When chatting online Arabs often use the Latin letters to write in Arabic instead of the Arabic alphabet. And, because certain sounds in the Arabic alphabet don’t have a counterpart in Western languages, there are a number of symbols used to represent these special sounds.
So don’t be surprised to see numerals such as 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 being used online – these numbers represent distinct sounds in the Arabic language. For instance تحكي عربي؟, or “do you speak Arabic?” becomes “ta7ki 3arabi?”.
Below is a table that summarizes how the numbers are used to replace certain Arabic sounds. I also suggest some mnemonics for how to remember which number corresponds with which letter.
| Arabic Letter | Transcription | Comments |
| ح | 7 | the letter Haa’ looks quite similar to a 7 |
| خ | 5, 7’ | the apostrophe represents the dot on the letter khaa’; alternatively the numeral <5> is used |
| ص | 9 | imagine a <9> lying on the side, in which case the numeral looks very similar to the letter Saad |
| ض | 9, 9’ | the apostrophe represents the dot on the letter Daad |
| ط | 6 | the shape of the numeral <6> is not too different from the shape of the letter Taa’ |
| ظ | 6, 6’ | the apostrophe represents the dot of the letter Zaa’ |
| ع | 3 | the letter ‘ayn looks like a mirrored <3> |
| غ | 3’ | the apostrophe represents the dot on the letter ghayn |
| ق | 8 | imagine that the two dots of the letter qaaf closed the top, which would result in an eight lying on its side |
Update: See my new article on the Arabic chat alphabet where I dissect two sample sentences and translate them into normal Arabic script.
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thanx man ^_^ ana 3arfa bas ma kootnesh 3arfa kool el 7agat
3ala ra2si ya Tasha!
Btw, the “2″ as a replacement for “hamza” is something I forgot to mention in this article.
plz could u provide a translator
Please see my page here for custom tattoo design and translations.
what is tesht2lk el 3afyh 7boobi ,, please?
@sisi:
I guess the Arabic is:
تشتاق لك العافية حبيبي
which translates literally as “may the good health yearn for you darling”. In other words the other person is wishing that you may always be healthy.
slt asdi9aa momkin nt3araf moi imane a casa et toi
mayjaeb ahad
Salut Imane! ArabicGenie n’est pas un forum. C’est pourquoi il n’ya pas de réponse ici. Néanmoins je suis à votre disposition si vous avez une question sur l’apprentissage des langues.
Hello Imane! ArabicGenie is not a messaging board. This is why there has been no response to your message. However, please do not hesitate if you have any questions about language learning.
For the convenience of our readers, here is what Imane typed in Moroccan Arabic (note the extensive use of French):
slt asdi9aa momkin nt3araf moi imane a casa et toi
Translation: Hello friends. Perhaps we can get to know each other. I am Imane from Casablanca and you?
mayjaeb ahad
Translation: no-one is answering
i want to translte normal arabic to arabic chat (ارحل يا جبان ارحل يا عميل الا مريكان)
Can someone please translate, “hadi sourtik anti??? ”
Thank you.
Hi Jazia! This means:
“is this a picture of you???”
The question is addressed to a female person.
Thank you so much for your help. That was a quick response.
Thank you for I posted the wrong message for translation but I will definitely like to use your site in the future for you guys are awesome in translating. I will definitely will recommend other friends to your website. Continue the good work.
salamo 3alikem
iman ana sara
A9oomek Ne’6ar … Oo Af6erk Tafkeer
Chat to learn Arabic this my mail
أذا كنت تريد تعلم العربية والدردشة تفضل على هذا العنوان
do you Chat to learn Arabic this my mail
SALUTMOI SANAA ET TOI
تحكي عربي = بتتكلم عربي باللهجه المصريه ~ صح ؟؟
Can someone please translate this for me :
- 3ala 3l fadi
khasran makel khara
-Ma3ak ur fone?
-yes akeed
PLEASE! thank u so much
amot fèèk
3ala 3l fadi = Whatever its nothing.
khasran makel khara = I cant speek like someone who ate some shit !
-Ma3ak ur fone? = Do you have a phone ?
-yes akeed = Yes of course !
its 100% true
ma7la ha9a mah7le s3ad ne i8ter
good place to learn arabic. do you have any laventine dialect?
Hi
Can someone please translate the following for me?
la mt5afsh ma mabro7sh wara m5alini dayman 2odam
Thanks in advance
how do you say kalam fadi in internet language?? how is the d in fadi written with numbers???
@salamlam
I’d probably say it like this: “kalam fa9i” or “kalam fa9′i”. The “d” sound in the word “fadi” is a Daad. Note, however, that you might also encounter other transliterations, such as “fadhi” or simply “fadi”.