Quran Vowel Marks for Beginners: Fatha, Kasra, Damma and More

Arabic letters on their own are mostly consonants. The small marks above and below them — the harakat — tell you which vowel to say, when to say no vowel, and when to double a letter. Once you know these marks, you can read any word in the Quran, even if you don't know what it means.

This guide explains every basic mark, with examples, for complete beginners.

The three short vowels

Example word: كَتَبَ → ka-ta-ba (he wrote).

These vowels are short — about one count. Don't stretch them.

Sukoon: no vowel

In the Madinah Mushaf, the sukoon looks like the small head of the letter خ.

Shaddah: double the letter

A shaddah always comes with a vowel: رَبَّ (rabba), رَبِّ (rabbi), رَبُّ (rabbu).

If the doubled letter is ن or م, hold a nasal ghunnah for two counts, as in إِنَّ (in-na). Read more in our guide to ghunnah.

Tanween: the "n" ending

Tanween is a doubled vowel mark at the end of a word. It adds an n sound.

Tanween fatha is usually written with an extra alif after the letter (كِتَابًا), but the alif is not read as a long vowel in the middle of reading.

When you stop on a word with tanween:

• an becomes a long a: kitaba.
• in and un are dropped: kitab.

Long vowels

A short vowel followed by a "long vowel letter" is stretched to two counts:

The small dagger alif (ـٰ) also makes a long aa: الرَّحْمَٰنِ → ar-rahmaan.

When you see a wavy line (ـٓ) on a long vowel, it means stretch it more than two counts. Our guide to madd explains how long.

Putting it together

Let's read الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (1:2) mark by mark:

• الْحَمْدُ: al-ḥam-du — sukoon on the lam and the meem, damma on the dal
• لِلَّهِ: lil-laa-hi — kasra, shaddah on the second lam, long aa
• رَبِّ: rab-bi — shaddah with kasra
• الْعَالَمِينَ: al-‘aa-la-miina — long aa, short a, long ii

Common mistakes

• Stretching short vowels. Kaataba instead of kataba.
• Shortening long vowels. Qala with a short a instead of qaala.
• Ignoring the shaddah. Rabi instead of rabbi.
• Adding a vowel on a sukoon. Qulu instead of qul.
• Reading the alif of tanween fatha in the middle of reading.

How to practise

1. Take any short surah and point to each mark as you read it.
1. Say the name of each mark the first few times: "fatha, kasra, sukoon".
1. Read the surah again without naming the marks, just reading.
1. When this feels easy, move on to the rules of tajweed, starting with our Tajweed guide.

If you are still learning the letters, start with our guide to learning the Arabic letters as an adult or what the Noorani Qaida is. To learn with a teacher, see learn the Quran for beginners.