Sun letters and moon letters
Arabic · Key Stage 1 · The School
One spelling, two sounds
ال means "the" in Arabic. It is always written the same two letters. But it is not always said the same way. Before some letters, you hear a clear ل sound. Before other letters, that ل sound disappears completely.
The moon rule
Say القمر (al-qamar), the moon. You hear the ل clearly: "al-qamar". Letters that keep the ل sound are called MOON letters, named after قمر itself. Say the word out loud. The ل is right there, easy to hear. Try it yourself now.
The sun rule
Say الشمس (ash-shams), the sun. The ل sound VANISHES. Instead, the ش doubles, so it sounds like "ash-shams", not "al-shams". Letters that swallow the ل like this are called SUN letters, named after شمس itself. Listen carefully for the difference.
Testing four words out loud
Say القلم (al-qalam), the pen. The ل is clear: "al-qalam", a moon letter. Say الشمس (ash-shams), the sun. The ل vanishes: "ash-shams", a sun letter. Say الكتاب (al-kitāb), the book. Clear ل again: "al-kitab", a moon letter. Say الرجل (ar-rajul), the man. The ل vanishes: "ar-rajul", a sun letter. Four words, and you can already hear the pattern working, just by listening carefully to your own voice.
Trusting your ear
You do not need to memorise a long list to start. Say the word with ال in front of it, slowly, out loud. If you hear the ل, it is a moon letter. If it vanishes, it is a sun letter. Your own ear is the first tool.