Fa (ف) — Arabic Letter Guide

Identical to English "f" as in "fan".

Last updated: May 2026 · Letter 20 of 28

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Fa — fāʾ (فَاء)

Transliteration: f
IPA: f
Unicode: U+0641
Keyboard: T
Finger: left index
Connects?: Yes — on both sides

What is the letter Fa?

Fa is the twentieth letter of the Arabic alphabet. Its base is a small circle with a hook, and it carries a single dot above. Fa connects on both sides.

The four forms of Fa

Arabic letters change shape depending on their position in a word. Fa has four distinct forms:

Position	Shape	Example
Isolated	ف	Standing alone
Initial	فـ	At the start of a word, connecting to the right
Medial	ـفـ	In the middle of a word, connecting on both sides
Final	ـف	At the end of a word, connecting only on the right

How to type Fa on Arabic keyboard

Arabic 101 key: press T.

Finger: left index finger.

The key for Fa 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.

See the full reference for this key →

How to pronounce Fa

No special technique. Upper teeth lightly touch the lower lip, air pushes through. Same as English "f".

Example words with Fa

فُول

fūl

"fava beans"

صَفَّ

ṣaffa

"he lined up"

هَاتِف

hātif

"phone"

فُسْتَان

fustān

"dress"

Letters often confused with Fa

qaf

Same base shape but qaf has two dots above; sound is heavy "q".

Build muscle memory for the whole alphabet

Knowing where Fa 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.

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