Kha (خ) — Arabic Letter Guide
A hoarse "kh" — like Scottish "loch" or German "Bach".
Last updated: May 2026 · Letter 7 of 28
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Kha — khāʾ (خَاء)
- Transliteration
- kh
- IPA
- x
- Unicode
- U+062E
- Keyboard
- O
- Finger
- right ring
- Connects?
- Yes — on both sides
What is the letter Kha?
Kha is the seventh letter of the Arabic alphabet and the third of the bowl-shape trio (ج ح خ). It has a single dot above. The kha sound is voiceless, made at the back of the mouth (velum) — similar to but more guttural than the "k" sound.
The four forms of Kha
Arabic letters change shape depending on their position in a word. Kha has four distinct forms:
| Position | Shape | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Isolated | خ | Standing alone |
| Initial | خـ | At the start of a word, connecting to the right |
| Medial | ـخـ | In the middle of a word, connecting on both sides |
| Final | ـخ | At the end of a word, connecting only on the right |
How to type Kha on Arabic keyboard
Arabic 101 key: press O.
Finger: right ring finger.
The key for Kha 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 Kha
Position your tongue as if to say "k", but instead of stopping the airflow, let air rush through with a scraping sound. Some English speakers know it from "Chanukah" or "loch".
Example words with Kha
Letters often confused with Kha
jim
Same shape, dot inside — sounds like "j".
hha
Same shape, no dot — sounds like a heavy throat h.
ghayn
Ghayn (غ) is the voiced counterpart of kha — same mouth position, voice on.
Build muscle memory for the whole alphabet
Knowing where Kha 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 kha (خ) on the Arabic 101 keyboard?
Press the O key — kha is reached by your right ring finger from the top row.
Is kha the same as ghayn?
No — they are voiceless/voiced counterparts. Kha (خ) is voiceless (no vocal-cord vibration); ghayn (غ) is voiced (vibration on). Both are made at the same place in the throat, but they sound very different.
Do English speakers find kha hard?
Some do, but the sound exists in Scottish English ("loch"), German ("Bach"), Russian ("х"), and many other languages. If you can pronounce "Chanukah" or "loch" with the back-of-throat rasp, you already have the basic kha sound.
Related Arabic letters
Or see the full Arabic 101 keyboard layout.