Shin (ش) — Arabic Letter Guide
Identical to English "sh" as in "she" or "shop".
Last updated: May 2026 · Letter 13 of 28
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Shin — shīn (شِين)
- Transliteration
- sh
- IPA
- ʃ
- Unicode
- U+0634
- Keyboard
- A
- Finger
- left pinky
- Connects?
- Yes — on both sides
What is the letter Shin?
Shin is the thirteenth letter of the Arabic alphabet. It shares its three-toothed base with sin and adds three dots above. The sound is the English "sh".
The four forms of Shin
Arabic letters change shape depending on their position in a word. Shin has four distinct forms:
| Position | Shape | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Isolated | ش | Standing alone |
| Initial | شـ | At the start of a word, connecting to the right |
| Medial | ـشـ | In the middle of a word, connecting on both sides |
| Final | ـش | At the end of a word, connecting only on the right |
How to type Shin on Arabic keyboard
Arabic 101 key: press A.
Finger: left pinky finger.
The key for Shin is mapped via the standard Arabic 101 keyboard layout, which is the default Arabic input source on Windows, macOS (as “Arabic - PC”), and most Linux distributions.
How to pronounce Shin
No special technique. Same sound as English "sh". The voiceless counterpart of jim (ج) in mouth position — but jim is voiced and affricated, shin is voiceless and a pure fricative.
Example words with Shin
Letters often confused with Shin
sin
Same base, no dots — sin is "s".
tha
Tha also has three dots above, but its base is the small ب-style shape.
Build muscle memory for the whole alphabet
Knowing where Shin sits on the keyboard is one thing — being able to touch-type it without thinking is another. Our drills work through every letter in the alphabet with structured progression.
Frequently asked questions
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How do I type shin (ش) on the Arabic 101 keyboard?
Press the A key — shin is the home key for your left pinky.
Is shin the same as English "sh"?
Yes, exactly. Shin is the standard 'sh' sound found in 'shop', 'fish', 'wish'.
Why does shin have its three dots stacked?
In Arabic script, three dots are conventionally drawn as a small triangle above the letter — not three separate dots in a row. You'll see this stacked-triangle pattern on shin (ش), tha (ث), and on the rare letter peh (پ) in Persian/Urdu.
Related Arabic letters
Or see the full Arabic 101 keyboard layout.