Thal
ذArabicQuick Mnemonic
“Dotted door”
Dal and Thal look like a Right angle (90 degrees). But make it 80 to be perfect!
More mnemonics →About the Arabic Letter ذ Thal
Thal is a Sun Letter and has the same basic shape as Dal but with a dot on top.
The letter Thal represents the other sound that the English TH produces (different from the one taken by letter Tha) as in "The" or "Other" or "This".
You may also see this letter spelled as Dhāl or Dhaal.
Look-alikes
Dal and Thal are twins or shape-mates. But Dal doesn't have a dot.
How to Write the Arabic Letter ذ Thal
Most Arabic letters change shape depending on where they appear in a word. Thal only connects to the right, so its isolated and initial forms look the same.
Example Arabic Words with ذ Thal (tap to hear)
ذ Thal with Tashkeel
Arabic vowels are written as small marks above or below the letter. Tap to hear Thal with each short vowel.
Fatha (a)
Short "a" sound
Damma (u)
Short "u" sound
Kasra (i)
Short "i" sound
Thal is a Sun Letter
Thal 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 Thal, the ل assimilates and is not pronounced separately — the Thal sound doubles instead. For example, ال + ذ... is pronounced as ad-dh (as in "this")...
Key Takeaways: Arabic Letter Thal
- • Thal is written ذ and sounds like /dh (as in "this")/
- • ArabicQuick mnemonic: think of a Dotted door to remember its shape
- • It is a sun letter and only connects to the right
- • It has four forms: isolated, initial, medial, and final