Arabic letter ʿayn, initial form

Type the base letter ع; Arabic shaping supplies ﻋ.

Arabic text stores the letter, then software chooses a connected shape from its neighbors. In right-to-left writing, a word’s beginning usually appears at its right edge, so ʿayn takes this initial form there.

For ordinary Arabic text, use ع. The pre-shaped ﻋ is for cases that specifically need a fixed form, such as compatibility data or a letter-form chart.

Why is ﻋ different from ع?

They represent the same letter in different ways.

The character ﻋ is a presentation form of Arabic ʿayn, not a new sound or meaning. Text software may normalize it to ع, the ordinary letter that is shaped according to context.

The Arabic letter is called ʿayn and is pronounced as a consonant made in the throat. Neighboring Arabic letters affect its displayed shape.

What does ʿayn mean, and where did it come from?

Arabic ʿayn descends from an older Semitic letter tradition.

An early ancestor is conventionally associated with the Proto-Sinaitic name ʿên, meaning “eye.” Dating for early Proto-Sinaitic evidence is debated; discussions compare dates around 1850–1550 BCE. In an acrophonic writing system, a sign’s name supplied its sound. The eye connection explains the old name, not a picture-like meaning for Arabic ʿayn today.

The related letter forms span Phoenician 𐤏, Hebrew ע, Aramaic 𐡏, Syriac ܥ, and Arabic ع. Arabic writing developed through North Arabian Aramaic and Nabataean traditions. Persian, Ottoman Turkish, and Urdu writing also retain ʿayn in some Arabic-derived words, even where the Arabic throat consonant is not pronounced. Arabic ghayn غ is a distinct letter with a dot; historical sound correspondences between ʿayn and ghayn can vary.