Writing and Pronouncing the Hamza (ء): A Guide for the Perplexed
One of the most tricky aspects of Arabic writing is the hamza (هَمْزَة), the character which represents the glottal stop. The hamza is not an independent letter; sometimes it is written “on the line” (ء), and sometimes it “sits” on the letters ‘alif (أ or إ), waaw (ؤ), or yaa’ without the dots (ئ). And sometimes it is not written at all! When unwritten, it is sometimes pronounced and sometimes not.
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