| ا | Alif | A | a, i, u, at the beginning of a word. |
| ب | Bā | B | As in English. |
| ت | Tā | T | A soft dental, like the Italian t. |
| ث | S̤ā | S̤ | Very nearly the sound of th in thing. |
| ج | Jīm | J | As in English. |
| ح | Ḥā | Ḥ | A strong aspirate. |
| خ | K͟hā | K͟h | Guttural, like the Scotch ch in loch. |
| د | Dāl | D | Soft dental. |
| ذ | Ẕāl | Ẕ | A sound between dh and z. |
| ر | Rā | R |  | As in English. |
| ز | Zā | Z |
| س | Sīn | S |
| ش | Shīn | Sh |
| ص | Ṣād | Ṣ | A strongly articulated s; in Central Asia as sw. |
| ض | Ẓād | Ẓ | Something like the foreign pronunciation of the th in that; in Central Asia and India z or zw. |
| ط | T̤ā | T̤ | A strongly articulated palatal t. |
| ظ | Z̤ā | Z̤ | A strongly articulated z. |
| ع | ʿAin | ʿ | A guttural, the pronunciation of which must be learnt by ear. |
| غ | G͟hain | G͟h | A strong guttural g͟h. |
| ف | Fā | F | As in English. |
| ق | Qāf | Q | Like ck in stuck. |
| ك | Kāf | K |  | As in English. |
| ل | Lām | L |
| م | Mīm | M |
| ن | Nūn | N |
| ه | Hā | H |
| و | Wau | W |
| ى | Yā | Y |
| َ | Fatḥah | a |  | As in Italian. |
| ِ | Kasrah | i |
| ُ | Ẓammah | u |
| ء | Hamzah | ʾ | Pronounced as a, i, u, preceded by a very slight aspiration. |