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