In this lesson, we discuss the different uses of Hamzah in Arabic. When used as a consonant, the letter ﺍ (’alif) may carry a ء (hamzah), written above أ or below إ. The hamzah is placed below the ﺍ (’alif) only when it is marked with كَــسْــرَة (kasrah) ‘short i’ or followed by مَـــدّ يَــاء (madd yā’) ‘long ī.’
| Hamzah | Romanized | Example |
| أَ | ’a | أَحْـمَـد ’aḥmad Ahamd |
| أُ | ’u | أُخْـت ’ukht sister |
| إِ | ’i | إِسْــلَام ’islām Islam |
| أو | ’ū | أُوْقِــيِّــة ’ūqiyyeh 250 grams |
| إي | ’ī | إِيْــمَـان ’īmān faith/belief |
Hamzat al-madd آ (’ā)
Hamzat al-madd, i.e., آ (’ā), is a special case of the hamzah in Arabic as it represents a hamzah followed by the ‘long ā’ vowel. It is used to avoid writing two ﺍ (’alif) letters consecutively, i.e., أﺍ.
| Hamzah | Romanized | Example |
| آ | ’ā | آمِــيْــن ’āmīn Amen |
| قُـــرْآن qur’ān Quran |
There are more complex rules on the placement of hamzah in Arabic, especially when it appears in the middle or end of the word. For now, all you need to know is that ء is pronounced like a glottal stop, just like the letter ﺍ (’) at the beginning of a sentence.
Here are the different placements of the hamzah in Arabic when followed by a long vowel:
| Isolated | Romanization | Initial | Medial | End |
| آ | ’ā | آ | آ ، ـآ | آ ، ـآ ، أى، ـأى |
| أُوْ | ’ū | أُوْ | ئُـوْ ، ـئُـوْ | ئُـوْ ، ـئُـوْ |
| إِيْ | ’ī | إِيْـ | ئِــيْـ ، ـئِــيْـ | ئِـيْ ، ـئِـيْ |
Hamzat Qaṭ‘ (أ) vs. Hamzat Waṣl (ﺍ)
Some words begin with a ء (hamzah) written above or below the ﺍ (’alif). This is called هَـمْـزَة قَـطْـع (hamzat qaṭ‘) ‘halting hamzah.’ Other words begin with an ﺍ (’alif) written without hamzah. This is called هَـمْـزَة وَصْــل (hamzat waṣl) ‘connecting hamzah.’
Both types of initial ﺍ (’alif) are pronounced with a glottal stop at the beginning of speech. For example:
| أَحْـمَــد ’aḥmad Ahmad | اِشْـــرَبْ ’ishrab Drink! |
The difference appears in MSA when the word is not at the beginning of a sentence or phrase. For example:
| حَـمَـد وَ أَحْـمَــد ḥamad wa- ’aḥmad Hamad and Ahmad | كُــلْ وَاشْـــرَبْ kul wa- shrab (not: kul wa-’ishrab) Eat and drink! |
Notice that because اِشْـــرَب (ishrab) begins with هَـمْـزَة وَصْـل (hamzat waṣl) ‘connecting hamzah,’ the glottal stop and the following ‘short i’ vowel are not pronounced. Instead, the word is seamlessly connected to the preceding word.
In Palestinian-Jordanian Arabic, most words that begin with ﺍ (’alif) are treated as هَـــمْـــزَة وَصْـــل (hamzat waṣl) ‘connecting hamzah,’ regardless of whether a written ء (hamzah) exists or not. The initial hamzah sound is elided, connecting the consonant following the ﺍ (’alif) directly to the preceding sound.
| أَحْـمَــد و حَـمَـد ’aḥmad w- ḥamad Ahmad and Hamad | اِشْـــرَب وكُــلْ ’ishrab w- kul Drink and eat! |
| حَـمَـد و أَحْـمَــد ḥamad w- aḥmad Hamad and Ahmad | كُــل واشْـــرَبْ kul w- ishrab Eat and drink! |
In summary, the rules for initial ﺍ (’alif) in Palestinian-Jordanian dialects are simple: pronounce it as a glottal stop only at the beginning of speech. Otherwise, drop it and connect the following consonant directly to the preceding sound.
Next: Spelling and Syllable Stress
Other lessons in Level I: