The standard Arabic layout, right to left, with the short vowel marks one Shift away.
Arabic words to try
Tap a word to put it in the box above, or type it yourself with the keys shown.
| Word | Meaning | Keys |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | L V P F H | |
| Thank you | A ; V H | |
| Peace be upon you | H G S G H L Space U G D ; L | |
| Book | ; J H F | |
| Yes | K U L |
Which key types which Arabic letter
Every key on an English (US) keyboard and what it types on this arabic keyboard. The same table is printed on the caps above, in the corner of each key.
| Your key | Types | With Shift |
|---|---|---|
| ` | ذ | ◌ّ |
| Q | ض | ◌َ |
| W | ص | ◌ً |
| E | ث | ◌ُ |
| R | ق | ◌ٌ |
| T | ف | لإ |
| Y | غ | إ |
| U | ع | ‘ |
| I | ه | ÷ |
| O | خ | × |
| P | ح | ؛ |
| [ | ج | < |
| ] | د | > |
| A | ش | ◌ِ |
| S | س | ◌ٍ |
| D | ي | ] |
| F | ب | [ |
| G | ل | لأ |
| H | ا | أ |
| J | ت | ـ |
| K | ن | ، |
| L | م | / |
| ; | ك | : |
| ' | ط | " |
| Z | ئ | ~ |
| X | ء | ◌ْ |
| C | ؤ | } |
| V | ر | { |
| B | لا | لآ |
| N | ى | آ |
| M | ة | ’ |
| , | و | , |
| . | ز | . |
| / | ظ | ؟ |
Typing right to left
Arabic is written from right to left, and the text box switches direction when you choose this keyboard: the cursor starts at the right and each new letter appears to the left of the last. Numbers inside Arabic text still run left to right, and so do English words you mix in. That is handled by your browser, not by this page, so the text you copy keeps the right order when you paste it into a document, email or chat.
The keys themselves stay in the order of a physical keyboard, left to right, because they match the keys under your fingers. Each cap shows the Arabic letter and, in the corner, the English key that types it.
Letters change shape; you type them once
Most Arabic letters join to their neighbours and take a different shape at the start, middle or end of a word, or standing alone. ه, for example, looks quite different in هو, مهم and وجه. You never choose the form yourself: you type the one letter and the font draws the right shape from what is around it. That is why the keyboard has 28 letter keys rather than over a hundred.
Six letters (ا د ذ ر ز و) join only to the letter before them, never to the one after, which is why words like دار break into separate pieces. That is correct Arabic, not a display fault.
One key types two letters: لا, the lam-alef ligature, on the B key. Arabic writes lam followed by alef as a single combined shape, and keyboards have always given it its own key. It is stored as two characters, so Backspace removes the alef first.
Harakat: the short vowel marks
Everyday Arabic leaves out the short vowels, and readers supply them from context. Children's books, the Quran, poetry and dictionaries write them in as small marks above or below the letters, called harakat or tashkeel. On the standard layout they are on the Shift layer: hold Shift, or tap the on-screen Shift key, and type the mark right after its letter.
| Mark | Name | Sound | Key |
|---|---|---|---|
| ◌َ | fatha | short a | Shift + Q |
| ◌ُ | damma | short u | Shift + E |
| ◌ِ | kasra | short i | Shift + A |
| ◌ْ | sukun | no vowel | Shift + X |
| ◌ّ | shadda | doubled consonant | Shift + ` |
| ◌ً ◌ٌ ◌ٍ | tanwin | -an, -un, -in | Shift + W, R, S |
Letters people look for
- Hamza forms: أ is Shift+H, إ is Shift+Y, آ is Shift+N, ء is X, ؤ is C, and ئ is Z.
- ta marbuta ة is on M, and alef maqsura ى on N.
- Arabic punctuation: the Arabic comma ، is Shift+K, the question mark ؟ is Shift+/ and the semicolon ؛ is Shift+P.
- Tatweel ـ, the stretching stroke, is Shift+J.
Setting up Arabic on your own device
- Windows: Settings, Time and language, Language and region, add Arabic, and keep the "Arabic (101)" keyboard, the same layout as this page. Switch with Win+Space.
- Mac: System Settings, Keyboard, Input Sources, add "Arabic - PC" for this layout, or "Arabic" for Apple's own. Switch with Ctrl+Space.
- Phone: add Arabic in Gboard or the iPhone keyboard. Gboard also offers a transliteration mode that turns Latin letters into Arabic.