There are some easy tips and techniques through which pronouncing Arabic letters becomes an easy task to do. In this article, will do the same. At the end of this article, you will be able to pronounce the letter ز {zāy} easily with the different harakat (Vowel movements):
Fat̊ḥa فَتْحَة َ
Kasrah كسرة ِ
Dammah ضمة ُ
Jazm / Sokoun جزم ْ
Shadda شدة ّ
Here it is important to understand some parts of the mouth through which we will be pronouncing the letter ز {zāy}.
- ثنايا عليا (tẖanāyā ʿul̊yā): The front four teeth are called ثنايا (tẖanāyā), the two upper teeth are called ثنايا عليا (tẖanāyā ʿul̊yā).
- ثنايا سفلى (tẖanāyā suf̊la): The front lower two teeth are called Sanaya Sufla.
- The tip of our tongue.
Now, let’s pronounce ز {zāy}: Touch the tip of the tongue at the edge of tẖanāyā ʿul̊yā (upper front teeth) as well as tẖanāyā suf̊la (lower front teeth) and say ز {zāy}. Practice this sound again and again.
Practice ز {zāy} with vowel movements.
- Fat̊ḥa فتحة: It is a small diagonal line on the top of the letter and sounds as ‘AA’. For example:
زَ = ZA, Read as; Z fatah ZA
- Kasrah كسرة: It is a small diagonal line below a letter and sounds like ‘EE’. For example:
زِ = ZE, Read as; Z kasrah ZE
- Dammah ضمة: It is a small comma like symbol on the top of the letter and sounds like ‘UU’. For example:
زُ = ZU, Read as; Z dammah ZU
- Jazm / Sokoun جزم: Jazm is also called sokoun, a letter with Jazm is called Sakin. It is a small round symbol above the letter. It means that this letter is joint with the letter before it. For example:
زْ = sakin, like the word: أَزْ = Alif Fatha + Z sakin = ạå̉z̊
- Shadda شدة: When a letter carries the symbol ّ, it becomes Mushaddad. Pronounce it by articulating the letter twice in a single tongue movement. Read it as a combination of two identical letters and apply the appropriate haraka (vowel mark).
أَزَّ = ạảzã أَزِّ = ạå̉zĩ – أَزُّ = ạå̉zũ
To learn more about the Arabic Harakat, here you can find the easiest way to practice Tashkeel:
Practice the letter ز {zāy} by saying these words:
زَرَافَةٌ (zarāfa – Giraffe)
زُجَاجَة (zujāja – Bottle)
زِبْدَة ( zib̊da – Butter)
زَيْتٌ ( zaẙt – Oil)
أَزْرَقْ (ạảz̊raq̊ – Blue )
مَوزْ ( mawz̊ – Banana)
مُزَارِعْ (muzāriʿ̊ – Farmer)
Listen to some Arabic Words starting with the letter ز {zāy}
Learn how to write the letter ز {zāy}
For a detailed explanation of how to write Arabic letters, please refer to this article:
The difference between the sounds ذ {dẖāl} and ز {zāy} and ظ {ẓāʾ}:
Pronounce ذ {dẖāl} and ظ {ẓāʾ} by placing the tip of the tongue against the edge of the upper front teeth (الثنايا العليا – ạltẖãnāyā ạl̊ʿul̊yā).
Pronounce ز {zāy} by touching the tip of the tongue to the edges of both the upper front teeth (الثنايا العليا – ạltẖãnāyā ạl̊ʿul̊yā) and the lower front teeth (الثنايا السفلى – ạltẖãnāyā ạlsũf̊lay̱).
