Transliteration
This guide explains how to pronounce the Arabic transliteration used in the Quran on Praay.org. Each letter and symbol is explained with English examples.
How does it work?
Transliteration converts Arabic script into Latin letters, so you can read the Quran without knowing the Arabic alphabet. Our system uses academic standard transliteration with special characters for sounds that do not exist in English.
Dots under letters (ṣ, ḍ, ṭ, ẓ) indicate emphatic sounds — the tongue is pressed against the palate. Lines over vowels (ā, ī, ū) indicate long vowels.
Consonants
Like English b in "ball"
Like English t in "top"
Like English th in "think" — tongue between the teeth
Like English j in "jump"
Deep, forceful h sound from the throat — like breathing on a window
Like German ch in "Bach" — a scraping sound in the throat
Like English d in "day"
Like English th in "this" — soft sound with the tongue between the teeth
Rolled r — like Spanish or Italian r
Like English z in "zoo"
Like English s in "sun"
Like English sh in "she"
Emphatic s — like "s" but with the tongue pressed against the palate. Deeper sound
Emphatic d — like "d" but with the tongue pressed against the palate. Deeper sound
Emphatic t — like "t" but with the tongue pressed against the palate. Deeper sound
Emphatic dh — like "dh" but with the tongue pressed against the palate
Ayn — a deep throat sound. Constrict the throat and say "a". No English equivalent
Like French r in "Paris" — a gargling sound in the throat
Like English f in "fish"
Deep k sound — formed at the very back of the throat. Deeper than "k"
Like English k in "cat"
Like English l in "light"
Like English m in "man"
Like English n in "night"
Like English h in "house" — always pronounced, never silent
Like English w in "water"
Like English y in "yes"
Special Characters
Glottal stop — a brief pause in the airflow. Like the pause in the middle of "uh-oh"
The letter is repeated. E.g. bb, tt, ss — hold the sound a bit longer
Vowels
Short vowels
Like a in "cat"
Like i in "sit"
Like u in "put"
Long vowels (line over = hold the sound longer)
Long a — like a in "father". Hold the sound twice as long
Long i — like ee in "feet". Hold the sound twice as long
Long u — like oo in "food". Hold the sound twice as long
Tanwin (nasal ending — a short "n" is added)
Like an — vowel + n sound
Like in — vowel + n sound
Like un — vowel + n sound
Definite article: al-
al- is the definite article in Arabic (equivalent to "the" in English). It is written before the word.
Moon letters (al- is kept)
Example: al-kitāb (the book)
Here "al-" is pronounced as written.
Sun letters (l is assimilated)
Example: ash-shams (the sun)
Here "l" changes to the next letter: al-shams becomes ash-shams.
The sun letters are: t, th, d, dh, r, z, s, sh, ṣ, ḍ, ṭ, ẓ, l, n
Quick Reference
Example: Al-Fatiha (verse 1)
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
bismi allāhi ar-raḥmāni ar-raḥīmi
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
bismi = "in the name of" · allāhi = "God" (long ā) · ar-raḥmāni = "the gracious" (sun letter: al → ar, ḥ = deep h sound, long ā) · ar-raḥīmi = "the merciful" (long ī)