Ta Marbutah and Alif Maqsura

Read the round ta and the final alif shape without confusing them for ordinary letters.

Arabic has a few shapes that mostly appear at the end of words. Ta marbutah looks like a tied circle with two dots. Alif maqsura looks like a dotless ya.

Both are extremely common in Quranic and everyday Arabic. Learning them prevents two of the most frequent beginner guesses.

Rule 1

Ta marbutah often sounds like ah when stopping

At a pause, ة is usually read as a soft h or ah ending. When the word connects grammatically, its t sound can return.

رَحْمَة

rahmah

mercy

صَلَاة

salah

prayer

Rule 2

Alif maqsura carries a final aa

The shape ى has no dots and acts as a long alif at the end of a word.

مُوسَى

Musa

Moses (AS)

Try it yourself

Pause before revealing the answer

How does the final tied ta sound when stopping?

رَحْمَة

Tap to check your answer

Rahmah, with a soft ah ending.

Is the final shape a ya sound?

هُدَى

Tap to check your answer

No. The dotless ى carries a final long aa: huda.

Keep this one thing

At a stop, ة usually ends softly as ah, while ى carries a long final aa.