How to Read & Write Arabic: Kaaf

This week's letter Kaaf is an easy letter to say; it sounds like the 'k' in the English word, 'likewise', but not like the K in the word, 'kite'.

Kaaf is a connector and consequently there are four different ways of writing the letter. With this particular letter there is quite a variation in the shapes, so take a careful look at the letters shown below. However, in all forms, all parts of this letter must be written above the line. 

Don’t forget to add the 'backwards 2' shape (which looks like something called a 'hamza' a consonant which sounds like a glottal stop and which has no representative sound in English) in the independent and final forms:

Initial

Medial

Final

Independent

You’ll find examples of each of the four shapes in the photographs below:


Initial
You'll recognise the first one, from all the advertising: ko (kaaf, waw/ooh) ka (kaaf, alif) ko (kaaf, waw/ooh) la

Medial
The first one is easy, but the second and third are a little more difficult to spot

Notice the hamza at the end of the writing in the Hidd Power Station photograph above. Although Hamzas are not letters in the Arabic alphabet, they are used to indicate the letter changes sound. Park that information, we'll come back to it in a later blog.






Final
Look for the hamza, if this mark is missing a kaaf isn't a kaaf when its in a final and independent form.
FYI: fish market is 'Suq al Simick' in Arabic:

Independent
Again, don't forget the hamza

Hide & Seek
Now see if you can find some kaafs in the photos below:

Until the next time, and the letter laam, ma-sa-la-ma