The letter's story
Hand
يَد
The red giant Betelgeuse was once yad al-Jawzāʾ, "the hand of al-Jawzāʾ". A copyist read the two dots of yāʾ as the one dot of bāʾ, and one misread dot renamed a star. Our biscuits keep every dot.
Letter 28 of 28
The letter Yaa (ي)
This is Yaa. Tap the biscuit to hear it, then play Catch the letter below.
Yaa (ي) is the 28th letter of the Arabic alphabet. On this page: how to say the Arabic letter Yaa, its shapes in a word, words that start with Yaa, and girls' and boys' names that start with it.
Tap the biscuit
The shapes of Yaa
A letter changes shape with its place in the word.
يalone
يـstart
ـيـmiddle
ـيend
Words that start with Yaa
Three words every child knows. Tap a word to hear it.
Dove
Jasmine
Hand
Girls' names that start with Yaa
Tap a name to see it in letter biscuits and hear its letters.
ياسمينYasminjasmine, a Persian word long at home in Arabic; the poet al-Aasha sang of it+ 1 more meaningSource: Lisan al-Arab · Sultan Qaboos EncyclopediaBoys' names that start with Yaa
ياسرYassereasy-going, gentle to deal withSource: Lisan al-Arab · Sultan Qaboos EncyclopediaيزنYazanfrom Dhu Yazan, a king of ancient Himyar; the famous Yazani spears are named after himSource: Lisan al-ArabCatch the letter
Tap every Yaa biscuit. Watch out for look-alikes!
Questions parents ask
How do you say the Arabic letter Yaa?
Tap the Yaa biscuit at the top of the page to hear it, then say it slowly together with your child.
How many shapes does Yaa have?
Four: alone (ي), at the start of a word (يـ), in the middle (ـيـ) and at the end (ـي).
Which girls' names start with Yaa?
Yasmin. Tap a name to see it in letter biscuits.
Which boys' names start with Yaa?
Yasser, Yazan. Tap a name to see it in letter biscuits.