The Arabic Alphabet

The Arabic alphabet is completely different from the English alphabet. The 28-letter Arabic alphabet is written from right to left, unlike the 26-letter English alphabet. It is a script with no uppercase letters, but instead it has different forms for each letter based on its position within the word. Its most challenging difference, however, may be the cursive style in which it is written.

On the other hand, once you master the Arabic script you will be able to write any word you hear (provided it is pronounced correctly) as Arabic is a very phonetic language, especially compared to English. No two letters in Arabic are pronounced the same way, nor any letter has two distinct sounds. Compare this to English c, g, s and such.

If you can already enter Arabic letters on your computer, proceed directly to the Arabic alphabet page to start learning the script. If not, you may first want to visit the page on setting up your Arabic keyboard.

Arabic Keyboard Online

You may also try this virtual Arabic Keyboard where you can use your (standard) keyboard to write Arabic without the need to perform any type of installation on your system. Just go there and start typing, or clicking on the little onscreen Arabic keyboard you will find at the bottom of the page.