Kasra and Damma

The Vowels Kasra and Damma

·        Remember that vowels are not part of the Arabic alphabet
They are little symbols on top or underneath letters

·        And you won’t see the vowels written down in normal texts
Only in holy texts, poetry and when you’re learning the language

·        If a letter has a vowel on top or underneath it, it means the vowel comes after that letter

بَ = ب + َ

BA = B + A

·        There are 3 vowels in Arabic

We already learned about Fat-ha, which is equivalent to A

·        The other two are Kasra and Damma

·        Kasra looks the same as Fatha except it goes under the letter
And Damma looks like a little ribbon and it goes on top of a letter

·        Kasra sounds like the vowel E or I
And Damma sounds like the vowel O or U

Practice

·        Exercise: read the following words then copy them down
Click on the words to hear them

·        Exercise: repeat the words you hear

Proceed to lesson 14