The letter dal ﺩ
The letter dal is a part of the the Arabic alphabet. Here you will learn how to pronounce and write dal.
How dal is pronounced
The Arabic letter dal is pronounced d just like in English.
In the phonetic alphabet, the pronunciation of dal is written [d]. On this website, I write the pronunciation d.
How dal is written
The letter dal has two forms: isolated and final.
| final | isolerad |
|---|---|
| ـﺪ | ﺩ |
Which of the shapes to use depends on the letter's position in the word and surrounding letters. Do not forget that Arabic is written from right to left.
The letter dal is right joining. That means that it wants to connect to the right (with the letter before it) but not no the left (with the letter after). If there is a letter before that is dual joining, then dal is connected to it. But dal is never connected to the letter after. How to write with right joining letters.
dal isolerad form
This is how the Arabic letter dal is written in its isolerad form:
This form is used in the following situations:
dal alone
When dal stands by itself, the isolaetd form is used.
dal in the beginning of words
When dal is the first letter of a word, the isolated form is used. It i free to the right since there is no letter before, and it is free to the left since it refuses to connect to the letter after.
dal in the middle after right joining letter
When dal is in the middle of a word and follows another right joining letter, the isolated form is used. It is free to the right since the letter before it refuses to connect, and it is free to the left since it refuses to connect with the letter after.
dal in the end after right joining letter
When dal is the last letter of a word and follows another right joining letter, the isolated form is used. It is free to the right since the letter before it refuses to connect, and it is free to the left since there is no letter after (and even if it was, dal would refuse to connect with it).
dal final form
This is how the Arabic letter dal is written in its final form:
This form is used in the following situations:
dal in the middle of words
When dal is in the middle of a word, e.g. when dal is neither the first nor the last letter, the medial form is often used. It has a tail to the right to connect with the letter before, but it is free to the left since it refuses to connect with the letter after.
dal in the end of words
When dal is the last letter of a word, the final form is often used. It has a tail to the right to connect to the letter before it, and it is free to the left since there is no letter after.
Conclusion: how dal is written
The letter dal has two shapes.
The isolated shape ﺩ is used when dal stands by itself, in the beginning of words, in the middle of words (after a right joining letter) and in the end of words (after a right joining letter).
In other words: When there is no letter before that wants to connect with it.
The final shape ـﺪ is used in the middle of words (if the letter before is not right joining) and in the end of words (if the letter before is not right joining).
In other words: When there is a letter before that wants to connect with it.
That's it!
The rules you have learned can be applied to all Arabic right joining letters.
dal is a sun letter
You get the definite form of a word by putting the definite article al in front of it.
The Arabic letter dal is a sun letter. That means that the l in al is assimilated with dal and thereby pronounced as d In other words: The definite article for words that start with dal is pronounced ad, and not al.
For example the Arabic word for heat is pronounced dif' and written ﺩِﻑﺀ. In definite form, it is pronounced addif' and written اَلﺩِﻑﺀ.
Read more about definite form