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First steps
You do not need to know the alphabet to begin. Start with useful phrases, learn the script alongside them, and open an explanation only when you want one.
Arabic is written Right to leftArabic is written and read from right to left. The English on this site still reads left to right as usual.. Each phrase is shown three ways:
These are three views of the same phrase. We teach Modern Standard Arabic · MSAThe shared standard Arabic used in writing, news, education and formal communication. Everyday speech varies by region.LingoLink teaches this shared standard. It is not a promise of fluency in every regional dialect..
Every Arabic letter has a Letter name and letter soundLike English “bee” for B, each Arabic letter has a name and a sound it makes in words. The letter ب is called bāʾ; it makes the sound b.بbāʾ — the letter name; its sound is b. Small Pronunciation marks · tashkīlSmall marks written above or below letters to make pronunciation clearer. Some show short vowels; others show how a consonant is said — for example with no vowel after it, or doubled.Everyday Arabic writing often leaves these marks out. LingoLink lessons show them so you can read what you hear. show which vowel to say.
With a Short-vowel mark · ḥaraka (plural ḥarakāt)A small mark on a letter that tells you which short vowel to say after it: a, i or u. بَ ba · بِ bi · بُ bu are the same letter with different marks — not three new letters.بِbi — bāʾ with kasra (a short i)Fatḥa is a short slash above the letter (a). Ḍamma is a small loop above it (u). Kasra is a short slash below it (i).:
The letter stays the same. The small mark tells you which short vowel to say after it — these are not three new letters. The dot under ب is part of the letter itself (Letter dotsDots are part of the letter itself and tell similar-looking letters apart: ب (b) has one dot below, ت (t) has two above. They are not vowel marks.); the vowel mark is something extra.
السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ
You do not need to memorise these now. They are explained again wherever you meet them.
A short, ordered start — not the whole alphabet at once. Each step uses a free session or reference you can return to. Your reading progress is kept in Read.
Arabic reads right to left. The pronunciation guide shows roughly how it sounds; the recording is the real model.
Read it on this page · about 1 minHear ب with a, i and u, and see that the letter stays the same while the small mark changes.
Start: Meet the three marks · about 5 minRead a short word one letter-and-mark at a time. Dots tell similar letters apart, like ب and ت.
Start: Read three-letter words · about 6 minMost letters join their neighbours and change shape a little. Open “How Arabic letters join” in the Alphabet studio, then find a Course 1 word you know.
Open the Alphabet studio · about 3 minTell a short vowel mark from a long vowel written with a letter.
Start: Short and long — a bridge · about 5 minTwo marks you will meet in your very first phrase. The short explanations on this page are free; the full practice lessons are in Read Lessons 2–3 with Full Access.
See them in your first phrase · about 2 minReturn to Course 1 and look for one clue you can now read, such as the doubled s in as-salāmu.
Go to Course 1 · Lesson 1 · about 5 minWe believe learning Arabic should help you do something meaningful — not just remember a translation. Our approach brings sound, meaning and explanation together, so you can use a phrase, understand how it works, and revisit it at your own pace.
Fast when you want speed. Deep when you want understanding.