Sun and Moon Letters
Arabic letters are either Sun Letters (assimilate the 'L') or Moon Letters (keep the 'L' sound). This depends on where the sound is made in the mouth.
How It Works
This rule is a phonological process called assimilation. It exists to make speech smoother.
1. Sun Letters (الحروف الشمسية):
There are 14 Sun letters: ت، ث، د، ذ، ر، ز، س، ش، ص، ض، ط، ظ، ل، ن. These are all 'coronal' sounds, meaning they are produced with the front of the tongue near the teeth. Because the letter ل (Lām) is also produced there, the tongue skips the 'L' and goes straight to the next letter, doubling it. In writing, we use a shaddah ( ّ ) on the Sun letter to show this doubling.
2. Moon Letters (الحروف القمرية):
There are 14 Moon letters: أ، ب، ج، ح، خ، ع، غ، ف، ق، ك، م، هـ، و، ي. These are produced in the throat or at the lips. Because they are far from the 'L' position, the 'L' is pronounced clearly. In vocalized texts, a sukūn ( ْ ) is often placed over the ل.
Important Note: The Hamzat al-Wasl (the 'A' in Al-) may also disappear if a word comes before it, but that is a separate rule from the Sun/Moon 'L' assimilation.
Examples (4)
- الشَّمْسُ حَارَّةٌ.
The sun is hot.
Word by Word: The-sun hot.
The letter ش (Sheen) is a Sun letter. The 'L' is silent, and the 'Sh' is doubled: Ash-shams.
- الْقَمَرُ جَمِيلٌ.
The moon is beautiful.
Word by Word: The-moon beautiful.
The letter ق (Qaf) is a Moon letter. The 'L' is pronounced clearly: Al-qamar.
- التُّفَّاحَةُ لَذِيذَةٌ.
The apple is delicious.
Word by Word: The-apple delicious.
The letter ت (Ta) is a Sun letter. The 'L' is silent: At-tuffaḥah.
- الْكِتَابُ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ.
The book is on the table.
Word by Word: The-book on the-table.
ك (Kaf) is a Moon letter (Al-kitab), while ط (Ta) is a Sun letter (At-tawilah).
Common Mistakes
Pronouncing the 'L' before a Sun letter.
الـسَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ (Al-salāmu...)السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ (As-salāmu...)Learners often try to pronounce every letter they see. Remember that for Sun letters like 'Seen', the 'L' must be silent.
Treating the letter 'Jeem' (ج) as a Sun letter in formal Arabic.
اجَّامِعَة (Aj-jāmi'ah)الْجَامِعَة (Al-jāmi'ah)In many dialects, 'Jeem' is treated as a Sun letter. However, in Modern Standard Arabic, it is strictly a Moon letter, and the 'L' must be pronounced.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn Sun and Moon letters, a learner must first be familiar with the Arabic alphabet to identify which letters belong to which category. Additionally, knowledge of short vowel marks is necessary to recognize the shadda used on Sun letters and the sukun used on the 'L' of Moon letters.
- The Arabic Alphabet
Understanding the Arabic alphabet is essential because the Sun and Moon letter distinction is based entirely on the specific phonetic properties of individual letters.
Foundations - Short Vowel Marks
Short vowel marks, specifically the shadda (doubling mark) and sukun (rest mark), are used to indicate whether the 'L' sound is assimilated or pronounced.
Foundations
Related Patterns
- الThe Definite Article
This is the definite article that triggers the Sun and Moon letter rules.
Level 1 - The Doubling Mark
The Shaddah mark is used to indicate the doubling of a Sun letter after the silent 'L'.
Level 1 - The Vanishing Hamza
The 'Alif' of the definite article is a 'connecting Hamza' which has its own rules for disappearing in the middle of a sentence.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Sun and Moon Letters in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Arabic lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
