Step 6 of 8
Long Vowels: Alif, Waw and Ya
Three letters that lengthen the vowel before them.
Three letters lengthen the vowel before them: alif after a fatha, a vowelless waw after a damma, a vowelless ya after a kasra. The long vowel lasts two counts when nothing lengthens it: this is natural madd. In the Mushaf, a small alif placed on a letter also lengthens the “a”.
A vowel that lasts
بَا reads “bā”, بُو “bū”, بِي “bī”: the short vowel becomes long thanks to the letter after it.
An alif, wāw or yā extending the vowel before it, and no hamzah or vowelless letter after. A long vowel with no hamzah or sukoon after it is held two counts.
The Mushaf also writes a small alif above a letter (ٰ): it reads like a long-vowel alif. A madda (ٓ) on a long-vowel letter announces a longer lengthening: these are the other madd rules.
The long vowels
| Sign | Name | Sounds like | In the Quran |
|---|---|---|---|
| بَا | Alif after fatha | ā | — |
| بُو | Waw after damma | ū | — |
| بِي | Ya after kasra | ī | — |
| بٰ | Small alif | ā | 9,726 |
| بَآ | Madda (ٓ) on a long-vowel letter | longer lengthening | 5,376 |
| ا و ي | Natural madd | two counts | — |
Long vowels in Al-Fatiha
Tap ▶ to hear the word in its verse. The vowel and the letter that lengthens it are highlighted.
-
ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ
r-raḥmāni
the Most Gracious
-
ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
l-ʿālamīn
of the universe
-
مَـٰلِكِ
māliki
(The) Master
-
ٱلصِّرَٰطَ
ṣ-ṣirāṭa
(to) the path
Going further
Frequently asked questions
Which are the long-vowel letters?
Alif after a fatha, a vowelless waw after a damma and a vowelless ya after a kasra.
How long does a long vowel last?
Two counts when nothing lengthens it: this is natural madd. Before a hamzah or a sukoon it lasts longer, four, five or six counts: these are the other madd rules.
What does the small alif above a letter mean?
It reads like a long-vowel alif: a long “ā”, written small above the letter.
How can I check my reading when I learn without a teacher?
Read out loud in the Tilawa app: it follows your reading word by word and shows you the words to work on. The transliteration under each word helps you until you can read Arabic.
Tilawa editorial team · Updated 2026-10-24 · Report an error