Part I. The script

Lesson 6. Handwriting

This is the lesson you'll use most. Print tracing sheets (letters, marks, common words, journal lines and practice paper) and work through it alongside.

Tools

• A pen that glides: gel or fineliner. Arabic has many small curves and dots.
• Lined paper. Use the practice page in the sheets until your baseline is steady.
• Write bigger than you would in Latin letters at first. Shrink later.

The baseline

Most letters sit on one line. A few rise above it and some drop below:

• Tall: ا, ل, ك rise to the top guide (alif height).
• Below the line: the tails of ر, و; the bowls of ن, ي, س, ش in final or isolated form; the bowls of ج, ح, خ, غ in final or isolated form; the tail of final م.

Rough proportions: a tooth is 1 unit high, alif about 3, and bowls drop about 2 below the line. A rough guide, not a rule.

The order of work

1. One chunk at a time, right to left. Draw the joined body of a chunk without lifting the pen.
2. Lift after a non-joiner (ا, د, ر, ز, و) and start the next chunk.
3. When the word's body is done: add the dots, then shadda, then the vowel marks.
4. Next word, with a clearly wider gap.

Writing all the dots last is the usual method. It keeps the hand moving and makes you check every dotted letter once more.

Shapes, by family

Use these with the sheets; the grey outlines show the exact shapes.

Marks by hand

• Dots: small, clearly separated, right above or below their letter. Two dots side by side; three as a little triangle.
• fatḥa and kasra: short slanted strokes, above and below.
• ḍamma: a tiny و above.
• sukūn: a small circle above.
• shadda: a small w above. fatḥa or ḍamma go on top of it.
• hamza on a seat: a small ء on top of alif for أ, under it for إ.

Common mistakes

• Dots in the wrong place. In the middle of a word, بـ, تـ, ثـ, نـ and يـ differ only by dots.
• Joining after a non-joiner. د, ر and و never connect forward.
• Word gaps too small. Gaps inside words should be tight, gaps between words wide.
• Teeth that blur. Keep the three teeth of س and ش distinct, or they read as two letters.

Ruqʿa: how adults actually write

Printed Arabic (naskh, which this course shows) is not how adults write by hand. Everyday handwriting is ruqʿa: flatter, faster and lower on the line. It often joins dots into short strokes and writes س without teeth. Start with print shapes; once they're automatic, move to ruqʿa.

For ruqʿa, use Jane Wightwick and Mahmoud Gaafar, Mastering Arabic Script: A Guide to Handwriting (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005). It teaches ruqʿa against naskh, with letter models by Mohammed Hamaam of the Academy of Arabic Script in Cairo.

Daily routine

Ten minutes a day:

1. One row of letter sheet 1: trace three, copy two.
2. Five words from the word sheets.
3. Three journal lines of your own, in shorthand.

When every letter row feels easy, drop step 1.

Exercises 6

1. Which three letters in this course rise to alif height?
2. Name four letters with a bowl or tail below the line in final form.
3. Put these in order: vowel marks, dots, body, shadda.
4. Where do you lift the pen in تربخو?
5. Write casa by hand. Which shape of ه ends it?
6. Where does fatḥa go on a letter with shadda?
7. What is everyday adult Arabic handwriting called?
8. In the middle of a word, what tells بـ from نـ?