Translate between Arabizi (Arabic chat alphabet) and English or Arabic script. Convert numbered Latin characters used in online Arabic communication to readable text and vice versa.
Arabizi — sometimes spelled "Arabish" — is an informal way of writing Arabic using Latin letters and numbers. It emerged in the early days of the internet and SMS when Arabic keyboards were unavailable. Numbers like 3, 7, and 2 substitute for Arabic sounds that have no direct Latin equivalent: 3 represents ع (ain), 7 represents ح (ha), and 2 represents ء (hamza). It remains widely used across social media, messaging apps, and online forums throughout the Arab world.
This tool converts Arabizi text into English or Arabic script, and can also convert Arabic script back into Arabizi. Whether you've received a message full of numbers and transliterated Arabic or you want to write in Arabizi yourself, this translator handles the conversion. It recognizes common Arabizi conventions across different regional dialects including Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, and Maghrebi Arabic.
The number substitutions in Arabizi represent Arabic letters that don't exist in the Latin alphabet: 2 = ء (hamza), 3 = ع (ain), 5 = خ (kha), 6 = ط (tta), 7 = ح (ha), 8 = ق (qaf), 9 = ص (sad). Combinations like 3' = غ (ghain), 7' = خ (kha), and 9' = ض (dad) are also common. Regional variations exist, so the same word may be spelled differently depending on the dialect.
mar7aba, kif 7alak? inshallah tamam
Hello, how are you? Hopefully you're doing well.
yalla 5alas, ana ray7 3al beit, bshoufak bukra
Alright that's enough, I'm going home, see you tomorrow.
3endi imti7an bukra w lessa ma daraset, ad3eeli
I have an exam tomorrow and I still haven't studied, pray for me.
What time are we meeting tonight?
aya sa3a mnet2abel el leileh?
كيف حالك يا صديقي؟ وين رايح؟
kif 7alak ya sadi2i? wein raye7?
7abibi wallah ma 2eder, 3endi shughul kteer el yom
My dear, I swear I can't, I have a lot of work today.
Each number represents an Arabic letter that has no equivalent in the Latin alphabet. The most common ones are: 2 = ء (hamza/glottal stop), 3 = ع (ain, a deep throat sound), 5 = خ (kha, like the 'ch' in Scottish 'loch'), 6 = ط (emphatic 't'), 7 = ح (a breathy 'h'), 8 = ق (qaf, a deep 'k' sound), and 9 = ص (emphatic 's'). Some people also use combinations like 3' for غ (ghain) and 7' for خ (kha).
Arabizi has no official standard — it evolved organically through texting and online chat. Spelling varies by dialect, personal habit, and region. For example, 'how are you' might appear as 'kifak', 'keefak', 'kifek', or 'ezayak' depending on whether the writer is Lebanese, Syrian, or Egyptian. Even within the same dialect, two people might spell the same word differently.
They refer to the same thing. Both terms describe the practice of writing Arabic using Latin letters and numbers. 'Arabizi' is a blend of 'Arabic' and 'Englizi' (English in Arabic), while 'Arabish' combines 'Arabic' and 'English'. The terms are used interchangeably across different Arab communities.
Yes. Code-switching between Arabizi and English is extremely common in real conversations. The translator recognizes English words within Arabizi text and handles them appropriately based on your chosen translation direction.
Use the Auto-detect option. The translator will try to identify the dialect from contextual clues in the text. If you know the nationality of the person who wrote the message, selecting their regional dialect will give more accurate results — especially for slang and colloquial expressions that differ significantly between regions.
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