a و, EXCEPT when they come just before a wa wi wu sound, in which case they are left unwritten:
فلتكن القوة معكمThe letter و works much like the letter EA in English spelling. Compare:
faltakuni lquwwatu maŠakum
"may the Force (al-coooo-wah) be with ye".
"I read it often"with:
"I read it twice last year".Knowing how to pronounce the letters READ is very easy... provided that you already speak English. As soon as you understand the meaning of the sentence, the pronunciation of its first word becomes obvious.
However, a beginner in English, trying to read these, can't guess when it is read like RED and when it is read like REED, and has to ask, or make wild guesses.
You'd better ask a lot during your first years learning to read Arabic. If, in a pinch, you have to guess at the pronunciation of a word you have seen in print but not yet heard, use the abovementioned rule-of-thumb "wa at the beginning, oo elsewhere". Chances are they'll understand you anyway ("I red it often", "I reed it twice last year").
Examples of wows:
| pronounced | written | translation | english-like spelling |
|---|---|---|---|
| kutub | ktb كتب | "books" | kootoob, two short oos |
| maktuwb | mktwb مكتوب | "shit happens" | Mac-toob with long toooob |
| kawkab | kwkb كوكب | "a constellation" | cow-cab |
| waziyr | wzyr وزير | "a minister" | wazz-eer |
| #alwizaarah | @lwz@rh الوزارة | "the ministry" | ell-wizz-aah-ruh |
| wuDuw# | wDw# وضوء | "cleanness" | short woo plus long doo plus glottal stop) |
| Huruwf | Hrwf حروف | "letters, characters, consonants" | who + roof (first oo is short, second oo is long) |
| yaquwl | yqwl يقول | "he says" | "yeah, cool!" with a long oo |
| qawl | qwl قول | "a saying" | "kowl", rhymes with "towel". |
| tarawwiy | trwy تروي | "a taking into account" | utt-turow-wee |
| tasawwal | tswl تسول | "he begged" | tass-ow-wel |
| tasawwul | tswl تسول | "a begging" | tass-ow-wool |
| duwaliyy | dwly دولي | "international" | doowah-lee with short oo |
| dawliyy | dwly دولي | "statal" | dow-lee |
Copyright (c) 2001-2009
Jordi Mas Trullenque.
email: jordimastrullenque at gmail dot com
http://purl.oclc.org/net/arabe/leeruau.en.html
Last revised: 2008-04-01
| the hamza sound |
| some notes on Arabic pronunciation |
|
writing_arabic -> the different ways of reading the letter wow