Jawi alphabet
Pick a letter to see its initial, medial and final forms, its sound and example words. Press Practise to test yourself.
alif اليف
Letter forms
- اIsolated
- اFinal
This letter does not join to the letter after it, so it has no initial or medial form.
Example words
- ayamايم
- batuباتو
- kawanکاون
The full Jawi alphabet chart
All letters in school order, with initial, medial and final forms. Letters in green are found only in Jawi. Letter names are given in Malay.
| Letter | Name | Rumi | Sound | Initial · Medial · Final | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ا | alif اليف | a / e (pepet) | /a/, /ə/ | ––ا | ايم |
| ب | ba باء | b | /b/ | ب‍‍ب‍‍ب | بوکو |
| ت | ta تاء | t | /t/ | ت‍‍ت‍‍ت | تاڠن |
| ة | ta marbutah تاء مربوطة | t / h | /t/, /h/ | ––ة | جمعة |
| ث | sa ثاء | s | /s/, /θ/ | ث‍‍ث‍‍ث | ثلاث |
| ج | jim جيم | j | /d͡ʒ/ | ج‍‍ج‍‍ج | جالن |
| چ | ca چا | c | /t͡ʃ/ | چ‍‍چ‍‍چ | چاون |
| ح | ha pedas حاء | h | /h/, /ħ/ | ح‍‍ح‍‍ح | حيوان |
| خ | kha خاء | kh | /x/ | خ‍‍خ‍‍خ | خبر |
| د | dal دل | d | /d/ | ––د | دوا |
| ذ | zal ذال | z | /z/, /ð/ | ––ذ | ايذين |
| ر | ra راء | r | /r/ | ––ر | رومه |
| ز | zai زاي | z | /z/ | ––ز | زمان |
| س | sin سين | s | /s/ | س‍‍س‍‍س | ساتو |
| ش | syin شين | sy | /ʃ/ | ش‍‍ش‍‍ش | شريکت |
| ص | sad صاد | s | /s/ | ص‍‍ص‍‍ص | صبر |
| ض | dad ضاد | d | /d/ | ض‍‍ض‍‍ض | حاضير |
| ط | ta (to) طاء | t | /t/ | ط‍‍ط‍‍ط | سلطان |
| ظ | za (zo) ظاء | z | /z/ | ظ‍‍ظ‍‍ظ | ظاليم |
| ع | ain عين | a / i / u / k | /ʔ/ | ع‍‍ع‍‍ع | عالم |
| غ | ghain غين | gh | /ɣ/ | غ‍‍غ‍‍غ | غاءيب |
| ڠ | nga ڠا | ng | /ŋ/ | ڠ‍‍ڠ‍‍ڠ | بوڠا |
| ف | fa فاء | f | /f/ | ف‍‍ف‍‍ف | فهم |
| ڤ | pa ڤا | p | /p/ | ڤ‍‍ڤ‍‍ڤ | ڤاݢي |
| ق | qaf قاف | q / k | /q/, /k/, /ʔ/ | ق‍‍ق‍‍ق | انق |
| ک | kaf کاف | k | /k/ | ک‍‍ک‍‍ک | کاکي |
| ݢ | ga ݢا | g | /ɡ/ | ݢݢݢ | ݢورو |
| ل | lam لام | l | /l/ | ل‍‍ل‍‍ل | ليم |
| م | mim ميم | m | /m/ | م‍‍م‍‍م | ماکن |
| ن | nun نون | n | /n/ | ن‍‍ن‍‍ن | ناسي |
| و | wau واو | w / u / o | /w/, /u/, /o/ | ––و | واڠ |
| ۏ | va ۏا | v | /v/ | ––ۏ | ۏن |
| ه | ha simpul هاء | h | /h/ | ه‍‍ه‍‍ه | هاري |
| ء | hamzah همزة | — | /ʔ/ | –– | دعاء |
| ي | ya ياء | y / i / e (taling) | /j/, /i/, /e/ | ي‍‍ي‍‍ي | يڠ |
| ى | ye يى | e (pepet) / a | /ə/, /a/ | ى‍‍ى‍‍ى | تقوى |
| ڽ | nya ڽا | ny | /ɲ/ | ڽ‍‍ڽ‍‍ڽ | ڽاڽي |
rumikejawi.com/en/jawi-alphabet/ · Jawi alphabet chart · Initial, medial and final forms.
How Jawi letters join
Written right to left
Like Arabic, Jawi is read and written from right to left. Most letters join to the letters before and after them.
Letters that do not join to the left
ا ة د ذ ر ز و ۏ join only to the letter before them. The next letter starts again with its initial form.
Hamzah tiga suku
In Malay words such as baik (باٴيق, good), the hamzah sits at three-quarter height and is called hamzah tiga suku (ٴ).
Vowels are written as letters
Jawi does not use Arabic vowel marks. Vowels are written with alif, wau and ya, as in pulau (ڤولاو, island).
Letters for Arabic words
Letters such as ث ح خ ذ ص ض ط ظ ع غ are used mostly in words borrowed from Arabic, which keep their Arabic spelling.
Try writing it
Type Malay in the Rumi to Jawi converter to see the letters join, or read Jawi with Jawi to Rumi.
Frequently asked questions
How many letters does the Jawi alphabet have?
The table on this page has 37 letters in the order taught in schools, including ta marbutah (ة) and ye (ى). Some books do not count these two separately, so the number you see quoted can differ.
Which letters are found only in Jawi?
The six letters ca (چ), nga (ڠ), pa (ڤ), ga (ݢ), va (ۏ), and nya (ڽ). They were added for Malay sounds that Arabic does not have.
Why does one letter have several shapes?
Jawi letters join to each other, so their shape changes with their position: at the start, in the middle or at the end of a word, or standing alone. A few letters, such as alif, dal and ra, never join to the letter after them.
Can I print the alphabet chart?
Yes. Press Print chart under the table. The full table prints on one A4 page.