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Letter 10 of 28

ر raa: the Arabic letter raa

رَاء

raa (ر) is the tenth letter of the Arabic alphabet. It makes the sound r: a rolled r. It never joins to the letter after it.

The shapes of raa

Arabic letters change shape depending on where they sit in a word. Arabic is read right to left.

ر
On its own
ر
At the start
‍ر
In the middle
‍ر
At the end

raa with vowel marks

رَ
ra
with a fatha
رِ
ri
with a kasra
رُ
ru
with a damma
رَا
raa
long vowel
رِي
ree
long vowel
رُو
roo
long vowel

What are fatha, kasra and damma?

Words that start with raa

رِيشَة
reesha · feather
رِجْل
rijl · leg

Letters that look like raa

These share a shape with ر and differ in their dots or a small detail. Children often mix them up, so it helps to learn them side by side.

زzaayوwaaw

Questions about raa

How do you pronounce the Arabic letter raa?

raa (ر) is the tenth letter of the Arabic alphabet. Its name is said "raa". It makes the sound r: a rolled r.

How do you write raa in Arabic?

On its own raa is written ر. It is one of the six letters that never join to the letter after them, so it only has two shapes: on its own or at the start ر, and joined at the end ‍ر.

What is an Arabic word that starts with raa?

رِيشَة (reesha) means "feather" and starts with raa. Others are رِجْل (rijl, leg).

How does raa sound with vowel marks?

With a fatha it says ra (رَ), with a kasra ri (رِ) and with a damma ru (رُ).

Practise raa with Hudhud

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