Arabic Letter م, How To Pronounce It, Words, And All You Should Know

In this blog post, we’ll be exploring the letter م (pronounced “meem”), which is the twenty-fourth letter in the Arabic alphabet.

Whether you’re a language enthusiast or simply curious about the Arabic language, you’ll find plenty of interesting insights about the letter “م” in this post.

What Is Letter م?

The twenty-fourth letter of the Arabic alphabet is م. It is preceded by ل‎ (l) and followed by ن‎ (n).

How To Pronounce م

The Arabic letter “م” (pronounced “meem”) is pronounced by pressing the lips together and releasing them with a nasal sound, similar to the English “m” sound.

To produce this sound, bring your lips together and release air through your nose while vibrating your vocal cords.

It is important to note that the sound of “م” in Arabic is slightly different from the English “m” sound, as it is more nasal and is produced by closing the lips more tightly.

Letter ﻡ with Fatha is pronounced as ma, with kasra is mi and with dhumma is pronounced as mu.

Usage in Arabic Language

The Arabic letter “م” (pronounced “meem”) is a letter of the Arabic alphabet, and by itself, it doesn’t have a meaning.

However, when it is combined with other letters, it can form words and carry meaning. For example, “ماء” (maa) means “water” in Arabic, and “من” (min) means “from” or “of.”

The meaning of the letter “م” in Arabic, therefore, depends on the context and the other letters it is combined with.

In the Arabic language, the letter “م” is used in a variety of ways, including as a standalone letter and as part of various words.

For example, it is commonly used to represent the word for “water,” which is “ماء” (maa).

The letter is also used in conjunction with other letters to form new words and meanings. For instance, when combined with the letter “ن” (pronounced “noon”), it forms the word “من” (pronounced “min”), which means “from” or “of.”

The Different Forms of the Arabic Letter Mim and Their Usage

Letter م has four distinct forms. Understanding these forms and their usage is crucial for anyone learning Arabic or trying to improve their Arabic writing skills.

Forms

Isolated form	Final form	Medial form	Initial form
م	ـم	ـمـ	مـ

Isolated Form of Mim

The isolated form of mim (ﻡ) is used when the letter ﻡ stands alone or appears at the end of a word after a right-joining letter.

In simpler terms, if there is no letter before ﻡ that needs to connect, and there is no letter after ﻡ, then the isolated form of ﻡ is used.

The isolated form it is just a circle and it goes down again and it doesn’t matter what’s the shape of the circle.

All you have to do is make it a circle and down but you have to keep the level very short level.

Initial Form of Mim (ﻣـ)

The initial form of mim (ﻣـ) is used when the letter mim appears at the beginning of a word or in the middle of a word if the letter before is right-joining.

In other words, if there is no letter before mim that needs to connect, but there is a letter after it, then the initial form of ﻡ is used.

The initial form is a circle and then we drag it because it’s a two way connector.

Medial Form of Mim

The medial form of mim (ـﻤـ) is used when the letter ﻡ appears in the middle of a word and the letter before it is not right-joining.

In other words, if there is a letter before ﻡ that needs to connect, and there is a letter after it, then the medial form of mim is used.

We do connect it to the right side and then to the left side.

Final Form of Mim

The final form of mim (ـﻢ) is used when the letter ﻡ appears at the end of a word, and the letter before it is not right-joining.

In simpler terms, if there is a letter before ﻡ that needs to connect, and there is no letter after mim, then the final form of mim is used.

Then final form it gets connected from the right but you get the same isolated form at the end.

Arabic Letter ﻡ Is a Moon Letter

In Arabic grammar, the letters of the Arabic alphabet are classified into two categories: moon letters (حُرُوفُ الْقَمَرِيَّةِ) and sun letters (حُرُوفُ الشَّمْسِيَّةِ).

The classification of the letters as moon or sun letters is based on the way they interact with the Arabic definite article “Al” (ال).

You get the definite form of a word by putting the definite article al in front of it.

The Arabic letter mim is a moon letter. That means that the definite article is pronounced al and nothing else. The letters that are not moon letters are called sun letters, and they are assimilated with the definite article al.

For example:

The word “mauz” (موز) means “mango.” When “Al” (ال) is added before it, it becomes “Al-maiz” (الموز).

Therefore, the letter ﻡ is considered a moon letter in Arabic grammar because of the way it interacts with the definite article “Al” (ال) and doesn’t changes its pronunciation.

Letter م Words

Arabic Word	Transliteration	Meaning
مَاء	māʾ	Water
مُدَرِّس	mudarris	Teacher
مُحَمَّد	Muḥammad	Muhammad
مَسْجِد	masjid	Mosque
مُسْلِم	Muslim	Muslim
مُسَاعِد	musāʿid	Assistant
مُعْلِم	muʿallim	Teacher
مَعْرِفَة	maʿrifa	Knowledge
مُدِير	mudīr	Director
مُتَفَوِّق	mutafawwiq	Successful
مُحَافِظ	muḥāfiẓ	Guardian
مَطْعَم	maṭʿam	Restaurant
مُصَمِّم	muṣammim	Designer
مَوْعِد	mawʿid	Appointment
مُستَشَار	mustashār	Advisor
مُدَرَّب	mudarrab	Trainer
مُخْتَلِف	mukhtalif	Different
مُنْفَذ	munfaẓ	Outlet
مَبْلَغ	mablagh	Amount
مُتَجَرِّب	mutajarrid	Experimental
مَدَرِّب	maddarrib	Coach
مُستَوْدَع	mustawdāʿ	Warehouse
مُشَارِك	mushārik	Partner
مُسْتَشْفَى	mustashfā	Hospital
مَحَاضِر	maḥāḍir	Lectures
مَرِيض	marīḍ	Patient
مُحَاسِب	muḥāsib	Accountant
مُتَحَمِّس	mutaḥammis	Enthusiastic
مُتَفَائِل	mutafaʾil	Optimistic
مُعَلِّم	muʿallim	Educator
مُهِنْدِس	muhandis	Engineer
مَكْتَب	maktab	Office
مُسْتَجِيب	mustajīb	Responsive
مُعَاوِن	muʿāwin	Assistant
مُسْتَثْمِر	mustathmir	Investor
مُشَرِّف	musharraf	Supervisor

More Words That Start With Letter ﻡ

Arabic Word	Transliteration	Meaning
مُبَلِّغ	muballigh	Informer
مَرْحَباً	marḥaban	Welcome
مَسَاء	masāʾ	Evening
مَعَ	maʿa	With
مَرْكَز	markaz	Center
مُعْجِز	muʿjiz	Miracle
مُتَعَاوِن	mutaʿāwin	Cooperative
مُتَطَوِّر	mutatawwir	Developed
مُجْتَمَع	mujtamaʿ	Society
مُشْتَرِك	mushtarik	Common
مُعَرِّف	muʿarif	Identifier
مُحْتَرِم	muḥtaram	Respected
مَلِكَة	malikah	Queen
مَوْرِد	mawrid	Source
مُصَوِّر	muṣawwir	Photographer
مُطَوَّر	mutawwir	Improved
مُجْتَهِد	mujtahid	Hardworking
مَوْقِع	mauqif	Location
مُستَعْجِل	mustaʿjil	Urgent
مُشَرِّق	musharriq	Eastern
مُبْتَكِر	mubtakir	Innovative
مُتَحَدِّث	mutahaddith	Speaker
مَسَاعَدَة	musāʿadah	Assistance
مُستَوْعَب	mustawʿab	Recipient
مَدِينَة	madīnah	City
مُتَطَلَّب	mutaṭallib	Requirement
مَرْآة	marʾah	Mirror
مُقَدِّم	muqaddim	Presenter
مُحَاسِن	muḥāsin	Advantages
مُحَاضِرة	muḥāḍirah	Lecture
مُقْتَرِح	muqtarif	Suggestion
مُسْتَجَاب	mustajāb	Answered
مَسَافَة	masāfah	Distance
مُدَوِّن	mudawwin	Blogger
مُخْتَص	mukhtas	Specialist

Conclusion

Understanding the different forms of the Arabic letter ﻡ and its usage is essential for anyone learning Arabic or trying to improve their Arabic writing skills.

These rules can also be applied to most Arabic dual-joining letters, making it easier to master the Arabic script.