Speak Arabic clearly: free pronunciation test and tips
Find out how clear your Arabic pronunciation is. Take the free Arabic pronunciation test in Modern Standard Arabic, get a score for every word you say, and learn the sounds Arabic learners find hardest. For daily practice, Flai Speaking gives you an AI coach to talk to in Arabic.
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The hardest Arabic sounds for learners
ع and ح
Both are made deep in the throat. ح (ḥ) is a strong, breathy h made by tightening the throat, as if fogging up a mirror with force (حب ḥubb, love). ع (ʿ) is made in the same place with your voice on (عين ʿayn, eye). Don't drop ع, and don't turn ح into a plain ه.
خ, غ and ق
خ (kh) is like the ch in Scottish 'loch' (خبز khubz, bread), and غ (gh) is the same sound with voice, close to a gargle or the French R (غرفة ghurfa, room). ق (q) is a k made much further back, where the throat begins. Keep it apart from ك: قلب qalb means heart, but كلب kalb means dog.
Emphatic consonants
ص ض ط ظ are 'heavy' versions of s, d, t and dh. Pull the back of your tongue up and back as you say them, which also makes the vowels around them sound deeper. Compare سيف sayf (sword) and صيف ṣayf (summer), or تين tīn (figs) and طين ṭīn (mud).
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