Fablingo / Fablingo Arabic / Level pre-A1
Episode 06 · The one-way letters — ا د ذ ر ز و
Duration: 7:36
After this lesson you can:
I can read the six letters that never join to their left, and I understand the little gaps inside words.
In this episode
Sam's been fretting over the "broken" words — why some letters sit apart — and Farid shows him it's a rule, not a mess: six stand-offish letters that join the hand before them and turn their back on the one after. The gaps make sense, and bāb, dār, ward fall open; dhahab — gold — he reads on a spine he can't afford.
Welcome back to the Book Quarter. Last time, Sam finally read his very first complete word: a house. He was on top of the world.
But today, that confidence has hit a tiny speed bump. Sam is staring at Ustadh Farid's wooden slate, scratching his head. He thinks the words are broken.
لا أَفْهَم يا أُسْتاذ. مَرَّة أُخْرَى؟
He pulls out his trusty survival phrase from last week: I don't understand, again? He's convinced Farid's pen simply skipped, because half the letters in these new words aren't connecting.
هُنَاكَ سِتَّة حُرُوف، يا سام. لا تَتَّصِل.
Farid explains that the words aren't falling apart at all. In Arabic, there is a strict rule: there are six letters that are simply a bit stand-offish.
They will happily join hands with the letter before them. But they completely refuse to connect to the letter after them. We call them the one-way letters.
ا د ذ ر ز و — alif · daal · dhaal · raa · zaay · waaw — the six that never join to the LEFT · AH-lif DAAL DHAAL RAA ZAAY WAAW
Here they are. Farid lists them as he writes: ا , د , ذ , ر , ز , and و . Because they refuse to connect to the left, they create natural gaps inside the words.
ا د ذ ر ز و — alif · daal · dhaal · raa · zaay · waaw — the six that never join to the LEFT · AH-lif DAAL DHAAL RAA ZAAY WAAW
Let's learn them together. Say them with me, one by one: ا , د , ذ , ر , ز , و .
ا د ذ ر ز و — alif · daal · dhaal · raa · zaay · waaw — the six that never join to the LEFT · AH-lif DAAL DHAAL RAA ZAAY WAAW
And again, just familiarizing yourself with their shapes and sounds: ا , د , ذ , ر , ز , و .
ا د ذ ر ز و — alif · daal · dhaal · raa · zaay · waaw — the six that never join to the LEFT · AH-lif DAAL DHAAL RAA ZAAY WAAW
اُنْظُر هُنا يا سام.
Farid tells him to look here, and writes down two very short, common words. Sam immediately recognizes the letter ب from earlier this week.
The first word is باب , which means a door. And the second is دار , which means a home.
باب · دار — baab · daar — a door · a home (note the gap after the alif / daal) · BAAB · DAAR
Look at the tall line in the middle of both words. That's the ا . It joins the letter before it in باب , but then it stops. It creates a gap before the final letter.
باب · دار — baab · daar — a door · a home (note the gap after the alif / daal) · BAAB · DAAR
Say door with me: باب . And again, feeling that long stretch in the middle: باب .
باب · دار — baab · daar — a door · a home (note the gap after the alif / daal) · BAAB · DAAR
Now try home, noticing how none of the letters connect: دار . And once more: دار .
باب · دار — baab · daar — a door · a home (note the gap after the alif / daal) · BAAB · DAAR
He sounds them out directly from the slate, reading the pair out loud.
باب · دار — baab · daar — a door · a home (note the gap after the alif / daal) · BAAB · DAAR
مُمْتاز يا سام!
Let's take a quick breath and review our one-way letters and our first two words. The six letters are ا , د , ذ , ر , ز , و . Again, ا , د , ذ , ر , ز , و . And our words: باب ... باب ... a door. دار ... دار ... a home.
Just then, little Nour runs up to the table, holding a tiny, bright red flower she found in the courtyard.
يا أُسْتاذ فَريد! أَعْطَتْني سِتّي وَرْدَة!
She proudly announces her grandmother gave her a flower. Farid nods, takes his pen, and prepares to write a beautiful pair of words for Sam.
He writes the word for roses, and another brilliant word for gold, giving Sam two new examples.
وَرْد · ذَهَب — ward · DHA-hab — roses · gold · WARD · DHA-hab
He writes وَرْد for roses, and ذَهَب for gold. Sam immediately leans in, his eyes wide. He notices something special about these words instantly.
وَرْد · ذَهَب — ward · DHA-hab — roses · gold · WARD · DHA-hab
All three letters in وَرْد are one-way letters! And the first letter of ذَهَب is too! They completely refuse to connect to the left, separating the pieces.
وَرْد · ذَهَب — ward · DHA-hab — roses · gold · WARD · DHA-hab
Try saying roses and gold with me: وَرْد · ذَهَب . Notice how the ر is gently rolled. Again: وَرْد · ذَهَب .
وَرْد · ذَهَب — ward · DHA-hab — roses · gold · WARD · DHA-hab
وَرْد... لا تَتَّصِل!
Sam is so thrilled that he realizes he actually understands the rule. He starts looking around the table, hungry for more examples of these little gaps.
His eyes drift up to the top shelf. There sits the heavy, old, locked book he's been staring at. He recognizes the second word Farid just wrote on its spine.
هَلْ تَسْتَطِيعُ قِرَاءَتَهَا؟
Farid asks Sam if he can read it. It is ذَهَب , meaning gold, just like on the slate! The very first letter is the one-way ذ , so it stands slightly apart from the rest.
وَرْد · ذَهَب — ward · DHA-hab — roses · gold · WARD · DHA-hab
The ذ sounds like the 'th' in 'there'. Try saying our new pair again with me: وَرْد · ذَهَب . And once more smoothly: وَرْد · ذَهَب .
وَرْد · ذَهَب — ward · DHA-hab — roses · gold · WARD · DHA-hab
ذَهَب... ذَهَب.
He can actually read it. 'The Gold of the Medina'. He looks at Farid and mimes handing over money, silently asking what it costs.
غَالٍ جِدًّا يا سام.
Very expensive, Farid says. Well, Sam might not have the money yet, but the door is definitely open. He's reading the medina's secrets.
Before Sam starts saving his coins, let's review what we learned today. ا , د , ذ , ر , ز , و ... ا , د , ذ , ر , ز , و ... the six one-way letters. باب ... باب ... a door. دار ... دار ... a home. وَرْد ... وَرْد ... roses. And finally, ذَهَب ... ذَهَب ... gold.
We’re unlocking a little more of the medina every Tuesday and Friday. Come back next time, and we'll see if Sam can find a way to earn a few of those coins. Ma'a salama!
Vocabulary
| Phrase | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ا د ذ ر ز و | alif · daal · dhaal · raa · zaay · waaw — the six that never join to the LEFT | |
| باب · دار | baab · daar — a door · a home (note the gap after the alif / daal) | |
| وَرْد · ذَهَب | ward · DHA-hab — roses · gold |
Grammar in this lesson
The six one-way letters ا د ذ ر ز و — they join to the letter before them but never to the one after, which is why words have gaps (bāb breaks after the alif). The rā is always tapped/rolled; the dhāl is the voiced "th" of "this", not a "z". The joining rule made concrete.