ى — alif maqsura
«alif maqsura» is a vowel of the Arabic script, read as “aa (word-final)”. A long "aa" at the end of a word, even though it is written like a dotless ي. Hundreds of words finish with it: على، مستشفى. For example, in the word “مستشفى” — hospital. The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters in total. This character does not count as a letter of the alphabet. The name means "shortened alif". The eye test: dots underneath — that is "y"; no dots — that is "aa". It appears, for example, in the word “إلى اللقاء” — see you.
In short
| Character | ى |
| Name | alif maqsura |
| Sound | aa (word-final) |
| What it is | a vowel |
In our course the character comes 31st of 31: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, before it comes ة, appears in 169 words of this site.
How to type ى
- On a phone: add the Arabic keyboard in the keyboard settings (Gboard on Android; Keyboards in the iPhone settings).
- In Word on Windows: type U+0649 and press Alt+X right after it — the code turns into the character.
- On a Mac: switch to the Unicode Hex Input source, hold Option and type 0649.
- Unicode code point: U+0649. With it, the character can be found in the character map of any system.
How it sounds
A long "aa" at the end of a word, even though it is written like a dotless ي. Hundreds of words finish with it: على، مستشفى
The character in a word
A lone character is hard to remember: memory holds on to meaning, and a letter has none. The word it stands in provides that anchor.
- مستشفىмусташфаhospital
The character in the “ء ة ى — the three special signs” group
Three signs that the table of 28 letters does not include. Hamza is not a letter but a vowel break, and it sits on other letters (أ، ؤ، ئ). Ta marbuta is the "tied t", the marker of feminine words; at the end it reads "a". Alif maqsura is written like a dotless ي and read as a long "aa" — hundreds of words end on it.
Words with this character
- إلى اللقاءиля аль-ликааsee you
- تصبح على خيرтусбих аля хейрgood night
- مقهىмахкаcoffeehouse
- إلى اليمينиля аль-яминto the right
- إلى اليسارиля аль-ясаарto the left
- إلى الأمامиля аль-амаамstraight
- رأىраʾааto see
- بنىбанааto build
- متى تأتون؟матаа таатуун؟when will you come?
- إلى أين؟иля айна؟where to?
- مستشفىмусташфааhospital
- إلى الغدиля аль-гадsee you tomorrow
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound (for «alif maqsura» it is “aa (word-final)”, as in the word “مستشفى”), see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 28 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Arabic character ى read?
As “aa (word-final)” — it is a vowel of the Arabic script. A long "aa" at the end of a word, even though it is written like a dotless ي. Hundreds of words finish with it: على، مستشفى. For example, in the word “مستشفى” — hospital.
What is the sign ى called?
Alif maqsura. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Arabic script: it is called “alif maqsura” and reads as “aa (word-final)”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.