Arabic alphabet: every letter to copy
Arabic (العربية) is spoken by more than 400 million people across the Middle East and North Africa, and it is the language of the Quran for nearly two billion Muslims. The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters, written right to left: ا ب ت ث ج ح خ د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ك ل م ن ه و ي. The same script, with extra letters, is used for Urdu, Persian, Pashto, Kurdish and more.
This page lists the Arabic letters, the harakat vowel marks, Arabic-Indic digits and punctuation. Tap any one to copy it.
The Arabic letters
- Alif to kha: ا ب ت ث ج ح خ.
- Dal to shin: د ذ ر ز س ش.
- Sad to ghain: ص ض ط ظ ع غ.
- Fa to ya: ف ق ك ل م ن ه و ي.
- Hamza and others: ء أ إ آ ة ى, used in spelling.
Joined letters and four shapes
Arabic is always joined, like cursive handwriting. Most letters have up to four shapes: alone, at the start of a word, in the middle and at the end. For example, ه looks different in هـ, ـهـ and ـه. Six letters (ا د ذ ر ز و) only join to the letter before them. You do not need to choose a shape. Copy the basic letter and your device draws the right form when letters sit together.
Harakat: Arabic vowel marks
Arabic is usually written without short vowels, but marks called harakat can be added: fatha (a short a above the letter), kasra (a short i below), damma (a short u above), sukun (no vowel), shadda (a doubled consonant) and tanwin (an n sound at the end). They are always written in the Quran, in children’s books and in poetry. On this page they appear after the main letters, and may show on a dotted circle when copied alone.
Arabic numbers and punctuation
Many Arab countries use Arabic-Indic digits: ٠ ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩. North African countries mostly use 0 to 9, which are called Arabic numerals in English because they came to Europe through Arabic. Arabic punctuation is mirrored: the comma is ، the question mark is ؟ and the semicolon is ؛.
Arabic for Ramadan, Eid and study
Copy Arabic letters for Ramadan Kareem (رمضان كريم) and Eid Mubarak (عيد مبارك) greetings, Quran study notes, calligraphy practice or Arabic lessons. Teachers can print the alphabet for students, and learners can make flashcards with each letter and its sound.
Typing Arabic
Gboard, the iPhone keyboard, Windows and Mac all include Arabic layouts. Some apps may show mixed Arabic and English text in a confusing order. If that happens, put the Arabic on its own line. For a single letter, a haraka or a digit, copy it from here.
Frequently asked questions
- How many letters are in the Arabic alphabet?
- The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters, plus hamza ء and a few extra spelling forms.
- Is Arabic written right to left?
- Yes. Arabic is written and read from right to left, but numbers are read left to right.
- What are harakat?
- Harakat are small vowel marks like fatha, kasra and damma that show short vowels.
- What are Arabic-Indic digits?
- They are the digits ٠ ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩ used in many Arab countries.
- How do I type the Arabic question mark?
- Copy ؟ from this page. It is a mirrored question mark used in Arabic, Urdu and Persian.