Ya (ي) — Arabic Letter Guide

A "y" sound (consonant) or long "ī" vowel (like "ee" in "see"), depending on context.

Last updated: May 2026 · Letter 28 of 28

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Ya — yāʾ (يَاء)

Transliteration: y / ī
IPA: j / iː
Unicode: U+064A
Keyboard: D
Finger: left middle
Connects?: Yes — on both sides

What is the letter Ya?

Ya is the twenty-eighth and final letter of the Arabic alphabet. Its base shape is similar to ba/ta/tha (a small bowl) and it has two dots below. Ya doubles as a consonant ("y") and as a long-vowel carrier ("ī").

The four forms of Ya

Arabic letters change shape depending on their position in a word. Ya has four distinct forms:

Position	Shape	Example
Isolated	ي	Standing alone
Initial	يـ	At the start of a word, connecting to the right
Medial	ـيـ	In the middle of a word, connecting on both sides
Final	ـي	At the end of a word, connecting only on the right

How to type Ya on Arabic keyboard

Arabic 101 key: press D.

Finger: left middle finger.

The key for Ya is mapped via the standard Arabic 101 keyboard layout, which is the default Arabic input source on Windows, macOS (as “Arabic - PC”), and most Linux distributions.

See the full reference for this key →

How to pronounce Ya

When ya carries a vowel mark or starts a syllable, it is the consonant "y" (as in English "yes"). When it appears as a vowel-carrier in the middle or end of a word, it represents the long "ī" sound (as in "machine").

Example words with Ya

يَد

yad

"hand" (y as consonant)

بَيْت

bayt

"house"

كَبِير

kabīr

"big" (y as long ī vowel)

كِتَابِي

kitābī

"my book"

Letters often confused with Ya

ba

Same base shape; ba has one dot below, ya has two dots below.

alif maksura

Alif maksura looks like a final ya without the two dots, and sounds like a long ā.

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Frequently asked questions

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How do I type ya (ي) on the Arabic 101 keyboard?

Press the D key — ya sits on the home row under your left middle finger.

Is ya a consonant or a vowel?

Both, like waw. As a consonant it is "y" (English-style); as a vowel-carrier it represents long "ī" (ee). The kasra diacritic combined with ya means "long ī"; ya with sukun is the consonant "y" (as in "بَيْت" bayt).

What is the difference between ya and alif maksura?

Both look identical at the end of a word, but alif maksura (ى) is missing the two dots below. Ya carries 'y' or 'ī' sounds; alif maksura sounds like long 'ā'. Words like سَعَى ('he strived') end in alif maksura, not ya — and dropping the dots is grammatically significant.

Or see the full Arabic 101 keyboard layout.

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