Arabic Letter Waw – (و): Use with Illustrations
The Arabic letter Waw – (و) is a unique addition to the Arabic alphabet. It is located at the 27th position in the alphabetical order and it is one of the very few letters with contextual forms.
This article will explain what this letter is, how to pronounce it, and provide illustrations of its use. The sound for Waw resembles that of English “w”, however, there are some subtle differences in its pronunciation which will be discussed below.
Arabic Letter WAW (Short Description)
- Type – Vowel.
- Alphabetical Order – 27th.
- Contextual forms – one.
- Pronounce English letter like – wāw.
A – Serial Number, B – Isolated Form, C – Trans-literation, D – Letter name, E – Letter Name In Arabic Script.
و
| A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | و | w | wāw | وَاو |
How to Write Arabic Letters WAW?
The Arabic alphabet doesn’t have upper or lowercase letters, like we see in the Latin alphabet letters. but the letters are combing when writing a word. However, each arabic letter can be written in Contextual forms.
The arabic letters of words are written and read from right to left, horizontally. There are four Contextual forms that each letter can take:
- Initial
- Medial
- Final
- Isolated (Detached).
| Contextual forms |
| Final | Medial | Initial | Detached |
|---|---|---|---|
| ـو | ـو | ـو | و |
How to Pronounce Letter Waaao
و ⬅️ واو
The letter Waaao comes completely from the lips. Try to make the sound of this letter soft. Letter Waaao mainly 3 sounds –
- Wa – أَسْوَدْ (Aswadh)
- Waa – وَاحِدْ (Waahidh)
- Wee – طَوِيلْ (Thaweel).
You Must Know About Arabic Alphabet Letters
- The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters but some author include ء hamza as a letter then counting will be 29.
- In Arabic Letters have only 3 vowels namely – (و،ا،ي) but ي and و which can be both consonants and vowels while Alif (،ا،) is only pure vowel.
- In Arabic Alphabet, no capital and small letters.
Learn words that start with the Arabic alphabet letter WAW. Interactive word picture for kids plus free printable resources for you.
Conclusion Points
The Arabic letter Waw (و) is the twenty-seventh letter in the Arabic alphabet. It is pronounced like a ‘w’ sound in English, and it is often referred to as wāw al-madd or simply wāw.
The letter has one contextual form, which is used when it appears at the beginning of a word or after an alif. It looks similar to a regular alif but its tail curves down and slightly back up again to the left.
In addition to being used as a consonant, Waw can also be a vowel depending on where it appears in the word.
When it appears at the beginning of words that start with two vowel sounds, such as “wa” (وَ), it will function as a consonant introducing those two vowels into the word.
