Letter 8 of 28

How Do You Pronounce Dal (د)?

د
Dalدَال

D as in door.

The sound

The English d in door and day, said with the tongue touching the back of the top teeth. Crisp and light.

Dal never connects to the letter after it, so it always keeps this same open shape, with only a right-side join.

The four written forms

Arabic letters change shape by position, alone, at the start, in the middle, and at the end of a word.

د
Isolated
د‍
Initial
‍د‍
Medial
‍د
Final

Dal is one of the six letters (ا د ذ ر ز و) that never connect to the letter after them. It joins from the right only, so its initial form looks like its isolated form, and the letter following it starts fresh.

Dal with harakat

The three short vowels: fatha says "a", kasra says "i", damma says "u".

دَ
da
Fatha · "a"
دِ
di
Kasra · "i"
دُ
du
Damma · "u"
Spot it in the Quran
الْحَمْدُ
al-hamdu
all praise
الدِّينُ
ad-din
the religion, the judgement
عَبْدٌ
abd
servant
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