Lesson 5: Sun & Moon Letters

Sun & Moon Letters (الحروف الشمسية والقمرية)

In Arabic, the definite article is ال (al-), meaning "the". However, when followed by certain letters, the "l" in "al" is assimilated — it sounds like the first letter of the word.

Moon Letters (حروف قمرية)

With moon letters, you pronounce the "l" of "al" clearly. The word for moon is قمر (qamar), which itself starts with a moon letter.

Moon letters: ا ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ك م و ه ي

Example: الكتاب = al-kitāb (the book) — you hear the "l"

Sun Letters (حروف شمسية)

With sun letters, the "l" is assimilated into the following letter, which gets a shadda. The word for sun is شمس (shams), which starts with a sun letter.

Sun letters: ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن

Example: الشمس = ash-shams (the sun) — the "l" becomes "sh"