English

Noun

sun letter ‎(plural sun letters)

1. (linguistics) One of fourteen Arabic letters that cause the "L" of a preceding definite article to be assimilated in pronunciation. The sun letter suppresses the sound of the "L" and then geminates: al + ṣīn = aṣ-ṣīn. The effect of the sun letter is limited to pronunciation and does not affect the spelling, except that a shadda may be written over the sun letter and in the fully vocalised spelling lām lacks any diacritics: الصِّين ‎(aṣ-ṣīn). The fourteen sun letters are:

ت ‎(t), ث ‎(ṯ), د ‎(d), ذ ‎(ḏ), ر ‎(r), ز ‎(z), س ‎(s), ش ‎(š), ص ‎(ṣ), ض ‎(ḍ), ط ‎(ṭ), ظ ‎(ẓ), ل ‎(l), ن ‎(n)

Synonyms

• solar letter

Antonyms

• moon letter

Usage notes

• In Moroccan and Levantine Arabic, ج ‎(j) is also considered a sun letter, and assimilates with the definite article, as it is pronounced /ʒ/, not /dʒ/.

Translations