Hamza

The hamza is a special character used in the Arabic script. It shows a glottal stop, a sound made by closing the glottis for a short time. In the Arabic alphabet, the hamza is not a regular letter, but it is important for saying words right.

The hamza comes from an older letter called ʿayn and can be in different places in a word. It can be above or below another letter, or all by itself. When writing Arabic with a different kind of letters, the hamza is often shown with an apostrophe or a special sign.

Long ago, in languages like Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic, a similar sound was shown using a letter called aleph. In Arabic, the letter alif was used for this sound and also for a long vowel. The hamza was added to alif to make clear when the glottal stop sound was meant. This helps people read and say Arabic words correctly.

Etymology

The hamza comes from a verb called "hamaza." This verb means "to prick, goad, drive" or "to give a letter or word a hamza."

Hamzat al-waṣl (ٱ)

See also: Wasla, Arabic definite article, and Sun and moon letters

The hamza (ء) by itself is called hamzat al-qaṭʿ, meaning "the hamzah which breaks, ceases or halts". This is a special sound called a glottal stop. Another type is hamzat al-waṣl, meaning "the hamzah which attaches, connects or joins". This is a glottal stop that only appears at the start of a word when speaking, but it changes depending on what comes before it.

Hamzat al-waṣl can be seen in a few places, such as:

• The word al- when it is used to make a noun definite
• Some short words like ism (اسم), ibn (ابْن), and imru' (امْرُؤ)
• Certain commands and verb forms
• Some words borrowed from other languages that start with two consonants together

This special hamza sound is not pronounced when it comes after a vowel. This happens in words like al-baytu l-kabīru (the big house), or when a noun starts with al- and comes after a preposition, or when a verb follows a relative pronoun. If al- is followed by a special kind of letter called a sun letter, the l sound changes to match the next letter.

Orthography

The hamza can be written alone, like a letter, or with another letter to change how it looks:

• Low hamza (only one form):

• By itself

• High Hamza (used in Kazakh; only one form):

• Three-Quarter High Hamza (used in Malay; only one form):

This special form has been suggested for adding to a computer standard, but it can be shown using an existing symbol with a changed position.

• Combined with a letter

• Above or below an Alif

• Above a Wāw

• Above a dotless Yāʾ, also called Hamza ʿAlā Nabrah (Arabic: همزة على نبرة). This joins with other letters in some places.

• Above Hāʾ. Used in the Persian and Pashto alphabets.

• Above Ḥāʾ. Used in the Pashto alphabet.

• Above Rāʾ. Used in the Khowar alphabet.

• Above a Baṛī yē. Used in the Urdu alphabet.

• Above a Choṭī hē. Used in the Urdu alphabet

Arabic "seat" rules

The rules for writing hamza, a special sound in Arabic, change depending on the language. This section explains how it works specifically in Arabic.

Summary

• Initial hamza is always placed over or under an alif (a type of letter), depending on the following vowel sound.
• Medial hamza (in the middle of a word) can be placed on a "seat" or written alone. The surrounding vowels decide where it goes.
• Final hamza (at the end of a word) also has specific rules for where it is placed, based on the last vowel sound.

Detailed description

Hamza behaves like other letters but can be written in five different ways. It may stand alone or be placed over or under another letter. The position depends on whether it is the first, middle, or last letter in a word, not on the sound it makes.

When hamza is at the beginning of a word, its position depends on the next vowel. If the next vowel is a or u, hamza goes over an alif. If it is i, hamza goes under an alif.

When hamza is at the end of a word, it is placed over the letter matching the last short vowel. If there is no short vowel, it stands alone on the line.

For hamza in the middle of a word, the surrounding vowels decide its position. If a long vowel or diphthong comes before it, the following vowel usually decides. If there are conflicting vowels, i takes precedence over u, and u over a.

Different books sometimes show hamza in different positions, leading to some disagreement in how it is written.

Overview tables

The letter ط ‎ (ṭ) stands here for any consonant.

Note: The table shows only possible combinations and how they look according to spelling rules; not every combination exists in Arabic.

Colours:

  The hamza is written over yāʾ ئ ‎

  The hamza is written over wāw ؤ ‎

  The hamza is written over or under alif أ ‎, آ ‎, إ ‎

  The hamza is written on the line ء ‎

Notes:

Hamza in other Arabic-script alphabets

Jawi alphabet

In the Jawi alphabet, used for Malay, hamza has many uses. It rarely shows a glottal stop except in some words from Arabic. One common form is called the three-quarter high hamza. It is used in everyday writing to separate vowel letters, appear before some endings, and write short words that start with a vowel. It is also used in old words and changed forms of Arabic loanwords.

Urdu (Shahmukhi) alphabet

In the Urdu alphabet, hamza is used to show a sound between two vowels or to break a syllable. It rarely acts like the hamza in Arabic except in a few borrowed words. Hamza can also be added to the end of the first word in some compound words to show a specific sound.

Uyghur alphabet

In the Uyghur Arabic alphabet, hamza is not a separate letter but shows a glottal stop before a vowel. When hamza is combined with a vowel, such as ئا‎ (a), it is treated as its own letter. Vowel letters without hamza have different forms depending on their position in a word.

Kazakh alphabet

In the Kazakh Arabic alphabet, hamza is used only at the start of words and appears high up. It does not represent a sound but shows that the vowels in the word will be from a specific group. It is not used in words with certain other vowels or consonant clusters.

Persian alphabet

In the Persian alphabet, hamza often shows a glottal stop and is mainly found in words from Arabic. A specific form of hamza below alif is not used in Persian; instead, another letter called alif maddah is used. Hamza can sometimes appear over certain letters to show a specific ending in compound words.

Wavy hamza in Kashmiri

The Kashmiri language uses a special mark called the "wavy hamza" when written with Arabic letters. This mark is named amālü mad when placed above the letter alif: ٲ, and it helps make the vowel sound /əː/. When the wavy hamza is placed below the letter alif: اٟ, it is called sāyi mad, and it creates the sound /ɨː/.

Latin representations

There are several ways to write the hamza using Latin letters. In the International Phonetic Alphabet, the sound is shown with a special symbol that looks like a dotless question mark, called ʔ. Some people use a simple apostrophe, and others use a grave accent. Certain standard methods, like DIN 31635, use a symbol called a modifier letter right half ring, while ALA-LC uses another special mark. There are also many informal symbols used in chat and online writing.