Learn to type Arabic on your own keyboard

Choose your goal

How to practise

An Arabic (101) layout changes what each physical key position types, not the printed key itself — that's what makes touch typing possible on a keyboard with Latin labels. Practice starts with the F/J anchor keys your fingers already rest on and expands outward, one small group of keys at a time. Word levels follow each row, then Shift for the hamza forms, then sentences and three timed Expert levels. Stars and best speeds last only while the page stays open — nothing is saved in your browser.

1. Rest your left index finger on F and your right index finger on J.
2. Choose “Start with 2 keys,” click the practice area above, and type the highlighted letter on your physical keyboard.
3. Watch your speed, accuracy and errors. A level passes at 85% accuracy; a second and third star need more speed. Use “Restart level” to repeat it.
4. After each level, choose “Next level” to add more keys or move on to words.
5. Carry on through Shift and sentences to the timed Expert levels, which pause if you leave the page.
6. When you are ready, try the separate 60-second Arabic typing test.

Play the adaptive letter game

Short, adaptive sessions — about five minutes each — that mix recognizing letters, sounding them out, finding them on the keyboard, typing them, matching their connected forms, and building short words, adjusting to focus more on whatever you find difficult. No account and no placement test: before your first session, pick a starting level — beginner, intermediate, or advanced — then dive in.

Common questions about learning Arabic typing

Do I need an Arabic keyboard?

No. The touch-typing lessons score the physical key you press, not what your operating system's active keyboard layout produces, so an ordinary keyboard with Latin labels works without installing or switching to an Arabic layout.

Which layout is taught?

Arabic (101) on standard physical key positions — the position you press is what matters, not what's printed on the keycap. By default the on-screen keys show the Latin letter printed on each key next to the Arabic letter it types; choose “Arabic only” to hide the Latin letters. If your keyboard is AZERTY, choose AZERTY under “My keyboard” so the keys and hints show the labels your keys actually carry; the positions and the Arabic letters stay the same.

What do the 3D hands do?

Transparent hands over the keyboard show which finger presses each key, with the finger for the next key outlined. They load when the course comes into view on a wider screen with WebGL, follow your reduced-motion setting, and switch off with the “3D hands” button. Sound has its own switch. The lessons, hints and finger names work the same without either.

Is this the same as typing Arabic words with English letters?

No — these are two different tools. These lessons teach physical key positions directly: press a key, get its mapped Arabic letter. The separate Type Arabic words with English letters tool instead takes a whole word you spell phonetically, like habibi, and offers suggested Arabic spellings to choose from — it is not translation, and nothing is applied automatically.

Do I need to know the letters first?

No. The touch-typing lessons teach key positions directly. If you'd rather learn to recognize the Arabic letters themselves first — their shapes, sounds, and connected forms — use the adaptive letter game above instead.

How long does learning take?

It varies by person. The course introduces every Arabic letter-key position and builds speed level by level; it doesn't by itself guarantee mastery, fluency, or a particular typing speed.

Is my progress saved?

The touch-typing course is not saved: stars and best speeds last only while the page stays open, and a new visit starts again at level 1. The adaptive letter game is different: it saves your XP, stars, and mastery locally in this browser, with no account.

The Arabic alphabet

Arabic is written right to left, and most letters change shape depending on whether they sit at the start, middle, or end of a word. The table below lists all 28 core letters with their initial, medial, and final forms. Six letters — ا, د, ذ, ر, ز, و — never connect to the letter that comes after them, so they have no initial or medial form (shown as “—” below); every other letter connects on both sides when it falls in the middle of a word. This is a quick reference — the practice game above teaches these forms interactively. For where each letter sits on a physical keyboard, see the Arabic keyboard layout reference.

Starter vocabulary

A sample of the game's starter vocabulary — common, everyday words built from the letters above. In the game above, a word only shows up as a challenge once you've practiced every letter it's spelled with, so more words become available to practice as you learn more letters. These meanings are kept short for quick reference, not full dictionary entries. For the sounds of the vowel marks in these examples, see the harakat pronunciation guide. To practise reading and spelling everyday words, try the Arabic crossword, whose Easy level draws on the same kind of vocabulary.