Dal or Dad?

These are made at different places in the mouth. Find the right place and the difference takes care of itself.

دDal

The tongue tip and tooth roots

The tip presses against the roots of the upper front teeth — where the tooth enters the gum — and cuts the air off. Ṭāʾ, dāl and tāʾ are all made exactly here.

ضDad

The edge of the tongue

The side of the tongue presses against the upper molars — usually the left side — and the sound rolls along it. This is ḍād, the letter Arabic is named after.

Two words, one letter apart

Everything else in these words is identical. If you can hear which is which, you have the letter.

دَلَّ

dalla

he showed the way

ضَ‍‍لَّ

ḍalla

he went astray

See all seventeen articulation points