Hot letters, ص (S), ض (D), ط (T), and ظ (DH), produce the exact same sounds as other letters you have already learned, albeit with a deeper resonance and emphasis. This “heavier” sound is the only thing that makes them different from their lighter counterparts س (s), د (d), ت (t), and ذ (dh).

Note that their pronunciation can vary depending on the accent of the speaker.

1. The letter ص (Saad): 

• Counterpart: س /s/.
• Pronunciation: as a deep and resonant /S/ 🔥.
• Pronunciation Trick: think how the singer Shakira would pronounce this letter in one of her songs.
• Transcription: in order to be differenciated from the regular س /s/ transcription, it can be witten as a capital letter (/S/) or with a dot bellow (/ṣ/). However, in day to day Arabic it is usually transcribed as a regular /s/ as well. Some speakers may also write it as a /9/.

2. The letter ض (Daad):

• Counterpart: د /d/.
• Pronunciation: as a deep and resonant /D/ 🔥.
• Pronunciation Trick: English doesn’t have an exact match for this sound, however it is quite simmilar to the way the singer Billie Eilish says “dah” in her song "bad guy".
• Transcription: in order to be differenciated from the regular د /d/ transcription, it can be written as a capital letter (/D/) or with a dot bellow (/ḍ/). However, in day to day Arabic it is usually transcribed as a regular /d/ or as a /dh/. Some speakers may also write it as a /9'/.

3. The letter ط (Taa):

• Counterpart: ت /t/.
• Pronunciation: as a deep and resonant /T/ 🔥.
• Pronunciation Trick: A close reference in English is how Indian speakers pronounce the “t” in words like table or time. Instead of the flat English “t,” they often pronounce it with the tongue touching farther back, which makes it sound thicker and rounder. Now, take that sound and make it even stronger and heavier.
• Transcription: in order to be differenciated from the regular ت /t/ transcription, it can be written as a capital letter (/T/) or with a dot bellow (/ṭ/). However, in day to day Arabic it is usually transcribed as a regular /t/ as well. Some speakers may also write it as a /6/.

2. The letter ظ (DHaa):

• Counterpart: ذ /dh/.
• Original Sound: as a deep and resonant /DH/ 🔥.
• Alternative Sounds: The pronunciation of this letter can vary significantly depending on the regional accent and the word, just as it happens with the letter ذ /dh/. In the Levant region it may instead be pronounced as:
  • In some words it may be pronounced and directly written as a ض /D/ 🔥, like in the word "ظُهُر" (midday) that is originally pronounced and written as ظُهُر /DHohor/, but will be both pronounced and directly written by many speakers as ضُهُر /Dohor/.
  • In other words it may be pronounced and sometimes directly written as a ز /z/ 💧, like in the word "ظَبط" (exactness / precision) that is originally pronounced and written as ظَبط /DHabt/, but will be pronounced and sometimes even written by many speakers as زَبط /zabt/.
• Transcription: as this letter can be pronounced in many different ways depending on the word and the speaker, it can be also transcribed in many different ways.
  • Following the original sound: Even if it is not pronounced with its original /DH/ sound, many speakers prefer to still write this letter as a capital letter (/DH/); with a dot bellow (/dḥ/); or, in day to day Arabic, as a regular /dh/. Some speakers may also write it as a /6'/.
  • Following the alternative sounds: other speakers prefer to follow the transcription of the letter ض (/D/ - /ḍ/ - /d/ - /dh/), when pronounced as such, or of the letter ز ( /z/ - /Z/ - /ẓ/).

Letter Connections

These Arabic letters are dual-joining, which means they connect to both the preceding and following letters in a word. See the table: