Pronouncing “ع”

The sound ع is one of the most distinctive sounds in Arabic. It uses the same throat muscles as н. The difference is: н is voiceless, while ع is voiced.

Pronunciation exercise

1. Practise tightening the throat muscles as you did for н.
2. Put your hand on the throat.
3. Pronounce н and feel the muscles contract.
4. Keep the same throat position.
5. Make the voice box vibrate.

The voiced throat sound produced is ع.

Although some learners think that ع sounds like a vowel, it is a consonant. It is a fricative because the throat passage is partly blocked and air is forced through it.