Arabic short vowels are usually omitted in everyday writing, but they are essential for reading the Quran, children's books, and for learning correct pronunciation. These marks are called harakat (ΨΨ±ΩΨ§Ψͺ).
The eight core harakat
| Mark | Name | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ω | Fatha | short "a" above the letter | Ψ¨Ω (ba) |
| Ω | Damma | short "u" above the letter | Ψ¨Ω (bu) |
| Ω | Kasra | short "i" below the letter | Ψ¨Ω (bi) |
| Ω | Sukun | no vowel (consonant ends) | Ψ¨Ω (b) |
| Ω | Shadda | double (geminate) the consonant | Ψ¨ΩΩ (bba) |
| Ω | Fathatan | indefinite "an" β nunation | Ψ¨Ω (ban) |
| Ω | Dammatan | indefinite "un" β nunation | Ψ¨Ω (bun) |
| Ω | Kasratan | indefinite "in" β nunation | Ψ¨Ω (bin) |
How to type harakat online
On our Arabic keyboard, hold Shift and press the top-row keys: Shift+Q gives fathatan Ω, Shift+W dammatan Ω, Shift+E kasratan Ω, Shift+R fatha Ω, Shift+T damma Ω, Shift+Y kasra Ω, Shift+U shadda Ω and Shift+I sukun Ω. You can also open the Diacritics palette for the full set.
Why harakat matter
The same letters can form different words depending on the vowels: ΨΉΩΩΩΩ (ΚΏilm, "science") vs ΨΉΩΩΩΩ (ΚΏalam, "flag") vs ΨΉΩΩΩΩΩ Ω (ΚΏallama, "he taught"). Diacritics disambiguate reading. Explore all the marks in the Arabic character explorer.