Lam
لArabicQuick Mnemonic
“Lasso”
Lam is written exactly like the English letter J. So think of the singer J-Lo!
More mnemonics →About the Arabic Letter ل Lam
Lam is a Sun Letter.
The shape of Lam has some similarity to that of Kaf, but the vertical stroke is longer, and the base is more rounded.
You may also see this letter spelled as Laam.
Lam also has a special additional form. When an Alif comes after the Lam, they create a "Lam-Alif" ( لا ). These two letters on their own make the word "Laa," which means "No".
When Lam comes after Alif at the beginning of a word, it forms the definite article al ( ال ), meaning "The". Unlike most other particles in Arabic, *"al"* is always prefixed to another word and never stands alone.
Note: The 13 Sun letters assimilate the *"l"* in *"Al"* when pronounced. So, al-shams (The sun) is pronounced as ash-shams while still written as al-shams.
Look-alikes
Lam ( ل ) looks a bit like the previous letter Kaf ( ك ). But it has a circular base and, of course, no Hamza.
How to Write the Arabic Letter ل Lam
Most Arabic letters change shape depending on where they appear in a word. Lam connects on both sides.
Example Arabic Words with ل Lam (tap to hear)
ل Lam with Tashkeel
Arabic vowels are written as small marks above or below the letter. Tap to hear Lam with each short vowel.
Fatha (a)
Short "a" sound
Damma (u)
Short "u" sound
Kasra (i)
Short "i" sound
Lam is a Sun Letter
Lam is a sun letterSun letters absorb the ل in ال (al-) — the letter's own sound doubles instead. (حرف شمسي). When the definite article ال (al-) comes before Lam, the ل assimilates and is not pronounced separately — the Lam sound doubles instead. For example, ال + ل... is pronounced as al-l...
Key Takeaways: Arabic Letter Lam
- • Lam is written ل and sounds like /l/
- • ArabicQuick mnemonic: think of a Lasso to remember its shape
- • It is a sun letter and connects on both sides
- • It has four forms: isolated, initial, medial, and final