Six Arabic letters never join to the letter that follows them: ا, د, ذ, ر, ز and و. Learn to recognise them and see how they break up words in writing.
ا
Alif: never joins to the following letter (on its left). Isolated: ا, joined from the right: ـا
د
Dal: never joins to the following letter (on its left). Isolated: د, joined from the right: ـد
ذ
Dhal: never joins to the following letter (on its left). Isolated: ذ, joined from the right: ـذ
ر
Ra: never joins to the following letter (on its left). Isolated: ر, joined from the right: ـر
ز
Zay: never joins to the following letter (on its left). Isolated: ز, joined from the right: ـز
و
Waw: never joins to the following letter (on its left). Isolated: و, joined from the right: ـو
دار
house, home (dār). د does not join to ا, and ا does not join to ر.
وَرْد
roses (ward). و does not join to ر, and ر does not join to د.
زَيْت
oil (zayt). ز does not join to ي.
دُرُوس
lessons (durūs). Neither د nor ر joins to the next letter.
وَلَد
boy (walad). و does not join to ل.
ذَهَب
gold (dhahab). ذ does not join to هـ.
رُزّ
rice (ruzz). ر does not join to ز.
دَواء
medicine (dawāʾ). Neither د nor و joins to the next letter.
زِيارَة
visit (ziyāra). ز does not join to ي.
أَوْلاد
children, boys (awlād). و and ا do not join to the next letter.
رَدّ
reply, response (radd). ر does not join to د, which carries a shadda.
ذِراع
arm, forearm (dhirāʿ). ذ does not join to ر, and ر does not join to ا.
وُرُود
roses, also arrival (wurūd). و, ر and و do not join to the next letter.
دِراسَة
study, studies (dirāsa). د does not join to ر, and ر does not join to ا.