Arabic as easy as A, B, C...

This is how I learnt the Arabic alphabet.

It's a clip from the Egyptian Sesame Street, 'Alam Simsim which literally translates as World of Sesame.  When I told my Egyptian friend about it he said he didn't have an Arabic alphabet song when he was growing up, so perhaps this song is just for the TV show.  In any case, I think this is a pretty cool and it helped me to learn it.

If you want to sing along and learn the alphabet yourself, here are all the letters for you:

Alif, Ba, Ta, Tha, Geem, Ha, Kha

Dal, Thal, Ra, Zay, Seen, Sheen, Saad

Daad, Ta, Tha, 'Ayin, Gheyn, Fa, Qaf

Kaf, Lam, Meem, Noon, Ha, Wow, Ya...

I've written this out in the style I usually transliterate arabic for my own use.  There's no single standard that people use to do this, but this should give you a general idea of how to pronounce the letters.  I've added in some underlining to highlight those letters which have a more guttaral or emphatic sound than regular English letters - it's what gives Arabic that distinctive sound.  If you want a better pronounciation guide, look out for a more formal Arabic learning resource.  Or if you've got a guide book for an Arab speaking country, you might be able to find some basics like this in the back. 

Got it? Ok Yalla, all together 5, 6, 7, 8...

Alif, Ba, Ta...