Arabic alphabet · letter 12 of 28

Arabic letter Seen (س)

Seen (س) is the 12th letter of the Arabic alphabet. It sounds like s as in sun. It has no dots and joins the letters on both sides.

12th of 28No dotsJoins both sidesAges 3–7

Teacher review under way.

Sound

How to say Seen

Its name in Arabic

سِين

Seen

Smile a little and hiss like a snake: sss — a light, thin s.

Also written Sin.

Letter shapes

Seen in its four shapes

Arabic letters hold hands with their neighbours, so س changes its look a little depending on where it sits in a word. Tap a shape to hear the letter.

Short vowels

sa, si, su: Seen with harakat

Add a little vowel mark and س becomes a sound you can say. Fatha on top says a, kasra underneath says i, and damma on top says u. Tap each one.

Coral = fatha (a), blue = kasra (i), green = damma (u). How harakat work →

Picture words

Words that start with Seen

  • سَمَكَة

    samakah

    fish

  • سَيَّارَة

    sayyarah

    car

  • سُلَحْفَاة

    sulahfah

    turtle

A word from our deen

Salaam — Peace — as in Assalamu alaikum

سَلَام

Spot the difference

Look-alike letters

سSeen
شSheen

ش is س with three dots on top.

Practise

Practise Seen (س)