Guide to Writing Arabic, A
by Hoffmeier, Sara
One of the myths surrounding Arabic is that the script is impossible to learn. This is not true. Writing Arabic is much easier than you would imagine. Arabic uses an alphabet, not hieroglyphs or pictograms. And there are far fewer shapes to master in Arabic than in the European languages. In Arabic there is really only one basic shape for each of the 28 letters of the alphabet. There are no capital letters – and there is no real distinction between print and handwriting. Furthermore, writing from right to left is not as difficult as many people would imagine. In many ways it is a more natural movement to be pushing the pen rather than pulling it, certainly for someone who is right-handed. This guide will take you through the Arabic alphabet, letter by letter, explain how to write each letter, how to combine the letters, and it will provide plenty of opportunities for practise. This guide is also a great first introduction to the Arabic language.