The Letters Ein and GHein

 

        The next letters of the Arabic alphabet are Ein and GHein

 

ع

غ

 

        Ein and GHein look very similar except that Ein has no dots and GHein has one dot on top

 

        Ein has no equivalent in English that we can compare it to
We鈥檒l talk more about it later

 

        GHein sounds like the combination GH

 

Listening & Pronouncing

 

        Ein is a very throaty letter
It comes from the middle of the throat near the area labelled Trachea

 

http://www.doctorspiller.com/images/OralAnatomy/Oropharynx2.jpg

Source: http://www.doctorspiller.com/oral%20anatomy.htm

 

        Exercise: Ein is very easy to identify. Listen to the recordings below and repeat what you hear
Be careful if this is the first time you鈥檙e pronouncing Ein; do not hurt your throat

 

1

2

3

4

5

 

        GHein is represented with the combination GH
It sounds like the noise you make when you gargle your throat

 

        GHein comes from the top of the throat near the area labelled Larynx

http://www.doctorspiller.com/images/OralAnatomy/Oropharynx2.jpg

Source: http://www.doctorspiller.com/oral%20anatomy.htm

 

        Exercise: repeat the words you hear

 

1

2

3

4

5

 

Reading & Writing

 

        The Ein/GHein body is a loop, followed by a cusp, followed by a loop at the end

 

end

middle

beginning

by itself

ـع

ـعـ

عـ

ع

ـغ

ـغـ

غـ

غ

 

        To write the Ein/GHein body by itself or in the beginning

o   start from the top and create the first semi circle which is slightly tilted upwards

o   it will look like the top of a wrench

o   then continue by drawing the big semi circle underneath if the letter is by itself, otherwise continue on to the next letter

 

        To write the Ein/GHein body in the middle or end of a word

o   continue from the previous letter

o   draw a diagonal line from the bottom right to the top left

o   continue by drawing a horizontal line from the left to the right

o   continue by drawing another diagonal line from the top right to the bottom left

o   you鈥檒l end up with an X with a line on top

o   you can fill in the space between the X and the line on top with your pen later if you want

o   this is one of the ways to write Ein/GHein

 

        Exercise: copy the following words

 

عُجاب

عَضُدِ

عِشار

بعد

رعد

بعر

بدع

طبعِ

سُراعُ

سجعَ

شرعِ

 

        Although they look pretty different, you might confuse the Jeem/Haa/KHaa body with the Ein/GHein body
In particular, when they occur at the end of a sequence
Let鈥檚 compare the two

 

end

middle

beginning

by itself

ـح

ـحـ

حـ

ح

ـع

ـعـ

عـ

ع

 

        Exercise: read the following to the best of your ability

 

عُشَبِ

غُربَةُ

سَجَعُ

صَباحَ

رُبحِ

زُرَخِ