Try pronouncing each letter out loud several times. Take your time, and do this slowly. After getting familiar with the appearance of the letters and their sounds, write down a list of all the ones you find difficult to say. Usually, letters with rough, throaty sounds are most difficult for westerners.
أ - ali ب - baa’ ت - taa’ ث - thaa’ (similar to the ’th’ in ’theory’) ج - jeem ح - haa’ خ - khaa’ د - dal ذ - thal (similar to the ’th’ in ’then’) ر - raa’ ز - zain س - seen ش - sheen ص - Ssaad (as in s- odd) ض - ddad (as in d- odd) ط - tt- uh ظ - tthhad ع - ’eain غ - ghain ف - faa’ ق - khaaf (sounds like “cough”) ك - kaaf (sounds like “calf” in an American accent) ل - lam م - meem ن - noon ه - haa’ و - waw ي - yaa'
ح - haa’ is the sound you make when you clear your throat, only keep your mouth open when you do. Usually when we clear our throats, we start by holding air then letting it out forcefully. With ح , you end the letter with suddenly cutting the air. خ - like forcing phlegm out. I know it’s gross, but khaa’ requires less effort than you can imagine. End it like ح, with a sudden cut of air. Remember not to put too much pressure on it, just a slight blocking of air will do. ص - this one is a bit tricky. Start by saying S normally then pull the middle of your tongue to the base of your mouth, leaving the tip close to your teeth. Now try to make this sound and follow it with a, ending with D. Something like SSaad should be the result. ص is like a magnified version of س ض - also like ص, this is a magnified version of د, made by saying D, only pulling the middle of your tongue down. While د is gentle and easy to make, ض or Daad is more of a heavy and deep sound. After pronouncing the sound, open your mouth to add an ‘aa’ sound and end with normal D.
ط - is forceful sound. Put the tip of your tongue between your teeth, and pull the middle section down. Apply air pressure against your teeth and let it out forcefully. To help, try imagining ط like a pressuring T. ظ - unlike ذ, this one requires also pulling the mid-section of your tongue down. End it with an ‘aah’. ع - this one comes from the throat. It’s the sound you make when you gag. Follow it with an ’eain’ غ - made with literally gargling on air. You probably do this everyday when brushing your teeth and kids do it when they drink to make bubbles in their mouths. End it with ‘ain’. ق - while ك is made with pushing your tongue to the roof of your mouth while blocking the air in your throat, this one is made with pulling your tongue down while blocking air. Let the air out from the upper behind of your throat. This sound is made in cartoons when a character gulps down a drink.
