Arabic Keyboard

How to type in Arabic with this keyboard

Pick the input mode that suits you with the tabs above the text box:

• Phonetic (best for learners): each English key types the Arabic letter with a similar sound. B types ⁨ب⁩, L types ⁨ل⁩, K types ⁨ك⁩. Shift gives the heavy (emphatic) partner: S is ⁨س⁩ and Shift+S is ⁨ص⁩.
• Arabic 101: the layout printed on keyboards in the Arab world and used by Windows. Learn this one if you plan to type a lot of Arabic.
• Arabizi: type the chat alphabet (3, 7, 5, sh, kh) and it turns into Arabic letters as you type.
• Alphabet: all 28 letters in order, plus hamza forms and Arabic-Indic digits, to click one by one.

To add a vowel, open Harakat, type the letter and then click a mark; it attaches to the letter before it. The buttons above the keyboard give the hamza forms (⁨ء⁩ ⁨أ⁩ ⁨إ⁩ ⁨آ⁩ ⁨ؤ⁩ ⁨ئ⁩), ⁨ة⁩, ⁨ى⁩ and Arabic punctuation (⁨،⁩ ⁨؛⁩ ⁨؟⁩). Hold Alt and press a number for Arabic-Indic digits (⁨١٢٣⁩). Press Esc to switch between Arabic and normal English typing.

Arabic keyboard layout (Arabic 101)

This is the Arabic 101 layout, the standard on Windows and on most Arabic keyboards. The small letter on each key is the English key it shares. Note that the ` key types ⁨ذ⁩ and the B key types ⁨لا⁩.

With Shift held, the left side of the keyboard types the harakat, and the middle keys type the hamza forms and lam-alef combinations:

The phonetic layout on this page puts letters where English speakers expect them. Letters with no English equivalent follow the Buckwalter transliteration where it helps you remember them (X → ⁨خ⁩, V → ⁨ث⁩, G → ⁨غ⁩, Q → ⁨ق⁩), and Shift gives the heavy letter:

The Arabic alphabet

Arabic has 28 letters, all written right to left. They are mostly consonants: the long vowels ā, ū and ī are written with ⁨ا⁩, ⁨و⁩ and ⁨ي⁩, and the short vowels are usually left out (see harakat below). The table shows each letter with its name, its sound, the usual Latin transliteration, and where to find it on this page.

Hamza and other letter forms

These are not counted among the 28 letters, but you'll need them all the time:

Letter forms: isolated, initial, medial, final

Arabic is always joined up, so most letters change shape depending on where they sit in a word: alone (isolated), at the start (initial), in the middle (medial) or at the end (final). You never pick these shapes yourself. You type the basic letter and the font joins it to its neighbors, so ⁨ك⁩ + ⁨ت⁩ + ⁨ب⁩ becomes ⁨كتب⁩. Six letters (⁨ا⁩ ⁨د⁩ ⁨ذ⁩ ⁨ر⁩ ⁨ز⁩ ⁨و⁩) never join to the letter after them, so they only have two shapes, and the next letter starts fresh.

Harakat (Arabic vowel marks)

Everyday Arabic leaves out the short vowels, and readers fill them in from context. Harakat are written in the Quran, children's books, dictionaries and textbooks, or anywhere a word could be misread. Each mark sits above or below the letter it follows:

Shadda can be combined with a vowel: type the letter, then shadda, then the vowel, as in ⁨بَّ⁩. On this page, open Harakat and click the marks in that order.

Arabizi: the Arabic chat alphabet

Arabizi (also called Franco-Arabic, Arabish or 3arabizi) is the way many people text Arabic with Latin letters. Numbers stand in for sounds English lacks, chosen because they look like the Arabic letter: 3 resembles ⁨ع⁩, 7 resembles ⁨ح⁩. An apostrophe after a number adds the dot of the related letter. Usage varies by country, especially for 8 and 9.

Other Latin letters map as you'd expect (b → ⁨ب⁩, s → ⁨س⁩, m → ⁨م⁩). a, o/u and i/e give the long vowels ⁨ا⁩, ⁨و⁩ and ⁨ي⁩, so only type them where Arabic writes a letter: mr7ba → ⁨مرحبا⁩, shkra → ⁨شكرا⁩, 7bibi → ⁨حبيبي⁩. Doubled vowels (aa, ee, oo) give a single letter.

Arabic numbers

Arabic uses two sets of digits. The Middle East mostly uses Arabic-Indic digits, while North Africa uses the Western digits 0 to 9. Both are written left to right, even inside Arabic text.

Letters for g, p, v and ch (Maghrebi and dialect Arabic)

Standard Arabic has no letter for the sounds g, p, v or ch, so dialects and loanwords add dots to existing letters. Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia each have their own choices. You'll find all of them in the Alphabet tab.

How to add an Arabic keyboard to your device

Windows

Settings → Time & language → Language & region → Add a language → Arabic (pick your country, for example Arabic (Saudi Arabia) or Arabic (Egypt)). The default keyboard is Arabic (101). Switch between keyboards with Windows+Space or Alt+Shift.

Mac

System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit → + → Arabic. In the list, the Arabic layout marked PC matches Windows (Arabic 101), and the one marked QWERTY is a phonetic layout. Switch with Control+Space or the Globe key.

iPhone and iPad

Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Arabic. Tap the globe key to switch.

Android

In Gboard, open Settings → Languages → Add keyboard → Arabic, then pick a layout. Tap the globe key or hold the space bar to switch.

Chromebook

Settings → Device → Keyboard and inputs → Input settings → Add input methods → Arabic. Switch with Ctrl+Space.

Frequently asked questions