In Arabic, when the letter ت (tā’) ‘t’ appears at the end of a word, it can take one of two forms:
ة : also called تـاء مَـرْبـوطَـة (tā’ marbūṭah) ‘tied-t’
ت : also called تـاء مَـفْـتـوحَـة (tā’ maftūḥah) ‘open-t’
The ة (tā’ marbūṭah) ‘tied-t’ is often used as a gender marker for the feminine form of a noun or adjective, though there are exceptions. Further details will be covered in Level II, Lesson 3.
Note that if a word ends with ة (tā’ marbūṭah) ‘tied-t,’ it is pronounced with a final “h” when the ة (tā’ marbūṭah) ‘tied-t’ is the last letter in a phrase or sentence. However, if we do not pause at the ة (tā’ marbūṭah) ‘tied-t,’ it is pronounced as “t.” For example:
| ة pronounced as “h” | ة pronounced as “t” |
| مِــرْآة mir’āh mirror | مِــرْآة الـحـائِـط mir’āt al-ḥā’iṭ wall mirror |
| كُـرَة kurah ball | كُـرَة الـقَــدَم kurat al-qadam football |
| مَـديـنَــة madīnah city | مَـديـنَــة الـقـاهِـرَة madīnat al-qahirah Cairo City |
Note that the ة (tā’ marbūṭah) ‘tied-t’ is always preceded by فَـتْـحَـة (fatḥah) ‘short a’ or مَـدّ أَلِـف (madd ’alif) ‘long ā.’
Next: Syllable Stress in Arabic
Other lessons in Level I: