The Letter Za (ظ): Abjad Value 900, the Rarest Arabic Letter

Za is the letter you meet least often. Counts of Arabic writing place it dead last for frequency, so a word carrying Za feels a little special. It is a broad body topped by a single dot, and it opens words of shade, watchfulness, and the very word for great.

What Is the Arabic Letter Za (ظ)?

Za is the seventeenth letter of the modern Arabic alphabet and the twenty-seventh letter in the Abjad order. It makes a deep, emphatic sound, a heavy “dh” or “z” pronounced with the tongue behind the upper teeth and the back of the mouth raised. In shape it is a broad curve with a small tooth, marked by one dot above.

What Is the Abjad Value of Za?

In the Abjad system, also called Hisab al-Jummal, the Abjad value of Za is 900. It is one of the “hundreds” letters, so it adds a large amount to a word’s total, and the value never changes with the letter’s position in a word.

Za keeps the value 900 in both main systems, because it is not one of the six letters that shift between Mashriqi and Maghribi. So a word with Za gives the same Za contribution either way. For the full method, see the Abjad Calculation Rules, or get the value of any name in the Abjad Calculator.

Za: The Rarest Letter, and Words of Greatness

Studies of letter frequency in Arabic put Za at the very bottom of the list, rarer than any other letter. This is a fact of the written language, not a property of the number 900, and it is part of why Za carries a certain weight when it appears.

The letter opens ظل (Zill, shade), ظن (Zann, assumption), and, less happily, ظلم (Zulm, injustice). It also sits inside two words of preservation and greatness, حفظ (Hifz, keeping or memorising) and عظيم (Azim, great).

Names of Allah That Contain Za

Words of Shade and Greatness That Contain Za

You can check any of these in the calculator above. For the divine names, see the 99 Names of Allah.

Companions and Names That Contain Za

Because Za is rare, names built on it are uncommon, but a few are well known. The totals below are plain letter sums, shown for study only, and carry no ranking or hidden meaning.

Companions (Sahaba)

Other Names and Scholars

Check any of these names yourself in the calculator above to see the running total build up letter by letter.

Everyday Words That Contain Za

Even as the rarest letter, Za appears in several familiar words.

How to Write and Recognize Za (ظ)

Za joins to the letters on both sides, so it has the full set of four forms. The body stays a broad curve with a small tooth; only the connecting strokes change, while the single dot rides above.

Common Confusion: Toa (ط) vs. Za (ظ)

Toa and Za share the exact same body. The only difference is a single dot, and it changes both the sound and the Abjad value (Toa = 9 vs. Za = 900). In pronunciation, Za is also mixed up by learners with Dhal (ذ) and Zay (ز):

Za and the Six Extra Arabic Letters

Za belongs to the six extra Arabic letters, traditionally called the rawadif, which Arabic added after the original twenty-two Semitic letters. These six were placed at the end of the count and given the highest values, from 500 to 1000.

Za is the fifth of these six, and the last before Ghayn closes the table at 1000. Its written body is shared with Toa, but its Abjad value of 900 is an Arabic addition and has no single matching letter in the Hebrew or Greek numerals.

Frequently Asked Questions