[02] recognize short from long vowels...

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  How many vowels does Arabic have?

Arabic has three short and three long vowels making them a total
of six.

  Click and listen to all six vowels... 

Three short vowels		Three long vowels
fatha (a) َ		ا 1 alif (aa)
dumma (u) ُ		و 2 waaw (uu)
xasra (i) ِ		ى 3 yih (ii)

 

1- Short vowels take half the time to say as long vowels. Distinguishing short from long vowels is one of the trickiest matters in learning how to read in Arabic - believe it or not. Frequently, students confuse a long for a short sound or the reverse.

2- Furthermore, note that the long vowels can play the role of consonants in a word. So how do you know if the alif, waaw, yih is a long vowel or a consonant? You will "feel" it as you become more familiar while reading Arabic text or you will just simply recognize the word. A helpful rule is you can not have more than two consonants in a row in an Arabic word nor can you have more than one long vowel in a word. Therefore, for instance, as you read a word, if there are two consonants in a row you will find yourself "naturally" wanting to say a vowel. Or, if you use a long vowel in one part of the word you can not extend again into a second vowel within the same word.

3- Listen to the Arabic alphabet with short and long vowels attached.

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