The letter ra ﺭ
The letter ra is a part of the the Arabic alphabet. Here you will learn how to pronounce and write ra.
How ra is pronounced
The Arabic letter ra is pronounced r just like in English.
In the phonetic alphabet, the pronunciation of ra is written [r]. On this website, I write the pronunciation r.
How ra is written
The letter ra has two forms: isolated and final.
| final | isolerad |
|---|---|
| ـﺮ | ﺭ |
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 ra 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 ra is connected to it. But ra is never connected to the letter after. How to write with right joining letters.
ra isolerad form
This is how the Arabic letter ra is written in its isolerad form:
This form is used in the following situations:
ra alone
When ra stands by itself, the isolaetd form is used.
ra in the beginning of words
When ra 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.
ra in the middle after right joining letter
When ra 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.
ra in the end after right joining letter
When ra 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, ra would refuse to connect with it).
ra final form
This is how the Arabic letter ra is written in its final form:
This form is used in the following situations:
ra in the middle of words
When ra is in the middle of a word, e.g. when ra 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.
ra in the end of words
When ra 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 ra is written
The letter ra has two shapes.
The isolated shape ﺭ is used when ra 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 ـﺮ 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.
ra 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 ra is a sun letter. That means that the l in al is assimilated with ra and thereby pronounced as r In other words: The definite article for words that start with ra is pronounced ar, and not al.
For example the Arabic word for filtration, sweating is pronounced rashH and written ﺭَﺷﺢ. In definite form, it is pronounced arrashH and written اَلﺭَﺷﺢ.
Read more about definite form