The Arabic letter ʿAyn ع
ʿAyn (عين) is the 18th letter of the Arabic alphabet. It is pronounced ʿ.
ع
How to say it
A tight sound from the middle of the throat, with no English match. Try saying “a” while gently squeezing your throat.
Its four shapes
عAlone
عـStart
ـعـMiddle
ـعEnd
ʿAyn joins to the letter after it, so it has four shapes. The line (ـ) shows where it connects to the letters around it.
Practise writing
Trace over the grey letter with your finger or mouse. Arabic is written from right to left.