It is descended from a cursive form of the Aramaic alphabet, which was descended from the Phoenician alphabet.
The shape of the Arabic letters change depending on whether they are at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. The letters shown below are the stand-alone shapes. Short vowels are generally not written, but they can be indicated by diacritics if necessary.
| Letter | Name | Approximate Sound | Notes |
| ا | 'Alif | a, glottal stop | |
| ب | Ba' | b | |
| ت | Ta' | t | |
| ث | Tha' | th (voiceless) | |
| ج | Gim | g, j | |
| ح | Ha' | h | |
| خ | Kha' | kh, h | |
| د | Dal | d | |
| ذ | Dhal | th (voiced) | |
| ر | Ra' | r | |
| ز | Zay | z | |
| س | Sin | s | |
| ش | Shin | sh | |
| ص | Sad | s | |
| ض | Dad | d | |
| ط | Ta' | t | |
| ظ | Za' | z | |
| ع | `Ayn | pharyngeal fricative | |
| غ | Ghayn | g, gh | |
| ف | Fa' | f | |
| ق | Qaf | q | |
| ك | Kaf | k | |
| ل | Lam | l | |
| م | Mim | m | |
| ن | Nun | n | |
| ه | Ha' | h | |
| و | Waw | w, u | |
| ي | Ya' | y, i | |
| ء | Hamza | glottal stop | technically a diacritic not a letter |