An English to Arabic keyboard puts Arabic letters on the keys of an English keyboard. On the Arabic (101) layout, Q types ض (ḍ), F types ب (b) and H types ا (alif). Type with your own keys below, find any letter in the two tables, then switch your device with Windows key + Space, or Control + Space on a Mac.
Short vowels and marks
Hamza forms and punctuation
The small grey letter on each key is the English key in the same position. This is the standard Arabic layout that Windows and macOS install, so what you practise here works on a real keyboard. With the box focused you can also just type on your own keyboard and Arabic comes out.
Type an Arabic word the way it sounds, in Latin letters (salam, shukran, 7abibi), then pick its Arabic spelling from the list under the text box. Space, Enter or a punctuation mark takes the first choice; the up and down arrow keys move through the list; Esc keeps what you typed. Digits stand for the sounds Latin letters lack: 2 ء, 3 ع, 5 خ, 7 ح, 9 ص.
Click in the box and type on your own keyboard: each key types the Arabic letter that the Arabic (101) layout puts on it, and the matching key lights up on screen. The short vowels are in the row of marks under the keys, to tap. Nothing you type leaves your browser. If you would rather type a word the way it sounds, the Phonetic (Latin letters) button above the box switches the same keyboard to sound-based typing, explained further down.
Which English key types which Arabic letter
On the Arabic (101) layout, the one Windows installs for Arabic in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Levant, Iraq and the Gulf, every letter key of an English keyboard types an Arabic letter, and B types the pair لا (lā). The table comes from Microsoft's own chart of the layout, the Arabic (101) keyboard, and it matches the keyboard above and our printable chart key for key.
| English key | Types | With Shift |
|---|---|---|
| Key left of 1 | ||
| ` | ذ dhāl (dh) | ـّ shadda (doubled letter) |
| Top row, Q to ] | ||
| Q | ض ḍād (ḍ) | ـَ fatḥa (short a) |
| W | ص ṣād (ṣ) | ـً fatḥatayn (-an) |
| E | ث thāʾ (th) | ـُ ḍamma (short u) |
| R | ق qāf (q) | ـٌ ḍammatayn (-un) |
| T | ف fāʾ (f) | لإ lām-alif with hamza under |
| Y | غ ghayn (gh) | إ hamza under alif |
| U | ع ʿayn (ʿ) | ‘ (opening quotation mark) |
| I | ه hāʾ (h) | ÷ |
| O | خ khāʾ (kh) | × |
| P | ح ḥāʾ (ḥ) | ؛ Arabic semicolon |
| [ | ج jīm (j) | < |
| ] | د dāl (d) | > |
| Home row, A to ' | ||
| A | ش shīn (sh) | ـِ kasra (short i) |
| S | س sīn (s) | ـٍ kasratayn (-in) |
| D | ي yāʾ (y / ī) | ] |
| F | ب bāʾ (b) | [ |
| G | ل lām (l) | لأ lām-alif with hamza above |
| H | ا alif (a / ā) | أ hamza on alif |
| J | ت tāʾ (t) | ـ taṭwīl (stretches a joined letter) |
| K | ن nūn (n) | ، Arabic comma |
| L | م mīm (m) | / |
| ; | ك kāf (k) | : |
| ' | ط ṭāʾ (ṭ) | " |
| Bottom row, Z to / | ||
| Z | ئ hamza on a yāʾ seat | ~ |
| X | ء hamza (ʾ) | ـْ sukūn (no vowel) |
| C | ؤ hamza on a wāw seat | } |
| V | ر rāʾ (r) | { |
| B | لا lām-alif (lā) | لآ lām-alif with madda |
| N | ى alif maqṣūra (-ā) | آ alif madda (ʾā) |
| M | ة tāʾ marbūṭa (-a) | ’ (closing quotation mark) |
| , | و wāw (w / ū) | , |
| . | ز zāy (z) | . |
| / | ظ ẓāʾ (ẓ) | ؟ Arabic question mark |
Transliterations follow our Arabic alphabet chart, where each letter also has its four joined forms. Before you type, note how the layout differs from English:
- The sounds do not match the keys. Of the 26 English letter keys, only S types the Arabic letter with the same sound, س (sīn). F types ب (b), T types ف (f) and L types م (m). The positions have nothing to do with English spelling, so they have to be learned.
- Arabic has no capital letters, so Shift on Q, W, E, R, A and S types the three short vowels and their doubled (tanwīn) forms, on X the sukūn and on the key left of 1 the shadda. Our keyboard guide to the harakat takes those marks one by one.
- Arabic punctuation has its own keys. On the Arabic layout the comma is Shift + K (،), the question mark Shift + / (؟) and the semicolon Shift + P (؛). The comma and full-stop keys type و and ز, and the full stop is Shift + the full-stop key.
The number row types the same digits 1 to 0 as on an English keyboard. In the keyboard on this page, your own keys type the letters in the "Types" column; the "With Shift" column is what the same keys do once Arabic (101) is installed on your computer.
Where each Arabic letter is on an English keyboard
Each of the 28 Arabic letters has its own key on an English keyboard: ا (alif) is H, ب (bāʾ) is F and ت (tāʾ) is J. The letters are in alphabetical order, followed by the hamza forms, the two letters that only end a word, and lām-alif, which one key types as a pair.
| Arabic | Name (sound) | English key |
|---|---|---|
| ا | alif (a / ā) | H |
| ب | bāʾ (b) | F |
| ت | tāʾ (t) | J |
| ث | thāʾ (th) | E |
| ج | jīm (j) | [ |
| ح | ḥāʾ (ḥ) | P |
| خ | khāʾ (kh) | O |
| د | dāl (d) | ] |
| ذ | dhāl (dh) | ` (left of 1) |
| ر | rāʾ (r) | V |
| ز | zāy (z) | . (full stop) |
| س | sīn (s) | S |
| ش | shīn (sh) | A |
| ص | ṣād (ṣ) | W |
| ض | ḍād (ḍ) | Q |
| ط | ṭāʾ (ṭ) | ' (apostrophe) |
| ظ | ẓāʾ (ẓ) | / |
| ع | ʿayn (ʿ) | U |
| غ | ghayn (gh) | Y |
| ف | fāʾ (f) | T |
| ق | qāf (q) | R |
| ك | kāf (k) | ; (semicolon) |
| ل | lām (l) | G |
| م | mīm (m) | L |
| ن | nūn (n) | K |
| ه | hāʾ (h) | I |
| و | wāw (w / ū) | , (comma) |
| ي | yāʾ (y / ī) | D |
| Hamza forms, word endings and lām-alif | ||
| ء | hamza (ʾ) | X |
| أ | hamza on alif | Shift + H |
| إ | hamza under alif | Shift + Y |
| آ | alif madda (ʾā) | Shift + N |
| ؤ | hamza on a wāw seat | C |
| ئ | hamza on a yāʾ seat | Z |
| ة | tāʾ marbūṭa (-a) | M |
| ى | alif maqṣūra (-ā) | N |
| لا | lām-alif (lā) | B |
| لأ | lām-alif with hamza above | Shift + G |
| لإ | lām-alif with hamza under | Shift + T |
| لآ | lām-alif with madda | Shift + B |
To learn the positions, start with your fingers on the home row: the left index finger on F (ب) and the right one on J (ت), the two keys with a raised bump. Eleven letters sit on the home row, among them ا, ل, م and ن, so a short word such as من (min, from: L then K) never leaves it. The six-lesson typing course on our Arabic keyboard page with typing practice starts there and works out row by row.
How to switch your keyboard from English to Arabic
Once Arabic is added to your device, one shortcut switches between English and Arabic: Windows key + Space on Windows, Control + Space on a Mac, the globe key on an iPhone or iPad, and a long press on the space bar in Gboard on Android. Adding Arabic is a one-time setting that takes about a minute; our step-by-step guide to adding the Arabic keyboard on each device has the menus. The shortcuts below come from each maker's help pages, checked on 22 October 2026.
Windows 11 and Windows 10
- Windows key + Space moves to the next installed keyboard. With English and Arabic installed, each press flips between the two. On Windows 11, Windows key + Shift + Space goes the other way.
- Windows key + Ctrl + Space goes back to the input you used before.
- Alt + Shift and Ctrl + Shift are also listed by Microsoft for switching keyboard layouts. If one of them does nothing on your PC, use Windows key + Space, which cycles through every installed keyboard.
- With the mouse, click the input language icon in the system tray area of the taskbar and pick Arabic.
Sources: Microsoft, Manage the language and keyboard/input layout settings in Windows, Keyboard shortcuts in Windows and Switch between languages using the Language bar.
Mac
- Control + Space selects the input source you used last, so it flips between English and Arabic. Control + Option + Space moves to the next input source in the list.
- The Input menu in the menu bar lists every input source you have added.
- You can make the Globe key (or Fn) switch input sources: System Settings > Keyboard, then set Press Globe key to to Change Input Source. Under Text Input > Edit there is also an option to switch between Latin and non-Latin input sources with Caps Lock.
- Command + Space opens Spotlight search. Apple's shortcut list notes that on a Mac with several input sources these shortcuts can change the input source instead.
Pick the input source called Arabic – PC. It is the Arabic (101) layout of the tables above; the other Arabic input sources in macOS put some letters on other keys. Sources: Apple, Write in another language on Mac and Mac keyboard shortcuts.
iPhone and iPad
While typing, touch and hold the globe key (or the emoji key, if that is what your keyboard shows) and tap Arabic. The on-screen keyboard then shows the Arabic letters, so the tables above are not needed on a phone. Source: Apple, Add or change keyboards on iPhone.
Android
In Gboard, Google's keyboard, touch and hold the space bar to switch languages. If you prefer a globe key, turn on Show language switch key in Gboard's Preferences. Phones with another keyboard app, such as Samsung's, switch in that app's own way. Source: Google, Type in a different language (Gboard Help).
Type Arabic by sound with English letters
If you know how a word sounds but not where its letters are, type it in English letters and pick the Arabic spelling. Press Phonetic (Latin letters) on the keyboard above, type salam, and the bar under the box offers سلام (salām, peace); shukran offers شكرا (shukran, thank you). Digits stand for the sounds English letters lack, as in Arabic chat: 2 for ء, 3 for ع, 5 for خ, 7 for ح and 9 for ص.
We suggest the sound mode for a few words and the key layout for anything longer: once you know the keys, you no longer stop to pick a spelling from a list. Our phonetic Arabic keyboard covers the sound mode in full, with the chart of digits and letter pairs it understands.
Arabic letters on your own keys
Until the positions are in your fingers, it helps to see the letters while you type. Print our one-page Arabic (101) layout chart (PDF, 117 KB) and keep it beside the keyboard, or print the free Arabic keyboard stickers, cut them out and put them on the keys. Both use the same Arabic (101) layout as the tables on this page.
Frequently asked questions
How do I switch my keyboard from English to Arabic?
Add Arabic once in your device's language settings, then switch with a shortcut. On Windows, press the Windows key and the space bar. On a Mac, press Control and the space bar. On an iPhone or iPad, touch and hold the globe key and tap Arabic. On an Android phone with Gboard, touch and hold the space bar.
What is the shortcut to change English to Arabic on Windows?
Windows key + Space. Each press moves to the next installed keyboard, so with English and Arabic installed it flips between the two. Microsoft also lists Alt + Shift and Ctrl + Shift for switching keyboard layouts, and Windows key + Ctrl + Space goes back to the input you used before.
Can I type Arabic on an English keyboard without Arabic keys?
Yes. Once the Arabic (101) keyboard is turned on, every English key types an Arabic letter, so you only need to know which key is which. The tables on this page list all of them. Until you remember them, keep the printable layout chart beside you or put stickers on the keys.
Which key is alif on an English keyboard?
H. On the Arabic (101) layout the H key types ا (alif), and Shift + H types أ (alif with hamza above). Shift + Y types إ (alif with hamza below) and Shift + N types آ (alif madda).
Why are the Arabic letters on different keys on my Mac?
macOS has more than one Arabic input source, and they do not all put the letters in the same places. Choose the one called Arabic - PC: it uses the same Arabic (101) layout as Windows and as the tables on this page.