A Central Semitic language whose Classical form is the liturgical tongue of Islam and whose Modern Standard form unites a continuum of regional varieties spoken from Morocco to Oman.
Where it’s spoken
Arabic is the official language of 22 countries across the Arab world and one of six UN official languages. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), descended from the Classical Arabic of the Quran, serves as the formal written register. Regional varieties — Egyptian, Levantine, Maghrebi, Gulf, Iraqi, and others — diverge significantly in everyday speech.
What it sounds like
Arabic is famous for its emphatic (pharyngealized) consonants and the pharyngeal fricatives ʿayn (ع) and ḥāʾ (ح). Vowel inventory is small — three short, three long — but consonants like the voiceless uvular qāf (ق) and emphatic ṣād (ص) give Arabic its distinctive sound.
How it’s written
Arabic is written right to left in a cursive script where most letters change shape based on position. The script is an abjad: short vowels are usually omitted in everyday text and only marked in the Quran, children’s books, and language teaching.
History
The Arabic alphabet evolved from Nabataean Aramaic. Classical Arabic was standardized in the 7th–8th centuries around the language of the Quran and pre-Islamic poetry.
Find more languages by letter
Arabic starts with A and ends with C. Browse other languages along the same letter.
Languages that contain a letter from "Arabic":