Letter 16 of 28
How Do You Pronounce Taa (ط)?
ط
Taaطَاء
A heavy, full-mouthed T. English does not have it.
No English equivalent
The sound, and why English cannot spell it
English has no ط. It is t said with the back of the tongue raised and the mouth full, a thick, deep t with no puff of air. The vowel after it darkens, طَ sounds closer to "taw" than "ta".
Compare the light ت in تِين (tin, figs) with the heavy ط in طِين (tin, clay). Same tongue tip position, entirely different fullness, and a different word.
The four written forms
Arabic letters change shape by position, alone, at the start, in the middle, and at the end of a word.
ط
Isolated
ط
Initial
ط
Medial
ط
Final
Taa with harakat
The three short vowels: fatha says "a", kasra says "i", damma says "u".
طَ
ta
Fatha · "a"
طِ
ti
Kasra · "i"
طُ
tu
Damma · "u"
Spot it in the Quran
الصِّرَاطُ
as-sirat
the path
طَعَامٌ
ta'am
food
شَيْطَانٌ
shaytan
shaytan, satan
Keep going
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