Add Arabic on macOS
- 01
Open System Settings
Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner, then System Settings. (On macOS Monterey and earlier it's called System Preferences.)
- 02
Go to Keyboard
Scroll down in the sidebar and click Keyboard.
Fig. system settings → keyboard - 03
Open Input Sources
Find the Text Input section and click Edit next to Input Sources.
- 04
Add Arabic and pick "Arabic – PC"
Click the + button in the bottom-left and type "Arabic" in the search box. macOS offers several Arabic input sources, and the names matter:
—Arabic – PC is the standard Arabic 101 layout, the same one Windows uses. It's the layout this site teaches; pick it.—Arabic is Apple's own arrangement. A handful of letters sit on keys no PC puts them on.—Arabic – QWERTY is phonetic, so you type the Latin letter that sounds similar. Feels easy on day one. But the muscle memory transfers to no other machine.If you want what you learn to work on every computer, choose Arabic – PC.
Fig. input sources dialog with arabic – pc selected - 05
Add and done
Click Add. A new input menu icon appears in the menu bar at the top-right of your screen, and that's the whole job. No restart.
How to switch between English and Arabic
Control + Space jumps between your two most recent input sources, so with just English and Arabic – PC installed it's a clean toggle. Control + Option + Space cycles through all of them. Macs with a Globe key (bottom-left corner of recent MacBook keyboards) can also switch on a tap of 🌐; set that under Keyboard settings, "Press 🌐 key to". And the input menu in the menu bar shows which source is active. If it's hidden, turn on Show Input menu in menu bar in Keyboard settings.
Keep the toggle clean
A tip that saves daily friction: keep exactly two input sources — ABC (or whatever your English layout is) and Arabic – PC. With two, Control + Space is a pure back-and-forth. Every extra source you leave enabled turns the toggle into a cycle, and you'll forever overshoot the one you wanted. Remove strays in the same Input Sources list with the − button.
When you switch to Arabic, the cursor jumps to the right side of the text field. Arabic runs right-to-left; the field is doing its job.
The Arabic 101 keyboard layout
Arabic – PC is the standard Arabic 101 layout, the same arrangement Windows uses; that's the whole reason we recommend it. Your Mac's keys still show English, so the positions have to move into your head. Give that a few sessions.
macOS Arabic keyboard questions
Which Arabic input source should I choose on a Mac?
Arabic – PC. It is the standard Arabic 101 layout, the same one Windows, ChromeOS and every internet cafe keyboard uses, so the muscle memory travels. Plain Arabic is Apple's own arrangement and moves a handful of letters. Arabic – QWERTY is phonetic, which feels friendly for a day and then strands you on any other machine.
Control + Space is not switching my keyboard. What now?
Usually one of two things. Either you have more than two input sources enabled, in which case Control + Space is jumping between the last two you used rather than the two you want, or Spotlight has claimed the shortcut. Trim the list under Keyboard, Text Input, Input Sources, and check System Settings, Keyboard, Keyboard Shortcuts to see who owns Control + Space.
Can I see the Arabic layout on screen while I type?
Yes. Turn on "Show Input menu in menu bar" in Keyboard settings, then choose Show Keyboard Viewer from that menu. A live picture of the current layout floats over your work and lights up keys as you press them, which is the fastest way to learn where the letters sit.
Do I need a Mac keyboard with Arabic letters printed on it?
No, and most Arabic typists outside the Arab world do not have one. The layout lives in software. Look up what you need on the chart while you learn, and after a couple of weeks of real practice you will stop looking.
If the keyboard is step one of learning the language itself, our sister site Tfaddalu picks up from there: spoken Palestinian Arabic, taught at the same unhurried pace as this site.