Arabic Shadda Letter
Arabic Shadda (ّ) is a diacritic mark used in Arabic to indicate gemination (doubling) of a consonant.
U+0651
Arabic Shadda (ّ) is a combining diacritic in the Arabic script. It’s commonly used with other vowel and pronunciation marks to help represent how a word should be read. Below are copy-and-paste options and the technical code points you can use in apps and documents.
Arabic Shadda Letter Meaning
The Arabic Shadda (ّ), Unicode U+0651, is a combining diacritic mark used to indicate that a consonant should be pronounced with emphasis or gemination (often described as “doubling” the consonant sound). Because it’s a combining character, it typically attaches to the preceding letter rather than standing alone. In practice, writers and digital publishers use Shadda alongside other Arabic diacritics (such as vowel marks) to provide accurate pronunciation, especially in educational materials, Qur’anic-style text rendering, linguistic notes, or highly vocalized text. When copying into software, be sure the font and rendering engine support Arabic combining marks.
Common uses
- •Adding pronunciation diacritics in learning materials for Arabic learners
- •Vocalizing Arabic text for accurate reading in linguistic or study documents
- •Annotating Qur’anic-style or fully vocalized text in digital publications
- •Correcting or enhancing displayed Arabic in text editors and content tools
- •Typography and UI localization work where diacritics must render correctly
Examples
ّ Arabic Shadda (U+0651)
- ّاَلْقُرْآنَ ًّ (with shadda as part of vocalized text)
- ّمُدَّ (a vocalized form that includes shadda)
- ّرَبِّ (often shown with shadda on the doubled consonant)
- ّسَمَّ (gemination indicated by shadda)
- ّدَرَّسْتُ (vocalized spelling with diacritics)
Variations
Technical codes
| Unicode | U+0651 | |
| HTML Entity | ّ | |
| HTML Code | ّ | |
| CSS | \0651 |
FAQ
What does the Arabic Shadda letter mean?
The Arabic Shadda (ّ), Unicode U+0651, is a combining diacritic mark used to indicate that a consonant should be pronounced with emphasis or gemination (often described as “doubling” the consonant sound). Because it’s a combining character, it typically attaches to the preceding letter rather than standing alone. In practice, writers and digital publishers use Shadda alongside other Arabic diacritics (such as vowel marks) to provide accurate pronunciation, especially in educational materials, Qur’anic-style text rendering, linguistic notes, or highly vocalized text. When copying into software, be sure the font and rendering engine support Arabic combining marks.
Is Arabic Shadda a standalone character?
No. It’s a combining diacritic (U+0651), so it usually attaches to the letter before it.
What are the Unicode and escape values for Arabic Shadda?
Unicode code point is U+0651. HTML entity: ّ. CSS escape: \\0651. JavaScript escape: \\u{0651}.
Why doesn’t Shadda look right when I paste it?
Rendering depends on the font and text engine. If the font doesn’t support combining marks well, placement may look incorrect.
How do I test it in text?
Try placing it after an Arabic letter (for example, بّ) and compare the result across different fonts or platforms to confirm proper diacritic rendering.