411 REFERENCE · Wikibooks
Arabic/LearnRW/fatHa and Yaa
Reference material by Wikibooks contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
ـَي
So what if we want to write the "a" sound in "fate". The fatHa alone will not do that job. In reality the "a" sound in fate, includes a "y" sound in it. So a fatHa followed by a yaa with no vowel on it will make the "a" sound in "fate". We transliterate this with "ai".
Examples:
كَي (pronounced: kai ) Sounds exactly like the letter "k"
تـَي (pronounced: tai )
وَي (pronounced: wai ) Sounds exactly like the word "way"
مَي (pronounced: mai ) Sounds exactly like the word "may"
سَي (pronounced: sai ) Sounds exactly like the word "say"
More examples
مَيْكَي (pronounced: mai-kai )
تـَيْرَي (pronounced: tai-rai )
يَي (pronounced: yai )
يـِي (pronounced: yee )
تـَي (pronounced: tai )