How to pronounce the letter dẖāl (ذ)?

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 ذ {dẖāl} 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 بذ {dẖāl}.

1. الثنايا العليا  (ạltẖãnāyā ạl̊ʿul̊yā): The front four teeth are called ثنايا (ạltẖãnāyā), the two upper teeth are called الثنايا العليا  ( ạltẖãnāyā ạl̊ʿul̊yā).
2. The tip of our tongue.

Now, let’s pronounce ذ {dẖāl}: Touch the tip of the tongue at the edge of Sanaya Uliya and say ذ {dẖāl}. Practice this sound again and again. 

Practice ذ {dẖāl} with vowel movements.

• Fat̊ḥa   فتحة: It is a small diagonal line on the top of the letter and sounds as ‘AA’. For example: 

ذَ      =  dẖa,  Read as;  dẖ fatah dẖa

• Kasrah  كسرة: It is a small diagonal line below a letter and sounds like ‘EE’. For example: 

ذِ = dẖe, Read as; dẖ kasrah dẖe

• Dammah ضمة: It is a small comma like symbol on the top of the letter and sounds like ‘UU’. For example:

 ذُ   = dẖu, Read as; dẖ dammah dẖu

• 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: 

 ذْ  =  dẖ  sakin, أَذ  = Alif Fatha + dẖ sakin = ạå̉dẖ̊

• Shadda شدة: When a letter carries the symbol ّ, it becomes Mushaddad. Pronounce it by repeating the letter twice in a single tongue movement. Read it as two merged letters while applying the appropriate haraka (vowel mark).

أَذَّ =  ạảdẖã  –   أَذِّ    = ạå̉dẖĩ   –    أَذُّ = ạå̉dẖũ

To learn more about the Arabic Harakat, here you can find the easiest way to practice Tashkeel:

Practice the letter ذ {dẖāl} by saying these words: 

يَذُوبُ (yadẖūbu – Dissolves)
أَخَذَ (ạảkẖadẖa  – Taking)
ذُبَابَة (dẖubāba – A fly)
ذَهَبْ (dẖahab̊ – Gold)
ذِئْبٌ (dẖī̊̉buⁿ – Wolf )
أُذُنْ (ạů̉dẖun̊ – Ear)
ذُرَة  (dẖura – Corn)

Listen to some Arabic Words starting with the letter ذ {dẖāl}

Learn how to write the letter ذ {dẖāl}

For more explanation about how Arabic letters are written, please check out 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 placing the tip of the tongue against the edges of both the upper front teeth (الثنايا العليا – ạltẖãnāyā ạl̊ʿul̊yā) and the lower front teeth (الثنايا السفلى – ạltẖãnāyā ạlsũf̊lay̱).

Practice the difference between the sounds  ذ {dẖāl} and  ز {zāy} and ظ {ẓāʾ}: