Add Arabic on Samsung Keyboard
- 01
Open Settings → General management
Open the Settings app and scroll down to General management.
- 02
Open Samsung Keyboard settings
Tap Samsung Keyboard settings. (Shortcut: with the keyboard open in any app, tap the gear icon on its toolbar; it lands in the same place.)
Fig. general management → samsung keyboard settings - 03
Languages and types
Tap Languages and types, then Manage input languages.
- 04
Turn on Arabic
Find Arabic in the list and switch it on. One UI downloads the language pack if it isn't on the phone yet. A few seconds on Wi-Fi.
Fig. manage input languages with arabic enabled - 05
Done: check the spacebar
Open any app and bring up the keyboard: the spacebar now shows both languages. That's your cue it worked.
How to switch to Arabic when typing
The Samsung way is to swipe left or right across the spacebar; the keyboard slides between your languages as you do. If you'd rather have a dedicated key, Samsung Keyboard settings can show a language key (🌐) next to the spacebar. Tap it to cycle languages, hold it to pick from a list.
Samsung Keyboard or Gboard?
Don't overthink it; both type Arabic fine. Samsung Keyboard is already there and its Arabic layout is perfectly standard. Gboard's case: stronger Arabic predictions and a PC layout that matches desktop. It does glide typing in Arabic too. Happy with Samsung Keyboard? Stay. Curious? The Gboard guide takes two minutes.
The Arabic 101 keyboard layout
Samsung Keyboard lays Arabic out for touch, not in the desktop Arabic 101 arrangement below. Same letters, different places. Every computer you sit at will hand you the 101 layout, so spend a little time with the reference too.
Samsung Keyboard Arabic keyboard questions
How do I switch between Arabic and English on a Galaxy?
Swipe left or right across the spacebar and the keyboard slides between your languages. If you would rather tap than swipe, Samsung Keyboard settings can put a language key next to the spacebar: tap it to cycle, hold it to choose from a list.
Arabic is stuck downloading. What do I do?
The language pack is a small download that One UI fetches the first time you enable Arabic, and it occasionally stalls on a weak connection. Toggle Arabic off and on again while on Wi-Fi, and if it still hangs, restart the phone before trying once more.
Does Samsung Keyboard have a PC layout for Arabic?
No. Samsung lays Arabic out for thumbs only, so what you learn there will not line up with a computer keyboard. Gboard is the one that offers a desktop-matching PC layout if that matters to you.
Samsung Keyboard or Gboard for Arabic?
Both type proper Arabic, so there is no wrong answer. Samsung Keyboard is already installed and its Arabic layout is entirely standard. Gboard earns the switch if you want stronger predictions, glide typing in Arabic, or the PC layout that matches a laptop.
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.