Dagger Alif (أَلِف خَنْجَرِيَّة) in Arabic
A small vertical line above a letter that represents an unwritten long "ā".
Last updated: May 2026
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Dagger Alif — alif khanjariyya
Long "ā" — identical in sound to a regular alif, but written above the letter as a small stroke instead of inline.
- Position
- above
- Family
- special
- Unicode
- U+0670
- Keyboard
- Not on Arabic 101 by default — typed via Unicode (U+0670) or copied
What does Dagger Alif mean?
Dagger alif is a small superscript alif that represents a long "ā" sound where no alif is written in the main letter sequence. It exists for orthographic-historical reasons: certain Arabic words (particularly Quranic vocabulary) are pronounced with a long "ā" but written without an alif in the main line. The dagger alif is added above as a vowel cue.
Most commonly seen on Quranic words and a handful of high-frequency particles: هَٰذَا "this (m.)", ذَٰلِكَ "that (m.)", لَٰكِنْ "but", الرَّحْمَٰن "the Merciful". You'll see it in any Quranic-quality typesetting; modern newspapers usually drop it.
How to type Dagger Alif on Arabic keyboard
Shortcut on Arabic 101: Not on Arabic 101 by default — typed via Unicode (U+0670) or copied
Typing order: type the base letter first, then hold Shift and press the diacritic key. Most Arabic input requires this letter-then-diacritic sequence — typing the diacritic first will produce nothing or a disconnected mark.
Example: to type هَٰذَا, press the base letter key, then Not on Arabic 101 by default — typed via Unicode (U+0670) or copied.
Example words with Dagger Alif
Practice typing Dagger Alif
Knowing the shortcut is one thing — building the muscle memory is another. Our diacritics drills weave fatha, kasra, damma, shadda, sukun, and the tanween marks into real words and full sentences.
Frequently asked questions
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How do I type the dagger alif?
The dagger alif (U+0670) is not on the default Arabic 101 keyboard. To type it, either: (a) use your OS's Unicode/hex input to insert U+0670 directly, (b) copy-paste from a reliable source, or (c) install an extended Arabic IME that maps it to a key. On macOS you can also use the Character Viewer (Edit menu > Emoji & Symbols) to find it.
Why is the dagger alif written above the letter instead of inline?
Historical orthography. Certain words were standardised in early Arabic without writing every long vowel as a full letter; later, when full vocalisation was introduced for the Quran, the dagger alif was added above as a non-disruptive way to mark these long "ā" sounds. Changing the inline spelling of these words would have altered the rasm (consonantal skeleton) of the Quran, which is preserved unchanged.
Is dagger alif required in modern Arabic writing?
Not usually. Modern newspapers, novels, and social media omit dagger alif (they typically omit all diacritics). It is essential only in Quranic typography and in any text that requires full classical vocalisation — children's readers, classical poetry, and language-learning materials.
Related diacritics
Or see the full Arabic diacritics guide.