How to Master Shadda in Arabic: A Complete Guide

Shadda in the Arabic language is a diacritical mark placed above a letter to indicate its doubling or emphasis. It shows that the letter is pronounced twice in succession—once with a sukoon (silent) and the second with a vowel. This mark is used to clarify proper pronunciation and distinguish between words that appear similar in writing. For example, the word "مَدَّ" with a shadda means "to extend," whereas "مَدَ" without the shadda means "he stretched" without emphasis.