ج, ح and خ
Distinguish the bowl family and hear the throat contrast.
About this unit
Three letters share one bowl shape. Their dots tell them apart, and ح is a new throat sound.
- جj, as in “jam”جَمَل · camel
- ح
throat ḥ: a tight, rubbing hحَلِيب · milk - خ
kh: rough, as in “loch”خَيْل · horses
One letter, several shapes
A letter's shape depends on its neighbours. At the start it joins only the next letter, in the middle both neighbours, at the end only the letter before it.
One dot below, no dot, one dot above.
ح is not ه: it is a tight h from deep in the throat.
More words to read
حِمَار
donkeyḥimārجَار
neighbourjārخَال
maternal unclekhāl
نَجْمَة
starnajma
بَحْر
seabaḥr
مِلْح
saltmilḥنَخْلَة
palm treenakhlaReading tips
MSA ج uses a j-like affricate here. ح is a voiceless pharyngeal sound, distinct from ه; خ is back friction. Dots distinguish the related printed bowls.
Reading practice
Listen before looking
Do the two recordings sound the same or different?
Listen before looking
Do the two recordings sound the same or different?
Letters in words
Match each sign to the same sign in its example.
Shapes in the middle
Match each letter to its shape in the middle of a word.
Letters inside words
Match each letter to the marked shape in the word.
Find the sound
Match the sounds to the signs. Tap a sign to check.
Read with support
Match the words to their pictures.
Read with support
Match the words to their pictures.
Read without a sound cue
Match the words to their pictures.
Read without a sound cue
Match the words to their pictures.
Sound to spelling
Listen. Choose the spelling.
Spelling to sound
Read the word. Choose its sound.
Sound to spelling
Listen. Choose the spelling.
Spelling to sound
Read the word. Choose its sound.
Build the word
Listen and build the word in typing order.
Build the word
Listen and build the word in typing order.
Build the word
Listen and build the word in typing order.
Recall the spelling
Listen and build the word without its picture.
Recall the spelling
Listen and build the word without its picture.
Recall the spelling
Listen and build the word without its picture.
Finish practice to save this unit.
You can read and write this
Distinguish the bowl family and hear the throat contrast.
جَمَل
camelحِمَار
donkey
خَيْل
horsesجَار
neighbourخَال
maternal uncle
حَلِيب
milkنَجْمَة
starبَحْر
seaمِلْح
saltنَخْلَة
palm treeUse a Arabic keyboard
Standard Arabic keyboard or course tiles. Enter logical letters; the font shapes joins. Numbers retain normal digit order. Optional vowel marks are separate inputs.
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